On a daily basis, what is the toughest aspect of leadership?
Mike: Micro-management!! A leader must let people do their jobs without micro-managing them. Normally you have all the skills of your direct reports and you want them to perform at the same level that you can. You must allow them to do the job without your daily help, even though it may be difficult. Coaching is ok, but don’t do their jobs for them. A leader needs to delegate and facilitate, allowing others to be a part of the solution. We try to live with what we know versus the people that can move a company to the next level. In my last company, a custom vehicle manufacturing facility, a daily ten minute manufacturing floor meeting was held each morning with the manufacturing staff and leaders. This gave them the opportunity to go over the tasks of the day. They talked about the best way to get things done and what skills were required. The best people for each job were assigned to these tasks. After implementing these daily meetings, manufacturing hours per job total dropped 20 per
