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Applying the ideas, concepts and theories to everything in life is what I do. I like to know how something works out in application. To me, that's the truest test of the worthiness of anything. But, your mileage may vary.
Why is that? Why would your mileage vary? Well, because you, are not me. We are all different. We are all human, having grown up with different value sets, different experiences and different ways of applying what we've learned throughout our lives. No one way of putting something learned to the test is wrong...unless of course, you end up hurting others. Then, you're doing it wrong!
Understanding that idea and accepting it as a way of dealing with everyday occurances can be more powerful than you may think. Basically, it's being empathetic. And being able to step out of your own shoes and into the shoes of another is quite powerful indeed. Understanding others from their point of view gives you the advantage of being able to empower others with information and knowledge in more ways than even they might have imagined.
How would this look in application?
A scenario:
I had this friend who works as an instructional designer. She loves her job...a lot. She enjoyed her work at Company A, just as much as collaborating with her colleagues. That changed when her department combined with another department and her workload more than doubled. She didn't begrudge the work, but she considered the possibility that her co-worker relationships would suffer. And they did. She thought that if she tried to find time to spend more time with her colleagues, she wouldn't feel so left out...but, it didn't seem to change the relationship much. She realized that when she did reach out, she was met with trepidation. And she wasn't sure how to deal with that. She feared that if she just came out and said something about the perceived trepidation that she would potentially end up hurting the friend, because the friend might mis-understand. She was just as unsure how to handle the situation as her colleague.
This isn't quite the full story. Now, throw in other colleagues who are just as battle-worn with as much work. And yet one more monkey wrench got thrown in where she ended up taking on a special project. So, on top of everything else, she's taking work home to try and meet deadlines. She doesn't get to talk too much with colleagues at work, because she's working so hard to complete everything on time. Unfortunately, instead of understanding from everyone else, she ends up being faced with resentment. And that resentment goes pretty deeply...to the point of being ignored and left out of special events. Yes, she's hurt and yet, still does not say anything. She sort of sees what the others might be feeling, but at this point, it's all speculation on everyone's part...hers and her colleagues.
I will say this now...shame on everyone for letting it get that far! Negative assumptions only hurt the work environment.
What my friend finally did...only after her colleague resigned, was call her and asked all those tough questions. Like, was there truly some sort of resentment going on? What were the negative assumptions? Why didn't anyone say anything? And no, she couldn't ask anyone else, because they all had resigned within about 2 months of each other (there were other things going on in the department to cause the mass exodus). It hurt to ask, but it also hurt to hear the answers, because if they had been asked up front at the beginning, then the negative assumptions would not have gone that far. My friend tried to put herself in her former colleague's shoes and she tried to empathize, because at that point, all was said and done and the choice was to either move forward, or forget the whole thing happened. She chose to move forward and hold onto the whole incident as a huge learning experience. She does not let things get to the point of becoming negative assumptions anymore, because as soon as her perceptions head downhill, she asks the right questions to curtail the downward spiral.
Humanistic Management
What does that look like? More specifically, how does that feel? E-gads! I said, "feel".
I'll say this right now...get over yourselves. If you think that people do not bring their emotions (and insecurities) to work, then you are sorely mistaken. Some may bring too many, while others not enough. But, everyone brings their life's experiences and the emotions they tie to those experiences to work with them every single day. It's who they are, it's human. As a manager, it is your job to understand this whole idea and to use that understanding to manage each individual in a manner so as not to curtail the work at hand. That is easier said than done, because if you say the wrong thing to someone, you potentially set the wheels in motion on a downward slope.
Think of the previous scenario. Put one of the women in that scenario into a management role. As a manager, did they deal with the situation very well? If they followed the Humanist Management style, what should they do to curtail the negative assumption situation?
My answers to those questions would be along the lines of...talk, ask questions, never assume and always go to the perceived point of contention. Never, ever ask someone else what their take is on the whole situation. You need to deal with the management of your direct reports. If you start using "spies" to find answers, you will continue to hurt not just the perceived point of contention, but you will eventually hurt all of your direct reports. In essence, you will curtail production. So, get a hold of yourself and talk with your employees, Get to know them and get to understand them and their needs. Put yourself in their shoes. Be empathetic. Once you understand them, then you can manage them.
One other very important thing that my friend did when she finally swallowed her pride and asked the important questions, was that she never ridiculed, insulted, or talked down to her former colleague. This is even more important if you want to manage people. Never, ever insult, belittle, bully, lie, or otherwise attempt to hurt your employees. This behavior only creates a negative work environment, creates poor work flow, damages morale, perpatuates animosity and stifles creativity.
A familiar story about our failing education runs parallel to poor management styles. See Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution!
More links:
Applying the ideas, concepts and theories to everything in life is what I do. I like to know how something works out in application. To me, that's the truest test of the worthiness of anything. But, your mileage may vary.
Why is that? Why would your mileage vary? Well, because you, are not me. We are all different. We are all human, having grown up with different value sets, different experiences and different ways of applying what we've learned throughout our lives. No one way of putting something learned to the test is wrong...unless of course, you end up hurting others. Then, you're doing it wrong!
Understanding that idea and accepting it as a way of dealing with everyday occurances can be more powerful than you may think. Basically, it's being empathetic. And being able to step out of your own shoes and into the shoes of another is quite powerful indeed. Understanding others from their point of view gives you the advantage of being able to empower others with information and knowledge in more ways than even they might have imagined.
How would this look in application?
A scenario:
I had this friend who works as an instructional designer. She loves her job...a lot. She enjoyed her work at Company A, just as much as collaborating with her colleagues. That changed when her department combined with another department and her workload more than doubled. She didn't begrudge the work, but she considered the possibility that her co-worker relationships would suffer. And they did. She thought that if she tried to find time to spend more time with her colleagues, she wouldn't feel so left out...but, it didn't seem to change the relationship much. She realized that when she did reach out, she was met with trepidation. And she wasn't sure how to deal with that. She feared that if she just came out and said something about the perceived trepidation that she would potentially end up hurting the friend, because the friend might mis-understand. She was just as unsure how to handle the situation as her colleague.
This isn't quite the full story. Now, throw in other colleagues who are just as battle-worn with as much work. And yet one more monkey wrench got thrown in where she ended up taking on a special project. So, on top of everything else, she's taking work home to try and meet deadlines. She doesn't get to talk too much with colleagues at work, because she's working so hard to complete everything on time. Unfortunately, instead of understanding from everyone else, she ends up being faced with resentment. And that resentment goes pretty deeply...to the point of being ignored and left out of special events. Yes, she's hurt and yet, still does not say anything. She sort of sees what the others might be feeling, but at this point, it's all speculation on everyone's part...hers and her colleagues.
I will say this now...shame on everyone for letting it get that far! Negative assumptions only hurt the work environment.
What my friend finally did...only after her colleague resigned, was call her and asked all those tough questions. Like, was there truly some sort of resentment going on? What were the negative assumptions? Why didn't anyone say anything? And no, she couldn't ask anyone else, because they all had resigned within about 2 months of each other (there were other things going on in the department to cause the mass exodus). It hurt to ask, but it also hurt to hear the answers, because if they had been asked up front at the beginning, then the negative assumptions would not have gone that far. My friend tried to put herself in her former colleague's shoes and she tried to empathize, because at that point, all was said and done and the choice was to either move forward, or forget the whole thing happened. She chose to move forward and hold onto the whole incident as a huge learning experience. She does not let things get to the point of becoming negative assumptions anymore, because as soon as her perceptions head downhill, she asks the right questions to curtail the downward spiral.
Humanistic Management
What does that look like? More specifically, how does that feel? E-gads! I said, "feel".
I'll say this right now...get over yourselves. If you think that people do not bring their emotions (and insecurities) to work, then you are sorely mistaken. Some may bring too many, while others not enough. But, everyone brings their life's experiences and the emotions they tie to those experiences to work with them every single day. It's who they are, it's human. As a manager, it is your job to understand this whole idea and to use that understanding to manage each individual in a manner so as not to curtail the work at hand. That is easier said than done, because if you say the wrong thing to someone, you potentially set the wheels in motion on a downward slope.
Think of the previous scenario. Put one of the women in that scenario into a management role. As a manager, did they deal with the situation very well? If they followed the Humanist Management style, what should they do to curtail the negative assumption situation?
My answers to those questions would be along the lines of...talk, ask questions, never assume and always go to the perceived point of contention. Never, ever ask someone else what their take is on the whole situation. You need to deal with the management of your direct reports. If you start using "spies" to find answers, you will continue to hurt not just the perceived point of contention, but you will eventually hurt all of your direct reports. In essence, you will curtail production. So, get a hold of yourself and talk with your employees, Get to know them and get to understand them and their needs. Put yourself in their shoes. Be empathetic. Once you understand them, then you can manage them.
One other very important thing that my friend did when she finally swallowed her pride and asked the important questions, was that she never ridiculed, insulted, or talked down to her former colleague. This is even more important if you want to manage people. Never, ever insult, belittle, bully, lie, or otherwise attempt to hurt your employees. This behavior only creates a negative work environment, creates poor work flow, damages morale, perpatuates animosity and stifles creativity.
A familiar story about our failing education runs parallel to poor management styles. See Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution!
More links:
- The theory of humanistic management
- Humanism in Business: Perspectives on the development of responsible business in society
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