Quote of the Week...from Ronald Reagan

Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don’t interfere as long as the policy you’ve decided upon is being carried out.                  ---Ronald Reagan

The antithesis to this quote from one of the greatest presidents we've ever had at leading and positively influencing people would be the micromanager's creed: assume the people under you are stupid and incompetent, run around and interfere with their work continually, distract them by raising and emphasizing trivial issues, see the situation before you as static instead of dynamic...and then, when those over whom you are exercising authority consequently display little initiative or motivation, use that as an excuse to micromanage them further.  

Regardless of the nature of the organization or one's leadership title, any position of leadership is one of entrusted stewardship.  Leaders cannot allow themselves to fall to the tempting delusion that they ARE the position, and they need to demonstrate respect for those subordinated to them...just as they are entitled in turn to respect.  Micromanagers are like an infection in the organization, continually behaving disrespectfully to those around them and, in turn, breeding further disrespect from others.  A wise leader will be careful to notice when micromanagement is occurring and to quickly take steps to eliminate this danger to the vitality and mission of the organization...

Effective leaders, like Ronald Reagan, delegate authority and recognize the talents and intelligence of those working for them.  This, not micromanagement, is the template for effective management...