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Rock-n-Roll Leadership
Who ever knew that the great .38 Special held the secret to a good leadership viewpoint?
Just hold on loosely
But don’t let her go
If you cling too tightly
You’re gonna lose control
That simple lyric holds a valuable viewpoint for leaders. The song, of course, is about a girl. But imagine you are holding a small bird in your hand. If you hold the bird too tightly, you’ll crush it. If you hold the bird too loosely, it will escape. But if you hold it just right, not too loosely and not too tightly, then the bird will stay in your hand, and maybe even feel safe. And if you focus on it, it’s probably not too hard to figure out just the right amount of pressure to keep the bird in your grasp.
It’s the same way with leadership. One of the toughest decisions leaders make is how much control to exert over their people. It’s a delicate balance. Both too much and too little can cause difficulties and cause you to lose your team. Finding just the right amount of control is a large challenge.
The tendency of many leaders is to “cling too tightly”. They tend to want to have close control over their people. They want to make sure every little detail is taken care of, setting rules, procedures, and processes for every little thing to ensure that things never get out of control. They…
