At one point in my life, I found myself managing a small team responsible for serving a network of 1,000 churches. That sounds impressive until you realize that managing people is often more like herding caffeinated squirrels than directing a well-oiled machine. In the trenches of leadership, I learned some hard-earned lessons—not from a business seminar or a motivational LinkedIn post, but from actual failures, awkward confrontations, and the slow realization that most people don’t quit their jobs; they quit their managers.

The best managers don’t hover. They don’t micromanage, nitpick, or create layers of bureaucracy so thick that every decision requires a five-person approval chain. The best managers hire great people, put them in the right roles, and then get out of their way. If you can’t trust your team to make good decisions, you either hired the wrong people, or—more likely—you’re too addicted to control. And here’s the kicker: people don’t thrive under constant supervision. They thrive when they feel ownership over their work. They step up when they know their ideas and decisions actually matter. So, if you’re a manager, ask yourself—are you building a team of confident, capable leaders? Or are you just running a glorified daycare for adults?

There’s a special kind of existential dread that sets in when you realize you’re trapped in a job where no one knows what’s actually expected of them. Your boss speaks in vague riddles, your team flounders between conflicting priorities, and every decision feels like it was made by an ancient council of ghosts who have long since departed this realm. In these moments, you have two choices: either sink into the comfortable mediocrity of doing the bare minimum, or manufacture your own sense of direction. Define success for yourself. Set your own standards. Create order out of chaos, not because anyone will reward you for it, but because refusing to drown in dysfunction is the only real way to survive.