The Second Question
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Managers first ask, “How can we best leverage current resources to achieve desired ends?” The second question is, “What do team members love doing – within the parameters of desired ends?”
People doing things they love aren’t working.
Provide a channel that enables people to do what they love doing. People doing what they love, perform better and stay with organizations longer.
Great managers keep people doing things they love.
Lousy managers fix and control. Great managers leverage strengths and release. Accept weaknesses as long as they don’t hinder individual strengths or hamper the team.
“The (person) who always knows what people cannot do,
but never sees what they can do, will undermine the spirit of the organization.” Drucker
Great teams compensate for each other’s weaknesses. Teams that don’t accept – even laugh about – each other’s weaknesses never achieve great results.
The greatest management skill is finding alignment between things people love doing and the goals of the organization. Managers succeed when they help people employ their best strengths in making meaningful contributions to organizational objectives.
Three question:
- What are the current objectives of our organization?
- What do you love doing?
- How can I help you do more of what you love within the parameters of organizational objectives?
One test:
Tell team members what you think they love doing. Ask if you’re on target. Then ask, “Do you think I’m helping you do more of what you love or more of what I want?”
Old management controls. New management releases. More control – less vitality. More freedom – within organizational objectives – more vitality.
Great managers love helping people do things they love.
What steps can managers take to maximize strengths, minimize weaknesses, and help people do more of what they love?
We ask: what do you enjoy most about your job? What activities make the best use of your skills? What would you like to do more of?
Beautiful… thanks for sharing something so useful.
We built our company that way. Attract smart, talented folks of different backgrounds who believe in the mission. Then let them migrate to the area they are attracted to. From there, fill in the areas of the talents still missing with other hires who love to do that work and who are also attracted to the mission. That way everyone is doing what they love and are good at. Win/win/win.
Brilliant!
Hi Dan – great thought-provoker today!
I think that first ensuring that you have effectively communicated the goals/vision is important because sometimes the goals themselves bring different perspectives and perceptions – that in itself could affect what strengths and weakness people “bring” along with them. Does everyone understand the goals? Is everyone on the same page?
Identifying individual strengths and weaknesses on an individual level…how well do you really know your team? I find that sometimes, even when you ask, you may not get a helpful response. Sometimes it’s because people don’t know how to respond, or just aren’t used to the fact that someone really wants to empower them with some freedom and latitude to get something done in a fun and constructive way (wow, what a concept!).
Shared-accountability – I think that when everyone has a sense of “we are in this together”, and knowing that we all make mistakes, but we use them to learn, make better, and move forward – makes for a great trusting environment to work in. Even if some of the tasks are mundane and boring, at least we can have a place we know that we have trust and understanding – sometimes we downright cannot love it, but we can relax and have fun together.
Just a couple of my quick thoughts – have a great weekend!
Great points.
Hi Ryan,
Thank you for consistently bringing added dimensions to the conversation.
Point of clarification that may be warranted here. I wrote this post with a management vs. a leadership voice. Generally speaking vision/mission are leadership’s responsibility. Execution tends to fall on management, generally.
In today’s world, leaders manage and managers lead. confused yet?
You helps us be better.
Dan
Dan,
Great post. I think it changes the way people think, in a good way, if you can get them to focus on what can go right about what they are trying to do instead of what might go wrong. Both are needed, but what can go right comes first. What can go right includes ‘how do we make the journey to the project outcomes the best possible journey for the people on it?’ Asking this question links the vision to the work in a way that makes it OK to include love.
Glenn
Hi Glenn,
I spent too much time moving away from things I didn’t like. A life moving toward positive ends is more fulfilling. 🙂
Thank you for bringing this insight to the conversation.
Best,
Dan
Great Post!
In the book “Strength Based Leadership” it says (I am paraphrasing) that having studied over two million world class leaders they are yet to find anyone of them that has world class strength in all four pillars of leadership (Strategic Thinking, Team-building, Influence/Motivation and Execution). The major thesis of the book is that there are no well-rounded leaders, but there can be well rounded teams! All truly great leaders and managers continually seek to leverage the strengths of every person on their team. Staff operating in their area of strengths are 3 to 10 times more productive than those who are having to crank out an assignment with discipline and Intentionality alone.
Thanks for the good word leadingwithquestions.
I don’t know about you but I’ve consumed the strength-based leadership methodology and love it! As best as I can tell, Drucker started this great movement.
You have my best,
Dan
Wow, really fantastic, thought provoking post and comments! As a new leader, this is great stuff to build a foundation on. Thanks Dan (and everyone else who posted!)!
-Sean
Dear Dan,
I like the way you have described ways to achieve organizational goals. I would add one component here. Before let us ponder one question- what helps to align management skills and organizational goal? How to achieve maximum alignment to achieve breakthrough results? I think, need is the critical component here. Leaders might fail to align effort with organizational vision without addressing the need of people. It is like give and take kind of relationship between people and organizational objectives. You take care of people; they will take care of goals. Organizations with even best strategy fail, because they do not address need of its people. Freedom, flexibility and decision making is ok but they work well when people feel that they meet their needs. Here, need could be anything- physiological, social and psychological etc. So, leaders should ensure to reward the effort in right mix. Organizational vision can best be achieved when employees feel motivated and committed for the organization. And it can be enhanced by understanding and meeting employee needs.
Thanks for sharing
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