| Supervisees will always be somewhere on a continuum from "low experience/confidence, need lots of care and guidance" to "10x takes care of everything". As a supervisor I find that recognizing and acknowledging (directly) to the high performers that: - I'm aware of their skills, accomplishments & impact, and - I see my job as shielding them from bullshit and giving them enough slack to organize their own time & workflows wherever possible, and - I will champion their ideas if they fit the plan, or offer context/feedback they may lack so they don't feel I'm dismissing them out of hand.
Works well. As you note, keeping your ego out of the game can be a challenge! It's especially hard if/when the person is younger or less experienced than you but has better ideas. I regular have to give folks programming projects I'd rather be focusing on than doing manager work! As a lifelong bassist, I find that approaching work "teams" as a musical group, rather than a sports team, to be a more apt metaphor. It's not necessarily about winning per se, it's more about everyone playing their part in making the music come to life. Generally a bassist's job is to "serve the song" and make everyone else sound good. Sometimes that means sitting out for the first half of the song, or playing one long note per bar so the attention stays on the voice, lead instrument, or production. Many people don't really know what the bass is or does until it drops out of the music. Then it sounds small and empty and everyone stops dancing. |