J. Keith Murnighan – Do Nothing! : How to Stop Overmanaging and Become a Great Leader. (Portfolio)-

·        Are you a type A personality.

·        Does the thought of taking a two week vacation cause you to break out in a cold sweat?

·        Do you think that the only way to get things done “the right way” to do it yourself?

Then J Keith Murninghan has a suggestion for you… Do Nothing!

The most difficult thing for a leader, whether you have been doing it for years or if you have just been handed the mantle of leadership, is to avoid over-reaching and trying to tackle too much. Munighan sends the message that leaders need to lead, not work…not saying that leadership isn’t hard work, but he points out; leaders often make it harder than it has to be.

Murnigham points out that great leaders don’t work; they should instead facilitate and orchestrate. They take the 30,000 foot view of their business, department, or team that they lead and formulate strategies and choose the team members who will execute those plans.

When you transition to a leadership role, developing the trust in your team is a difficult initial step. Murnighan points out correctly that if avoid the easy urge to micromanage that your team will reveal the skills they need to get the job done. Your role a leader is to guide and nurture those skills, not overreach and do it yourself. If those skills don’t shine through, then a leader you need to make sure you have the right players on your team…it’s that whole right people in the right seats on the bus going in the right direction thing.

Do Nothing! gives you many actionable items and strategies that you can put in place to help not only your team develop, but also to help you avoid that tendency to micromanage. I have not only recommended Do Nothing! to leaders I know, I am using those tactics to help new leaders within my organization to make the transition from being great workers to becoming great leaders.