Hi Duncan, my experience in leading a team of engineers is the same as yours. It sometimes gets difficult to bring out the leadership in them. But some of them are really great. I fully agree that as a leader the first task should be to make myself redundant. Second is perhaps to think of myself as a contributor in the team’s overall success.

We glorify high profile persons as successful leaders, but always forget the persons behind them. Think of the mother behind every child, wife behind every husband, matriarch behind every extended family. My own grandmother led a large family of this kind in 1930s, and left an indelible mark on her descendants.

Thanks for the great article.