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Published On: Jan 07, 2004 11:01 AM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Jan 07, 2004 11:01 AM
The Sum of the Parts
In order to be effective as a
well-differentiated manager, it's crucial to understand your responsibility for
the goals of the whole company, not just those of your
department.
It's always important to remember that
relationship is bi-directional. What this means to a manager is that not only
are there relationships to be managed with those who work for you, there are
also relationships with those beside and above you on the organizational chart.
Viewing the organization as a system implies that we see the connections at all
levels and in all directions; sometimes that can be difficult to put into
practice, especially if we are preoccupied with a specific problem or
task.
Another aspect of this is that even when you think you have reactivity and defensiveness under control with those you supervise, those who supervise you seem to be in a different league. It can be difficult to know what to do when it's someone who has authority over you who seems to be undifferentiated or even toxic. In the best of situations, all the leaders are emotionally healthy and are working for the success of the entire group...but how often is that really the case?
This isn't a 'problem' that requires a 'solution, but a fact of life that requires acknowledgment. It is crucial to see a bigger picture than the emotional crisis of the moment; in fact, the 'bigger picture' is at the heart of all systems thinking. A good goal for any aspiring leader is to learn how to be a good follower, and to support the efforts of those whose responsibility it is to manage the larger system of which your department is a subset.
I often encourage supervisors to ask whether they preferred that a particular employee succeed, or would they prefer that the employee fail? Sounds obvious, but it isn't. As supervisors we often have hidden emotional reasons for preferring that a particular employee fail...but as I said at the top, relationship is bi-directional: we may also have reasons to want our supervisor to fail. It is in the nature of relationships to give us back what we put in; if we work for the failure of a supervisor, we're working for our own failure as well.
Your organization is greater than the sum of its parts. If the largest system works well, everyone benefits.
Another aspect of this is that even when you think you have reactivity and defensiveness under control with those you supervise, those who supervise you seem to be in a different league. It can be difficult to know what to do when it's someone who has authority over you who seems to be undifferentiated or even toxic. In the best of situations, all the leaders are emotionally healthy and are working for the success of the entire group...but how often is that really the case?
This isn't a 'problem' that requires a 'solution, but a fact of life that requires acknowledgment. It is crucial to see a bigger picture than the emotional crisis of the moment; in fact, the 'bigger picture' is at the heart of all systems thinking. A good goal for any aspiring leader is to learn how to be a good follower, and to support the efforts of those whose responsibility it is to manage the larger system of which your department is a subset.
I often encourage supervisors to ask whether they preferred that a particular employee succeed, or would they prefer that the employee fail? Sounds obvious, but it isn't. As supervisors we often have hidden emotional reasons for preferring that a particular employee fail...but as I said at the top, relationship is bi-directional: we may also have reasons to want our supervisor to fail. It is in the nature of relationships to give us back what we put in; if we work for the failure of a supervisor, we're working for our own failure as well.
Your organization is greater than the sum of its parts. If the largest system works well, everyone benefits.
Posted: Tue - January 6, 2004 at 11:00 AM