Feel great & do even better! Who doesn’t want that for themselves? Who wouldn’t want that for others? So of course we foster feeling great at work. whoops! screech. halt. back up. We don’t? Why not? Mostly because what we think we need to do is hard. But they really are NOT what is needed, or wanted. I call these Better Business Management Myths and I’ve listed three for you below:
Better Management Myth #1: People managing others need to be more nurturing
Dear manager, are you living to validate other people’s realities? This is not leading. And you are likely spending so much time being their for everyone else that you aren’t… getting…stuff…done. You can’t get it done because you are too busy seeking acceptance. Your team isn’t getting it done because they are waiting for you to just come and keep them happy. So turn that around. You need your team to be happy on their own.
Better Management Myth #2: No one will do the right thing so you must control them
I hope you’ve guessed that any word or action that brings on a visual of parent and child is NOT what you want to for the workplace. Rarely do people who are being controlled (I’m not saying all parents do this!) also feel valued. People who don’t feel that who they are and what they do adds value, regardless of their level and role, do not have the mental ability to be engaged in their work. So turn that around. Your goal is engagement if you want peak performance.
Better Management Myth #3: Foster competition amongst everyone
Rah rah. Now, who wins? Not you, the leader of a company that relies on work being done right. You know that “right” for you is so much more than one person beating out another. Even if it brings you another sale, it likely also brings you a lot of risk…both within your company and outside with customers, media, groups, social networks and anywhere else your people communicate outside of work. So turn that around. Build teams aimed at building value, because that’s what’s going to bring you the boatloads of free cash flow (as well as a lot less stress).
How do you turn these – and the culture, performance, or whatever else ails your company – around?
Align what people want for themselves with their work, and their work with what you want them to do for your organization. Adult to adult. It’s freeing. It’s respectful. It turns things around and transforms good performers to great ones.