Are You Courageous?

I had a very thought provoking conversation with a peer today, who is also a manager.

During the course of the meeting we were talking about how to help our direct reports be more creative and show more initiative.  You see the old model of telling directs everything they need to do is out.  Most individuals say that they want to work where they are able to be assigned a project with clear goals and then figure out how to accomplish it.

We talked about how this tends to break down when the project isn't sexy, or when roadblocks appear, or when there is the perception that the individual on the project is working harder than anyone else on the team.

We figured that it took real courage to stand up and grab a project and see it though no matter what.  We also felt that it took confidence to understand what an individuals talents were and then courage to continue to work in those area's of strength.

We talked for a bit more about what holds people back from the ideals of the above and decided that communication had a role.  Communication to help the direct understand all the areas where help was needed and the resources that would be available to the individual that stood up to handle the project.

The rest is up to them.  Do they want to be told what to do or do they want to choose what they want to do?

What do you think?  What does it take to step up and stay up until a project is over?