I recently regained control of the company I founded.
During my 14-month absence, my Operations Manager operated without a direct supervisor.
Essentially, he had the autonomy to manage the day-to-day operations.
Now that I am back, he has begun reporting every decision to me.
Are you familiar with the saying,
“It is better to ask for forgiveness than permission”?
This is a significant management principle.
The situation
- You hold the title, and it seems your organization has formally recognized it.
- While you may lack direct authority over people, you are still responsible for operational activities.
- You need to make decisions within a certain degree of latitude, without constantly seeking approval from your boss.
- Instead, you inform your boss of all the actions you have taken and the reasoning behind them, especially when your boss has always been your mentor.
- The problem is that you have developed a pattern of behavior where your boss now expects you to seek approval first.
The solution
Consider having a conversation with your boss/mentor.
Propose that moving forward, you will take action independently and then inform him of the results.
What I did
I anticipated this issue with my Operations Manager.
To prevent him from feeling constrained or undermined, I officially granted him the freedom to report to me after taking action.
This approach avoids slowing him down and acknowledges the great work he did during the 14 months I was away.
In doing so, I voluntarily reduced some of my authority as CEO, but in return, the company gained another effective leader!