The Centre Of The Spiders Web

Are you the centre of all things? When decisions have to be made, do you make them? When things need to be authorised, do you carry the stamp of approval? When someone needs some time off, are you the gatekeeper to permission? When a meeting runs, are you in the leading chair and in command of the agenda?

Some leaders set themselves up as the centre of a large web of connections and all communication and decisions flow through them. They do this because somehow they believe they are the linchpin of the operation. Without them, things will fall apart.

This approach may create an illusion of leadership but is unsustainable over time. The consequence is to reduce the feeling of accountably and responsibility from the team. People don’t fail, they don’t succeed alone and they learn to be dependent on the leader.

It is not surprising that many people point to moments in their career when their boss was off sick for several moths as a defining moment for learning and growth. An opportunity to step up, take responsibility and understand the bigger picture.

A tip for leaders everywhere. You can’t be the centre of the web. It doesn’t work