The Facilitative Leader

Introduction

In the absence of power in a relationship, a person will figure out how to get it.

—Anonymous

Which takes more time, managing the activities and behavior of the people who work for you or creating an environment in which they manage their own behaviors? The answer might surprise you. It also might change the way you provide direction and coaching to your people. In many ways and in many circumstances, people managers (and parents) create dependent behavior in the people they manage without even realizing it. This causes much unnecessary work and drama, when the alternative is a pretty simple approach to managing people’s performance.

In the current business culture, the most common approach to managing people’s performance is something ...