Comments on: Leadership Lessons Learned on Vacation-Leading by Letting Go

By: Wally Bock

Wally Bock — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:36:49 +0000

Congratulations! This post was selected as one of the five best independent business blog posts of the week in my Three Star Leadership Midweek Review of the Business Blogs.

http://blog.threestarleadership.com/2009/07/08/7809-midweek-look-at-the-independent-business-blogs.aspx

Wally Bock

By: Three Star Leadership Blog

Three Star Leadership Blog — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:12:22 +0000

7/8/09: Midweek Look at the Independent Business Blogs…

Every week I select five excellent posts from this week’s independent business blogs. This week, I’m pointing you to posts on leadership coaching, leadership lessons, rewards, the future, and lessons from vacation.
…

By: Art Petty

Art Petty — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:16:41 +0000

Tom, glad to know that I’m not alone on this journey. I’ll join you guys if I can bring my Rare Earth and Earth Wind & Fire 8-tracks to the party! Thanks for reading and commenting! -Art

By: tom ogden

tom ogden — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:33:38 +0000

Art–Very timely as we are having similar visitors up north this weekend. We justt got our 30 year old boat back with a new engine, so she’s good as new. (Gold metal flake paint and all) Going to put on a tie die shirt and put some Iron Butterfly in the 8-track and go cruising. But seriously, as a leader and supervisor for a number of years, letting go is just darn hard. We need to reflect on our lessons that we learned, from who, and more importantly, remember that there is a first time for everything.

Thanks again…and wish us luck. I think I’ll need more than iced tea!

By: Art Petty

Art Petty — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:51:18 +0000

Mary Jo, thanks for your thoughtful and kind words. And David, I’m truly glad that the message resonated! -Art

By: David Locke

David Locke — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:16:30 +0000

Art, Thanks!

I needed to hear this lesson put this way!

By: Mary Jo Asmus

Mary Jo Asmus — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:19:09 +0000

Loved this post, Art! I too come from a long line of super-planners and controllers. Learned a lot from my kids and husband about letting go (they all just happen to be perceivers from an MBTI standpoint; I am a judger), but I guess I’ll re-learn that lesson again and again.

I find that many who make it to management ranks in organizations are judgers, the “J”in the MBTI dichotomies – who prefer their lives to be scheduled, controlled, systematic and decided. Yet life sometimes throws us curveballs to remind us that, in reality, much of the time we have to “let go”, and as leaders climb higher in the organization, this becomes even more critical.

Children are wonderful at the life lessons we need to learn – many that we can transfer to the workplace. You’ve done a wonderful job of capturing that. Thanks Art!

By: Art Petty

Art Petty — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:12:01 +0000

Wally, I love your emphasis on the lesson. You masterfully highlight a critical point in time when so many leaders make the wrong choice. That transition phase is something that we as mentors need to do a much better job of coaching through…all while letting that boat pull away. Thanks much for sharing your thoughts! -Art

By: Wally Bock

Wally Bock — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:07:11 +0000

Great post Art and a wonderful connection between the roles of parent and boss. My experience and research tell me that the situation you describe is one of the hardest transitions for most bosses. As I outline in the Working Supervisor’s Support Kit, when you have a new team member you start out being very directive. As they demonstrate competence and willingness to pitch in, you can decrease your control and increase their control. At first, you continue to discuss with them. At some point you need to cut them loose to decide (and occasionally make a bad decision) on their own.

Here’s the lesson part. The transition most bosses find toughest is when the team member first starts to make decisions on their own. Most bosses want to retain control, but that will stifle growth. Others want to jump to full delegation, but that increases the possibility that there will be a bad outcome which can also stifle growth. But, as you learned watching the boat pull away from the dock, you have to let them go.

By: Art Petty

Art Petty — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:48:20 +0000

Thanks for your always-thoughtful comment, Becky. It helps us to remember that our job is to teach, not to do, and whether as a parent or workplace leader, independence, not dependence is the goal. -Art

By: Becky Robinson

Becky Robinson — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:23:52 +0000

Art,

So glad to see you back, and glad you had some decent weather during your time away. Loved your post. I am many years away from enjoying the benefits of training my children well; thanks for the glimpse into the future. I am sure your sons enjoyed the opportunity to use their skills independently. My favorite part: Success is not measured by how good you are at a task, but at how good you are at helping others become good at theirs. Their independence is your victory.