I developed and managed a team of professional services consultants and I have the opposite view. Teammates who needed me to explicitly tell them what to do are ok if they’re interested in growing beyond that but not otherwise. Ideal team members would see problems coming down the track, identify a solution, implement it, and brief me before I heard about it from someone else. If I thought their solution was not workable, I have a window to redirect them. If not, they solved a problem and I make a note so I can help them get promoted later.
Granted my PS practice ain’t no Google, but subordinates who require direct instruction for any longer than it takes to get comfortable are for the birds.
I'm currently in a similar situation by the sound of it.
There's an ebb and flow of inbound projects, and one of the engineers has taken advantage of his down time by building out infrastructure and reusable platforms. He pauses that and resumes paid work for clients as they come. I love it - he gets a lot of satisfaction out of building what he thinks we'll need without explicit deadlines, and consults me and his direct manager as necessary. His work is inspiring the more junior engineer on the team to learn and work more creatively and productively. That frees me up to establish better relationships with our Sales and Success teams to bring us new and better clients, which in turn increases their close rates. With the right people and environment, you can create a positive feedback loop that is fairly self-sustaining.
Granted my PS practice ain’t no Google, but subordinates who require direct instruction for any longer than it takes to get comfortable are for the birds.