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There was a time when bosses, or
anyone in authority, said, "jump," and
would jump as high as possible (I
was never one of the wild crazy breed
that would answer back with, "how
high?"). As the years have rolled by,
and I've gained some authority and
moved up the food chain then surely
it's my turn.
However what happens now when I
say, "jump"?
I get... "Why?" or, "What's in it for me?" or, "Has this been agreed
by the Health and Safety Jump
Subcommittee?" or, "Is this on my
Performance Agreement?" or, "Don't
want to." or even, "What are you
trying to achieve by this 'jumping' exercise? Let's look at the outputs and the process."
It may be that I'll get a better result. I may get a worse result. I may get no result at all. I just don't know. It's frustrating because my destiny is in the hands of someone else. I have no control over it. How did that happen? Surely, as I gain more experience and more skill, I get better and have more control, not less? Surely? Unfortunately, it seems not.
I had a colleague who was a superb
manager. He motivated, encouraged
and led by example. However, he
couldn't progress beyond middle
management. Every interview he went for, he failed. Finally someone
told him why; "You've got to let go
and get others to do the work for you.
There's only so much work you can physically do yourself. Let it go." He realised that he had to trust people. It was a painful realisation.
The first step in learning to adapt to this is to recognise that it's real. You need to accept it. It's what
management is - there's a clue in the
word. It's a bit like being a doctor and
complaining about only seeing sick
people. As a manager you only deal with people, and people are a bit like you and me - a mess of frustrations,
inhibitions, vulnerabilities...
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You have to learn to give up control
and trust people. In practical terms,
this may even involve letting them
make mistakes. This is the heart of
the problem, I think. Underneath,
do you think that you're perfect?
Perhaps not. Better than others?
Well, there may be some of that. The
bottom line is that it's a different job.
When you were a young, enthusiastic
entrepreneur who worked on your
own, you were in control. You could
work 16 hours a day, 7 days a week
if you wanted. If you were under
pressure, you would stay all night
until the job was complete. Now, as
a boss with staff, what do you say to
engender that enthusiasm into your
people?
People like to be trusted. It's not
just a soft, fuzzy option. People work
better and produce more if they're trusted. It's not easy of course,
especially in the early stages when
you hardly know the new people.
But, you really haven't much choice.
There aren't enough hours in the day
for you to do everything, or check
everything. So take a deep breath and
let it go.
This doesn't mean anarchy. This
means a sensible discussion about
limits and outputs. You agree to the
outputs, time frames, etc and you
also agree to the parameters. From
then on, it's a matter of staying away and trusting. The biggest challenge will come with the first mistake
they make - and you know they will
make a first mistake. If you've talked
about this you would have said all
the right things about "a learning
process", "come and talk to me and
we'll discuss it" etc. However, that
first mistake will be a big one, at the wrong time and they won't come to
you until the last possible minute.
Now the whole team are looking at
how you deal with this.
Take another deep breath and do the
right things. One false move here
and the next mistake (and there will
be a next mistake) will be hidden
for longer, more damaging, etc. In
some respects this is the difference
between being a manager and a
real leader. As Bill O'Brien, ex CEO
of Hanover Insurance, once said:
"The problem with managers is
that they're always pulling up the
radishes to see how they're growing."
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