Giving others ownership through your restraint is another lesson Marshall Goldsmith teaches his executives. A leader who hears an idea from an energetic subordinate will feel inclined to add his two cents, but that has a cost most managers don’t recognize. “I am young, smart, enthusiastic. I report to you. I come to you with an idea,” says Goldsmith, laying out the scenario. “You think it’s a great idea. Rather than saying it’s a great idea our tendency is to say ‘That’s a nice idea. Why don’t you add this to it?’ The quality of the idea may now go up five percent from your contribution, but
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