The Manager - Edition 86 - What do you want?
THE MANAGER - BY ROB LAMBERT
Thoughts, links and food for your management brain
Hi,
I hope you're all staying safe and well.
Our job as managers and leaders (or wanna be managers) is to provide clarity of direction. It's not to "manage" people. It's to work with people to achieve something big. To do this though, requires clarity.
It's often missing in companies. In my work I was often staggered at how few people knew what the company was trying to achieve. In the early days of consulting it would amaze me, now I just expect it. It's a problem I face in every gig I do. And it's an easy thing to fix.
Teams often have no idea which direction they are heading in. Or they are clear, but it's at odds with other teams. Problems are often being solved, but they are problems that don't need to be addressed right now. Many members of teams have no clear idea what their business results actually are. So they have little idea what done looks like, what role they play and how everyone else is contributing.
This is a management problem.
And one that we can all help to solve. We don't need to wait for other managers or leaders to take a stand, we can do that in whatever role we are in, at whatever level in the company we are occupying right now.
It starts with simply sitting quietly and working out what you actually want. What does the business need to happen? What needs to be achieved? If it's not clear from your leadership team then you need to ask questions of them and study.
Once you know what it is you want, you need to distill it to it's essence, make it clear in your head and simplify it - this is harder than it sounds.
Once you're happy you know where you're going, you should work out why you're not already there. What plan needs to exist to achieve this? And as a manager, your job is to build that plan. That plan is essentially a strategy. Once you have this, you have more than many other managers will have. You have a direction of travel, a list of obstacles and a plan for moving forward. You have clarity that can be communicated.
Only when you have this should you communicate this to your team. And it should be presented in a compelling and emotive way. Remember, emotion and motion come from the same place. We feel something, we take action.
It's hard. Very hard indeed. And it requires expert communication. But it is essential.
And it may go against your very own preferences and natural abilities - but management is hard.
I worked with a manager once who wouldn't address his team as it wasn't his "style". But style has little to do with effective management. Effectiveness should be sought first, and done in your own style after. Not the other way around. His team craved direction, they needed steer, they needed him to be visible and present and to set high standards. But that wasn't his style. He was essentially saying he wasn't effective. And his team knew that.
All of this requires deep self reflection, quiet time and a pad and pen. No need for high tech here. It's about writing down what you want, writing down what stands between where you are now and where you want to be, and writing down the steps needed to action this bright future.
Don't rush it. Revise it often. Hack away at what is not essential. Find peace and quiet to do this. Collaborate with others. Communicate once you're certain it's digestible. Take feedback and further input. Then the hard work begins - executing the plan.
After all, the plan is not the work.
But if we don't write down what we want and how we plan on getting it, we'll end up somewhere for sure, but it might not be where you want to be.
What's you'll also notice from this - is that this approach applies to our own personal lives too. Quiet time to reflect and to write down what we want. A plan to execute it. And hard work to make it happen.
Go forth and write it down. It's the first step in achieving what you want.
Hope you are well, take care and stay safe. And write.
Rob
FOOD FOR YOUR MANAGEMENT BRAIN
1. The YouTube channel is gaining traction. And I'm still enjoying it.
YouTube Channel is here - consider subscribing to never miss a video - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpmsS4WP6MdLRrwisHnWDTw/
LinkedIn catalogue is here - again, you can "Follow" the page to get updates and see the content - https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/cultivatedvideos
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2. How to deal with career transfer anxiety. Some interesting stuff to ponder and contemplate.
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3. The subtle reason that leaders often ignore their own advice.
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4. Don't follow your gut. Going against the age old wisdom of trusting your gut instinct.
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5. Do you type two spaces or one when writing? Well, Microsoft seems to have put an end to this timeless debate by marking two spaces as incorrect. I'll sleep better knowing this.
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6. Music can help to improve your productivity when working from home. My artists and album of choice is Wider Angle by Hybrid. As soon as it starts - I'm in the zone.
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7. The BBC has compiled lots of tips from around the world - about working from home.
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8. How CEOs and leaders can support with mental health during this tricky time for all.
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Thanks
Rob..