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I used to hear a lot of discussions about how much authority a person should have in order for them to carry out their job without any interruption from their managers. They want the freedom to act. They know they have the responsibility to deliver results. All these discussions will always end up with one of these two points – managers ask too many questions or managers don’t trust them.

Whenever their managers asked them to explain or justify their numbers, they will conclude that their managers don’t trust them. Or, worst still, don’t trust their judgments. One of them even said their managers don’t think they have good business acumen.

Well, this is how employees think. How about the managers? How do they think?

They are employees just like their staff with different responsibilities. They are supposed to ensure that things are moving in the right direction and everything is in order. They interpret corporate goals and set their departmental goals and targets. Once the goals and targets are set, they cascade it down to their team.

They empower their staff to execute the business plans. Yet, they have to ensure their staffs are executing the plans well and deliver the results. They have to monitor the overall achievement of the team. Ultimately, they are accountable for the performance of their team. They are answerable to the senior management or the board.

If any of the team members is not meeting the expectation, the manager will need to step in. That’s when the discussion takes place. Usually, it’s the weaker or problematic staff that will get such ‘discussion’ or ‘counseling’. When the staff gets into such discussion, he or she will start to blame their manager.

Well, I hate to get into such counseling session and luckily, I have never had to attend to one. It’s never pleasant to have to defend your numbers in front of your boss when it is obvious that results are not there.

So, don’t be angry with your boss if he invites you for a discussion. He is only trying to help you before it’s too late.

Always remember, with freedom comes responsibility