A Short Leash

An idea that I explored in a prior issue of FirstCuts (http://urlcut.com/FirstCuts9) addressed the idea of progressive delegation as a tool to develop a replacement management or executive.

I recently had the thought that it could be simply thought of as managing someone on a short leash -- giving them small items to do, and asking them to report back on them in short time frames.

In the most extreme cases I have seen this done with the trainee reporting back up to three times per day. Some would call this micro-managing, but I think a new manager who is getting their feet wet for the first time needs a lot of encouragement and assistance when they make mistakes as soon as they make them.

Also, once they know that the "short leash" will only increase in time, they realize that their freedom to do their own thing is something that they can earn over time, once their confidence in themselves and their reliability in getting things done improves.

Over time, their boss can trust them 100% to get the job done, but it does take time and effort to get to that point.