Monday, November 3, 2008

24 Lessons in High-Performance Management

Lesson Six
Practice Humanagement

Humanagement is simply the ability to use the job to develop the person while having fun in the process. My entire emphasis changed as I stopped managing my people like a herd of livestock and began leading them as people. It occurred to me I could help each individual unlock his or her talent, as well as:

• Set more meaningful goals (personal and professional).
• Better understand and plan their time.
• Use more of their creativity.
• Better handle their stress.
• Feel safe pushing their envelope.

If I had an office full of happy, growing people, I thought, there’s no telling what we could accomplish. Sure enough, when they began going home at night with their minds renewed and enriched instead of sore, tired, and aggravated, our entire universe expanded beyond anything we would have previously thought possible.

Don’t forget the “while having fun in the process” part. I don’t mean you open the office with a joke every morning. My experience has proven time and again that people who grow and develop and become more capable of handling problems are happier. They are happier because they are more fulfilled and actualized. When employees become more fulfilled and actualized, morale goes up. With higher morale comes higher productivity. I’ve never seen it fail.

Staff turnover also drops. With low staff turnover comes more bonding and team spirit. High turnover results in suspicion and a lack of personal investment in the job. It’s difficult to feel a part of an organization if the probability of losing your job is high. There are the managers who swear their organization has a terrific atmosphere, but people leave because the money is not competitive. There are also bureaucracies where people stay forever, even though they are miserable. A good logo for them would be: “Repeating Yesterday, Inc; Home of the Living Dead.”

Nobody is having fun in either case. People leave organizations because they’re not happy, not because there's more money elsewhere. The value of having fun on the job ranks above money. Enjoyable work in an enjoyable environment exerts a stronger hold on people than higher wages in an unpleasant job and environment. Here are three ways to help get positioned and mentally prepared to practice Humanagement:

Decide on ways to practice Humangement: Think about ways you can set a better example for your team.

Rate yourself from the perspective of your team members: If you ask them to rate how much fun they have working for you, what grade would they give you?

Imagine yourself the topic of conversation: If you were a fly on the wall in the homes of the people who work for you, what would they be saying about you in the evening?

"Help a team member grow, and you will receive respect in return."

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