To Let Be Or Not To Let Be

I have heard said that one of the ways to develop team members' skill is to provide direction and then let them go off and do it and allow them to make mistakes as they learn. I wonder if this is this really a realistic plan in the current world of high demand, short schedule, and minimum budget project management?

I say yes and no to the “ idea that one of the ways to develop your team members' skill is to provide direction and then let them go off and do it and allow them to make mistakes as they learn ( (Mahon, 2009).

In certain circumstances, it can be a realistic plan in today's project management world. I believe people learn the most when they do not succeed in their objective, but a subordinate must be monitored closely when they are having difficulties. My career has taught me that a leader can educate, train, and monitor a team member all they want, but it is not until the team member is allowed to venture out on their own do they truly learn.

Growing up my parents did not attend formal courses to teach me to crawl, walk or run. We can be shown how to catch and throw a ball, but it is not until we drop the ball numerous times or overthrow our target do we really learn. Trial and error are the methods in which we use our education and find out if it applies in the situation we are involved. Many times what we learned is not reality. We must adapt what we learned to what works in the real world.

These same basic concepts on learning to apply to our professional lives as well. People learn from piers, managers, and/or experts in their field. Formal education beyond a training manual has become increasingly important in how organizations train their employees. For example, workshops are conducted that give examples on how to handle a human resources issue, interact with a customer in a given situation, or how to conduct a disaster recovery plan. A major problem with these training methods is that they are based on generic, standard situations a person will face.

Even though all snowflakes look the same each snowflake has a different design. Learning by doing and trial and error can be argued to be the best way to learn in the present world of "high demand, short schedule, and minimum budget project management" but it is often not a realistic method to develop team member proficiencies. I believe a good leader will teach their team members the skills to excel at their position. After they teach their team the skills to perform the leader must allow those members to succeed or fail on their own to some extent.

I think an effective leader will be aware of team members at all times. A leader must build confidence in their team members by congratulating them when they are succeeding, and supporting them when they are not. By supporting team members when they are not succeeding a leader gives them the comfort of knowing the leader will be there for them no matter what. The business world is too competitive to allow team members to freelance to much be given the pressures to finish projects within short schedules, minimum budgets, and reduced resources. A good project leader must quickly evaluate a situation, and take action accordingly allowing team members a chance to grow, but at the same help guides them when needed.