All leaders would love to have a low maintenance team (LMT).  A LMT allows a leader to focus on the big things and avoid the day to day hassles that could and should be handled at lower levels.  When a leader does that, the leader and the team are more engaged and burnout and turnover for both are lower.

But, while most leaders believe they want to lead a LMT, many are not ready to give up what they need to surrender in order to lead the team they desire.

If I want to be a leader of a LMT I must surrender SELF.  I must:

1. Surrender my control
2. Surrender my fears
3. Surrender my time

LMT Leaders Surrender Self

Low Maintenance Team Leaders Surrender Control

I didn’t start out leading and developing LMT’s.  The reason my teams required more maintenance was because I was unwilling to give up control to others.  Now before you picture me as a control freak, you need to know that is a term that has rarely been hung on me.

But if I was not a control freak, why did I have trouble surrendering control?

I believed if people were calling me for answers, then I must be doing my job.

• I look backward now and realize this prevented my team from becoming a LMT.  I was solving problems for others as opposed to teaching them to solve problems.
• It made me feel good to hear others thank me and praise me for my wisdom.  The problem was this system allowed me to feel good about myself while my people stagnated.

I believed my job was to know everything going on in my team.

• I thought that if I was ever quizzed by people above me, I would look good because I had all the answers.  Because of this I asked for frequent updates and formal reports from my people.  These reports were to help me stay informed.
• What I realized was the reports did nothing for team productivity.  In fact people were spending time on my reports instead of taking care of customers and solving problems.  Since they were not solving problems, guess who problem solving fell to?  You guessed it…me.

Lessons Learned By Surrendering My Control

The more problem solving I released to others, the more productive we became.  I was the bottleneck that slowed us down. 

My insecurity manifested itself in my need to be needed and my need to have all the answers.  Leaders of LMT’s give up control and delegate to their people because they are secure enough to allow it.

Low Maintenance Team Leaders Surrender Their Fears

Fear?  Back when I was a young leader, I would have never admitted to being afraid.  In fact most leaders won’t admit to fear.  But, I saw it in me and in leaders around me.

How did I let my fear hold back my teams?

I felt like my role as a leader was to prevent mistakes from happening.

• In the rearview mirror, I now see how short-sighted that approach was.  Leaders who spend their time preventing mistakes, doom their team to the status quo.
• Real learning only occurs through making mistakes.  If a leader sets up a myriad of rules that prevent mistakes, thus squelching innovation and change, he is not training his people well.  He teaches them only to look at manuals and follow rules.

Lessons Learned By Surrendering My Fears

Once I gave up my fears and allowed my team members to try new things (as long as they were moral and ethical) innovation became the norm.  People felt they had the freedom to think for themselves.

Leadership through risk aversion inspires nobody.  I observed the level of passion, commitment and initiative of my team skyrocket when I released my fears and insecurities.

People who are allowed to take some risks gain autonomy.  Autonomy is one of the key motivators for individuals according to Daniel Pink in his book Drive.  When a leader is willing to pull back and give her people room to operate, a powerful, innovative and low maintenance team begins to form.

Low Maintenance Team Leaders Surrender Their Time

Before I became a LMT leader, I spent a lot of time putting out fires.  I was essentially on call.  In case of emergency, dial 800-CALL DAVE.  My delusion was that I was being efficient by answering questions.

How did guarding my time become wasting my time?

I believed I was efficient in my office by handling issues quickly.

My conversations were short because I had the answers:

Me:  “What’s going on?”

Them:  Explanation

Me:  “Do this and call me back with the results.”

This allowed me to I get back to reading the reports my people sent me and doing other self generated work.

Lessons Learned By Surrendering My Time

I realized I was handing out fish instead of teaching my people to fish.  Yes it takes more time up front to teach someone to fish than it does to hand them one, but in the long run, they become self-sufficient and can catch more fish on their own than waiting for me to do it for them.

My conversations changed:

Me:  “What’s going on.”

Them:  Explanation

Me:  “What’s your plan.”

Them:  “I was calling to ask you.”

Me:  “Call me back with 2-3 possible solutions and we will talk them through.”

This became the standard operating procedure on my team.  Early on, calls were long as we discussed the ramifications of their solutions based on my experience.

I was creating problems solvers, not problem finders.  Problem solvers are leaders.

The result was I got fewer calls.  By putting time into coaching people on the front end, I gained time on the back end.

The Bottom Line:

As a leader, my first step in changing my team into a Low Maintenance Team was changing me.  I had to surrender SELF first.  Too often leaders believe that to change the team, they need to change the people on the team first.

On the contrary, the quickest way to change a team, is for the leader to change.  By surrendering, my control, my fears, and my time I took the first and the largest step towards leading a Low Maintenance Team.  I changed myself.

The next step Is Hiring a Low Maintenance Team.  I will cover that next week.

Question:

What else do leaders need in order to lead a Low Maintenance Team?