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The higher you go in an organization, the harder it is to see what life is like way down there on the front lines.
And heaven help you if you ask someone, because you never know who’s going to tell you the truth.
The longer you are at the top, the more likely you forgot what life is like lower down, if you ever really knew.
It’s a very different existence, even for the frontline folks who love their jobs.
You don’t think so?
Here are 8 reasons you might want to think again.
Some phrases really should be banned from the workplace.
You know them when you hear them.
They are the sorts of things that make people wonder how their boss ever got promoted in the first place.
And yet, they are the kinds of things we all hear, and maybe even say, all too often.
If any of these sound familiar, hopefully it’s because someone ELSE is saying them.
So steer clear.
There’s no use hiding the fact that I am a huge fan of TED Talks.
I love the way they strip away all the distractions and focus on the essence of one idea. And how that one idea can change things.
They’re a great source of information, wisdom and outside-the-box thinking. Even better: They’re short.
What follows are five TED Talks that I think every leader, executive and manager should watch.
These five challenge conventional thinking about leadership and management. And while I don’t expect you’ll run out and blindly do what they say, there’s a good chance you’ll be adopt some of their ideas and apply them.
I know I have.
Get ready to have your mind expanded.
When your employees are humming along and doing their best work, more than likely you’re humming, too.
Unless you’re just damn lucky, it’s not an accident.
If you’re like most of us, you had to work to create that environment. And you have to work even harder to sustain it.
To do that takes a well-thought-out plan. Don’t have one?
Well, here are the seven key components I use:
One of the best things that can happen to a manager is having the opportunity to hire someone smarter, more talented and more accomplished than you.
Now, why does managing talented people seem so terrifying?
Successful leaders know – or should know – that hiring talented people is like winning the lottery. You gain an employee whose abilities could be that proverbial high tide, raising all boats, including yours.
What could possibly be wrong with that?
Is there one leadership quality that rises above the rest?
A fascinating examination of that very question, done by the Harvard Business Review, answers with an unequivocal “yes!”
Respect.
Or, to quote a phrase, R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
No other leadership quality had a bigger effect on employees than respect.
Being treated with respect was more important to employees than recognition and appreciation, communicating an inspiring vision, providing useful feedback — even opportunities for learning, growth, and development.
Successful leaders have their own personality, their own style, their own approach. They can be as different as day and night.
Think Donald Trump. Then think Mother Teresa.
See what I mean?
Some leaders work smarter. Some work harder. But all of them work at it.
Leadership is there for the taking, to one degree or another, for anyone willing to make the effort.
But first, it helps to dispel some common myths of leadership.
One of the biggest productivity-killers managers face every day is interruptions.
And one of the most frequent interruptions is … employees with questions.
A Cal/Irvine study estimated that managers get interrupted four times an hour by staff, mostly to answer questions.
It’s a common problem-solving scenario that plays out like this:
It’s said that advice is a lot like Castor oil – easy to give, harder to take.
And since that is so true, it means managers have their work cut out for them when it comes to giving good advice.
We all admire the wisdom of those who come to us for advice (ha ha). But that just doesn’t happen often enough. And therein lies the problem.
Good managers must give sound advice on a daily basis, and they can’t always wait until someone comes seeking it out.
Instead, it’s often dished out cold, sort of ready-or-not-here-it-comes.
There is a lot of advice available on how to give good advice. But you can take my advice that a lot of it just doesn’t apply in the real world of work.
The effectiveness of a manager, front line supervisor or team leader makes all the difference between a motivated and focused workforce – and a disorganized and dispirited one.
So beware: Successful new managers don’t happen by accident.
In today’s competitive work environment, all good managers need a solid foundation so that they can contribute fully.
That’s why the development of a new manager can’t be left to chance.
