Managing People - Why Is It So Difficult?
Managing, supervising, being a team leader is the hardest
job in the world and I'll tell you why.
Imagine what it's like to drive a car. You turn the key to
start the engine, select drive or the gear you want and
press the gas pedal. The car then moves off and if you want
to turn you rotate the steering wheel to the right or left
and to stop, you press the brake pedal. All this was quite
difficult when you first learned to drive but its easy now. If I asked you to drive my car, you might take a short while
to get used to it, but you'd immediately be able to drive
down to the supermarket and get me some food. However, if I was to tell you that my car was different from
any other you'd driven then I'm sure you'd have a problem -
"You don't start it with a key there's a little switch
somewhere. When you engage forward gear it might go backward
and if you turn the wheel left it might go right but
sometimes it goes left. And the gas peddle is what stops it
and the brake pedal makes it go faster but not every day.
You'll get used to it in time; I've lived with it for
years". Managing people is pretty much like this, every model is
different and you need different skills to "drive" each one.
Just because pressing the gas pedal on one model makes it go
forward, doesn't mean to say that the next one will be the
same; it might, but it might not. The problem arises because we "learn" on certain models and
then find to our annoyance that the others are different.
"Why can't they all be the same" we scream in frustration." Human beings are the most complex and complicated pieces of
"equipment" you'll ever have to deal with. Many of them have
similarities but every one of them in this world is
different and they all work in a slightly different way.
Your job as a manager is to get these complex humans working
as efficiently as possible, there's no one around to show
you what to do and there's no instruction manual. What also complicates the relationship between the manager
and the team is this -
Human beings are totally driven by their emotions. When managers face a problem with one of their team they try
to solve it logically and then they wonder why it all goes
wrong. Imagine that one of your team announces - "I'm leaving this
job, I've found another job doing the same thing and it pays
more money." You realise that you don't want to lose this
team member so you approach your boss and agree an increase
in salary. However, when you offer the increase in salary
the team member turns you down. So you think logically -
"What's wrong with this person, why are they leaving?"
They might be telling you that they're leaving for more
money however that now doesn't seem to be the reason. It
might just be that they're leaving because they feel you
just don't care about them. I've seen this happen so often with the good guys in a team.
Because they're one of the high achievers who don't give the
manager any problem they get left alone too much. What
happens then is - they feel that the manager doesn't care
about them so they leave. Managing people is a hugely difficult job, a degree in
psychology would help but if you haven't got that then click the link below. Discover how you can generate more business by motivating
your team!
Alan Fairweather is the author of "How to get More Sales
by Motivating Your Team" This book is packed with practical
things you can do to get the best out of your people.
Visit http://www.howtogetmoresales.com
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Organisation Tips For The Mobile Executive
Despite the fact that everyone sighs "How glamorous!", the life of the business traveller can actually be hell! Fighting international datelines, jetlag, airline food, hotel pillows filled with rocks, and the constant packing can turn an efficient, organised corporate commando into a bumbling mess.
The Dark Side of Help Desk SLAs
You just signed a Help Desk Service Level Agreement (SLA) and now think things will get easier. However, you may soon be falling into one of these traps:
Change Behaviors, Change Performance
Every organization is looking for the holy grail of performance enhancement, that one thing that, if it were changed even slightly, would push the productivity of a company way beyond the current level.
Process and Procedures Investments - How to Get Money Back
In September 2004, President Bush signed the $146 billion tax cut bill restoring the recently expired business Research & Experimentation Tax Credit. The 18-month renewal of the research and experimentation tax credit, which expired June 30 2004, was the most expensive item with an expected $7.6 billion cost through 2014.
Which ITIL Process Should We Implement First?
The following question is usually debated a lot amongst IT managers. "With which process should we start when implementing ITIL?" Everybody has their own views, but here are my takes on it.
Problem-Solving Success Tip: Whatever You Do, Do It on Purpose
Decision-making shows up throughout the problem-solving process. The decisions may be difficult or unpopular, so it's very tempting to ignore some of them. Imitating an ostrich, however, is a wimpy way to decide not to change anything-and is quite likely to leave you making awkward explanations later.
Three Foundation Stones for Building Organizational Integrity
When the stock market crashed in 1929, there were a lot of people who lost everything they had. You would think that the result of that event would be complete and utter despair. And, in fact, there were those who reacted that way. There were numerous cases of people who committed suicide because they lost their life savings on that fateful day. They simply went into a depression and just couldn't bring themselves to go on with life.
Work Environment Tidbits
Success: A Wholistic Perspective
When I was growing up...way back in the 50s, a successful business person had an expensive car parked in their driveway, they had the house most could only dream of, and the beautiful wife as well. Things looked real good ... but that was rarely the whole story. They also had an ulcer, drank and smoked to handle all the stress, was often on medication and lived with endless stress symptoms. Yet by the old model, they were successful inspite of the fact that they were in big trouble on the inside. However, this was normal and accepted as the norm at that time.
Employee Turnover: Seven Reasons Why People Quit Their Jobs
There are many reasons why good employees quit and go to another company, perhaps even your competitor. Most of the reasons start with management and most are preventable. Good people don't leave good companies, they leave poor managers. Here are seven reasons. Are they prevalent in your organization?
Management demands that one person do the jobs of two or more people, resulting in longer days and weekend work. This turns into a morale killer not only for the person but for the team.
The Power of ?Ask?
For Call Center managers, it is not a pipe dream to improve employee moral while increasing productivity. It may even come easy to some to find fresh, new ways to reduce performance problems. Sound like an advertisement for something unattainable? Perhaps try to engage, involve, and connect employees to their work by the power of ASK.
Forecasting Support Costs
Did you know that maintenance accounts for 50% to 80% of the overall product cost? Well, it does! And while most project managers are fairly good at sizing new product features, many are terrible at estimating the effort required to support a product once it becomes generally available. As a result, maintenance projects are inadequately staffed, companies can't respond to customer requests in a timely manner, and products never reach payback.
Best Practices Plan: Dissemination of a Great Idea
Good news spreads quickly
Improve Operations by Restructuring
Transitioning from Vertical Hierarchies to Decentralized / Flatter Organizations
Benefits of Virtual Assistance
A virtual assistant is an individual who provides business services to other professionals. They're considered virtual because they perform their services from a remote location. Communications with their clients take place through telephone, fax, email, and snail mail. As a business owner, you can save time, money, and energy by hiring a virtual assistant. Best of all, you'll have more time to do what you do best ? running a business!
Christmas and Business Gifts for Your Clients and Employees!
Tis' the season for business and corporate gift-giving! If you believe in the law of reciprocity, and if your business is the least bit successful you must; you know that giving back is not only the right thing to do, but it's very smart business as well. Let's look at some of the benefits and mechanics of Christmas and holiday gift-giving.
What You Should Know if People Dont Buy From You and People Dont Visit Your Web Site
It is essential to understand what work and what do not work when you run business, especially through Internet.
Bye-Bye Boring Meetings! Make Yours Remarkable!
It's the middle of the night. You've woken up with a brilliant idea on how to improve the way your business product is delivered to your customers. You scribble it down and can't wait to share it with your co-workers during your morning meeting.
Setting Clearer Performance Expectations
The annual performance review.
Eight Key Steps to Building B2B Major Account Client Alliances
Audiences who saw the fabled Broadway musical, Chorus Line, marveled at the intricate timing and seamless interaction of the dancers as they mastered the choreographer's precision steps after many false starts in rehearsal.
|
