Managing a team needs our valuable effort, time and resources. It is much more efficient to direct them (rather managing them). However, it is possible only if we know enough about our people. Precisely, their strengths, weaknesses, dreams, aspirations, drive and worries.
If we know our people well, we can put them in the right spots at the right time and show them the end goal. Then, all we may have to do is to direct them. They are more likely to self-manage their time, quality, and resources to meet the end goal.
So, as leaders refining the skill of knowing our people should come before managing them. Unfortunately, many of us seem to be interested in managing people without knowing them!
