Less Leadership Is Good Leadership

Imagine a seed is planted in the ground, and the farmer who wants it to grow into a plant keeps poking at it to examine if it is growing properly. Will the seed grow into a healthy plant? Obviously not.

For a seed to grow, it needs to be left alone, allowing it to develop the roots first to support the stem break through the ground to become a plant. All the farmer can do is keep the soil healthy, watered, and free of weeds.

The seed can be a good metaphor for people in a team under the care of a leader.

Like the farmer wanting the seed to grow into a plant, the leader may have the desire for the teammates to operate independently and grow. That said, the approach to help them cannot be micro-management, checking what they do every other day. Just like the seed needs to be left alone, for people in a team to develop and grow, they need space and time. All the leader can do is create the right working environment and support with resources that help the teammates grow.

When it comes to developing people, less leadership is good leadership.

If the soil is healthy and watered, good seeds will grow well. In the same way, skilled individuals will naturally develop and evolve if given the right working environment and resources, without too much management.