A coaching client of mine recently made a great observation about shepherding. He said, “You can lead a sheep to the field, but you don’t shove grass down their mouths.”
He was learning to not over-shepherd, but to teach people to take responsibility for themselves. Sometimes as leaders we take too much responsibility for others. When we over-help people, we are doing them a disservice. They need to learn to do their part.
This is the flip side of one of my leadership strengths: demonstrating accountability.
In proper measure, demonstrating accountability can build relationships, initiate healing, and speed the process of learning from my mistakes. If I demonstrate too much accountability, I end up letting my team off the hook for satisfying their roles or accecpting responsibility for their mistakes.