It is very natural for new Managers and Team leaders seem to think that once they are given the responsibility over a group they have to ‘Claim their territory’ and guard it with all their might.
Things that can really tick off new managers are others telling specific team members what to do or how to do things, and not informing the manager.
If this is happening to you, here is a tip:
Chill out, cool down, everything is ok. You colleges believe in you and know that you can do the job. There is no need to protect your territory, you don’t want to become a bureaucrat [1].
- You WANT your team to communicate with others
- You WANT others (including your manager) to be able to cut the red tape and talk directly to the team members
- You WANT to be your teams leader, You DONT WANT to be the teams protector
- You DONT WANT to become a bureaucrat
To do this you will need the team to be mature enough to solve problems by themselves, your job is to get the right people in the right places and to enable them to solve these problems.
If these things tick you off, it’s a great opportunity for you as a manager to grow. Just realize that the problem is trust in your own team, not with the outside world. Teach your team how to deal with these things. Work with Integrity.
- If the team can still complete all its commitments then everything is ok, you will know about this in a clearing session and be able to praise them on how they solved this issue.
- If a team cannot complete its commitments, the team will notify you about this and you can decide how to continue
- If the team doesn’t know what to do, they will come to you and ask you, they will present their dilemma and you can help them choose the correct solution.
This is what I expect from my managers and team leaders:
Be a growth agent and a empower you team, focus on taking the correct risks not on protecting your team or territory.