Some leaders can’t give up control or don’t feel comfortable unless they own all the important decisions for the team or organization. Even when they delegate less critical decisions to others, they maintain “veto power” over the decision. If they don’t like the decision, they get involved and change it.
The first responsibility of great leadership, I believe, is to train and coach up leaders from within their teams. Shared responsibilities with solid assistance in preparation and honest follow-up coaching are critical elements in the leadership development cycle. The development of trust becomes far simpler when responsibility and authority are given. Many managers are unwilling for a range of reasons not to do so. Unfortunately, those managers are doomed to mediocrity at best.
“The deciders” model is counterproductive at best, as you indicate. In my experience in having served under and on such leadership teams, there is a tendency to own every win, but disown every miss as well—passing the buck, writing off errors, or pretending failure was due to bad luck. Such mangers are the epitome of ineptitude.
The first responsibility of great leadership, I believe, is to train and coach up leaders from within their teams. Shared responsibilities with solid assistance in preparation and honest follow-up coaching are critical elements in the leadership development cycle. The development of trust becomes far simpler when responsibility and authority are given. Many managers are unwilling for a range of reasons not to do so. Unfortunately, those managers are doomed to mediocrity at best.
“The deciders” model is counterproductive at best, as you indicate. In my experience in having served under and on such leadership teams, there is a tendency to own every win, but disown every miss as well—passing the buck, writing off errors, or pretending failure was due to bad luck. Such mangers are the epitome of ineptitude.