“If I get into this granular level, how will I scale? Let me hire the best people and let them do their job.”
“I understand this problem the best, hence I am the best one to do or guide it.”
These are two extreme posture by Founders, and Senior Leaders. One is glass-office, death-by-excel management; and the other is micro management (or at times total avoidance of delegation).
Many leaders end up somewhere in between, which is even worse and extremely frustrating. After swinging between these extremes, this is what I have realised:
1) One need to zoom-in and zoom-out comfortably.
A leader need to stay zoomed-out to see the big picture. But should be able to zoom-in from time to time to solve for specific challenges, drive critical projects, and also to shape things up where it matters the most. They bring critical skills, and the organisation should benefit from those.
Where and when to zoom-in, and when to zoom-out smoothly is key to smooth execution.
2) Even if you hire the best person for a problem – the person, the problem, and the environment never remains the same.
Past success is very little guarantee of future success in a fast changing world. So, it is critical to keep evaluating your team, because you are zoomed-out relying on their ability to get things done.
3) As a leader, you must be in touch with the customer, competition and your own company (its people, products, and positioning) to remain relevant. There is no way you can do strategy without understanding the ground reality first-hand.
But, if you start enjoying that too much, and unable to see the big picture, you can loose track of your way.
So, the conclusion is – it is important to know – when and where to roll up your sleeves and get the hands dirty, and when to paint the big picture for your team and direct them.
The success is in the balance. And there is no silver bullet or right answer. This is the “art” part of management. It is difficult to codify it into ”science”
At Indus Net Technologies (INT.), I encourage my leaders to stay grounded, get hands dirty when required, and keep eyes on the big picture all the time.
What have been your experience with zoom-in, zoom-out in your business or role?
P.S.: As I write this, I am on my way to ITC Vegas at our booth, to understand the key challenges faced by InsurTechs in the USA, so that we can effectively solve for them.