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"Managing is like holding a dove in your hand. Squeeze
too hard and you kill it, not hard enough and it flies away."
-
Tommy
Lasorda
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You’ll Never Get Ahead as
a Manager
Until you learn to relate to people on their terms.
By Craig Kitch
www.craigkitch.com
I spoke to an acquaintance a few weeks
ago who had left her job and moved on to another position. Her reason
for leaving had been strictly financial. She loved the first place (she
had been there for several years) and did not look forward to leaving
that team. She had a great relationship with her manager and felt that
she had been entrusted with a great deal of responsibility. She was
comfortable with her role and had the sense she was making a real
difference. When we last spoke, she had been on her new job for six
months. After asking her how it was going, she looked at the floor and
said: “well, it’s more money”. She clearly did not have the internal
sense of satisfaction she had come to know with her previous employer.
The difference between a successful business and a mediocre one boils
down to the relationship between management and staff. Managers have
influence over other people. Their strengths can be a terrific benefit
for the people who work for them; and of course, their limitations can
trickle down to create frustration, confusion or even paralysis for
those who they manage. Because they have this effect on others, managers
have a responsibility to know themselves. Beyond that, they must get a
grip on how others perceive them.
Just as people come in all shapes, sizes and colors, they also come with
various temperaments and filters through which they see the world.
Everyone is born with a unique personality that is then stretched and
molded by parents, childhood friends, teachers and even the
neighborhood. By the time you reach adulthood, you see the world through
different eyes than the person standing next to you. So, the outgoing
can-do attitude you are so proud of may come across as arrogant and
domineering to others. Or your quiet thoughtfulness in the midst of a
conversation can be interpreted as stand-offish and smug.
The best managers have learned how to relate to each of their team
members as individuals and approach each relationship with an
understanding of how they are being perceived. For example, one employee
might relish a round of applause at staff meeting, as a reward for his
extra effort. Another employee would find that insulting, thinking a
much more appropriate reward would be a well written letter from her
supervisor on company letterhead. Neither is right or wrong; just
different.
Now for those who cannot for the life of you see the value in all the
extra effort it would take to learn relate to people on this level,
consider this: the difference between hot water and steam is just one
degree. Hot water will burn you, but steam will power a locomotive.
Similarly, the difference in a good manager and a great one is also very
small. It is that seemingly innocuous extra effort that can move you
from the middle of the pack into the lead. Your people are your greatest
resource; your relationship with them will determine your effectiveness.
For more information on how
you can reach your full potential and perform at your best on a daily
basis, visit
www.craigkitch.com
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