Connecting through closed doors

One of the curious things I have learned about leading a group is that they move faster if I am willing to step out and let them focus entirely on what they are doing. As much as I want to support and guide, they will do better if I do it intermittently. To have their own experience, I need to let them have their own experience.

To learn this, I have had to give up certain compulsions. I could call them beliefs or values. They feel more like compulsions. The compulsion to be right. The compulsion to know that the group is following. The compulsion to be look good. The compulsion to be involved.

I am writing this, in part, because I have given up those compulsions and am genuinely willing to loosen the grip of my attention on my group. I am writing this, in part, because my sense of leadership continues even when I am not physically present or engaged in the details.

We are rightfully suspicious of leaders who spend too much time behind closed doors.

We need to be equally suspicious of leaders who cannot close a door.

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