Our son had his last cross country meet the other day. It wasn't just the last cross country meet of the year, but the last one of his 8-year cross country career, after his sister had completed her long cross country career, as well.

So it was a different day on this rigorous Bay Area course for our son and for us, too.

My husband started to head down to the team tent. It was more for him than for our son…that much I knew.

Seeing no signs of other parents traipsing about the area, I advised him, vigorously, to leave our son and his team alone. Give them some pre-race space, was my overwhelming thought.

"There's a very fine line between 'hovering' and 'being supportive'!" I teased my husband.

As a parent, it's sometimes hard to know where that fine line is.

You try your best.

Sometimes you get it right, like your own parents did. Other times, you get it wrong – like your parents did, too.

I teasingly asked our son's coach and homeroom teacher the question, "What's the difference between 'hovering' and 'being supportive'?"

He laughed. I'm sure he's had that thought before, himself.

Managers, as well, have to find the fine balance between hovering, or micro-managing, and being supportive.

There's another element you learn to manage well, too.

That's being able to understand if you're delegating too much, or expecting too much, too soon. When you get it wrong, you usually find that the foundation of appropriate understanding and skills was not well-established or reinforced.

It's all part of trying to get oversight right, and it takes planning, experimentation and experience.