Traditional management structures (org charts) and middle-management behaviors (directing) are antithetical to establishing and sustaining highly productive teams. They undermine the autonomy of the team and the entrepreneurial mindset of the individual through permission-giving/withholding and unpredictable assignments that compromise individual commitments. By definition, they block direct interactions between the teams and the company’s leaders, often distorting the intentions of each. They create cultures in which individuals are pushed to adhere to the commitments of their managers, rather than the productivity of the team or the needs of the customer.
The path forward for the recovering manager may include coaching, servant leadership or joining a team.