CHAPTER SIXTEEN
THE HANDS-OFF MANAGER AS COACH
Our chief want in life is to find someonewho will make us do what we can.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
 
Morale in the workplace is the creation of the leader. He or she coaches it into existence. Or doesn’t. But morale is not just an accidental climate that comes in on the wind.
Tony Robinson (a name we will give this manager) was a gifted project manager who oversaw construction sites for Duane many years ago. His skills and intellect were exceptional, but Tony was not happy in his work.
Two upper managers who came to review Tony’s progress in monthly update meetings were relentlessly critical and questioning of Tony’s decisions, and Tony was too sensitive a person to let it go.
The quality of his work ...

Get The Hands-Off Manager now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.