Don’t open the oven is a leadership tip that’s easy to understand but a challenge for some to follow. It’s all about trusting your team and allowing them to do their jobs.
Many know this concept by another word: micromanagement. It’s such a big word that quite a few people think it doesn’t apply to them. “Other leaders micromanage,” they say as they ask you what you’re doing.
Let’s think about it a different way. Go into your kitchen and bake something. Grab a recipe and follow the instructions. Now, put it in the oven.
At this point, you let the oven do its work. If you’ve followed the recipe, then you know how long it will take to bake.
There can be minor variables that affect the cooking time, like altitude or a poorly performing temperature sensor.
In these cases, the makers of ovens realized that your eyes may need to take a look at the food to make sure its cooking correctly. So they put windows and lights into ovens.
With the confidence of the recipe and the ability to check the food, why are people opening the oven door?
Fans of the Food Network program Chopped have seen seasoned chefs make this mistake, which sometimes results in them losing the $10,000 competition.
What’s so wrong about opening the oven? The act significantly drops the oven temperature and can result in uneven baking. The baking process requires certain conditions and you are messing them up.
Why do people make this mistake? It’s because you feel like you have to do something. This feeling usually comes out when you or your team are under pressure.
You have to learn to resist this urge. It’s okay to have doubts but when you’re under pressure and you don’t have much time, then you should not interfere.
Consider these reason why you need to not open the oven at work:
You’ve Trained Your Team
If you’ve put together a good team and they know what to do, then you should sit back and let them do their jobs. If you have to routinely take over for them, then something is not working, either with your training process or the talent level of the team members.
Your Door Is Open
Your team should understand that if they need your help, then they can come to you. This is not for every little thing but rather major problems.
This is a bit of a judgment call but let’s think of it in baking terms. Your team shouldn’t bother you with questions about the kind of mixing bowl to use. They can figure that out on their own.
They should reach out to you if they’re unsure if the recipe calls for teaspoons or tablespoons of a particular ingredient.
You Review Outcomes
When things don’t turn out as expected, consider what went wrong and what could be improved. You should also keep in mind that sometimes you can do everything right and have a poor outcome.
For instance, you can have the best skydiving company in the world but a rainy day can kill your business.
Not opening the oven requires discipline and trust but it can also produce some much desired results.
