Jon coaches Priscilla, a first-time manager at Sagan, through one of management's fundamental challenges: being accountable for everything while not doing everything yourself. Priscilla manages six recruiters and struggles with the classic new manager trap: when something goes wrong, she pulls control back and starts reviewing every email.
Jon introduces the Marine Corps concept of "directed telescopes," where managers selectively sample their team's work rather than monitoring everything. Instead of being CC'd on every email, he advises Priscilla to periodically dive deep into specific projects, checking calendars, reviewing select emails, and asking targeted questions during one-on-ones. This creates "fingertip feel", or knowing what's happening without being in every meeting.
The conversation reveals a critical distinction between mistake types. Jon embraces "aggressive mistakes" (errors made while pushing boundaries or exercising judgment) and has zero tolerance for "sloppy mistakes" stemming from laziness or lack of attention. When a team member pushes back too hard on a client, Jon backs them up. When someone leaves AI prompts visible in an email, that's unacceptable.
Priscilla can't work her way out of this problem by staying later and reviewing more emails. She must think her way out by developing her team. The goal is getting her voice into their heads, so they anticipate her standards without needing constant oversight. Drawing from his own experience with mentors, Jon describes how effective leaders create space for growth while maintaining clear expectations and documentation through proper feedback frameworks.
KEY TOPICS (01:40) Why Leaders Need to Foster Accountability Without Being a Control Freak (04:55) "Directed Telescopes": The Marine Corps Sampling Method (06:51) Creating "Fingertip Feel" Without Micromanaging (09:31) Mistakes of Aggression vs Mistakes of Sloppiness (12:51) The Four Steps of Giving Feedback Framework (20:11) Getting Your Voice Into Your Team's Heads (24:12) Rose-Colored Glasses: Priscilla's Leadership Strength and Weakness
Stay connected for more insights and strategies by following: Jon: @MatznerJon on X and at lazyleverage.beehiiv.com Peter: @pslohmann on X and at peterlohmann.com
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