Jervis Thompson is one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. He was one of my professors when I was in design school at Drexel University. I didn’t just learn from him the material of whatever class I was taking. I also learned how to teach from Jervo (as all his students affectionately call him), as he gave me the opportunity to be a teaching assistant in many of his classes. One of the many phrases I hear in my head to this day when I’m teaching anyone is, “Hands off the keyboard, Dan!” As an experienced practitioner, it’s all too tempting to want to show them how to do it. All too quickly, you’re just doing it for them and they’re not learning anything.

The danger of being a manager, teacher, coach, director, or leader who came up as a practitioner is that you know how to do the thing yourself! In fact, that’s partly what sets you up well for that position: having walked the path yourself makes you an excellent guide. Combined with the pressure of also being responsible for the things your team is working, it’s too easy to take over and do things yourself.

I remember the first performance review I did with the first intern I officially ever managed. I was an art director, 10 years into my career, and she was already a better designer than I was even though she was still in school. Still though, her professional skills weren’t developed yet; she had poor time management and her designs didn’t always meet the requirements. So, I used to finish her work all the time, partially because I was scared she wouldn’t meet the deadline and/or that the work would be rejected by the client.

I’ll never forget what she said to me in her first review. “You have to let me finish my own work.” When I objected that I didn’t think she’d be able to meet our deadlines, she said she didn’t mind if I sent my own work to the client, but she didn’t want me to move her along to the next thing until she finished the current thing. She asked me to let her see her work through and guide her through that so she could learn how to be able to do it on her own eventually. Wise beyond her years. I think I learned more from her in that one meeting than she probably learned from me in a year of me being her manager.

How do you balance managing someone who’s less skilled than you are and still being involved in the work without overstepping? You want them to learn and grow. And you want to keep your skills sharp. What’s the answer?

Do the first 10% of the work.

If you’re working out the UX of a 10-page site, you do the first wireframe and let them do the other 9 wireframes using yours as the starting point. Or, you wireframe 1 out of 10 components on every page.

If you’re working on a client or executive presentation, you design the first slide and let them design the other 9. Or, you write the introduction of the script, and let them write the middle and the conclusion.

If you’re writing some code to perform a certain function, you define the variables and let them work out the logic. Or you define the methods and let them define how they work together.

If you have a 6-year old, you write the first Valentine’s Day card, seal it in the envelope, and tape a piece of candy to it and you let them do the rest for the remaining 14 kids in their class.

Do the 10% that sets expectations of the kind of work you want and creates an environment where they can succeed.

Which 10% you do is important.

Don’t do the easiest 10%. That’s abdicating, not helping.

Don’t do most difficult 10%. That’s coddling, not helping.

Do the 10% that gives them a model of how to do it well and/or what you want, and leave the 90% that they’re now able to because you did that 10% that they wouldn’t have been able to do if you didn’t do that 10%.

That’s how you help grow someone who eventually becomes better at your job than you are.

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