When our son was a college junior, he came home for a few days during spring break —without his laundry.
He almost always brought his laundry home with him, so we suspected something was up. The day before he was due to return, we asked him, “Where’s your laundry?” It was his first year in an apartment, and the bonus was that it had a washer-dryer. He said, “I’ve got it under control. I started the wash when I left earlier in the week, and then I’ll just put it in the dryer when I get back tomorrow.” He had a huge smile on his face. Rather proud of this clothes-washing hack.
Our response, “As in it has been sitting in your washing machine for the past 5 days?” “Absolutely,” he said. Hubby and I mentioned, “You might want to leave yourself some extra time to rewash them.”
When he got back to his apartment, he texted us, “I see what you mean.”
Adulting, just like managing, is hard.
Sometimes we need to let our people learn things by making mistakes. It’s how we all learn. Do you let your employees learn by trying and failing? If not, you should. This is a common issue.
Reflect:
- When was the last time you let an employee try something new, knowing they might fail?
- Are you stepping in too early and preventing your team from building confidence through experience?
- What’s one low-stakes task you could delegate this week as a learning opportunity?
Take Action:
This week, identify one task you normally handle yourself and delegate it to a team member, even if they won’t do it exactly your way. Resist the urge to micromanage. Check in at the end, not during.
Need help building a culture where growth and learning thrive? That’s what we do.
