How Managing Less Helps Employees Take the Lead

A few weeks ago, I was in Palm Springs, California, for the Society for Hospitality and Foodservice Management’s annual conference. As the team and I set up our booth for the show, I got a call from my wife.

“I’m so sick that I can’t get the kids to school,” she said quietly. “I can’t even make their lunches.”

She was down for the count with a stomach bug—and I was eight hours away in a different city.

Over the phone, we quickly organized rides to school for our boys. I was just asking a friend to bring extra food to preschool for our youngest when my wife stopped me and said, “It’s ok, Bear made food.”

Bear is our nickname for our nine-year-old. Now, for some families, a nine-year-old making lunch is a normal practice. But in our house, lunch isn’t something he usually helps with. So this felt like a big deal.

During the next two days, Bear really stepped up. He made lunches and snacks, got himself and his little brother ready for bed, and even managed both of their showers. He really rose to the challenge. We were so proud!

After I got home, hugged everyone, and took the reins again, the situation got me thinking about work. Specifically: When do we need to step back to give others the chance to rise?

Stepping Back Leads to Stepping Up

As leaders, we should always be thinking about how responsibility is shared with our team members. You certainly don’t have to disappear (or fly across the state) to give your team or coworkers more responsibility—but sometimes it helps. If I’d just asked Bear to make his own lunch, there would have been fighting and whining. But now he knows he can do it because he had to figure it out. And I know he’s proud of what he accomplished. Sometimes, just stepping away from something you usually do creates space for someone else to shine.

So at work this week, I’ve been asking myself: Am I the best person to do [whatever the task is]? Whose growth am I blocking by doing this myself?

Checking ourselves and giving our team members true responsibility—not just in times of crisis, but every day—is important to all of our development. It pushes our coworkers to grow their talents and frees up time for us to focus on improving in other areas.

When those emergencies do arrive, let’s make sure we don’t waste the opportunity to let others rise to the challenge!

A Final Thought

It was tough to be away from my family, but our team’s hard work at the conference paid off when The FruitGuys was honored with the “Most Forward-Thinking Exhibit ” award. I love that our fruit and vegetables—the original snacks—were considered fresh and new!

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