Remember to manage the "what", not the "who"

They're recreating one of my favorite Dr. Suess movies, Horton Hears a Who. Think of "the Who" has got me thinking.

My team has been swimming along without much need of their coach, and I have found other ways to occupy my time, including evangelizing the benefits of teamwork at public events.

When you find yourself able to take on new tasks, because your team has "got it handled", you are easily lulled into a false sense of security. As such, if you are not attentive to your team's day to day processes, some team players will fall back into old habits, and productivity will drop. In the meantime, you're still thinking the team has "got it handled".

Communication is the blood of teamwork. The truth, trust, and transparency—that I speak so often about—is nothing more than real, honest communication, and—in recent weeks—communication between some of my team players had started to erode.

Only slightly, and—frankly—I didn't mind. When there are communication issues, the "team manage thy selves" philosophy goes out the window, and the manager gets to manage again.

Managing the "who" makes him feel important again—but don't fool yourself. This is wrong!

A good manager will not just handle the immediate communication problems—"the who". A good manager will peel the layers until the original driver of the communication problem is identified and eliminated. That is how one successfully manages "the what".

Let your team execute the plays, but—as their coach—never take your eye off the ball.