How do I make my teamlead grow?
The team lead I recruited (contractor) did not have previous leadership experience, he was a developer prior but never for this company. I have tried to coach him, while pointing out all the "pitfalls" in our complex application landscape. The problem is that I don't feel we get good rapport. When I point out important considerations, he becomes defensive, like I criticized him. Meanwhile, I also feel he does not take in the complexities of problems, but picks up the first "firm" opinion he hears and takes it for granted. This has lead to unneccessary problems because he did not consult his developers. I wish he takes more input from different people, including members of his team.
I know I probably should let him make mistakes and learn from it, but I can't afford costly mistakes (such as unplanned service downtime). Now I feel I am micromanaging him to some extent. I wish to get away from that but may have a problem myself to "release control".
Any suggestions?