Managers should Manage

 Rosa Say, in her Talking Story Blog,  has a really great explanation of what I believe is the biggest mistake managers make.  In Work World Myth #8: Managers Should Know How To Do Everything, she says:

This is one of those old fallacies about what it takes to be a “good manager.” You often hear it voiced something like this: “Don’t ask an employee to do anything you can’t do yourself.”

There is so much evidence surrounding this to the contrary, that it astounds me this myth is still around. Even worse, mediocre managers are hiding behind it. They are not working ON business health, innovation, and vibrancy because they are “safely” ensconced IN business tasks that should be delegated and assigned to someone else.

If you want to be needed, be needed as a productivity maximizer: an inspiration, visionary, and compelling leader, not as another worker bee. And please, I mean no disrespect whatsoever to the worker bees you manage and lead; I’m just asking you to better understand what your own role is if you are their manager and a leader.

I’ve just started to regularly read Rosa’s blog, and it is really great.  Check out the rest of her Work World Myths.  Well worth your time.