I like to use parenthood as an analogy for management for many reasons.
Let’s take one example: the power of showing versus saying.
Many managers spend a considerable amount of time in preparing themselves before they talk to their employees (ie: presenting their plan or vision, sharing bad news, celebrating achievements, etc)
On the same line, they don’t spend as much time at all thinking how their acts might be impacting the way their team responds to his/hers verbal input.
When you see that a kid is behaving aggressively in school; most probably, it’s because he is being exposed to that same kind of “behavior” at home.
The same as parents, managers should become more aware of the impact that their behavior has on those who see them as the example to follow.
What you do as a manager says more to your team than what you actually tell them.
People tend to copy their manager’s behavior rather than follow their words.
If you as a client say that a specific project is top priority, but then you are not available to discuss it, if you as an agency manager say you want bold creative ideas, but then you are not willing to take risks presenting them to the client. What do you think your team will decode? How do you think your team will react?
Ask yourself, is my behavior aligned with my words? Am I sending (showing) the right message? Share your thoughts.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
So true. It is not only that people practice what you practice, not what you preach, it is also that in the interim what is being generated is a lot of confusion, dispersion and passiveness in positions, because “we won’t know by conviction, we will only know when we are told”.
I find the best analogies are those we see in everyday life. It’s so important for management to recognize how their actions (or the lack there of) invoke passivity within their team, thereby sucking the life out of their creativity and leaving the client(s) wanting.
Deb, good point. For a manager, lack of action is as harmful as not practicing what they preach (to use Jimmy’s quote)