Your job must make a difference. The Cultivated Management newsletter.
Hi and welcome to this week’s Cultivated Management newsletter.
I hope you’re having a good week.
It has to make a difference
The role of a manager is to make a difference to the business and the people you work with. There is something that needs doing and a manager makes it happen.
Your team also have jobs to be done and their work needs to make a difference to the company and the people they work with also.
This is how we derive satisfaction, meaning and contentment through our jobs - knowing we are making a difference to the business, customers, society and/or the people we work with.
As a manager it’s also our jobs to let our direct reports know that what they are doing is making a difference too.
True meaning at work surely comes from knowing you are making a difference and your manager acknowledging that too?
That’s why I am a fan of feedback based on behaviours (what people do, say and the results they get). It re-enforces to your directs that they are making a difference to the business and the people they work with.
I think most people crave feedback about how they are doing. They don’t crave disappointment, disapproval, praise, scorn, hot-air or being “told off”. They crave feedback. Did I do something that could be better? Did I do something that was great? How can I get better?
Our work has to feel like it’s adding value and our managers need to acknowledge and communicate that too.
So, as managers, make sure your team are actually doing valuable work that is making a difference - and then let them know that you see value in their work too. And then demand the same of your manager.
5 Interesting Reads
I’m adding a new section to the newsletter where I share 5 interesting reads I think you might like.
We all know our company’s communications need to be improved - here’s why - http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/business-management/what-is-the-importance-of-effective-communication-in-an-organisations/2532/
If you’re interested in biases and how they effect us, here’s a giant (and I mean giant) list of loads of behavioural biases - http://www.psyfitec.com/p/the-big-list-of-behavioral-biases.html
What is culture? - https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/anthropology-in-practice/what-do-companies-mean-by-culture1/
Alistapart is getting rid of advertising through its publications - a bold move - is it the future of publishing? - https://alistapart.com/article/new-a-list-apart-wants-you
Great read on why MailChimp don’t allow their employees to actually work for the first week - https://www.fastcompany.com/40433689/why-mailchimp-doesnt-let-new-hires-work-for-their-first-week-on-the-job?platform=hootsuite
Book of the week
Unbeatable Mind is a book about toughening and strengthening the mind through fitness, meditation, breathing, thought patterns and rest. It’s written by Mark Divine, an ex Navy Seal who now teaches his approaches to mental and physical fitness through Seal Fit.
The book is pretty easy to read and contains many nuggets of wisdom about how to forge mental toughness. The breathing sections are really good and after following them I noticed a massive difference in my state of mind.
Good book. Worth the read if you’re in to health and forging mental toughness.
I hope you have a great weekend - until next time.
Rob..