I know exactly how to solve this

I once worked with a leader who considered himself a visionary. He firmly believed he had a phenomenal vision and an infallible eye for detail, and that he knew exactly how the product should look, feel, and function.

His vision was so strong that it left no room for anyone else. He micromanaged every single detail. He decided the placement of buttons, commented on every image, and intervened in the smallest of typos.

I vividly remember our designer opening up about his frustrations. "This is impossible," he said. "I can't get anything finished because I have to create three versions of every button—red, blue, and green—just so the leader can see them and conclude that the first one was the best after all."

The team's motivation plummeted to zero. Why even try, when someone is just going to come and tell you exactly how the work should be done?

When data and reason aren't enough

Some team members tried to fight back. A few said directly and angrily that this way of working was unacceptable. In meetings, we tried to explain how things could be done more intelligently. We showed data on what users were actually doing and justified our decisions with research.

It made no difference. This leader was blinded by the idea that he alone had the best vision. He sincerely believed that his job was to decide on the smallest details because that was the only way to achieve a perfect result.

He didn't understand the most important principle of leadership: a leader's job is not to be the smartest person on the team or the only source of ideas. A leader's job is to create the conditions where the entire team's collective intelligence can be unleashed.

His vision was no longer a compass showing the way. It had become a prison that blocked all other paths.

A vision is for leading, not for imprisoning

I learned more during that time than from any leadership book. No process or tool can repair the damage caused by a lack of trust and autonomy. No matter how brilliant a leader's vision is, it's worthless if it suffocates the team that is supposed to bring it to life.

Look at your own team and your own actions. Are you a leader who gives your team a direction, or are you the one who grabs the map and dictates every turn?

"I know how to solve this." vs. "How could we solve this together?"