There are three simple words that come to mind when I think of how best to introduce this book, three words that describe the basis of a happy life as well as a successful career: acceptance, love, and freedom. The application of these words also best describes the basis of the hands-off management philosophy of this book.
When one comes from a place of acceptance, one is able to deal with the reality of what is and let go of the misconception of what should be. When one manages others, one simply must deal with who they really are and not who they think they should be. If someone loves analysis and is analytical by nature, why not put them into a role that is aligned with their true gifts? Why try to make them into what they are not? The best managers have quit judging people for what they are not and are focused on how best to utilize the talents they have to serve the organization. They have learned to read people and see where they would best fit in. Employees who do what they are good at don’t need a lot of supervision; those who are doing what they are not good at can’t get enough supervision.
If you do not love what you do you will never be a real success. You may make money at it, but it will not make you happy. The only real source of happiness comes from serving others and making a difference in the world. And when properly applied, it is also a path to financial success and a life to be proud of. When one is focused on how best to serve one’s customer, one naturally attracts more customers. When one is looking to take advantage, they lose customers. Love also applies to your employees. If you do not care about their success, they will not care about yours. People want to be a part of a company that they are proud of, one in which they feel valued and appreciated. That is what will bring you loyalty and people who stay with you even when they are offered more money somewhere else. Love your people and your role in the company and watch success naturally unfold from people who love being at work.
Freedom is so innate and natural to being human that there is a long history of people who have sacrificed their lives to maintain it. Many would choose death over slavery, yet everywhere we look we see work environments that are so encumbered by rules, regulations, and micro-management that they resemble modern-day sweatshops. I am talking about the freedom to be creative, to be unique, to be exceptional, to try something different. We live in a world of ever-increasing pressure to never make a mistake, yet mistakes are happening everywhere we look. Put your people in roles they align with, let them know how much you appreciate them and their good work, and then get out of their way and give them the freedom to be great at being who they are. Watch how they make you successful.
Please read on to discover in more detail how these management concepts can be applied in the workplace to create success beyond anything you have ever imagined possible.
CHAPTER ONE
TAKING YOUR POWER BACK
In everyone’s life at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the human spirit.
—Albert Schweitzer
Most management activity today is what was alluded to by the Peter Drucker quote at the beginning of this book. Managers make it difficult for their people. They unknowingly kill, or at least diminish, the human spirit by their old-school micromanaging and critical judgments.
But there is a new kind of manager emerging in companies today, a manager devoted to rekindling the human spirit by keeping their hands off their employees and allowing success to happen. We’ll just call these enlightened people “hands-off managers.” Managers have these two primary communication styles from which to choose:
1. Hands-on: They can criticize, control, threaten, and judge their people.
2. Hands-off: They can mentor, encourage, coach, and genuinely care about their people.
This choice presents itself many times throughout every day. Every interaction with one of your people is going to be a version of this choice.
If you choose judgment (and criticism, implied or otherwise), you will provoke defensiveness and withdrawal—not creativity and productivity.
When we judge our people and find them coming up short, we then start to criticize and micromanage them. In this age of the sensitive, knowledge-based worker, that’s a self-destructive cycle. It engenders nothing but resentment and push-back.
Also, when we judge and then hold a grudge, we are giving our power away. When we resent a team member, we are giving our power to that team member. We are giving that power to the very person we are angry with by allowing him or her to occupy and dominate our thinking. We are focused on the problem and not the solution.
Real power in leadership comes from partnering, not criticizing.
The hands-off manager sets himself apart by retaining all his power. His practice is to understand everyone he meets, to see more in his people than they are seeing and to invite them to that vision.