“For to be free is not merely to cast
off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom
of others.”
- Nelson
Mandela
“We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and
the pursuit of Happiness.”- Thomas Jefferson (The Declaration of Independence)
"Fight and you may die. Run and
you will live at least awhile. And dying in your bed many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days
from this day to that for one chance, just one chance, to come back here as
young men and tell our enemies that they may take our lives but they will never
take our freedom!"
- William
Wallace, from Braveheart
“Freedom, so I can live; Freedom, so
I can give; Freedom, yeah Freedom,
that's what I need”
- Jimi
Hendrix
Freedom is a
universal, basic human need. America’s founders even declared that it’s a God
given right.
Although
some take our freedom for granted, most of those that have it cherish it, and
those that don’t are willing to fight and die for it.
So why is when
it comes to managing employees in the workplace, so many managers still think
it’s their God-given right as a boss
to micro-manage every aspect of their employee’s work?
They tell
them what to do, where to do it, when to do it, and how to do it.
They reward
them for doing their jobs their way (sometimes unknowingly), and punish them for coloring outside the
lines and doing it in any way that’s different than their own.
Everyone hates to be micromanaged! It’s the
number one complaint I hear about bosses. It just sucks the life out of employees.
Look, I get
it – the workplace is not a democracy. We get paid to do stuff, and to do as
we’re told. The Declaration of Independence was never meant to apply to the workplace.
However, as a manager, you’ve got the ability to tap into one of
the most powerful motivational tools available to you – giving employees freedom and
autonomy in how they do their work! It's magical, it doesn't cost you anything, and it WILL increase productivity and job satisfaction. It's money.
Daniel Pink
presents one of the most compelling, research-based cases for the power of
autonomy in his book “Drive-
The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.” If you’ve never read it, at
least please watch his Ted talk
(over 6 million have) – it’s compelling.
What about
the need for consistency? Sure, it’s important to get a consistent cup of
coffee every time you walk into a Starbucks. However, the Starbucks Baristas
each have their own unique way of engaging with a customer. I never feel like
they are reading off a script ("would you like fries with that?").
Same with
Southwestern Airline attendants – I’ve never seen two attendants do their
inflight announcements the same way – and they truly seem to enjoy it when they
do! With other airlines, they read that damn announcement as if they are
performing a eulogy. As far as I know, a Southwestern plane has never crashed because
a flight attendant got creative with their oxygen mask instructions.
As a
manager, it’s hard to let go. As human beings, it’s hard to let go of our
“right” way of doing things.
Relationships have been ruined over fighting over which way to load the
toilet paper (of course, we all know the right way is under).
Just give it
a try. Fight that urge to tell your employees how to do their job and check over their work. Yes, they
may make a mistake. That’s OK - mistakes can be powerful learning opportunities
– and an opportunity for you to coach. Not TELL – coach! But that’s a subject
for another
post.
7 comments:
Would it be helpful if we all kept management and leadership separate? I think so. Here's why.
My belief: lead people; manage stuff.
Micro-MANAGERS are simply trying to get stuff done. Leaders are trying to edify their people so that what gets done is a reflection of good leadership and good team-work.
Pretending that leadership and management are the same thing is the basis of much angst and unhappiness.
Kathy -
Thanks for your comment. I agree – leadership and management are not the same. However, managers need to manage and lead people, and they often will be going back and forth many times in the course of any day. For example, in one meeting, they may be establishing a shared vision (leading), then establishing goals and plans to achieve the vision (managing).
Thanks, Dan, and yes, I think we agree for the most part. Leaders go back and forth and back and forth between leading and managing, as part of their daily activity.
The only part of your response I'd have issue with, and perhaps one day we can talk through our differences, is the statement that "managers need to manage... people."
It's my contention that people are never managed. Ever. But perhaps I've misunderstood. If the sentence is meant to read something like "manage [stuff] and lead people..." then I'm all in.
Kathy -
Thanks for following up. Yes, it sounds like we are on the same page - managers to both - one is not good or bad. And yes, leadership is all about people. I hate the term "people leadership". what other kind is there? Organizations are nothing more than lots of people.
Hi Kathy here's a great article on Leadership and management, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/0f0eeee0-9891-11e2-867f-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2fM15Edqd
Nizam -
Thanks - I love that article!
Nizam, thank you! Terrific article. Just terrific.
The comments give me reason for optimism regarding the need for a renaissance in leadership--they were completely clueless about "lead people, manage stuff," and all leaders must manage, but not all managers are leaders.
Can't thank you and Dan enough for stimulating thought on this topic.
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