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When tough isn't tough at all - November 2007 |
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You’ve probably all had the experience of the manager who storms into your office to tell you, often in no uncertain terms, what’s gone wrong and how he, or she, wants you to fix it. Without discussion or negotiation, you are instructed what to do, how it must be done, and by when. When he, or she, has gone, you may sit wondering why this is a problem at all, or smiling because you have already fixed it, or already deciding that the solution you have been given won’t work. Even if the proposed solution is workable, your commitment to it will be questionable at best.
This authoritarian, tell, style of managing is often thought to be the
toughest style. But is it really? Holding someone properly to account
for their actions takes a different set of skills, one which invites
the person to contribute their view of the situation, to share in the
intellectual work of finding a solution, and to take responsibility for
putting it in place.
If the problem is recurring and has been discussed before, then the
person should be confronted with the fact that they have previously
committed to resolving the problem and have clearly not done so. Not
only does the original problem still exist. Now there is a second
problem – their failure to meet a commitment!
Next time you want to get tough with someone, first TELL them the facts
of the situation, but ASK for their ideas on solving it. If there is no
dialogue around a problem, there is no input from the person who should
be solving it and your bark will be known to be worse than your bite.
Please check the dates for our Straight Talk workshops planned for 2008 here
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