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Management Strategies: Architects and Gardeners

Derik Hammer discusses two management strategies for team leadership:

There are two analogies for leaders that have made a visceral impact on my life and career, the architect leader and the gardening leader. These analogies became central to my personal and professional growth ever since I formally entered management five years ago. Arguably, I have been a leader for much longer than that in the various team or technical leadership positions and my time in the military. However, it wasn’t until my focus moved predominantly to management that I began building models for leadership mindsets.

My philosophy on this hews really well with the book Turn the Ship Around! by David Marquet. I highly recommend it for anybody in management or looking to go into management. One really short synopsis of the strategy I try to follow is to make goals clear, get the level below you invested (in part by bringing them in and actually listening to what they say), and be hands-off enough to let people learn and take initiative in how they solve problems and meet your goals.