Mary Jo Asmus recently wrote a great piece called A leader fills the spaces, in which she asserts that strong leaders take action whenever they see:
- A leadership void — no one stepping up to take responsibility
- Damaged or broken relationships
- Lapses in ethics or integrity
- Team members who are suffering
It’s great advice — and a great reminder that I, as a leader, don’t have the option of sitting back when something is missing within my team.
For me, however, a big temptation is simply to say “Step aside — I’ll do it.” A task has to be done quickly, and with my years of experience it’s easier just to do the task than to try and explain to others how to do it.
Leading Technical Communication 