The Rules of Management, 3rd Edition

RULE 25

Have and show trust in your staff

You have a computer, I take it? OK, it crashes from time to time – that’s a given. You have a car. It breaks down from time to time, even if it’s only a puncture – that, too, is a given. Now you don’t eye either of these warily, expecting them to let you down, watching them like a hawk in case they show any sign of breaking down, do you? No, of course not. So stop watching your staff like that. They are a tool to getting a job done. They will break down, crash, whatever, from time to time but we accept their limitations – Rule 13 – and we allow them to make mistakes – Rule 12 – and we accept that we aren’t managing them but their processes instead.

And if you can make that move to trusting your staff ...