NewMom: I Do It My Way

I don’t think of myself as a control freak, and most certainly not as a micromanager. I’m not into turf battles, I love to delegate, and I want to be able to reward my team members with opportunities for growth.

Why, then, is it so difficult to prepare other people to do my job during my leave? We’re a fairly lean organization. There’s not a lot of redundancy among our corporate staff, so we all have expertise, functions, and responsibilities that we share with no one — no matter how large or small our teams may be. I’m not worried for half a second that anyone will feel like they don’t need me after all (at least I don’t think I am). And the work I do is more of an art than a science. There are few truly right and wrong ways to do any of it.

But as I prepare my team members, slowly offloading tasks with a watchful eye, I can’t help but cringe when they make a decision I wouldn’t have, even if it’s a fine one. And then again, I’m not entirely put at ease when they do it exactly as I would have either. Maybe they’ll discover that my job is not all that difficult after all.

Help! Will I ever be able to “cut the cord” at work before NewDad cuts it at the hospital?