February 7, 2010
Do you let others control you?
Do you let others control you?
During my HR director days I used to describe one of my assistants as a volcano: she’d take on tasks and emotional discomfort gradually until every now and again it reached a critical mass and she would “erupt.” The key to getting her to better manage her time and to balance her “volcanic activity” was to get her to be in control of her day, to be deliberate about her choices and actions (she often didn’t get to make decisions but she knew what she thought about them and hence could actively discuss whatever it was she needed there and then instead of holding it all in).
1. Do you find team members who are aware of what they think and feel about tasks and interactions to be more effective or less effective than those who just do?
2. Which benefits being aware/not being aware have for the manager of that employee?
Looking forward to your thoughts, as always
Reut
Reut:
I am smiling as I answer this, because as you know me you can anticipate my answer.
I want employees who are aware of how they think and feel about not only the tasks and interactions that they are involved in , but the larger context of how those tasks and interactions fit into the bigger picture. I think we call that engagement.
Frederick W. Taylor in his theory of scientic management was a big proponent of not “bothering” people with all those pesky details about why they are performing a task or an interaction. Unfortunately, that model still prevails in some places.
Pehaps it is oversimplistic, but I think that employees who understand the connections tend to have much higher levels of engagement, true engagement, and I won’t bore you with all the data about the impact that has on things like profitability, productivity, retention, sustainability, etc.
I also think employees benefit from boundaries and structure. As they evolve and teams evolve the boundaries and structure should evolve with them.
I think your illustration is an excellent one. When employees don’t get to participate in the how and we don’t explain the “why” we exacerbate their frustration.
I remember in the early days of the total quality movement when we were stunned by the quality of reccomendations we received from production workers about improving processes, reducing costs etc. When they were asked why they had offered suggestions before they responded very simply ” No one asked me, and when I offered my suggestions I was told to do my job. Managers think, employees do.”
[…] Do you let others control you? […]
Reut:
Excellent and intelligent question. Let me start by saying that everyone needs to understand that shy of using psychotropic drugs nobody is really “controlling” us. But it sure is easy to manipulate us. I don’t say this to pick nits, but when we think in terms of others controlling us we subconsciously absolve ourselves of any accountability for our actions.
1. Do you find team members who are aware of what they think and feel about tasks and interactions to be more effective or less effective than those who just do? Absolutely. Unless we are cognizant of not just how we feel about our tasks and our preconceived notions about a teammate, but also about our own bias toward a project it makes it far more difficult to articulate why we feel strongly about how a project should be approached. This often leads to unproductive conflict and dysfunction.
2. Which benefits being aware/not being aware have for the manager of that employee? A manager who knows the limits of each team member and who pairs employees based on their strengths and weaknesses will always be more successful than the manager who turns a blind eye on the team dynamic. Being aware is more than a benefit, it’s the manager’s job.
Phil La Duke
www.safety-impact.com
www.philladuke.wordpress.com