I was pleased to be able to be a part of the "organization" group today when preparing presentations on various aspects of leadership. It was right down my road...and yet, we still had to talk about those sticky areas of organization -- people! OK, I'm not anti-people, I'm just more of a task-oriented leader and people always seem to work to get me off task. However, it's not the end of the world, just the reality of life, so the common word that come up in our group came up in everyone else's too. Can you guess what it is?
It's all about COMMUNICATION. The more effectively we communicate as we organize, direct, control and manage, not only will the task-oriented manager be less stressed, but the people we supervise will be engaged and empowered and even motivated to join us in accomplishing all the wonderful goals and objectives we envision for our workplace.
So, while it may take effort on our part, the end result is so worth it. I'm willing to work on this in my life, and I look forward to blogging about the results! No pain, no gain...and I really do want everyone to be HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY!
Carol,you are so right about communication. Communication is key. And I need to work on this also.
ReplyDeleteIt's an ongoing learning process for us all!
DeleteYou guys did a great job on your presentation today. You hit on some really important points and made me stop and take inventory of what I am not doing well but thought I had been. I often find myself frustrated with staff and have really begun lately to accept my responsiblity in what is going wrong--I am not communicating effectively at all!
ReplyDeleteIt is a challenge for us all. Take it one step at a time and try something new in communication each week. Remember, not everyone hears things and receives information the same way, so you have to find each person's way.
DeleteI too am a task-oriented leader, Carol. I always have been and it has served me well in my previous career. It gets directly to the point and takes less time than the people-oriented version of leadership. However, the presentations and exercises of this week have shown me that it is not always the best style. I now believe that one must lead different people in the way that suits them, not me.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right, David. We "just get it done" people have a hard time with this, but we can change. I find it helps me to put it on my calendar as a task -- ie., get up from the desk and walk around to each staff person I need to connect with today...or something shorter! If it's part of my "to do" list, then I'll be more prone to act on it!
DeleteI am a people person and it still is hard to get things done, people have a way of drawing you down avenues you aren't expecting. It will completely sidetrack you if you're not paying attention to the endgame.
ReplyDeleteThough it is hard for me to relate to the problem from your perspective, I do see your struggle. Just like I have to "schedule" time for people, maybe you need to "schedule" time for some focused desk time. It's not easy, but it can be done. Maybe using the Pomodoro (timer) would help keep you focused on a specific task without allowing for interruption. On the other hand, sometimes what we see as interruptions are actually important moments of networking and relating to patrons or community leaders that are valuable for our work. I think the trick is knowing yourself and evaluating if the people time is useful or not.
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