Respect?
© Copyright Frank D. Kanu 2000-2008
Many years ago I worked for a man who believed that there were two kinds of people: himself and the rest of the world. Management was his “passion” and so was horseback riding. (Come to think of it, I bet he treated the horses’ way better than he treated any human.) You might wonder why I mention his hobby. Many say that horseback riding is a great example for perfect teamwork. Even to the casual observer it’s clear that the overall performance of a rider and the horse deeply depends on how good a team they are. Each depends on the other and they both have to pay attention to each other all the time.
You might think that a horseback rider would be a better manager precisely because riding increases one’s understanding of teamwork. That wasn’t the case with this fellow.
The first time I saw him exert his management “style”, it was astonishing. He came over to an employee who had made some sort of error. That wouldn’t have been particularly memorable, except that the manager was armed with a whip—and he used it! He actually whipped the worker’s fingers and unleashed a stream of insults at him. (As an aside, this manager eventually became a judge in a court dealing primarily with business cases.)
Technorati (All Links are external): business cases casual observer co worker corporate ladder dignity fellow fingers frank barron horses insults lao tzu long time management style meaning of the word passion private space respect rest of the world teamwork true friendship two kinds whip world management step 2 - know the sins!
“Never take a person’s dignity: it is worth everything to them, and nothing to you.”
Frank Barron
Frank Barron
Many years ago I worked for a man who believed that there were two kinds of people: himself and the rest of the world. Management was his “passion” and so was horseback riding. (Come to think of it, I bet he treated the horses’ way better than he treated any human.) You might wonder why I mention his hobby. Many say that horseback riding is a great example for perfect teamwork. Even to the casual observer it’s clear that the overall performance of a rider and the horse deeply depends on how good a team they are. Each depends on the other and they both have to pay attention to each other all the time.
You might think that a horseback rider would be a better manager precisely because riding increases one’s understanding of teamwork. That wasn’t the case with this fellow.
The first time I saw him exert his management “style”, it was astonishing. He came over to an employee who had made some sort of error. That wouldn’t have been particularly memorable, except that the manager was armed with a whip—and he used it! He actually whipped the worker’s fingers and unleashed a stream of insults at him. (As an aside, this manager eventually became a judge in a court dealing primarily with business cases.)
What would you do in such a situation?
A manager climbed up the corporate ladder while his former co-worker stayed in the position he was hired for. For a long time, each time this employee came by his office she would just jump in—no matter if the door was closed, a meeting was going on. The manager was too polite (and perhaps too shocked) to say anything, and so the situation persisted. An employee who could invade a manager’s private space like that clearly doesn’t know the meaning of the word “respect”; or understands true friendship.“A good manager is best when people barely know that he exists. Not so good when people obey and acclaim him. Worse when they despise him.”
Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu
Do you respect each and everyone in your team?
More important—does the team think the manager is respecting them?
Do you step in when you see someone being disrespected?
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business cases casual observer co worker corporate ladder dignity fellow fingers frank barron horses insults lao tzu long time management style meaning of the word passion private space respect rest of the world teamwork true friendship two kinds whip world managementTechnorati (All Links are external): business cases casual observer co worker corporate ladder dignity fellow fingers frank barron horses insults lao tzu long time management style meaning of the word passion private space respect rest of the world teamwork true friendship two kinds whip world management step 2 - know the sins!
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