The first time I was in management, I failed because I couldn’t give away my LEGOs. I wanted to continue to micro-manage and still do the stuff I had done as an

The first time I was in management, I failed because I couldn’t give away my LEGOs. I wanted to continue to micro-manage and still do the stuff I had done as an IC and wasn’t ready to trust the team to do things in my place. My fear was that things wouldn’t be done as well (which may have been true, although that doesn’t mean that wouldn’t have changed over time) and I wasn’t able to let go and focus on the stuff I needed to focus on as a leader. I failed. I learned from that experience and the next time I was in management (and continuing today), I was so much better at letting things go, trusting my team to get stuff done, and focusing on the next challenge. That doesn’t mean you aren’t sometimes wistful or nervous, but I know for me, I had to learn to trust people to get things done and be OK even when things weren’t done exactly as I would do them.