Category: culture

Draw the line

FabrizioLeave a comment

We know that people prefer to work for leaders who give a sense of security, who distribute responsibilities, who show a genuine interest in their direct reports, who care, who have integrity, who listen.

Yet, very few leaders do any of that.

And that could be for three reasons.

They might be not skilled enough. Many top performers are promoted into leadership roles and they simply have no experience creating an environment where people can develop and feel secure. The idea is that if you are good at making things happen, you will eventually figure that out. Of course, it rarely happens.

They might believe that those things will come when _______ (fill in the blank). When the recession is over, when the urgency of the moment has passed, when the company will grow, when the next campaign will fix everything, when the new year will come. It’s never a good time for them to take ownership.

They might be genuinely interested in themselves more than in anything else. They move from one role to the next, from one company to the next, achieving above average results, and then leaving fear and destruction behind.

There are certainly other reasons, and other types of dysfunctional leadership.

But the main point for you is that you are not going to change that. You will not convince your team lead that they need training, that the time is now, or that putting their needs second will actually serve them in the long term.

None of that is going to happen.

All you can do is decide what type of leader you want to follow and where you draw the line.

Never be the same

FabrizioLeave a comment

The best way to approach anything new is by putting aside what you know about it.

We have been taught that experience matters more than anything else. And since today everything needs to happen now (even better, yesterday), we augment the importance of experience and try to get farther by doing more of what we have done so far.

That rarely works.

Experience matters, for sure, but it is not a good predictor of the success you are going to have in your next endeavor. And it does make sense, since the world is complex and ever-changing. What you truly need is not experience, but the capacity to put that aside and learn something new over and over again.

Your next gig might be similar to the previous one. It will never be the same.

Full control

Fabrizio1 Comment

There is a popular meme that tells about the relationships between a job done fast, well, and cheap. You can do a job fast and well, you can do it well and cheap, you can do it cheap and fast. What you can’t do is fast, well, and cheap at the same time.

Source: The Developer Society, Good/Cheap/Fast

The meme fails to tell another truth, though. A bane to many companies. That is: you can’t do a job fast, well, or cheap if you want to maintain full control on the outcome.

You can’t do fast, because when the job is ready, there are still review phases to go through. Often featuring vague feedback, last minute changes, and unsubstantiated personal opinions.

You can’t do cheap, because all the layers you are adding have a cost. And even more expensive is the price you pay for the people who leave once they realize their talent comes after tenure.

You can’t do well, because by the time you get to the finish line, what you have is a frankestein that satisfies everyone and excites no one.

So, if your goal is to maintain full control on the outcome, any of the combinations in the meme is a much better path to execution. Change, or be prepared to be kicked out of the game.

False dichotomies

Fabrizio1 Comment

Two reasons why many arguments fail to move the conversation forward and develop the relationship – from the beautiful book by Steven Pinker, The Sense of Style.

  1. We approach the argument as if it were a dichotomy. Black or white. Right or wrong. Good or evil. For as much as this is convenient to survive, it is not a great representation of how things actually are. And it is certainly not a path to understanding.
  2. We make it personal. It is rarely about finding the truth or the better course of action. It is about beating your opponent. Who is motivated by the wrong values, less intelligent, and not as refined.

When we avoid falling into these traps, we find the place for learning and growth.

Arguments should be based on reasons, not people.

Steven Pinker

Support

FabrizioLeave a comment

What do you do when someone comes to you with an idea you find hopeless or inadequate?

You denigrate the idea, saying it is a bad one and it does not deserve any of your time.

You force change onto the idea to make it fit with what you think might be a better idea.

You begin a conversation and try to compromise to get the idea nearer to you.

You support the idea and say you will do your best to help.

I guess much depends on how invested you are in the topic. A manager might find it difficult to support something that might take time and resources and return no results; a friend might be more open to keep their opinions to themselves and help instead.

Relationships are built and broken on these type of choices. Get to them with intention and care.