A Tale of Two Managers: Command versus Commitment
Organizations should be built and managers should be functioning so people can be naturally empowered..
If someone's doing their job, they should know their job better than
anybody. They don't need to be 'empowered,' but encouraged and left alone to
be able to do what they know best." — Henry Mintzberg, Management Researcher
and Author.
Joel views himself as a "realist." As a manager, he has little time or
patience for, as he puts it, "making nicey-nicey." Coming from a deep
technical background, he hates meetings ("they get in the way of real work")
and resents having to sell changes or get people on board. "I don't care if
they like me," he's fond of saying, "I only want their respect and
compliance." He likes nothing better than solving tough technical problems
with practical, well-designed solutions. He runs his organization "by the
numbers." He focuses on continuously improving existing processes and
technologies. He sets high targets and relentlessly drives everyone to meet
them.
The part of the job Joel likes least is dealing with people. Their
irrational, emotional behavior drives him nuts. He often dismisses contrary
points of view with comments like, "that's only their perception, that's not
reality." He then proceeds to prove his point with facts, rational
arguments, and analysis.
Joel believes that most people see their work as a four-letter word and must
therefore be tightly controlled, threatened, or bribed with incentives
before they will work hard enough. He prides himself on being a tough
manager who rolls up his sleeves and digs deep into operational details. He
exercises tight control with policies, directives, and rules. His mood
swings cause the team's emotional tone to wildly gyrate from high to low
with much time being spent figuring out how to read him and avoid his wrath.
Joel's main tool for influencing behavior on his team is through punishment
and "shooting down people who haven't done their homework."
On the other hand, Denise is an "idealist" with a strong technical
background. She realized some time ago that her real leadership work
increasingly gets done in meetings. So she has trained and worked hard at
developing her facilitation and team leadership skills. She also knows that
just wishing or "positive thinking" problems away usually makes them worse.
She is also determined not to be so focused on the problem that she and her
team can't see the possibilities. To avoid getting stuck in "reality ruts,"
Denise keeps everyone focused on what could be.
Denise sees possibilities in people. She believes that people want to take
pride in their work and be part of a winning team. She has learned that
motivation or morale problems are usually rooted in leaders failing to
engage people in the broader aims and ideals of the organization. As more
people search for meaning in their lives and in their work, this disconnect
creates much of the frustration and lack of purpose found in so many
workplaces today. Denise works hard at connecting people to her
organization's vision, values, and purpose. Denise's high energy and
optimistic attitude sets a strong and positive emotional tone throughout her
organization. People are inspired to face tough problems with confidence and
teamwork.
Out in the real world, we see plenty of Joels – and not nearly enough
Denises. Their differences are obvious enough, but ask yourself the
following questions:
• Whom would you rather work for?
• Who is the stronger leader?
• Who is likely to get the best results?
• Would your team consider you to be most like Joel or Denise? How do you
know?
Denise uses a collaborative approach to partner with people. She sees people
as adults who are generally self-managing (with some exceptions). Joel
treats them like kids who need to be managed "with a firm hand" (with some
exceptions). Denise cares about people. Joel dehumanizes and objectifies
them. Denise uses the power of persuasion (leadership) to get things done.
Joel uses position power (management). Denise builds a cause and case for
change, appealing to the head and heart to get buy-in. Joel tries to
overcome resistance to change with facts and force; like someone traveling
in a foreign country who can't speak the local language, he'll just talk
louder to be understood. Denise shares as much information as she can and
builds strong multi-channel and multi-directional communication loops. Joel
gives people information on a need-to-know basis; he only "empowers" people
as a motivational technique to get people to do what he wants done. Denise
partners with people so they feel naturally empowered to reach their mutual
goals.
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