| Thanks. Been chewing on how to respond. I still buy into the rational choice theories. Despite the growing evidence to the contrary. Democracy for Realists, folk theory of democracy, and all that. As I said upthread, I focus on process and feedback loops. Blame my tour of duty as a SQA manager. I empowered my teams thru delegation. They owned the product. Not me. It was their success. Not mine. I built trust over time by honoring their decisions. And probably more importantly, fending off attacks on their efforts. Like the helpful SVP PHB giving "suggestions" and shaking the ant farm. I'm currently totally on board with Stacy Abrams' view of democracy. People buy-in when they see their actions have impact, consequences. They check out when they're ignored. My own former teammates told me as much. Next manager comes in, asks for input, does their own thing. Completely alienated the team. They never leaned in again. It takes time, real effort, commitment. Trust is so hard to earn, so easily lost. YMMV. |