Let Em Shine

Your staffs are an integral part of the success of your organization’s performance. This, you should know already. But how do they get to that point? How are they able to realize just how important they are?


You, as a leader, must communicate to your staff how you expect them to behave – clearly and concisely – and then let them do it. Does that mean becoming a dictator? Of course not. Think of your business like a play and your job is to be the director.

A director helps the actors rehearse their lines and actions so that they know just what to do on opening night so the play runs as smoothly as possible. A dictator would suppress the actors’ talent, where the director pulls them in and lets them shine.

To this, Walt Disney once said, “I think if there’s any part I’ve played . . . the vital part is coordinating these talents, and encouraging these talents, and carrying them down a certain line. It’s like pulling together a big orchestra. They’re all individually very talented. I have an organization of people who are really specialists. You can’t match them anywhere in the world for what they can do. But they all need to be pulled together, and that’s my job.”

I’ve had managers, as I’m sure you have, which held the reins so tightly that it sucked the energy out of me. Creativity suffers. Production suffers. Enjoyment in general is non-existent. People must have some leeway to be themselves, not a clone of a dictators’ need to be in control.

Do you let your staff shine? How can you pull them together? What type of success are you hindering by keeping the reins taut?