People must feel like the job develops them - Cultivated Management newsletter
Hi,
I hope you're having a good week in your world of management.
People must feel like the job develops them
A core element of being a manager is working out what people's strengths are and then putting people in places where they can work with those strengths. This is hard to do but essential. If people aren't working with their strengths then they could be working with their weaknesses - and not many people will enjoy that.
A common thinking in management is that by putting people in to places where they need to use their weaknesses, then this will improve their weakness and even, get rid of the weakness. In my experience it doesn't work like that.
I rarely work on improving people's weaknesses unless that weakness is stopping them from succeeding in a big way. It's hard to improve weaknesses in ourselves and others. It's not hard to constantly improve strengths though. In fact, it's great to see people working with their strengths and getting even better - and this is magic for managers.
People must feel like the job is developing them. And by letting people use their strengths at work, and by demanding more from them, they grow their strengths and people will likely thrive. I see this in my team's all the time.
No job is ever just going to use just strengths, so people will typically build on their weaknesses too - but it shouldn't be their focus.
By putting the majority of effort on using and improving someone's strengths, you will have engaged and motivated people. And what more could you ask for as a manager?
Minimize weaknesses - maximise strengths.
Podcast Of The Week
Your management will never be more or less than you as a person. It's why I focus so hard on the pillars of life with me and my team. You have to have balance. That's why this week's recommendation is another podcast, this time a health one.
It's the Shawn Stevenson Model Health Show. Skip past about the first 8 minutes which is all about reviews, product recommendations etc and you'll get some solid content. It's very good indeed. In fact, when I first heard it I immediately started taking my health more seriously for the better. So if you're interested in health then check it out.
New Web Site
I've also revamped the Cultivated Management website a little. I've been doing a lot of groundwork on the site to make it faster and more responsive on mobile. I still have some more work to do, but it's getting there. I have also done some work on my services section so please feel free to get in touch if you need anything for yourself or your business.
Have a great weekend.
Until next time
Rob..