Being Given Enough Rope to Hang Yourself

It was only after I had scaled 100ft. down ‘C’ Block of County Hall, along with many other willing volunteers, in support of fund raising efforts on behalf of the victims of the recent flooding, and the SCC Chairman’s two chosen charities for the year, the National Autistic Society and the Somerset Trust For Arts & Recreation, that I began to think about the importance of the length of rope down which we had all abseiled.

There are those who would consider such activities as being quite a risky undertaking, but I felt absolutely safe, knowing that the team of handsome firemen up on the roof would have done all the necessary checks to ensure my safety. They did after all have their own jobs and reputations at stake.
That same morning I had been speaking to the boss of one of the companies I work for, and for whom I have high regard, about the concept of being ‘given enough rope to hang myself’; literally having sufficient freedom in carrying out my duties to enable me to eventually, on a fairly regular basis, get into enough trouble for me to have to be literally ‘hauled back up’ into line.
During my lengthy and varied career I have had many different jobs, and have worked for many different people; some, like Sir David Hannay, who to my mind is an exemplar in every sense of the word, and others where I couldn’t wait to leave and put their appalling behaviour firmly behind me before moving on.
At a time when things are tough for many businesses, whether it be in the commercial, public or charitable sector, and with staffing levels down to the bone, I believe that there has been an increased tendency for ‘micro managing’, as ever fearful of their own position, poor managers are constantly on the lookout for someone to blame when things go wrong, as they are very likely to do eventually. It is then of course expected that heads will roll as a consequence, but frequently it is not the perpetrator who ends up in the firing line.
My point is, and yes, it has taken me some time to get there, that if we all become too risk averse, as I know I have in recent years, we will be too afraid to push the boundaries that restrain us, often imposed by others, and miss out on discovering new and exciting ways to develop, both personally and professionally. Rather like standing back to allow your child to make mistakes when they take their first wobbly steps
I know that my own preference for being managed is to have clear boundaries and expectations and then being left pretty much on my own to produce the goods, which by and large I always manage to achieve. That is not to say that my career path has not had its ups and downs, but it is in being given the freedom to push the boundaries and make mistakes that I have been able to learn just how far I can go.
One thing that innovators and discoverers throughout history have shown is their ability to challenge established thinking; without Columbus we may all still believe that the earth is flat.
Like the rope used during our abseiling efforts, sometimes you just have to be allowed to go for it, hoping and trusting that there will be someone there to provide that all important safety net should it be needed.