People want to work with people they learn from. That's why part of a manager's job is to help their team learn through the work, not just complete it.
When managers do that well, people become more capable, more confident, and more likely to stay.
Insight: Learning only happens when someone explains the thinking behind it
When managers rewrite someone's work or make an important decision without explaining why, the work gets done. But the learning stays with the manager.
Without that context, teams become good at completing tasks without understanding the judgment behind them. Part of a manager's role is to help people build their own judgment.
Which means creating opportunities for people to take on meaningful work before they feel completely ready. Explain not just what changed, but why. Helping people understand the context and the thinking behind your decisions is just as important as getting a terrific result.
Your job is to ensure everyone on your team leaves more capable than when they arrived.
Real Leadership Story: When she let him lead
A manager I know ran a team that always delivered impressive results. She also led every client meeting herself.
She didn’t feel comfortable handing over the lead to someone on her team. Excellent client service was something she was known for and she loved being in charge. But she'd received feedback that her role wasn't just to deliver results; it was to develop her people too.
So she invited one of her senior team members to present a program to a client for the first time, a consumer packaged goods company launching Rinse & Repeat, a new cleaning product. They had helped build the recommendation, knew it as well as she did, and had the kind of likeability clients responded well to. She could have stepped in at any point. Instead, she sat beside him and let him lead.
It wasn't perfect. He missed a question he should have anticipated, and he didn't build a strong enough case for why they’d made certain recommendations. When the meeting ended, she didn't pretend it was flawless, nor did she focus on what he'd missed.
On the walk back to the office she took him through the meeting, explaining what she'd noticed went really well, what she would have approached differently, and why.
The next time he presented, he kept what she’d shared in mind and practiced differently. He anticipated tougher questions. He connected ideas more clearly. Each opportunity became another conversation, another chance to pass along what years of experience had taught her.
Years later, he still says the Rinse & Repeat presentation was a turning point in his career. Imperfect as it was, it was the moment he began trusting his own judgment under pressure.
Developing someone means accepting that they won't do it exactly as you would. That's okay. The goal is to help someone build their own judgment.
In the Moment: Before you jump in
Before you jump in, some questions worth asking yourself:
Is this a moment where I need to solve the problem, or a moment where someone else could learn by solving it?
Have I actually explained why I'd approach something differently, or have I only told them what to do?
Does the work I'm handing off require someone to make a decision, or simply complete a task?
Once you've decided it's a moment to hand off, here's how to do it well:
When you assign a task, ask them if they’ve ever done it before.
If they have, resist the urge to walk them through every step. If they haven't, ask how they think they'd approach it before offering your own perspective. Their answer will tell you what they already understand and where they need your help.
Not every task builds judgment. Choose work that requires people to think, decide, and explain their reasoning:
present a recommendation,
lead a client meeting,
draft a strategy,
or push back on a client’s request instead of escalating it.
Stay curious. Share what you know. Years from now, your team is more likely to remember what they learned from you than the work you delivered together.
Question to Sit With This Week:
If someone left your team tomorrow, what judgment would they take with them because they worked for you?
Got a leadership challenge? Email me at [email protected] and I’ll tackle it in a future issue of The Present Leader.
The leadership stories shared in this newsletter are based on real situations. Names, organizations, and other identifying details have been changed to protect confidentiality.