Step away from your people's work

I had someone mention to me that where she works, when people complete a project, the boss often redoes the work. Why would that be?

• Perhaps it is because the work produced is not up to the boss's standards. Perhaps the expectations were not totally clear so the boss had to change content.
• On the other hand, perhaps the boss likes work to be a certain way and the product has to look exactly like what the boss prefers.
• Finally, maybe the boss only trusts the work that he or she cranks out and anyone else's is just going to be less than suitable.

One of the examples above is about substance. The other two examples are about style and preference. If the quality of work turned into us, as bosses, is of substandard quality, we need to help our people understand what's wrong and give them the chance to correct the material. If the work is styled in a manner that isn't "us", we need to let it go. As the old saying goes, "there's more than one way to skin a cat". Our way is probably different than that of our team and it may not even be as good.

Either way, redoing our people's work is a sure way of stifling creativity and helping our folks become disengaged...two things we just can't afford.

So, I say again, "step away."