We are wired to take control and create followers. Taking control and creating followers has been very successful in the business world. In the military it has long been the only way to lead. What I experienced when I decided to give control and create leaders was tremendously more powerful.
The hardest step was retraining my brain, my internal desire to take control. I found a few simple exercises that would help me learn this new behavior. Start with things that are easy. For me, it started with allowing the barista or a friend to choose my coffee.
My friend Robert Stephens, the founder of “Geek Squad” takes it a step further. “Here is a good tip in two parts. You can practice this every day. You go to a restaurant and you tell the waiter, you pick! You pick the drinks. You pick the meal. And don’t play it safe, that’s the key.”
By retraining our brain, it will be much easier to move control to others on your team when they have displayed the competence and clarity you know they need to lead. See if you can act on Robert’s advice and give control this week.
