Maybe Step Back
The More You Step Back, The More Your Team Steps Up
I once worked in an office where the filing system was a nightmare... slow, confusing, and ignored by everyone. One Monday morning, we walked in to find it completely redone. Labels, folders, categories, the whole thing overhauled.
A junior employee had spent their weekend fixing it. No permission. No committee. Just action.
The manager could have seen it as overstepping. Instead, she listened, realized it worked better, and rolled it out company-wide. That choice, accepting an unsolicited improvement, shifted the entire tone of the office. It told us: If you see a better way, you have permission to try.
That’s the thing about initiative. It doesn’t bloom under micromanagement. It grows in environments where people feel safe to take small risks and know they won’t get slapped down for trying.
If you’re in a leadership role:
- Say “yes” more than “no.” Momentum beats perfection.
- Create low-stakes pilots so ideas can be tested without risking the big picture.
- Ask: “What would you try if you knew you couldn’t fail?” Then actually listen.
If you’re not in an official leadership position (yet):
- Start small. Look for one friction point you can fix without needing permission.
- Share improvements as experiments, not final solutions. It invites collaboration instead of resistance.
- Lead through influence: if you model initiative, others will follow, regardless of your title.
Stepping back isn’t the same as stepping away. It’s about making space for others to step forward. And sometimes, that’s how the best leaders emerge.
