An oft heard statement, ‘People don’t leave an organization, they leave their manager’. Almost three-fourths of our waking hours are spent at our workplace or in close co-ordination with our work partners. In the time spent together, we develop some close bonds which last us through our lifetime and some which don’t leave a good impression on our minds. When we work with people and for people then why do people drive people away!!Instinctively people look out for themselves, the concept of teamwork doesn’t translate effectively when it comes to doing work or more importantly sharing responsibility. Work environment today is fluid, lines defining job roles are blurred, there is less demarcation and a lot more overlap. Teams need to understand their roles with reference to the organizational goals and not look at it like a cut out syllabus. Managers need to understand their team’s limitations and not push work only to prove a point. They need to stop focusing on mistakes and lapses instead focus on promoting sharing.Cost-cutting at an employee’s expense can be a big mistake and a costlier one. Instead involve employees while dividing work and responsibilities. People like to do an extra bit when they see the need but being forced to do so isn’t quite the same. I have often seen people come up and offer help, but the minute they are pushed into it, the quality of work suffers. Managers should set an example by learning and sharing with their teams. Being a boss or a manager does not make you invincible to doing extra work or doing a job which may seem two rungs below your level.In my experience sharing workload helps a team build a strong foundation, they learn to share and co-exist. But if managers mistake load sharing as an excuse to cut down team strength, not only will it diminish a team’s ability to work together for long, it may lead to losing a very effective and strong team. Discuss with the affected team before altering any operational policy, look at their feedback from a practical and positive aspect. Don’t doubt their apprehensions as being lazy or ineffective. Instead try to suggest alternatives which would ease their work. You may get brilliant results if your team feels involved, appreciated and are given to work independently. They will strive to live up to the trust put in them, whereas constantly changing goal posts will only lead to shoddy and half-hearted output.The most important resource of any organization are its people. They need to be nurtured, empowered and shown respect if you want them to lead your growth.