How to Develop Your Team: The Apprentice Approach to Management

As a coach, I often have clients ask me for help managing their team. Some people need tactics they can use to motivate their employees, others want tips for keeping their workers focused.

Every manager has different strengths, weaknesses, and needs.

A while back, I worked with a client who had a tendency to swoop in and handle projects herself when her team struggled or something went wrong. She found her leadership style draining and was aware it was having a negative impact on her workers.

As such, she wanted to shift to more of a coach approach to leading her team. She believed this style of management would give her employees more room to develop their skills.

We discussed her options for a while and eventually decided she should approach management with an apprentice model in mind.

To fully understand what that approach entails, we need to take a quick trip back in time.

Apprenticeships originated in Europe in the Middle Ages. Painters, masons, leather-workers, and other master craftsmen would hire young, inexperienced people as an inexpensive form of labor in exchange for providing them with formal training in their craft.

These apprenticeships generally lasted several years - and ended with the apprentice becoming a master craftsman in their own right.

During that time, the apprentice learned by doing. They painted portraits, built walls, and tanned leather, all under the watchful eye of the master craftsman. 

The master didn’t swoop in and take over their project if things started to go astray. Instead, they provided the apprentice with guidance and advice on how to improve their techniques.

My coaching client was a modern-day master craftsman. She was a subject matter expert in her field, a leader in her industry who was well-known for her accomplishments.

The apprentice model spoke to her because it gave her the ability to channel her passion for her work into helping her employees learn new skills and become master craftsmen themselves.

From that day on, she began making a conscious effort to stop taking over tasks at the first sign of trouble. Instead, she focused on creating an environment in which her workers could learn on the job, make mistakes, and know that she would be there to guide them when necessary.

The results were extraordinary. My client became more fulfilled in her role, and her team started to thrive. Her employees were happier, more capable, and more confident than ever before.

If you are a subject matter expert in your field, you probably feel the temptation to jump into your workers’ projects multiple times a day. It is understandable. You want to make sure the task gets done right.

But take some time to consider the effect your smoke-jumping may be having on your team. Is it preventing them from learning new skills? Is it stunting their career growth?

Would the apprentice model be a better fit for you and your employees?

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About The Author

Emily Sander is an ICF-certified leadership coach with more than 15 years of experience in the business world and the author of Hacking Executive Leadership. She’s been featured in several print publications, online articles, and podcasts, including CEO Today Magazine, Leading to Fulfillment, and Leadership Powered by Common Sense. 

Emily has a passion for helping business leaders reach their full potential. Go here to read her story from seasoned executive to knowledgeable coach. If you want to send Emily a quick message, then visit her contact page here.