“If I don’t follow up, nothing gets done.”
“Nobody has the full picture of where we are going, except me.”
“Why does everything land on my desk?”
If you find yourself thinking one or more of the above phrases, chances are you have become the heavy lifter in your team, and more than likely, the team lead as well.
Heavy lifters are in the middle of everything, and if you are in the middle of everything, you are not managing the few things that only you can do.
Here are three ways to spread the weight across your team AND increase your team effectiveness:
-Create a spiderweb network instead of a hub and spoke structure. Encourage cross team collaborations where you aren’t at the hub, or the center of everything.
-Don’t be the answer bank for the team, instead learn to ask good questions that engage your team and encourage them to come up with their own answers.
-Set up a team system that holds people accountable for their promises and outcomes and use consequences that reward and penalize appropriately.
How do you make sure you are not the heavy lifter in your team?
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