I like to listen to my team. To hear them out. To find out what makes them tick and where their passions lie. Then I like to have them micro-lead an area within their passion. I stay close if needed to provide the bumper rails to keep them within a certain area, but I give them latitude too, because they come up with ideas, implemenations, and perspectives I have never thought of.

I like to look at leadership as being part of, not over. I work “with” people. I go out of the department and give credit to the individuals who came up with the great idea or design or implementation. But I say “we did it” if the report is that a mistake was made.

I believe it was Vince Lombardi that said, “The mark of a good leader is one who takes less than his share of the credit and more than his share of the blame.” My dad had that sitting on his desk when I was a teenager. I’ve never forgotten it.