While I am not a manager, I often find myself in the role of senior or lead technician. I fight the attitude that I have the best design or the best way of doing things. I find that even the best managers struggle with this.

I am amazed at how many managers say they do not want to be buried by details. They say they want to give you a project and let you run with it. Then, when you have done the legwork, put your best into it, and present it to them, they second guess you. You find thatthe next time you do not want to make any decisions for fear that you will be undercut again.

I think that managers need to learn to communicate clearly what their vision and values are. On a particular assignment, the manager needs to learn to state what the parameters are at the beginning. Prioritize what is expected. So often managers fail to communicate this, and then get upset when the project does not meet their expectations. Then the manager begins to micromanage because nothing ever gets done the way they want it done. Yet, they have never effectively shared their vision with their staff.

I am working on learning how to share what end results are desired. How you do is unimportant, although this is a tough idea for me to admit. But I cannot oversee every project or do everything that needs to be done.