“Hey that project outline looks really good, but it would even be better if you added the following two things…”

Sure we’ve all added on to an employee’s work, and I’m not saying there’s never a time to add our ideas, but when we have a great employee (a rising star), we should let them run with their ideas fully, even when we think we can make it better. I say this for a few reasons:

1. Generally, they’ll come across (and overcome) the hurdles we may indicate over the course of execution; that teaches them resourcefulness and self-reliance.
2. Getting a full sign off and a job well done without edits can be very empowering.
3. The 5% incremental improvement you might make (note the emphasis on might) to the idea just may be demotivating the employee more than the incremental improvement is worth.

Instead, do it through a brainstorm so your ideas can be heard prior to the project mapping. If your hiring is right, your employees are capable of seeing through their projects end-to-end, and it’s likely better than anything you can add after the fact.

Try it! It will allow you to keep focus on your bigger picture projects and let your star employees stretch their skill sets.