The Most Underrated Leadership Skill

Bookstores and libraries are full of books on leadership and management. Many philosophies and skills are advocated and discussed. The ideas presented are good and valuable.

I have read many of these ideas, have benefited from them and encourage others to profit from them as well. However, the one skill that I don’t recall reading may be the most underrated leadership skill of all.

Most of us have heard the expression, “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.” Many individuals focus on the “lead” or “follow” portions of that expression.

Knowing when and how to “Get out of the way” may be the most understudied leadership technique of all. Our natural tendencies are that we don’t want others to micromanage us, but we are more likely to over manage those that we lead.

My belief is that our tendencies come from the desire to be free ourselves, yet to be proactive in leading others. In addition, there is a natural desire to be in control.

I have seen a CEO who couldn’t find his way to the office without the limousine ride he received daily, and he didn’t know what was going on once he got there. He got out of the way all of the time, but his impact on the business was questioned.

I have also seen another CEO who knew and cared about his employees and customers, who knew the business and based decisions based on a long term vision for its success. He knew when to get out of the way to let his people accomplish their mission and the business thrived.

In addition, I have seen a U.S. business, which is European owned and managed. Employees from the European parent micromanage the U.S. employees all year long and question every little decision, with one exception. During August, it is common for a lot of Europeans to go on “holiday”, which is our term for vacation. For the entire month, no one calls the U.S. to inquire about how the business is being run because everyone, it seems, is away from work. After the “holiday”, the micromanaging resumes.

If hands-on management is so important, why don’t the Europeans stagger their “holidays” in order to have someone continue the oversight during August? How many of the requests for information during the year are merely to enable the bureaucrats to justify their positions? What would happen if fewer requests for data were made of their U.S. operation? Is it possible, that reducing the reporting burden might actually increase performance?

Lastly, during World War II in the European theatre, the Allied forces operated differently than the German forces. The Germans were managed in a controlled, top down manner where no decision could be made until it was taken to a high enough authority. On the other hand, in spite of a disciplined organization with effective leadership from the commander-in-chief down, the Allies permitted and encouraged individual initiative from their soldiers in response to circumstances in the field.

The differences became obvious after the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944. Caught by surprise by time and location, the Germans failed to change their plans for several hours because they were afraid to awake Adolf Hitler and ask for instructions. In the meantime, the Allies took full advantage of the element of surprise, which assured the success of the invasion.

A short time later, when the Allies became bogged down in the hedgerow country behind the beaches, an individual soldier discovered the solution to cutting through the obstacles that cost so many lives and so much time. The idea to put a plow type device on the front of a tank would have taken many levels of approval and a long time the way the Germans operated. The ingenuity of one Allied soldier and the rapid adoption by others hastened the end of the war and spared many lives.

Determining when to get out of the way and let people perform is very much a learned skill, which is practiced by feel. It is an art rather than a science. Like most other interpersonal skills, knowing the time to use it as a technique will determine its effectiveness.

© 2006 Richard V. Battle