MANAGEMENT IS PERSONAL
We received this initial post from a trusted colleague. How do you look at the “personal” side of leadership or management? Join us in responding to our colleague's views.
per⋅son⋅al – of or pertaining to a particular person, individual; private; intended for use by one person; referring or directed to a person in a disparaging or offensive sense, usually involving character, behavior, appearance, e.g. personal remarks; of the nature of an individual rational being.
When a person of substance and character who was a leader at my company committed suicide recently, it hit me in my gut that management is a highly personal act. Think about it.
I see my manager every day (the in-person workplace is still the most prevalent). He (the male manager is still the most prevalent) doles out assignments as he sees fit; he judges my work product; he decides my performance rating; in this sense, he controls my work. That’s his job, but how he gets it done is what I’m talking about.
Don’t take it personally. It’s just business. That’s the Donald’s advice. The PR guy from Chrysler in announcing the shutting down of 25% of dealerships today said, “There are no winners or losers.”
But, if you’re the Chrysler dealer who got the letter saying you have to shut down your business, how can you not feel a loss? How can you not take it personally? News like that devastates individuals, families and communities. I hold no particular brief for auto dealers, but I will stick up for human beings every time. Not to mention myself.
Of course work experiences affect us. The old “park your feelings at the door” philosophy is woefully inadequate today. Now its, “I don’t care what you know until I know that you care.”
I don’t mean caring the way officers love their troops in the military, which is way too over-the-top paternalistic for my taste. One of my managers had left the military to come into the corporate world. He wanted to have a 24/7 relationship with his staff. OMG, how off-base could he get?
We try to depersonalize, like saying soldiers or troops, employees or associates. The language encourages us to separate ourselves from our job descriptions.
The research on emotional intelligence tells us that the qualities of maturity, compassion, empathy and authenticity are better predictors of management success than business acumen or technical skills.
Management is personal. Start managing yourself and others that way, and the life you save may be your own.
posted by Intruequest Idea Exchange at
9:49 AM
2 Comments:
Your words remind me of a scene in the movie "You've Got Mail". After Tom Hanks says that "it's not personal" that he is putting her out of business, Meg Ryan responds "What does that mean? Everything is personal!" I don't think there is any way in the world for "business decisions" to not hit hard at a personal level at times, even with the most sensitive intentions. I think that the real key is developing trust and credibility in terms of my integrity, which is of course highly personal. If I am trusted as a leader and a manager and am known for my integrity -- which takes a lot of time and effort -- then I think people are more able at other times to live with and let go of the things that might smack them in some way. Thank you for your "wake up call". I think this is an important conversation.
Right on, Anonymous. The older I get, the more I realize people are what count the most. Treat people well, the rest will follow. Having worked for managers that treated people well and some not so well, what motivated me to work harder and learn more? The person who believed in me....and who I had some level of personal connection with.
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