When you are a leader, you have to be in control. Remember that control does not mean micro-management, but it also does not mean sit back and let it handle itself. Your team needs to have the parameters defined for them as to where they can work, how they can work, what resources are available, and what’s not allowed. Once you define these parameters, give your team the freedom to accomplish their tasks within the container, but be ready to be the source of answers when they have questions.
For example, one of your team members comes to you and asks about outsourcing part of his project to save on the budget. That might sound like a great plan monetarily, but what if the client has made specific requests prohibiting outsourcing? What if outsourcing negatively impacts the company reputation? There might by many–or no–reasons to either approve or disapprove this idea, but you as the leader have to be the determining point. You have to function as the tie-breaker.
