At the end of my previous post I mention that within best practices as clinicians, it can be empowering to step aside and cede some control to others in the organization. Perhaps even to subordinates.
Why do this? Doesn’t such an action make us weaker? Perhaps. But there is also the possibility such a gesture could help make us remarkable. More specifically, remarkable as leaders.
The fact is, if you are managing a team, a department, or a clinic, you have more smarts collectively than individually. If the one person in charge of the group makes all the decisions in a vacuum, the potential for the group to succeed as a whole—and be remarkable as a whole—is minimized.
No war has ever been won by a general in a far-away office micromanaging every battlefield decision.
Neil Armstrong went out on a limb to do something no one else had done. There was no manual at the time for moonwalking. He used his own smarts combined with the wisdom and support of others—and faith in himself—to do something remarkable. Others have walked on the moon since Armstrong, but mostly we don’t remember them. By comparison what they did seems less remarkable.
If you want to stand out as a leader, consider that what will make you remarkable to others might not seem remarkable to you. For example, if you are a treating therapist, chances are many of your clients find you remarkable. The services that therapy school trained you to provide are unremarkable to you, but to your clients: sheer genius!
Do you have a therapist or assistant in your clinic who may want to begin a special program for caregivers, or has some expertise to share with others on your team? Do something remarkable: step aside. It can be scary to give up total control, but try it. Step aside and let them make a contribution. It may not seem remarkable to you, but it may seem downright revolutionary to the person you empower.