I once was put in charge of getting a group of people to organize a rather complex event over about a month, and the person who put me in charge wanted to control every little detail, and I basically told him that if he wanted me in charge, that I had a different philosophy, based on allowing systems to self-organize.

Basically, you set things in motion. You tell people the basic idea of what needs to be done, and then oversee that things are working out. It should be a self-organizing system. People should figure out how they fit into the overall flow of tasks, and if they don't fit in, figure out why. The people talk to each other, and they're each drawn to what they know and have skills at. Provide information, say how things work and what needs to be done, and people figure out how they can work with that to decide who does what. Watch the process unfold and gently guide it.

If specifics are needed, give them, but not just to some person hand-picked to use them. Give information not just to one person, but to everyone so that they all know what's going on. Some might understand some things, others won't. Get as many people on the same page as possible. If someone with expertise is needed and only they can do a task, like someone called in to perform a specialized function, talk with the expert with everyone present, and let people figure out how best they can assist them, and let the expert go about the task using the people who have let their talents be known. Give the expert a little authority if needed, but it is best if the expert is made to find a way to integrate their expertise into the group, and people organize to assist with the task. It is simply key to let them get to know the group, and as for yourself, take steps to ensure that there is a rapport between the expert and the group and that people pool their skills to help the expert in what ways they can.

Above all, let people do what they are good at. If there is a problematic person, like someone who doesn't fit into any role or a troublemaker, see if you can change their attitude and figure out why they're not doing so well with the group. If they are not enthusiastic, try to figure out why. If the project doesn't interest them or they don't fit in, gently move them out of the way of the rest of the group so that they don't ruin the process of self-organization. Let them be ineffectual in some unimportant role--just subtly away from everyone else who's invested in the project so that the group's diligence and morale is not ruined.

You prod people in the right direction, give important technical information and see who understands it, bring out peoples' talents. Make the project belong to the group--not just you. You know what needs to be done, the members of the group themselves know what they're capable of given the correct information, and it's a matter of getting the people to pool their talents to get it done. Let people switch roles, make decisions, learn about different aspects of the project, do different things, get to know the whole gist of what's going on. Don't put individuals on a pedestal in front of the group--save praise for people in private. Praise the group's accomplishments. Note people who are the most competent at getting things done and working with the group and stay out of their way, but do not let them become micromanagers.

The micromanager only understands order and tries to control every part of the process, and they fundamentally don't know how to bring out the best of people and get them to work together. People are usually laboring under a role assigned to them--never a role they choose because they know they are good at it. People under micromanagers are seldom doing what they want to do and are unhappy.

Just as people can be made to be resentful, bored, unhappy, and ineffectual by working under a project manager that controls them like robots, the better qualities of people can be brought forth by allowing the initial chaos at the beginning shuffle people around and let them find what they like and are good at through dialogue. The hierarchical model of organization doesn't let people think, make choices, or find for themselves how they fit into a project, but by gently providing a framework for the project within the chaos of different personalities and talents and letting the people bring it to completion, one can be a good leader.