Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
- Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
\n- I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
\n- Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
\n- Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
\n- Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
\nThe lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
\nDid I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
\nConclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
- I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
- I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
- I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
- I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
- I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
- I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
- I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
- I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
Soon the pressure of time, meeting the week\u2019s schedule would creep in. I would quickly look at people who can do things by themselves, assign them \u201dthe tasks\u201d that I deemed important. Then with the others, I would now push them hard, give them the \u201cother\u201d tasks. I would exactly let them know what\u2019s to be done. They would do it. If they fell into the rut some would get lost, others would walk up to me to help them solve. It was a relief for me. They came with the problem, and with my years of experience would help solve it. Off they went with it and voila! The program would start working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
As the project started would assemble the team and get cracking with the objective of completing it on schedule, under budget with the right quality. Even in the best of the defined projects soon I would find that the requirements would be subject to change. The team with all its skill, was not a perfect match to the needs. Just when I thought this was a stable technology, would run into issues that were never foreseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the pressure of time, meeting the week\u2019s schedule would creep in. I would quickly look at people who can do things by themselves, assign them \u201dthe tasks\u201d that I deemed important. Then with the others, I would now push them hard, give them the \u201cother\u201d tasks. I would exactly let them know what\u2019s to be done. They would do it. If they fell into the rut some would get lost, others would walk up to me to help them solve. It was a relief for me. They came with the problem, and with my years of experience would help solve it. Off they went with it and voila! The program would start working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the project started would assemble the team and get cracking with the objective of completing it on schedule, under budget with the right quality. Even in the best of the defined projects soon I would find that the requirements would be subject to change. The team with all its skill, was not a perfect match to the needs. Just when I thought this was a stable technology, would run into issues that were never foreseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the pressure of time, meeting the week\u2019s schedule would creep in. I would quickly look at people who can do things by themselves, assign them \u201dthe tasks\u201d that I deemed important. Then with the others, I would now push them hard, give them the \u201cother\u201d tasks. I would exactly let them know what\u2019s to be done. They would do it. If they fell into the rut some would get lost, others would walk up to me to help them solve. It was a relief for me. They came with the problem, and with my years of experience would help solve it. Off they went with it and voila! The program would start working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
Today they have grown up into two wonderful children \u2013 similar, yet different in their own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the project started would assemble the team and get cracking with the objective of completing it on schedule, under budget with the right quality. Even in the best of the defined projects soon I would find that the requirements would be subject to change. The team with all its skill, was not a perfect match to the needs. Just when I thought this was a stable technology, would run into issues that were never foreseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the pressure of time, meeting the week\u2019s schedule would creep in. I would quickly look at people who can do things by themselves, assign them \u201dthe tasks\u201d that I deemed important. Then with the others, I would now push them hard, give them the \u201cother\u201d tasks. I would exactly let them know what\u2019s to be done. They would do it. If they fell into the rut some would get lost, others would walk up to me to help them solve. It was a relief for me. They came with the problem, and with my years of experience would help solve it. Off they went with it and voila! The program would start working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
Now in this process, there were brief moments when I would compare the progress of my son with my daughter. But within moments the thoughts would be replaced with what my daughter was quick and good at, what my son was quick and good at. So there was no real comparison, but instead a willingness to support them with their pace of growth. There was an attempt to see them maximize their potential (e.g. my son\u2019s love for arithmetic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today they have grown up into two wonderful children \u2013 similar, yet different in their own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the project started would assemble the team and get cracking with the objective of completing it on schedule, under budget with the right quality. Even in the best of the defined projects soon I would find that the requirements would be subject to change. The team with all its skill, was not a perfect match to the needs. Just when I thought this was a stable technology, would run into issues that were never foreseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the pressure of time, meeting the week\u2019s schedule would creep in. I would quickly look at people who can do things by themselves, assign them \u201dthe tasks\u201d that I deemed important. Then with the others, I would now push them hard, give them the \u201cother\u201d tasks. I would exactly let them know what\u2019s to be done. They would do it. If they fell into the rut some would get lost, others would walk up to me to help them solve. It was a relief for me. They came with the problem, and with my years of experience would help solve it. Off they went with it and voila! The program would start working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
Years later, when my son was born this story would repeat all over again. My son\u2019s progress was a little slower in this process. He eventually made it too. In the meanwhile I noticed that my son\u2019s ability to count was very good. So I would encourage and see with joy that he did it well repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now in this process, there were brief moments when I would compare the progress of my son with my daughter. But within moments the thoughts would be replaced with what my daughter was quick and good at, what my son was quick and good at. So there was no real comparison, but instead a willingness to support them with their pace of growth. There was an attempt to see them maximize their potential (e.g. my son\u2019s love for arithmetic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today they have grown up into two wonderful children \u2013 similar, yet different in their own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the project started would assemble the team and get cracking with the objective of completing it on schedule, under budget with the right quality. Even in the best of the defined projects soon I would find that the requirements would be subject to change. The team with all its skill, was not a perfect match to the needs. Just when I thought this was a stable technology, would run into issues that were never foreseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the pressure of time, meeting the week\u2019s schedule would creep in. I would quickly look at people who can do things by themselves, assign them \u201dthe tasks\u201d that I deemed important. Then with the others, I would now push them hard, give them the \u201cother\u201d tasks. I would exactly let them know what\u2019s to be done. They would do it. If they fell into the rut some would get lost, others would walk up to me to help them solve. It was a relief for me. They came with the problem, and with my years of experience would help solve it. Off they went with it and voila! The program would start working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
During this journey when she fell very many times. Sometimes I would be tempted to think that I should support her more, so that she would not fall. After all I was not a sadist to see a kid fall, much less mine! But this brief thought would quickly vanish, stating that she will learn from it and soon walk. So the only time when support would come would be if she got dangerously close to the staircase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Years later, when my son was born this story would repeat all over again. My son\u2019s progress was a little slower in this process. He eventually made it too. In the meanwhile I noticed that my son\u2019s ability to count was very good. So I would encourage and see with joy that he did it well repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now in this process, there were brief moments when I would compare the progress of my son with my daughter. But within moments the thoughts would be replaced with what my daughter was quick and good at, what my son was quick and good at. So there was no real comparison, but instead a willingness to support them with their pace of growth. There was an attempt to see them maximize their potential (e.g. my son\u2019s love for arithmetic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today they have grown up into two wonderful children \u2013 similar, yet different in their own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the project started would assemble the team and get cracking with the objective of completing it on schedule, under budget with the right quality. Even in the best of the defined projects soon I would find that the requirements would be subject to change. The team with all its skill, was not a perfect match to the needs. Just when I thought this was a stable technology, would run into issues that were never foreseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the pressure of time, meeting the week\u2019s schedule would creep in. I would quickly look at people who can do things by themselves, assign them \u201dthe tasks\u201d that I deemed important. Then with the others, I would now push them hard, give them the \u201cother\u201d tasks. I would exactly let them know what\u2019s to be done. They would do it. If they fell into the rut some would get lost, others would walk up to me to help them solve. It was a relief for me. They came with the problem, and with my years of experience would help solve it. Off they went with it and voila! The program would start working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
When my daughter was about ten months old, like all parents I looked forward to my daughter starting to walk. Every little attempt was cheered. When she attempted to move and fell, the fall only made me feel more resolute \u2013 that she\u2019s getting closer to walking. So many umpteen attempts to stand and move, I had the patience and willingness to see her joy in doing that. She may have hardly moved a feet or two, I felt it was a cause to cheer her success. So she learnt to start walking. Then over the passing weeks, she soon learnt to improve from the gingerly steps to walking without holding the wall or the railings. Her quality of walk and the time she could walk without support started to increase. Months later she was on her own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During this journey when she fell very many times. Sometimes I would be tempted to think that I should support her more, so that she would not fall. After all I was not a sadist to see a kid fall, much less mine! But this brief thought would quickly vanish, stating that she will learn from it and soon walk. So the only time when support would come would be if she got dangerously close to the staircase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Years later, when my son was born this story would repeat all over again. My son\u2019s progress was a little slower in this process. He eventually made it too. In the meanwhile I noticed that my son\u2019s ability to count was very good. So I would encourage and see with joy that he did it well repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now in this process, there were brief moments when I would compare the progress of my son with my daughter. But within moments the thoughts would be replaced with what my daughter was quick and good at, what my son was quick and good at. So there was no real comparison, but instead a willingness to support them with their pace of growth. There was an attempt to see them maximize their potential (e.g. my son\u2019s love for arithmetic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today they have grown up into two wonderful children \u2013 similar, yet different in their own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the project started would assemble the team and get cracking with the objective of completing it on schedule, under budget with the right quality. Even in the best of the defined projects soon I would find that the requirements would be subject to change. The team with all its skill, was not a perfect match to the needs. Just when I thought this was a stable technology, would run into issues that were never foreseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the pressure of time, meeting the week\u2019s schedule would creep in. I would quickly look at people who can do things by themselves, assign them \u201dthe tasks\u201d that I deemed important. Then with the others, I would now push them hard, give them the \u201cother\u201d tasks. I would exactly let them know what\u2019s to be done. They would do it. If they fell into the rut some would get lost, others would walk up to me to help them solve. It was a relief for me. They came with the problem, and with my years of experience would help solve it. Off they went with it and voila! The program would start working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
Parenting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When my daughter was about ten months old, like all parents I looked forward to my daughter starting to walk. Every little attempt was cheered. When she attempted to move and fell, the fall only made me feel more resolute \u2013 that she\u2019s getting closer to walking. So many umpteen attempts to stand and move, I had the patience and willingness to see her joy in doing that. She may have hardly moved a feet or two, I felt it was a cause to cheer her success. So she learnt to start walking. Then over the passing weeks, she soon learnt to improve from the gingerly steps to walking without holding the wall or the railings. Her quality of walk and the time she could walk without support started to increase. Months later she was on her own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During this journey when she fell very many times. Sometimes I would be tempted to think that I should support her more, so that she would not fall. After all I was not a sadist to see a kid fall, much less mine! But this brief thought would quickly vanish, stating that she will learn from it and soon walk. So the only time when support would come would be if she got dangerously close to the staircase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Years later, when my son was born this story would repeat all over again. My son\u2019s progress was a little slower in this process. He eventually made it too. In the meanwhile I noticed that my son\u2019s ability to count was very good. So I would encourage and see with joy that he did it well repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now in this process, there were brief moments when I would compare the progress of my son with my daughter. But within moments the thoughts would be replaced with what my daughter was quick and good at, what my son was quick and good at. So there was no real comparison, but instead a willingness to support them with their pace of growth. There was an attempt to see them maximize their potential (e.g. my son\u2019s love for arithmetic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today they have grown up into two wonderful children \u2013 similar, yet different in their own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the project started would assemble the team and get cracking with the objective of completing it on schedule, under budget with the right quality. Even in the best of the defined projects soon I would find that the requirements would be subject to change. The team with all its skill, was not a perfect match to the needs. Just when I thought this was a stable technology, would run into issues that were never foreseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the pressure of time, meeting the week\u2019s schedule would creep in. I would quickly look at people who can do things by themselves, assign them \u201dthe tasks\u201d that I deemed important. Then with the others, I would now push them hard, give them the \u201cother\u201d tasks. I would exactly let them know what\u2019s to be done. They would do it. If they fell into the rut some would get lost, others would walk up to me to help them solve. It was a relief for me. They came with the problem, and with my years of experience would help solve it. Off they went with it and voila! The program would start working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
I am sure many of you have been through this journey, or have seen others in this journey. Once you read this, I would like to listen to your perspective. I am fine between complete agreement to total disagreement with what I have penned. Even more interestingly, if you have anything orthogonal to what is here, that will be of value to listen and learn from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parenting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When my daughter was about ten months old, like all parents I looked forward to my daughter starting to walk. Every little attempt was cheered. When she attempted to move and fell, the fall only made me feel more resolute \u2013 that she\u2019s getting closer to walking. So many umpteen attempts to stand and move, I had the patience and willingness to see her joy in doing that. She may have hardly moved a feet or two, I felt it was a cause to cheer her success. So she learnt to start walking. Then over the passing weeks, she soon learnt to improve from the gingerly steps to walking without holding the wall or the railings. Her quality of walk and the time she could walk without support started to increase. Months later she was on her own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During this journey when she fell very many times. Sometimes I would be tempted to think that I should support her more, so that she would not fall. After all I was not a sadist to see a kid fall, much less mine! But this brief thought would quickly vanish, stating that she will learn from it and soon walk. So the only time when support would come would be if she got dangerously close to the staircase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Years later, when my son was born this story would repeat all over again. My son\u2019s progress was a little slower in this process. He eventually made it too. In the meanwhile I noticed that my son\u2019s ability to count was very good. So I would encourage and see with joy that he did it well repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now in this process, there were brief moments when I would compare the progress of my son with my daughter. But within moments the thoughts would be replaced with what my daughter was quick and good at, what my son was quick and good at. So there was no real comparison, but instead a willingness to support them with their pace of growth. There was an attempt to see them maximize their potential (e.g. my son\u2019s love for arithmetic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today they have grown up into two wonderful children \u2013 similar, yet different in their own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the project started would assemble the team and get cracking with the objective of completing it on schedule, under budget with the right quality. Even in the best of the defined projects soon I would find that the requirements would be subject to change. The team with all its skill, was not a perfect match to the needs. Just when I thought this was a stable technology, would run into issues that were never foreseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the pressure of time, meeting the week\u2019s schedule would creep in. I would quickly look at people who can do things by themselves, assign them \u201dthe tasks\u201d that I deemed important. Then with the others, I would now push them hard, give them the \u201cother\u201d tasks. I would exactly let them know what\u2019s to be done. They would do it. If they fell into the rut some would get lost, others would walk up to me to help them solve. It was a relief for me. They came with the problem, and with my years of experience would help solve it. Off they went with it and voila! The program would start working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
I began life as a child, and still continue to behave like one. I started my working years as an individual contributor, and still continue to be one. In addition to this in my wonderful journey of life and work I have also become a parent and a team manager. What\u2019s more interesting as I look at life \u2013 the period when I shifted gears to become a parent and a team manager were nearly in the same time frame of my life. Several years later, I have contemplated how I have handled these two shifts. The more I looked at it, the more I found a lot to learn in life. I am never a believer that any paradigm is absolutely right. However, I also firmly believe that when we keep our mind wide open, we always have something to learn from one context and apply it in another, to be even better. So the same is true for what I pen below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am sure many of you have been through this journey, or have seen others in this journey. Once you read this, I would like to listen to your perspective. I am fine between complete agreement to total disagreement with what I have penned. Even more interestingly, if you have anything orthogonal to what is here, that will be of value to listen and learn from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parenting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When my daughter was about ten months old, like all parents I looked forward to my daughter starting to walk. Every little attempt was cheered. When she attempted to move and fell, the fall only made me feel more resolute \u2013 that she\u2019s getting closer to walking. So many umpteen attempts to stand and move, I had the patience and willingness to see her joy in doing that. She may have hardly moved a feet or two, I felt it was a cause to cheer her success. So she learnt to start walking. Then over the passing weeks, she soon learnt to improve from the gingerly steps to walking without holding the wall or the railings. Her quality of walk and the time she could walk without support started to increase. Months later she was on her own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During this journey when she fell very many times. Sometimes I would be tempted to think that I should support her more, so that she would not fall. After all I was not a sadist to see a kid fall, much less mine! But this brief thought would quickly vanish, stating that she will learn from it and soon walk. So the only time when support would come would be if she got dangerously close to the staircase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Years later, when my son was born this story would repeat all over again. My son\u2019s progress was a little slower in this process. He eventually made it too. In the meanwhile I noticed that my son\u2019s ability to count was very good. So I would encourage and see with joy that he did it well repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now in this process, there were brief moments when I would compare the progress of my son with my daughter. But within moments the thoughts would be replaced with what my daughter was quick and good at, what my son was quick and good at. So there was no real comparison, but instead a willingness to support them with their pace of growth. There was an attempt to see them maximize their potential (e.g. my son\u2019s love for arithmetic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today they have grown up into two wonderful children \u2013 similar, yet different in their own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the project started would assemble the team and get cracking with the objective of completing it on schedule, under budget with the right quality. Even in the best of the defined projects soon I would find that the requirements would be subject to change. The team with all its skill, was not a perfect match to the needs. Just when I thought this was a stable technology, would run into issues that were never foreseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the pressure of time, meeting the week\u2019s schedule would creep in. I would quickly look at people who can do things by themselves, assign them \u201dthe tasks\u201d that I deemed important. Then with the others, I would now push them hard, give them the \u201cother\u201d tasks. I would exactly let them know what\u2019s to be done. They would do it. If they fell into the rut some would get lost, others would walk up to me to help them solve. It was a relief for me. They came with the problem, and with my years of experience would help solve it. Off they went with it and voila! The program would start working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
Often managers creating a report for stakeholders, assume that their responsibility ends with that, get frustrated when they do not get responses or unable to resolve the issues. They think of creating the report as a chore, and often mentally exhausted. Major shift happens, if they focus on getting responses and resolving issues as the end goal and treat the report as just a means. Those who get this never complain of the boring process of creating reports, as report for them is a step in getting an issue resolved or a problem solved. Most managers pride themselves on their ability to solve problems and issues and this small tweak helps them go raring at it. All this by just focusing on the end\/outcome.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Communicating with the End in Mind","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"communicating-with-the-end-in-mind","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3704","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":3399,"post_author":"25","post_date":"2015-07-07 10:32:00","post_date_gmt":"2015-07-07 05:02:00","post_content":"\n I began life as a child, and still continue to behave like one. I started my working years as an individual contributor, and still continue to be one. In addition to this in my wonderful journey of life and work I have also become a parent and a team manager. What\u2019s more interesting as I look at life \u2013 the period when I shifted gears to become a parent and a team manager were nearly in the same time frame of my life. Several years later, I have contemplated how I have handled these two shifts. The more I looked at it, the more I found a lot to learn in life. I am never a believer that any paradigm is absolutely right. However, I also firmly believe that when we keep our mind wide open, we always have something to learn from one context and apply it in another, to be even better. So the same is true for what I pen below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am sure many of you have been through this journey, or have seen others in this journey. Once you read this, I would like to listen to your perspective. I am fine between complete agreement to total disagreement with what I have penned. Even more interestingly, if you have anything orthogonal to what is here, that will be of value to listen and learn from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parenting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When my daughter was about ten months old, like all parents I looked forward to my daughter starting to walk. Every little attempt was cheered. When she attempted to move and fell, the fall only made me feel more resolute \u2013 that she\u2019s getting closer to walking. So many umpteen attempts to stand and move, I had the patience and willingness to see her joy in doing that. She may have hardly moved a feet or two, I felt it was a cause to cheer her success. So she learnt to start walking. Then over the passing weeks, she soon learnt to improve from the gingerly steps to walking without holding the wall or the railings. Her quality of walk and the time she could walk without support started to increase. Months later she was on her own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During this journey when she fell very many times. Sometimes I would be tempted to think that I should support her more, so that she would not fall. After all I was not a sadist to see a kid fall, much less mine! But this brief thought would quickly vanish, stating that she will learn from it and soon walk. So the only time when support would come would be if she got dangerously close to the staircase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Years later, when my son was born this story would repeat all over again. My son\u2019s progress was a little slower in this process. He eventually made it too. In the meanwhile I noticed that my son\u2019s ability to count was very good. So I would encourage and see with joy that he did it well repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now in this process, there were brief moments when I would compare the progress of my son with my daughter. But within moments the thoughts would be replaced with what my daughter was quick and good at, what my son was quick and good at. So there was no real comparison, but instead a willingness to support them with their pace of growth. There was an attempt to see them maximize their potential (e.g. my son\u2019s love for arithmetic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today they have grown up into two wonderful children \u2013 similar, yet different in their own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the project started would assemble the team and get cracking with the objective of completing it on schedule, under budget with the right quality. Even in the best of the defined projects soon I would find that the requirements would be subject to change. The team with all its skill, was not a perfect match to the needs. Just when I thought this was a stable technology, would run into issues that were never foreseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the pressure of time, meeting the week\u2019s schedule would creep in. I would quickly look at people who can do things by themselves, assign them \u201dthe tasks\u201d that I deemed important. Then with the others, I would now push them hard, give them the \u201cother\u201d tasks. I would exactly let them know what\u2019s to be done. They would do it. If they fell into the rut some would get lost, others would walk up to me to help them solve. It was a relief for me. They came with the problem, and with my years of experience would help solve it. Off they went with it and voila! The program would start working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
We shared this observation with the class and from then on, this is one of my favorite stories that I share when training on project\/work communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Often managers creating a report for stakeholders, assume that their responsibility ends with that, get frustrated when they do not get responses or unable to resolve the issues. They think of creating the report as a chore, and often mentally exhausted. Major shift happens, if they focus on getting responses and resolving issues as the end goal and treat the report as just a means. Those who get this never complain of the boring process of creating reports, as report for them is a step in getting an issue resolved or a problem solved. Most managers pride themselves on their ability to solve problems and issues and this small tweak helps them go raring at it. All this by just focusing on the end\/outcome.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Communicating with the End in Mind","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"communicating-with-the-end-in-mind","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3704","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":3399,"post_author":"25","post_date":"2015-07-07 10:32:00","post_date_gmt":"2015-07-07 05:02:00","post_content":"\n I began life as a child, and still continue to behave like one. I started my working years as an individual contributor, and still continue to be one. In addition to this in my wonderful journey of life and work I have also become a parent and a team manager. What\u2019s more interesting as I look at life \u2013 the period when I shifted gears to become a parent and a team manager were nearly in the same time frame of my life. Several years later, I have contemplated how I have handled these two shifts. The more I looked at it, the more I found a lot to learn in life. I am never a believer that any paradigm is absolutely right. However, I also firmly believe that when we keep our mind wide open, we always have something to learn from one context and apply it in another, to be even better. So the same is true for what I pen below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am sure many of you have been through this journey, or have seen others in this journey. Once you read this, I would like to listen to your perspective. I am fine between complete agreement to total disagreement with what I have penned. Even more interestingly, if you have anything orthogonal to what is here, that will be of value to listen and learn from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parenting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When my daughter was about ten months old, like all parents I looked forward to my daughter starting to walk. Every little attempt was cheered. When she attempted to move and fell, the fall only made me feel more resolute \u2013 that she\u2019s getting closer to walking. So many umpteen attempts to stand and move, I had the patience and willingness to see her joy in doing that. She may have hardly moved a feet or two, I felt it was a cause to cheer her success. So she learnt to start walking. Then over the passing weeks, she soon learnt to improve from the gingerly steps to walking without holding the wall or the railings. Her quality of walk and the time she could walk without support started to increase. Months later she was on her own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During this journey when she fell very many times. Sometimes I would be tempted to think that I should support her more, so that she would not fall. After all I was not a sadist to see a kid fall, much less mine! But this brief thought would quickly vanish, stating that she will learn from it and soon walk. So the only time when support would come would be if she got dangerously close to the staircase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Years later, when my son was born this story would repeat all over again. My son\u2019s progress was a little slower in this process. He eventually made it too. In the meanwhile I noticed that my son\u2019s ability to count was very good. So I would encourage and see with joy that he did it well repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now in this process, there were brief moments when I would compare the progress of my son with my daughter. But within moments the thoughts would be replaced with what my daughter was quick and good at, what my son was quick and good at. So there was no real comparison, but instead a willingness to support them with their pace of growth. There was an attempt to see them maximize their potential (e.g. my son\u2019s love for arithmetic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today they have grown up into two wonderful children \u2013 similar, yet different in their own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the project started would assemble the team and get cracking with the objective of completing it on schedule, under budget with the right quality. Even in the best of the defined projects soon I would find that the requirements would be subject to change. The team with all its skill, was not a perfect match to the needs. Just when I thought this was a stable technology, would run into issues that were never foreseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the pressure of time, meeting the week\u2019s schedule would creep in. I would quickly look at people who can do things by themselves, assign them \u201dthe tasks\u201d that I deemed important. Then with the others, I would now push them hard, give them the \u201cother\u201d tasks. I would exactly let them know what\u2019s to be done. They would do it. If they fell into the rut some would get lost, others would walk up to me to help them solve. It was a relief for me. They came with the problem, and with my years of experience would help solve it. Off they went with it and voila! The program would start working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
Interestingly, few had jumped into arriving at a solution without even documenting the \u201cdesired outcome\u201d and a few had included this. Invariably, the answers of those who had included this column were significantly better than those who had not. I also noticed that many of them had tweaked their solutions after including this column at the end, it was hand written test. There were a few, who got it right otherwise too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We shared this observation with the class and from then on, this is one of my favorite stories that I share when training on project\/work communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Often managers creating a report for stakeholders, assume that their responsibility ends with that, get frustrated when they do not get responses or unable to resolve the issues. They think of creating the report as a chore, and often mentally exhausted. Major shift happens, if they focus on getting responses and resolving issues as the end goal and treat the report as just a means. Those who get this never complain of the boring process of creating reports, as report for them is a step in getting an issue resolved or a problem solved. Most managers pride themselves on their ability to solve problems and issues and this small tweak helps them go raring at it. All this by just focusing on the end\/outcome.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Communicating with the End in Mind","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"communicating-with-the-end-in-mind","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3704","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":3399,"post_author":"25","post_date":"2015-07-07 10:32:00","post_date_gmt":"2015-07-07 05:02:00","post_content":"\n I began life as a child, and still continue to behave like one. I started my working years as an individual contributor, and still continue to be one. In addition to this in my wonderful journey of life and work I have also become a parent and a team manager. What\u2019s more interesting as I look at life \u2013 the period when I shifted gears to become a parent and a team manager were nearly in the same time frame of my life. Several years later, I have contemplated how I have handled these two shifts. The more I looked at it, the more I found a lot to learn in life. I am never a believer that any paradigm is absolutely right. However, I also firmly believe that when we keep our mind wide open, we always have something to learn from one context and apply it in another, to be even better. So the same is true for what I pen below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am sure many of you have been through this journey, or have seen others in this journey. Once you read this, I would like to listen to your perspective. I am fine between complete agreement to total disagreement with what I have penned. Even more interestingly, if you have anything orthogonal to what is here, that will be of value to listen and learn from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parenting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When my daughter was about ten months old, like all parents I looked forward to my daughter starting to walk. Every little attempt was cheered. When she attempted to move and fell, the fall only made me feel more resolute \u2013 that she\u2019s getting closer to walking. So many umpteen attempts to stand and move, I had the patience and willingness to see her joy in doing that. She may have hardly moved a feet or two, I felt it was a cause to cheer her success. So she learnt to start walking. Then over the passing weeks, she soon learnt to improve from the gingerly steps to walking without holding the wall or the railings. Her quality of walk and the time she could walk without support started to increase. Months later she was on her own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During this journey when she fell very many times. Sometimes I would be tempted to think that I should support her more, so that she would not fall. After all I was not a sadist to see a kid fall, much less mine! But this brief thought would quickly vanish, stating that she will learn from it and soon walk. So the only time when support would come would be if she got dangerously close to the staircase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Years later, when my son was born this story would repeat all over again. My son\u2019s progress was a little slower in this process. He eventually made it too. In the meanwhile I noticed that my son\u2019s ability to count was very good. So I would encourage and see with joy that he did it well repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now in this process, there were brief moments when I would compare the progress of my son with my daughter. But within moments the thoughts would be replaced with what my daughter was quick and good at, what my son was quick and good at. So there was no real comparison, but instead a willingness to support them with their pace of growth. There was an attempt to see them maximize their potential (e.g. my son\u2019s love for arithmetic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today they have grown up into two wonderful children \u2013 similar, yet different in their own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the project started would assemble the team and get cracking with the objective of completing it on schedule, under budget with the right quality. Even in the best of the defined projects soon I would find that the requirements would be subject to change. The team with all its skill, was not a perfect match to the needs. Just when I thought this was a stable technology, would run into issues that were never foreseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the pressure of time, meeting the week\u2019s schedule would creep in. I would quickly look at people who can do things by themselves, assign them \u201dthe tasks\u201d that I deemed important. Then with the others, I would now push them hard, give them the \u201cother\u201d tasks. I would exactly let them know what\u2019s to be done. They would do it. If they fell into the rut some would get lost, others would walk up to me to help them solve. It was a relief for me. They came with the problem, and with my years of experience would help solve it. Off they went with it and voila! The program would start working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
Interestingly, few had jumped into arriving at a solution without even documenting the \u201cdesired outcome\u201d and a few had included this. Invariably, the answers of those who had included this column were significantly better than those who had not. I also noticed that many of them had tweaked their solutions after including this column at the end, it was hand written test. There were a few, who got it right otherwise too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We shared this observation with the class and from then on, this is one of my favorite stories that I share when training on project\/work communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Often managers creating a report for stakeholders, assume that their responsibility ends with that, get frustrated when they do not get responses or unable to resolve the issues. They think of creating the report as a chore, and often mentally exhausted. Major shift happens, if they focus on getting responses and resolving issues as the end goal and treat the report as just a means. Those who get this never complain of the boring process of creating reports, as report for them is a step in getting an issue resolved or a problem solved. Most managers pride themselves on their ability to solve problems and issues and this small tweak helps them go raring at it. All this by just focusing on the end\/outcome.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Communicating with the End in Mind","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"communicating-with-the-end-in-mind","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3704","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":3399,"post_author":"25","post_date":"2015-07-07 10:32:00","post_date_gmt":"2015-07-07 05:02:00","post_content":"\n I began life as a child, and still continue to behave like one. I started my working years as an individual contributor, and still continue to be one. In addition to this in my wonderful journey of life and work I have also become a parent and a team manager. What\u2019s more interesting as I look at life \u2013 the period when I shifted gears to become a parent and a team manager were nearly in the same time frame of my life. Several years later, I have contemplated how I have handled these two shifts. The more I looked at it, the more I found a lot to learn in life. I am never a believer that any paradigm is absolutely right. However, I also firmly believe that when we keep our mind wide open, we always have something to learn from one context and apply it in another, to be even better. So the same is true for what I pen below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am sure many of you have been through this journey, or have seen others in this journey. Once you read this, I would like to listen to your perspective. I am fine between complete agreement to total disagreement with what I have penned. Even more interestingly, if you have anything orthogonal to what is here, that will be of value to listen and learn from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parenting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When my daughter was about ten months old, like all parents I looked forward to my daughter starting to walk. Every little attempt was cheered. When she attempted to move and fell, the fall only made me feel more resolute \u2013 that she\u2019s getting closer to walking. So many umpteen attempts to stand and move, I had the patience and willingness to see her joy in doing that. She may have hardly moved a feet or two, I felt it was a cause to cheer her success. So she learnt to start walking. Then over the passing weeks, she soon learnt to improve from the gingerly steps to walking without holding the wall or the railings. Her quality of walk and the time she could walk without support started to increase. Months later she was on her own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During this journey when she fell very many times. Sometimes I would be tempted to think that I should support her more, so that she would not fall. After all I was not a sadist to see a kid fall, much less mine! But this brief thought would quickly vanish, stating that she will learn from it and soon walk. So the only time when support would come would be if she got dangerously close to the staircase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Years later, when my son was born this story would repeat all over again. My son\u2019s progress was a little slower in this process. He eventually made it too. In the meanwhile I noticed that my son\u2019s ability to count was very good. So I would encourage and see with joy that he did it well repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now in this process, there were brief moments when I would compare the progress of my son with my daughter. But within moments the thoughts would be replaced with what my daughter was quick and good at, what my son was quick and good at. So there was no real comparison, but instead a willingness to support them with their pace of growth. There was an attempt to see them maximize their potential (e.g. my son\u2019s love for arithmetic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today they have grown up into two wonderful children \u2013 similar, yet different in their own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the project started would assemble the team and get cracking with the objective of completing it on schedule, under budget with the right quality. Even in the best of the defined projects soon I would find that the requirements would be subject to change. The team with all its skill, was not a perfect match to the needs. Just when I thought this was a stable technology, would run into issues that were never foreseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the pressure of time, meeting the week\u2019s schedule would creep in. I would quickly look at people who can do things by themselves, assign them \u201dthe tasks\u201d that I deemed important. Then with the others, I would now push them hard, give them the \u201cother\u201d tasks. I would exactly let them know what\u2019s to be done. They would do it. If they fell into the rut some would get lost, others would walk up to me to help them solve. It was a relief for me. They came with the problem, and with my years of experience would help solve it. Off they went with it and voila! The program would start working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
Here's is what I found: The Communication question was a project situation with challenges in dealing and getting responses from the project stakeholders. There was a template suggested for the answer, that had the standard columns like what, who, frequency and a column for desired outcome\/ result, the last column is typically not included in the templates. Communication model talks about acknowledgment and feedback, but they are not represented in templates for Project Communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interestingly, few had jumped into arriving at a solution without even documenting the \u201cdesired outcome\u201d and a few had included this. Invariably, the answers of those who had included this column were significantly better than those who had not. I also noticed that many of them had tweaked their solutions after including this column at the end, it was hand written test. There were a few, who got it right otherwise too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We shared this observation with the class and from then on, this is one of my favorite stories that I share when training on project\/work communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Often managers creating a report for stakeholders, assume that their responsibility ends with that, get frustrated when they do not get responses or unable to resolve the issues. They think of creating the report as a chore, and often mentally exhausted. Major shift happens, if they focus on getting responses and resolving issues as the end goal and treat the report as just a means. Those who get this never complain of the boring process of creating reports, as report for them is a step in getting an issue resolved or a problem solved. Most managers pride themselves on their ability to solve problems and issues and this small tweak helps them go raring at it. All this by just focusing on the end\/outcome.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Communicating with the End in Mind","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"communicating-with-the-end-in-mind","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3704","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":3399,"post_author":"25","post_date":"2015-07-07 10:32:00","post_date_gmt":"2015-07-07 05:02:00","post_content":"\n I began life as a child, and still continue to behave like one. I started my working years as an individual contributor, and still continue to be one. In addition to this in my wonderful journey of life and work I have also become a parent and a team manager. What\u2019s more interesting as I look at life \u2013 the period when I shifted gears to become a parent and a team manager were nearly in the same time frame of my life. Several years later, I have contemplated how I have handled these two shifts. The more I looked at it, the more I found a lot to learn in life. I am never a believer that any paradigm is absolutely right. However, I also firmly believe that when we keep our mind wide open, we always have something to learn from one context and apply it in another, to be even better. So the same is true for what I pen below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am sure many of you have been through this journey, or have seen others in this journey. Once you read this, I would like to listen to your perspective. I am fine between complete agreement to total disagreement with what I have penned. Even more interestingly, if you have anything orthogonal to what is here, that will be of value to listen and learn from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parenting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When my daughter was about ten months old, like all parents I looked forward to my daughter starting to walk. Every little attempt was cheered. When she attempted to move and fell, the fall only made me feel more resolute \u2013 that she\u2019s getting closer to walking. So many umpteen attempts to stand and move, I had the patience and willingness to see her joy in doing that. She may have hardly moved a feet or two, I felt it was a cause to cheer her success. So she learnt to start walking. Then over the passing weeks, she soon learnt to improve from the gingerly steps to walking without holding the wall or the railings. Her quality of walk and the time she could walk without support started to increase. Months later she was on her own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During this journey when she fell very many times. Sometimes I would be tempted to think that I should support her more, so that she would not fall. After all I was not a sadist to see a kid fall, much less mine! But this brief thought would quickly vanish, stating that she will learn from it and soon walk. So the only time when support would come would be if she got dangerously close to the staircase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Years later, when my son was born this story would repeat all over again. My son\u2019s progress was a little slower in this process. He eventually made it too. In the meanwhile I noticed that my son\u2019s ability to count was very good. So I would encourage and see with joy that he did it well repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now in this process, there were brief moments when I would compare the progress of my son with my daughter. But within moments the thoughts would be replaced with what my daughter was quick and good at, what my son was quick and good at. So there was no real comparison, but instead a willingness to support them with their pace of growth. There was an attempt to see them maximize their potential (e.g. my son\u2019s love for arithmetic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today they have grown up into two wonderful children \u2013 similar, yet different in their own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the project started would assemble the team and get cracking with the objective of completing it on schedule, under budget with the right quality. Even in the best of the defined projects soon I would find that the requirements would be subject to change. The team with all its skill, was not a perfect match to the needs. Just when I thought this was a stable technology, would run into issues that were never foreseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the pressure of time, meeting the week\u2019s schedule would creep in. I would quickly look at people who can do things by themselves, assign them \u201dthe tasks\u201d that I deemed important. Then with the others, I would now push them hard, give them the \u201cother\u201d tasks. I would exactly let them know what\u2019s to be done. They would do it. If they fell into the rut some would get lost, others would walk up to me to help them solve. It was a relief for me. They came with the problem, and with my years of experience would help solve it. Off they went with it and voila! The program would start working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
This got highlighted in a serendipitous event for us. We were helping Delivery Managers with competency development in a Automotive client's organization, it included a module on Communication. We had a written test as part of the program and I had created the question for it, and has evaluated the answers. The test had questions from other areas like Stakeholders, Customer satisfaction and corresponding questions were set by my colleagues. One of them was tabulating the marks and had an interesting observation on my evaluation \u2013 that I have either given marks in 75-80% range or 45-50% range, and asked why is it so? I had not noticed this and I reviewed the answer scripts briefly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here's is what I found: The Communication question was a project situation with challenges in dealing and getting responses from the project stakeholders. There was a template suggested for the answer, that had the standard columns like what, who, frequency and a column for desired outcome\/ result, the last column is typically not included in the templates. Communication model talks about acknowledgment and feedback, but they are not represented in templates for Project Communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interestingly, few had jumped into arriving at a solution without even documenting the \u201cdesired outcome\u201d and a few had included this. Invariably, the answers of those who had included this column were significantly better than those who had not. I also noticed that many of them had tweaked their solutions after including this column at the end, it was hand written test. There were a few, who got it right otherwise too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We shared this observation with the class and from then on, this is one of my favorite stories that I share when training on project\/work communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Often managers creating a report for stakeholders, assume that their responsibility ends with that, get frustrated when they do not get responses or unable to resolve the issues. They think of creating the report as a chore, and often mentally exhausted. Major shift happens, if they focus on getting responses and resolving issues as the end goal and treat the report as just a means. Those who get this never complain of the boring process of creating reports, as report for them is a step in getting an issue resolved or a problem solved. Most managers pride themselves on their ability to solve problems and issues and this small tweak helps them go raring at it. All this by just focusing on the end\/outcome.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Communicating with the End in Mind","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"communicating-with-the-end-in-mind","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3704","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":3399,"post_author":"25","post_date":"2015-07-07 10:32:00","post_date_gmt":"2015-07-07 05:02:00","post_content":"\n I began life as a child, and still continue to behave like one. I started my working years as an individual contributor, and still continue to be one. In addition to this in my wonderful journey of life and work I have also become a parent and a team manager. What\u2019s more interesting as I look at life \u2013 the period when I shifted gears to become a parent and a team manager were nearly in the same time frame of my life. Several years later, I have contemplated how I have handled these two shifts. The more I looked at it, the more I found a lot to learn in life. I am never a believer that any paradigm is absolutely right. However, I also firmly believe that when we keep our mind wide open, we always have something to learn from one context and apply it in another, to be even better. So the same is true for what I pen below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am sure many of you have been through this journey, or have seen others in this journey. Once you read this, I would like to listen to your perspective. I am fine between complete agreement to total disagreement with what I have penned. Even more interestingly, if you have anything orthogonal to what is here, that will be of value to listen and learn from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parenting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When my daughter was about ten months old, like all parents I looked forward to my daughter starting to walk. Every little attempt was cheered. When she attempted to move and fell, the fall only made me feel more resolute \u2013 that she\u2019s getting closer to walking. So many umpteen attempts to stand and move, I had the patience and willingness to see her joy in doing that. She may have hardly moved a feet or two, I felt it was a cause to cheer her success. So she learnt to start walking. Then over the passing weeks, she soon learnt to improve from the gingerly steps to walking without holding the wall or the railings. Her quality of walk and the time she could walk without support started to increase. Months later she was on her own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During this journey when she fell very many times. Sometimes I would be tempted to think that I should support her more, so that she would not fall. After all I was not a sadist to see a kid fall, much less mine! But this brief thought would quickly vanish, stating that she will learn from it and soon walk. So the only time when support would come would be if she got dangerously close to the staircase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Years later, when my son was born this story would repeat all over again. My son\u2019s progress was a little slower in this process. He eventually made it too. In the meanwhile I noticed that my son\u2019s ability to count was very good. So I would encourage and see with joy that he did it well repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now in this process, there were brief moments when I would compare the progress of my son with my daughter. But within moments the thoughts would be replaced with what my daughter was quick and good at, what my son was quick and good at. So there was no real comparison, but instead a willingness to support them with their pace of growth. There was an attempt to see them maximize their potential (e.g. my son\u2019s love for arithmetic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today they have grown up into two wonderful children \u2013 similar, yet different in their own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the project started would assemble the team and get cracking with the objective of completing it on schedule, under budget with the right quality. Even in the best of the defined projects soon I would find that the requirements would be subject to change. The team with all its skill, was not a perfect match to the needs. Just when I thought this was a stable technology, would run into issues that were never foreseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the pressure of time, meeting the week\u2019s schedule would creep in. I would quickly look at people who can do things by themselves, assign them \u201dthe tasks\u201d that I deemed important. Then with the others, I would now push them hard, give them the \u201cother\u201d tasks. I would exactly let them know what\u2019s to be done. They would do it. If they fell into the rut some would get lost, others would walk up to me to help them solve. It was a relief for me. They came with the problem, and with my years of experience would help solve it. Off they went with it and voila! The program would start working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
Most of us are familiar with the Basic Communication Model - with sender, channel and receiver. We all understand that the responsibility for effective communication rests with both parties, with a slight onus on the sender. What I have experienced is that by including an element, that focuses on the outcome, enhances the effectiveness of communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This got highlighted in a serendipitous event for us. We were helping Delivery Managers with competency development in a Automotive client's organization, it included a module on Communication. We had a written test as part of the program and I had created the question for it, and has evaluated the answers. The test had questions from other areas like Stakeholders, Customer satisfaction and corresponding questions were set by my colleagues. One of them was tabulating the marks and had an interesting observation on my evaluation \u2013 that I have either given marks in 75-80% range or 45-50% range, and asked why is it so? I had not noticed this and I reviewed the answer scripts briefly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here's is what I found: The Communication question was a project situation with challenges in dealing and getting responses from the project stakeholders. There was a template suggested for the answer, that had the standard columns like what, who, frequency and a column for desired outcome\/ result, the last column is typically not included in the templates. Communication model talks about acknowledgment and feedback, but they are not represented in templates for Project Communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interestingly, few had jumped into arriving at a solution without even documenting the \u201cdesired outcome\u201d and a few had included this. Invariably, the answers of those who had included this column were significantly better than those who had not. I also noticed that many of them had tweaked their solutions after including this column at the end, it was hand written test. There were a few, who got it right otherwise too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We shared this observation with the class and from then on, this is one of my favorite stories that I share when training on project\/work communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Often managers creating a report for stakeholders, assume that their responsibility ends with that, get frustrated when they do not get responses or unable to resolve the issues. They think of creating the report as a chore, and often mentally exhausted. Major shift happens, if they focus on getting responses and resolving issues as the end goal and treat the report as just a means. Those who get this never complain of the boring process of creating reports, as report for them is a step in getting an issue resolved or a problem solved. Most managers pride themselves on their ability to solve problems and issues and this small tweak helps them go raring at it. All this by just focusing on the end\/outcome.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Communicating with the End in Mind","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"communicating-with-the-end-in-mind","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3704","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":3399,"post_author":"25","post_date":"2015-07-07 10:32:00","post_date_gmt":"2015-07-07 05:02:00","post_content":"\n I began life as a child, and still continue to behave like one. I started my working years as an individual contributor, and still continue to be one. In addition to this in my wonderful journey of life and work I have also become a parent and a team manager. What\u2019s more interesting as I look at life \u2013 the period when I shifted gears to become a parent and a team manager were nearly in the same time frame of my life. Several years later, I have contemplated how I have handled these two shifts. The more I looked at it, the more I found a lot to learn in life. I am never a believer that any paradigm is absolutely right. However, I also firmly believe that when we keep our mind wide open, we always have something to learn from one context and apply it in another, to be even better. So the same is true for what I pen below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am sure many of you have been through this journey, or have seen others in this journey. Once you read this, I would like to listen to your perspective. I am fine between complete agreement to total disagreement with what I have penned. Even more interestingly, if you have anything orthogonal to what is here, that will be of value to listen and learn from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parenting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When my daughter was about ten months old, like all parents I looked forward to my daughter starting to walk. Every little attempt was cheered. When she attempted to move and fell, the fall only made me feel more resolute \u2013 that she\u2019s getting closer to walking. So many umpteen attempts to stand and move, I had the patience and willingness to see her joy in doing that. She may have hardly moved a feet or two, I felt it was a cause to cheer her success. So she learnt to start walking. Then over the passing weeks, she soon learnt to improve from the gingerly steps to walking without holding the wall or the railings. Her quality of walk and the time she could walk without support started to increase. Months later she was on her own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During this journey when she fell very many times. Sometimes I would be tempted to think that I should support her more, so that she would not fall. After all I was not a sadist to see a kid fall, much less mine! But this brief thought would quickly vanish, stating that she will learn from it and soon walk. So the only time when support would come would be if she got dangerously close to the staircase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Years later, when my son was born this story would repeat all over again. My son\u2019s progress was a little slower in this process. He eventually made it too. In the meanwhile I noticed that my son\u2019s ability to count was very good. So I would encourage and see with joy that he did it well repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now in this process, there were brief moments when I would compare the progress of my son with my daughter. But within moments the thoughts would be replaced with what my daughter was quick and good at, what my son was quick and good at. So there was no real comparison, but instead a willingness to support them with their pace of growth. There was an attempt to see them maximize their potential (e.g. my son\u2019s love for arithmetic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today they have grown up into two wonderful children \u2013 similar, yet different in their own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the project started would assemble the team and get cracking with the objective of completing it on schedule, under budget with the right quality. Even in the best of the defined projects soon I would find that the requirements would be subject to change. The team with all its skill, was not a perfect match to the needs. Just when I thought this was a stable technology, would run into issues that were never foreseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the pressure of time, meeting the week\u2019s schedule would creep in. I would quickly look at people who can do things by themselves, assign them \u201dthe tasks\u201d that I deemed important. Then with the others, I would now push them hard, give them the \u201cother\u201d tasks. I would exactly let them know what\u2019s to be done. They would do it. If they fell into the rut some would get lost, others would walk up to me to help them solve. It was a relief for me. They came with the problem, and with my years of experience would help solve it. Off they went with it and voila! The program would start working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
Either way - you cannot ignore the 2% masala impact!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The 2% Masala Impact","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-2-masala-impact","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:03","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:03","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3448","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":3704,"post_author":"26","post_date":"2015-07-10 16:45:29","post_date_gmt":"2015-07-10 11:15:29","post_content":"\n Most of us are familiar with the Basic Communication Model - with sender, channel and receiver. We all understand that the responsibility for effective communication rests with both parties, with a slight onus on the sender. What I have experienced is that by including an element, that focuses on the outcome, enhances the effectiveness of communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This got highlighted in a serendipitous event for us. We were helping Delivery Managers with competency development in a Automotive client's organization, it included a module on Communication. We had a written test as part of the program and I had created the question for it, and has evaluated the answers. The test had questions from other areas like Stakeholders, Customer satisfaction and corresponding questions were set by my colleagues. One of them was tabulating the marks and had an interesting observation on my evaluation \u2013 that I have either given marks in 75-80% range or 45-50% range, and asked why is it so? I had not noticed this and I reviewed the answer scripts briefly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here's is what I found: The Communication question was a project situation with challenges in dealing and getting responses from the project stakeholders. There was a template suggested for the answer, that had the standard columns like what, who, frequency and a column for desired outcome\/ result, the last column is typically not included in the templates. Communication model talks about acknowledgment and feedback, but they are not represented in templates for Project Communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interestingly, few had jumped into arriving at a solution without even documenting the \u201cdesired outcome\u201d and a few had included this. Invariably, the answers of those who had included this column were significantly better than those who had not. I also noticed that many of them had tweaked their solutions after including this column at the end, it was hand written test. There were a few, who got it right otherwise too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We shared this observation with the class and from then on, this is one of my favorite stories that I share when training on project\/work communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Often managers creating a report for stakeholders, assume that their responsibility ends with that, get frustrated when they do not get responses or unable to resolve the issues. They think of creating the report as a chore, and often mentally exhausted. Major shift happens, if they focus on getting responses and resolving issues as the end goal and treat the report as just a means. Those who get this never complain of the boring process of creating reports, as report for them is a step in getting an issue resolved or a problem solved. Most managers pride themselves on their ability to solve problems and issues and this small tweak helps them go raring at it. All this by just focusing on the end\/outcome.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Communicating with the End in Mind","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"communicating-with-the-end-in-mind","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3704","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":3399,"post_author":"25","post_date":"2015-07-07 10:32:00","post_date_gmt":"2015-07-07 05:02:00","post_content":"\n I began life as a child, and still continue to behave like one. I started my working years as an individual contributor, and still continue to be one. In addition to this in my wonderful journey of life and work I have also become a parent and a team manager. What\u2019s more interesting as I look at life \u2013 the period when I shifted gears to become a parent and a team manager were nearly in the same time frame of my life. Several years later, I have contemplated how I have handled these two shifts. The more I looked at it, the more I found a lot to learn in life. I am never a believer that any paradigm is absolutely right. However, I also firmly believe that when we keep our mind wide open, we always have something to learn from one context and apply it in another, to be even better. So the same is true for what I pen below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am sure many of you have been through this journey, or have seen others in this journey. Once you read this, I would like to listen to your perspective. I am fine between complete agreement to total disagreement with what I have penned. Even more interestingly, if you have anything orthogonal to what is here, that will be of value to listen and learn from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parenting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When my daughter was about ten months old, like all parents I looked forward to my daughter starting to walk. Every little attempt was cheered. When she attempted to move and fell, the fall only made me feel more resolute \u2013 that she\u2019s getting closer to walking. So many umpteen attempts to stand and move, I had the patience and willingness to see her joy in doing that. She may have hardly moved a feet or two, I felt it was a cause to cheer her success. So she learnt to start walking. Then over the passing weeks, she soon learnt to improve from the gingerly steps to walking without holding the wall or the railings. Her quality of walk and the time she could walk without support started to increase. Months later she was on her own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During this journey when she fell very many times. Sometimes I would be tempted to think that I should support her more, so that she would not fall. After all I was not a sadist to see a kid fall, much less mine! But this brief thought would quickly vanish, stating that she will learn from it and soon walk. So the only time when support would come would be if she got dangerously close to the staircase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Years later, when my son was born this story would repeat all over again. My son\u2019s progress was a little slower in this process. He eventually made it too. In the meanwhile I noticed that my son\u2019s ability to count was very good. So I would encourage and see with joy that he did it well repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now in this process, there were brief moments when I would compare the progress of my son with my daughter. But within moments the thoughts would be replaced with what my daughter was quick and good at, what my son was quick and good at. So there was no real comparison, but instead a willingness to support them with their pace of growth. There was an attempt to see them maximize their potential (e.g. my son\u2019s love for arithmetic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today they have grown up into two wonderful children \u2013 similar, yet different in their own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the project started would assemble the team and get cracking with the objective of completing it on schedule, under budget with the right quality. Even in the best of the defined projects soon I would find that the requirements would be subject to change. The team with all its skill, was not a perfect match to the needs. Just when I thought this was a stable technology, would run into issues that were never foreseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the pressure of time, meeting the week\u2019s schedule would creep in. I would quickly look at people who can do things by themselves, assign them \u201dthe tasks\u201d that I deemed important. Then with the others, I would now push them hard, give them the \u201cother\u201d tasks. I would exactly let them know what\u2019s to be done. They would do it. If they fell into the rut some would get lost, others would walk up to me to help them solve. It was a relief for me. They came with the problem, and with my years of experience would help solve it. Off they went with it and voila! The program would start working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
If the 2% is the core of you that makes the out sized impact, continue to polish and nurture that 2% so that it always continues to shine out and dazzle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Either way - you cannot ignore the 2% masala impact!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The 2% Masala Impact","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-2-masala-impact","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:03","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:03","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3448","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":3704,"post_author":"26","post_date":"2015-07-10 16:45:29","post_date_gmt":"2015-07-10 11:15:29","post_content":"\n Most of us are familiar with the Basic Communication Model - with sender, channel and receiver. We all understand that the responsibility for effective communication rests with both parties, with a slight onus on the sender. What I have experienced is that by including an element, that focuses on the outcome, enhances the effectiveness of communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This got highlighted in a serendipitous event for us. We were helping Delivery Managers with competency development in a Automotive client's organization, it included a module on Communication. We had a written test as part of the program and I had created the question for it, and has evaluated the answers. The test had questions from other areas like Stakeholders, Customer satisfaction and corresponding questions were set by my colleagues. One of them was tabulating the marks and had an interesting observation on my evaluation \u2013 that I have either given marks in 75-80% range or 45-50% range, and asked why is it so? I had not noticed this and I reviewed the answer scripts briefly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here's is what I found: The Communication question was a project situation with challenges in dealing and getting responses from the project stakeholders. There was a template suggested for the answer, that had the standard columns like what, who, frequency and a column for desired outcome\/ result, the last column is typically not included in the templates. Communication model talks about acknowledgment and feedback, but they are not represented in templates for Project Communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interestingly, few had jumped into arriving at a solution without even documenting the \u201cdesired outcome\u201d and a few had included this. Invariably, the answers of those who had included this column were significantly better than those who had not. I also noticed that many of them had tweaked their solutions after including this column at the end, it was hand written test. There were a few, who got it right otherwise too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We shared this observation with the class and from then on, this is one of my favorite stories that I share when training on project\/work communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Often managers creating a report for stakeholders, assume that their responsibility ends with that, get frustrated when they do not get responses or unable to resolve the issues. They think of creating the report as a chore, and often mentally exhausted. Major shift happens, if they focus on getting responses and resolving issues as the end goal and treat the report as just a means. Those who get this never complain of the boring process of creating reports, as report for them is a step in getting an issue resolved or a problem solved. Most managers pride themselves on their ability to solve problems and issues and this small tweak helps them go raring at it. All this by just focusing on the end\/outcome.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Communicating with the End in Mind","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"communicating-with-the-end-in-mind","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3704","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":3399,"post_author":"25","post_date":"2015-07-07 10:32:00","post_date_gmt":"2015-07-07 05:02:00","post_content":"\n I began life as a child, and still continue to behave like one. I started my working years as an individual contributor, and still continue to be one. In addition to this in my wonderful journey of life and work I have also become a parent and a team manager. What\u2019s more interesting as I look at life \u2013 the period when I shifted gears to become a parent and a team manager were nearly in the same time frame of my life. Several years later, I have contemplated how I have handled these two shifts. The more I looked at it, the more I found a lot to learn in life. I am never a believer that any paradigm is absolutely right. However, I also firmly believe that when we keep our mind wide open, we always have something to learn from one context and apply it in another, to be even better. So the same is true for what I pen below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am sure many of you have been through this journey, or have seen others in this journey. Once you read this, I would like to listen to your perspective. I am fine between complete agreement to total disagreement with what I have penned. Even more interestingly, if you have anything orthogonal to what is here, that will be of value to listen and learn from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parenting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When my daughter was about ten months old, like all parents I looked forward to my daughter starting to walk. Every little attempt was cheered. When she attempted to move and fell, the fall only made me feel more resolute \u2013 that she\u2019s getting closer to walking. So many umpteen attempts to stand and move, I had the patience and willingness to see her joy in doing that. She may have hardly moved a feet or two, I felt it was a cause to cheer her success. So she learnt to start walking. Then over the passing weeks, she soon learnt to improve from the gingerly steps to walking without holding the wall or the railings. Her quality of walk and the time she could walk without support started to increase. Months later she was on her own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During this journey when she fell very many times. Sometimes I would be tempted to think that I should support her more, so that she would not fall. After all I was not a sadist to see a kid fall, much less mine! But this brief thought would quickly vanish, stating that she will learn from it and soon walk. So the only time when support would come would be if she got dangerously close to the staircase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Years later, when my son was born this story would repeat all over again. My son\u2019s progress was a little slower in this process. He eventually made it too. In the meanwhile I noticed that my son\u2019s ability to count was very good. So I would encourage and see with joy that he did it well repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now in this process, there were brief moments when I would compare the progress of my son with my daughter. But within moments the thoughts would be replaced with what my daughter was quick and good at, what my son was quick and good at. So there was no real comparison, but instead a willingness to support them with their pace of growth. There was an attempt to see them maximize their potential (e.g. my son\u2019s love for arithmetic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today they have grown up into two wonderful children \u2013 similar, yet different in their own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the project started would assemble the team and get cracking with the objective of completing it on schedule, under budget with the right quality. Even in the best of the defined projects soon I would find that the requirements would be subject to change. The team with all its skill, was not a perfect match to the needs. Just when I thought this was a stable technology, would run into issues that were never foreseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the pressure of time, meeting the week\u2019s schedule would creep in. I would quickly look at people who can do things by themselves, assign them \u201dthe tasks\u201d that I deemed important. Then with the others, I would now push them hard, give them the \u201cother\u201d tasks. I would exactly let them know what\u2019s to be done. They would do it. If they fell into the rut some would get lost, others would walk up to me to help them solve. It was a relief for me. They came with the problem, and with my years of experience would help solve it. Off they went with it and voila! The program would start working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
In today's world, when most organizations are constantly running their lives on a quarter to quarter basis, not many people have the patience to discover your true value. So do not ignore the 2% door-keeper to your future (when your 98% is brilliant!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the 2% is the core of you that makes the out sized impact, continue to polish and nurture that 2% so that it always continues to shine out and dazzle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Either way - you cannot ignore the 2% masala impact!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The 2% Masala Impact","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-2-masala-impact","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:03","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:03","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3448","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":3704,"post_author":"26","post_date":"2015-07-10 16:45:29","post_date_gmt":"2015-07-10 11:15:29","post_content":"\n Most of us are familiar with the Basic Communication Model - with sender, channel and receiver. We all understand that the responsibility for effective communication rests with both parties, with a slight onus on the sender. What I have experienced is that by including an element, that focuses on the outcome, enhances the effectiveness of communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This got highlighted in a serendipitous event for us. We were helping Delivery Managers with competency development in a Automotive client's organization, it included a module on Communication. We had a written test as part of the program and I had created the question for it, and has evaluated the answers. The test had questions from other areas like Stakeholders, Customer satisfaction and corresponding questions were set by my colleagues. One of them was tabulating the marks and had an interesting observation on my evaluation \u2013 that I have either given marks in 75-80% range or 45-50% range, and asked why is it so? I had not noticed this and I reviewed the answer scripts briefly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here's is what I found: The Communication question was a project situation with challenges in dealing and getting responses from the project stakeholders. There was a template suggested for the answer, that had the standard columns like what, who, frequency and a column for desired outcome\/ result, the last column is typically not included in the templates. Communication model talks about acknowledgment and feedback, but they are not represented in templates for Project Communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interestingly, few had jumped into arriving at a solution without even documenting the \u201cdesired outcome\u201d and a few had included this. Invariably, the answers of those who had included this column were significantly better than those who had not. I also noticed that many of them had tweaked their solutions after including this column at the end, it was hand written test. There were a few, who got it right otherwise too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We shared this observation with the class and from then on, this is one of my favorite stories that I share when training on project\/work communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Often managers creating a report for stakeholders, assume that their responsibility ends with that, get frustrated when they do not get responses or unable to resolve the issues. They think of creating the report as a chore, and often mentally exhausted. Major shift happens, if they focus on getting responses and resolving issues as the end goal and treat the report as just a means. Those who get this never complain of the boring process of creating reports, as report for them is a step in getting an issue resolved or a problem solved. Most managers pride themselves on their ability to solve problems and issues and this small tweak helps them go raring at it. All this by just focusing on the end\/outcome.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Communicating with the End in Mind","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"communicating-with-the-end-in-mind","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3704","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":3399,"post_author":"25","post_date":"2015-07-07 10:32:00","post_date_gmt":"2015-07-07 05:02:00","post_content":"\n I began life as a child, and still continue to behave like one. I started my working years as an individual contributor, and still continue to be one. In addition to this in my wonderful journey of life and work I have also become a parent and a team manager. What\u2019s more interesting as I look at life \u2013 the period when I shifted gears to become a parent and a team manager were nearly in the same time frame of my life. Several years later, I have contemplated how I have handled these two shifts. The more I looked at it, the more I found a lot to learn in life. I am never a believer that any paradigm is absolutely right. However, I also firmly believe that when we keep our mind wide open, we always have something to learn from one context and apply it in another, to be even better. So the same is true for what I pen below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am sure many of you have been through this journey, or have seen others in this journey. Once you read this, I would like to listen to your perspective. I am fine between complete agreement to total disagreement with what I have penned. Even more interestingly, if you have anything orthogonal to what is here, that will be of value to listen and learn from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parenting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When my daughter was about ten months old, like all parents I looked forward to my daughter starting to walk. Every little attempt was cheered. When she attempted to move and fell, the fall only made me feel more resolute \u2013 that she\u2019s getting closer to walking. So many umpteen attempts to stand and move, I had the patience and willingness to see her joy in doing that. She may have hardly moved a feet or two, I felt it was a cause to cheer her success. So she learnt to start walking. Then over the passing weeks, she soon learnt to improve from the gingerly steps to walking without holding the wall or the railings. Her quality of walk and the time she could walk without support started to increase. Months later she was on her own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During this journey when she fell very many times. Sometimes I would be tempted to think that I should support her more, so that she would not fall. After all I was not a sadist to see a kid fall, much less mine! But this brief thought would quickly vanish, stating that she will learn from it and soon walk. So the only time when support would come would be if she got dangerously close to the staircase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Years later, when my son was born this story would repeat all over again. My son\u2019s progress was a little slower in this process. He eventually made it too. In the meanwhile I noticed that my son\u2019s ability to count was very good. So I would encourage and see with joy that he did it well repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now in this process, there were brief moments when I would compare the progress of my son with my daughter. But within moments the thoughts would be replaced with what my daughter was quick and good at, what my son was quick and good at. So there was no real comparison, but instead a willingness to support them with their pace of growth. There was an attempt to see them maximize their potential (e.g. my son\u2019s love for arithmetic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today they have grown up into two wonderful children \u2013 similar, yet different in their own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the project started would assemble the team and get cracking with the objective of completing it on schedule, under budget with the right quality. Even in the best of the defined projects soon I would find that the requirements would be subject to change. The team with all its skill, was not a perfect match to the needs. Just when I thought this was a stable technology, would run into issues that were never foreseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the pressure of time, meeting the week\u2019s schedule would creep in. I would quickly look at people who can do things by themselves, assign them \u201dthe tasks\u201d that I deemed important. Then with the others, I would now push them hard, give them the \u201cother\u201d tasks. I would exactly let them know what\u2019s to be done. They would do it. If they fell into the rut some would get lost, others would walk up to me to help them solve. It was a relief for me. They came with the problem, and with my years of experience would help solve it. Off they went with it and voila! The program would start working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
If you see, \"the 2%\" is the door-keeper, it's important to look outside in. The first thing that people notice is the outer layer. Yes, the outer layer is only 2% of you, but it has already got an out sized ability - The ability to make the first impact!<\/p>\n\n\n\n In today's world, when most organizations are constantly running their lives on a quarter to quarter basis, not many people have the patience to discover your true value. So do not ignore the 2% door-keeper to your future (when your 98% is brilliant!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the 2% is the core of you that makes the out sized impact, continue to polish and nurture that 2% so that it always continues to shine out and dazzle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Either way - you cannot ignore the 2% masala impact!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The 2% Masala Impact","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-2-masala-impact","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:03","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:03","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3448","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":3704,"post_author":"26","post_date":"2015-07-10 16:45:29","post_date_gmt":"2015-07-10 11:15:29","post_content":"\n Most of us are familiar with the Basic Communication Model - with sender, channel and receiver. We all understand that the responsibility for effective communication rests with both parties, with a slight onus on the sender. What I have experienced is that by including an element, that focuses on the outcome, enhances the effectiveness of communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This got highlighted in a serendipitous event for us. We were helping Delivery Managers with competency development in a Automotive client's organization, it included a module on Communication. We had a written test as part of the program and I had created the question for it, and has evaluated the answers. The test had questions from other areas like Stakeholders, Customer satisfaction and corresponding questions were set by my colleagues. One of them was tabulating the marks and had an interesting observation on my evaluation \u2013 that I have either given marks in 75-80% range or 45-50% range, and asked why is it so? I had not noticed this and I reviewed the answer scripts briefly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here's is what I found: The Communication question was a project situation with challenges in dealing and getting responses from the project stakeholders. There was a template suggested for the answer, that had the standard columns like what, who, frequency and a column for desired outcome\/ result, the last column is typically not included in the templates. Communication model talks about acknowledgment and feedback, but they are not represented in templates for Project Communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interestingly, few had jumped into arriving at a solution without even documenting the \u201cdesired outcome\u201d and a few had included this. Invariably, the answers of those who had included this column were significantly better than those who had not. I also noticed that many of them had tweaked their solutions after including this column at the end, it was hand written test. There were a few, who got it right otherwise too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We shared this observation with the class and from then on, this is one of my favorite stories that I share when training on project\/work communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Often managers creating a report for stakeholders, assume that their responsibility ends with that, get frustrated when they do not get responses or unable to resolve the issues. They think of creating the report as a chore, and often mentally exhausted. Major shift happens, if they focus on getting responses and resolving issues as the end goal and treat the report as just a means. Those who get this never complain of the boring process of creating reports, as report for them is a step in getting an issue resolved or a problem solved. Most managers pride themselves on their ability to solve problems and issues and this small tweak helps them go raring at it. All this by just focusing on the end\/outcome.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Communicating with the End in Mind","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"communicating-with-the-end-in-mind","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3704","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":3399,"post_author":"25","post_date":"2015-07-07 10:32:00","post_date_gmt":"2015-07-07 05:02:00","post_content":"\n I began life as a child, and still continue to behave like one. I started my working years as an individual contributor, and still continue to be one. In addition to this in my wonderful journey of life and work I have also become a parent and a team manager. What\u2019s more interesting as I look at life \u2013 the period when I shifted gears to become a parent and a team manager were nearly in the same time frame of my life. Several years later, I have contemplated how I have handled these two shifts. The more I looked at it, the more I found a lot to learn in life. I am never a believer that any paradigm is absolutely right. However, I also firmly believe that when we keep our mind wide open, we always have something to learn from one context and apply it in another, to be even better. So the same is true for what I pen below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am sure many of you have been through this journey, or have seen others in this journey. Once you read this, I would like to listen to your perspective. I am fine between complete agreement to total disagreement with what I have penned. Even more interestingly, if you have anything orthogonal to what is here, that will be of value to listen and learn from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parenting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When my daughter was about ten months old, like all parents I looked forward to my daughter starting to walk. Every little attempt was cheered. When she attempted to move and fell, the fall only made me feel more resolute \u2013 that she\u2019s getting closer to walking. So many umpteen attempts to stand and move, I had the patience and willingness to see her joy in doing that. She may have hardly moved a feet or two, I felt it was a cause to cheer her success. So she learnt to start walking. Then over the passing weeks, she soon learnt to improve from the gingerly steps to walking without holding the wall or the railings. Her quality of walk and the time she could walk without support started to increase. Months later she was on her own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During this journey when she fell very many times. Sometimes I would be tempted to think that I should support her more, so that she would not fall. After all I was not a sadist to see a kid fall, much less mine! But this brief thought would quickly vanish, stating that she will learn from it and soon walk. So the only time when support would come would be if she got dangerously close to the staircase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Years later, when my son was born this story would repeat all over again. My son\u2019s progress was a little slower in this process. He eventually made it too. In the meanwhile I noticed that my son\u2019s ability to count was very good. So I would encourage and see with joy that he did it well repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now in this process, there were brief moments when I would compare the progress of my son with my daughter. But within moments the thoughts would be replaced with what my daughter was quick and good at, what my son was quick and good at. So there was no real comparison, but instead a willingness to support them with their pace of growth. There was an attempt to see them maximize their potential (e.g. my son\u2019s love for arithmetic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today they have grown up into two wonderful children \u2013 similar, yet different in their own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the project started would assemble the team and get cracking with the objective of completing it on schedule, under budget with the right quality. Even in the best of the defined projects soon I would find that the requirements would be subject to change. The team with all its skill, was not a perfect match to the needs. Just when I thought this was a stable technology, would run into issues that were never foreseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the pressure of time, meeting the week\u2019s schedule would creep in. I would quickly look at people who can do things by themselves, assign them \u201dthe tasks\u201d that I deemed important. Then with the others, I would now push them hard, give them the \u201cother\u201d tasks. I would exactly let them know what\u2019s to be done. They would do it. If they fell into the rut some would get lost, others would walk up to me to help them solve. It was a relief for me. They came with the problem, and with my years of experience would help solve it. Off they went with it and voila! The program would start working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
If you see, \"the 2%\" is the door-keeper, it's important to look outside in. The first thing that people notice is the outer layer. Yes, the outer layer is only 2% of you, but it has already got an out sized ability - The ability to make the first impact!<\/p>\n\n\n\n In today's world, when most organizations are constantly running their lives on a quarter to quarter basis, not many people have the patience to discover your true value. So do not ignore the 2% door-keeper to your future (when your 98% is brilliant!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the 2% is the core of you that makes the out sized impact, continue to polish and nurture that 2% so that it always continues to shine out and dazzle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Either way - you cannot ignore the 2% masala impact!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The 2% Masala Impact","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-2-masala-impact","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:03","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:03","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3448","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":3704,"post_author":"26","post_date":"2015-07-10 16:45:29","post_date_gmt":"2015-07-10 11:15:29","post_content":"\n Most of us are familiar with the Basic Communication Model - with sender, channel and receiver. We all understand that the responsibility for effective communication rests with both parties, with a slight onus on the sender. What I have experienced is that by including an element, that focuses on the outcome, enhances the effectiveness of communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This got highlighted in a serendipitous event for us. We were helping Delivery Managers with competency development in a Automotive client's organization, it included a module on Communication. We had a written test as part of the program and I had created the question for it, and has evaluated the answers. The test had questions from other areas like Stakeholders, Customer satisfaction and corresponding questions were set by my colleagues. One of them was tabulating the marks and had an interesting observation on my evaluation \u2013 that I have either given marks in 75-80% range or 45-50% range, and asked why is it so? I had not noticed this and I reviewed the answer scripts briefly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here's is what I found: The Communication question was a project situation with challenges in dealing and getting responses from the project stakeholders. There was a template suggested for the answer, that had the standard columns like what, who, frequency and a column for desired outcome\/ result, the last column is typically not included in the templates. Communication model talks about acknowledgment and feedback, but they are not represented in templates for Project Communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interestingly, few had jumped into arriving at a solution without even documenting the \u201cdesired outcome\u201d and a few had included this. Invariably, the answers of those who had included this column were significantly better than those who had not. I also noticed that many of them had tweaked their solutions after including this column at the end, it was hand written test. There were a few, who got it right otherwise too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We shared this observation with the class and from then on, this is one of my favorite stories that I share when training on project\/work communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Often managers creating a report for stakeholders, assume that their responsibility ends with that, get frustrated when they do not get responses or unable to resolve the issues. They think of creating the report as a chore, and often mentally exhausted. Major shift happens, if they focus on getting responses and resolving issues as the end goal and treat the report as just a means. Those who get this never complain of the boring process of creating reports, as report for them is a step in getting an issue resolved or a problem solved. Most managers pride themselves on their ability to solve problems and issues and this small tweak helps them go raring at it. All this by just focusing on the end\/outcome.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Communicating with the End in Mind","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"communicating-with-the-end-in-mind","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3704","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":3399,"post_author":"25","post_date":"2015-07-07 10:32:00","post_date_gmt":"2015-07-07 05:02:00","post_content":"\n I began life as a child, and still continue to behave like one. I started my working years as an individual contributor, and still continue to be one. In addition to this in my wonderful journey of life and work I have also become a parent and a team manager. What\u2019s more interesting as I look at life \u2013 the period when I shifted gears to become a parent and a team manager were nearly in the same time frame of my life. Several years later, I have contemplated how I have handled these two shifts. The more I looked at it, the more I found a lot to learn in life. I am never a believer that any paradigm is absolutely right. However, I also firmly believe that when we keep our mind wide open, we always have something to learn from one context and apply it in another, to be even better. So the same is true for what I pen below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am sure many of you have been through this journey, or have seen others in this journey. Once you read this, I would like to listen to your perspective. I am fine between complete agreement to total disagreement with what I have penned. Even more interestingly, if you have anything orthogonal to what is here, that will be of value to listen and learn from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parenting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When my daughter was about ten months old, like all parents I looked forward to my daughter starting to walk. Every little attempt was cheered. When she attempted to move and fell, the fall only made me feel more resolute \u2013 that she\u2019s getting closer to walking. So many umpteen attempts to stand and move, I had the patience and willingness to see her joy in doing that. She may have hardly moved a feet or two, I felt it was a cause to cheer her success. So she learnt to start walking. Then over the passing weeks, she soon learnt to improve from the gingerly steps to walking without holding the wall or the railings. Her quality of walk and the time she could walk without support started to increase. Months later she was on her own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During this journey when she fell very many times. Sometimes I would be tempted to think that I should support her more, so that she would not fall. After all I was not a sadist to see a kid fall, much less mine! But this brief thought would quickly vanish, stating that she will learn from it and soon walk. So the only time when support would come would be if she got dangerously close to the staircase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Years later, when my son was born this story would repeat all over again. My son\u2019s progress was a little slower in this process. He eventually made it too. In the meanwhile I noticed that my son\u2019s ability to count was very good. So I would encourage and see with joy that he did it well repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now in this process, there were brief moments when I would compare the progress of my son with my daughter. But within moments the thoughts would be replaced with what my daughter was quick and good at, what my son was quick and good at. So there was no real comparison, but instead a willingness to support them with their pace of growth. There was an attempt to see them maximize their potential (e.g. my son\u2019s love for arithmetic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today they have grown up into two wonderful children \u2013 similar, yet different in their own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the project started would assemble the team and get cracking with the objective of completing it on schedule, under budget with the right quality. Even in the best of the defined projects soon I would find that the requirements would be subject to change. The team with all its skill, was not a perfect match to the needs. Just when I thought this was a stable technology, would run into issues that were never foreseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the pressure of time, meeting the week\u2019s schedule would creep in. I would quickly look at people who can do things by themselves, assign them \u201dthe tasks\u201d that I deemed important. Then with the others, I would now push them hard, give them the \u201cother\u201d tasks. I would exactly let them know what\u2019s to be done. They would do it. If they fell into the rut some would get lost, others would walk up to me to help them solve. It was a relief for me. They came with the problem, and with my years of experience would help solve it. Off they went with it and voila! The program would start working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On both counts I have been successful. Definitely on the face of it, there seems to be no issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a parent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was focussed on the purpose and the big picture (Even when my son took longer I did not get the pressure of time to make me get it done)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my children learnt how to walk, by themselves (in spite of the innumerable times they fell in the process)<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I applauded and as the quality of walk improved, so my children learnt the right way to walk<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I celebrated their success (did not focus on their failure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably sure that my children have learnt to do things on their own independently. I don\u2019t feel any loss of power when they do things on their own. On the contrary I am happy about it. They have learnt how to learn by themselves. They know what\u2019s good. So the fear of failure or time pressure does not hit them. They have learnt to use their potential to the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at what I did as a team manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I was happy that my team would come back to me when they had a problem. This minimized the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the team understood that failing was not an option (fear of failure). I ensured that not failing in challenging projects was the motivator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure that the team did what I wanted\u2026 so there was no urge to think out of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I made sure the customer got it on time, albeit a little lower quality (the price he had to pay for the constant flux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today I am reasonably certain that some of my team members have continued with this formula. So the manager continues to be powerful, as the team comes back to him\/her to solve the problems. They always use fear of failure, as the bogeyman to pressure. They expect quality will give way due to changes. They are good at what they do, they fear every change. They have not been prepared for the constant change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I do well as a manager? Was the organization aiding and abetting me in what I did? Did the employees truly learn? Are we using their potential to the fullest? Is fear the best motivator? Are we getting too focussed on the \u201cnow and here\u201d approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons from parenting I would carry into managing a team (both the manager and the organization):<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Coach the team to be a self-learning team. When the future is unknown, solving their problem today, will not help prepare them for tomorrow\u2019s unknown needs and problems. It will make them (and the organization) self sustaining. I allowed my child to learn to walk. It fell down many a time. Did not prevent that from happening. So my child eventually learned not just to walk, but also got to know how it can learn something new on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Build the belief that quality is in-built. It\u2019s not about compromising, when we can. This will ensure that teams can work on newer thing, that add value. Initially my child would hold the wall. Persisting with encouragement, the child believed that it can walk away from the wall \u2013 not just one or two steps but forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Allow the team to own the process. When done that way, you don\u2019t have to follow through. Otherwise, we create a dependency on us when faced with the slightest of the issues. It can be a little slow in the beginning. Once we get past that early stage \u2013 we have a team (and an organization) that owns the need. So the sense of responsibility to make it happen is built into them. When my child fell many a time, I did not push it make it the next day. My child wanted to do it, and so despite the many falls, it made it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n - I know that all of us are afraid of something. So we believe the fear of failure will propel the team to do it. It may appear so in the short run. However the sheer amount of mental fatigue that it creates would result in less energy towards the purpose we work. So it can be self-defeating. When there\u2019s no fear, learning becomes easier and joyous. Did I not notice that with my child?<\/p>\n\n\n\n - Celebrate genuine effort and success. This helps the adrenalin to flow in. It keeps us going longer even when faced with uncertainty. When my child saw that I really liked what it did, it naturally continued. Guess what could have happened with my child if I shown my anger, at not being able to learn to walk quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today as team manager we live on a week by week basis. As an organization we live on a quarter by quarter basis. If we went about doing the important things right (learning and quality), the urgent things (time and fear of failure) would take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am eager to listen to your perspectives, your stories.<\/p>\n","post_title":"A study in contrast - Parenting and Managing a team","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"a-study-in-contrast-parenting-and-managing-a-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":9},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};
So what do you think 5% masala could do? Well that\u2019s a story for another time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you see, \"the 2%\" is the door-keeper, it's important to look outside in. The first thing that people notice is the outer layer. Yes, the outer layer is only 2% of you, but it has already got an out sized ability - The ability to make the first impact!<\/p>\n\n\n\n In today's world, when most organizations are constantly running their lives on a quarter to quarter basis, not many people have the patience to discover your true value. So do not ignore the 2% door-keeper to your future (when your 98% is brilliant!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the 2% is the core of you that makes the out sized impact, continue to polish and nurture that 2% so that it always continues to shine out and dazzle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Either way - you cannot ignore the 2% masala impact!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The 2% Masala Impact","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-2-masala-impact","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:04:03","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:04:03","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3448","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":3704,"post_author":"26","post_date":"2015-07-10 16:45:29","post_date_gmt":"2015-07-10 11:15:29","post_content":"\n Most of us are familiar with the Basic Communication Model - with sender, channel and receiver. We all understand that the responsibility for effective communication rests with both parties, with a slight onus on the sender. What I have experienced is that by including an element, that focuses on the outcome, enhances the effectiveness of communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This got highlighted in a serendipitous event for us. We were helping Delivery Managers with competency development in a Automotive client's organization, it included a module on Communication. We had a written test as part of the program and I had created the question for it, and has evaluated the answers. The test had questions from other areas like Stakeholders, Customer satisfaction and corresponding questions were set by my colleagues. One of them was tabulating the marks and had an interesting observation on my evaluation \u2013 that I have either given marks in 75-80% range or 45-50% range, and asked why is it so? I had not noticed this and I reviewed the answer scripts briefly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here's is what I found: The Communication question was a project situation with challenges in dealing and getting responses from the project stakeholders. There was a template suggested for the answer, that had the standard columns like what, who, frequency and a column for desired outcome\/ result, the last column is typically not included in the templates. Communication model talks about acknowledgment and feedback, but they are not represented in templates for Project Communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interestingly, few had jumped into arriving at a solution without even documenting the \u201cdesired outcome\u201d and a few had included this. Invariably, the answers of those who had included this column were significantly better than those who had not. I also noticed that many of them had tweaked their solutions after including this column at the end, it was hand written test. There were a few, who got it right otherwise too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We shared this observation with the class and from then on, this is one of my favorite stories that I share when training on project\/work communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Often managers creating a report for stakeholders, assume that their responsibility ends with that, get frustrated when they do not get responses or unable to resolve the issues. They think of creating the report as a chore, and often mentally exhausted. Major shift happens, if they focus on getting responses and resolving issues as the end goal and treat the report as just a means. Those who get this never complain of the boring process of creating reports, as report for them is a step in getting an issue resolved or a problem solved. Most managers pride themselves on their ability to solve problems and issues and this small tweak helps them go raring at it. All this by just focusing on the end\/outcome.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Communicating with the End in Mind","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"communicating-with-the-end-in-mind","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-29 14:49:02","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/blogs\/?p=3704","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":3399,"post_author":"25","post_date":"2015-07-07 10:32:00","post_date_gmt":"2015-07-07 05:02:00","post_content":"\n I began life as a child, and still continue to behave like one. I started my working years as an individual contributor, and still continue to be one. In addition to this in my wonderful journey of life and work I have also become a parent and a team manager. What\u2019s more interesting as I look at life \u2013 the period when I shifted gears to become a parent and a team manager were nearly in the same time frame of my life. Several years later, I have contemplated how I have handled these two shifts. The more I looked at it, the more I found a lot to learn in life. I am never a believer that any paradigm is absolutely right. However, I also firmly believe that when we keep our mind wide open, we always have something to learn from one context and apply it in another, to be even better. So the same is true for what I pen below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am sure many of you have been through this journey, or have seen others in this journey. Once you read this, I would like to listen to your perspective. I am fine between complete agreement to total disagreement with what I have penned. Even more interestingly, if you have anything orthogonal to what is here, that will be of value to listen and learn from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parenting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When my daughter was about ten months old, like all parents I looked forward to my daughter starting to walk. Every little attempt was cheered. When she attempted to move and fell, the fall only made me feel more resolute \u2013 that she\u2019s getting closer to walking. So many umpteen attempts to stand and move, I had the patience and willingness to see her joy in doing that. She may have hardly moved a feet or two, I felt it was a cause to cheer her success. So she learnt to start walking. Then over the passing weeks, she soon learnt to improve from the gingerly steps to walking without holding the wall or the railings. Her quality of walk and the time she could walk without support started to increase. Months later she was on her own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During this journey when she fell very many times. Sometimes I would be tempted to think that I should support her more, so that she would not fall. After all I was not a sadist to see a kid fall, much less mine! But this brief thought would quickly vanish, stating that she will learn from it and soon walk. So the only time when support would come would be if she got dangerously close to the staircase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Years later, when my son was born this story would repeat all over again. My son\u2019s progress was a little slower in this process. He eventually made it too. In the meanwhile I noticed that my son\u2019s ability to count was very good. So I would encourage and see with joy that he did it well repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now in this process, there were brief moments when I would compare the progress of my son with my daughter. But within moments the thoughts would be replaced with what my daughter was quick and good at, what my son was quick and good at. So there was no real comparison, but instead a willingness to support them with their pace of growth. There was an attempt to see them maximize their potential (e.g. my son\u2019s love for arithmetic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today they have grown up into two wonderful children \u2013 similar, yet different in their own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the project started would assemble the team and get cracking with the objective of completing it on schedule, under budget with the right quality. Even in the best of the defined projects soon I would find that the requirements would be subject to change. The team with all its skill, was not a perfect match to the needs. Just when I thought this was a stable technology, would run into issues that were never foreseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the pressure of time, meeting the week\u2019s schedule would creep in. I would quickly look at people who can do things by themselves, assign them \u201dthe tasks\u201d that I deemed important. Then with the others, I would now push them hard, give them the \u201cother\u201d tasks. I would exactly let them know what\u2019s to be done. They would do it. If they fell into the rut some would get lost, others would walk up to me to help them solve. It was a relief for me. They came with the problem, and with my years of experience would help solve it. Off they went with it and voila! The program would start working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the next week would begin, and the pressure of the week\u2019s delivery would creep in. So my magic formula of managing the time pressure would repeat. The team was by and large happy \u2013 as we were managing the pressure of delivering on time. The \u201cprogressive\u201d team members were independent \u2013 they were happy to take the challenging part of the work. The \u201cother\u201d team members were also fine, as they were learning from my experiences and were not getting stuck with their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, there were unforeseen changes from the customer in the project. Now there was a real risk that we may not meet the schedule or budgets. I have been very successful all through my working life. I was on fast track. I had now moved up quickly. So, I was not going to fail, was I? Soon this thought would keep coming to me on and off. I was pushing the team hard, whipping them, making it clear that failure was not an option. After all who would want to fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months later the project was delivered. There were some hidden quality issues. We could not review all the code, but then we managed to get the system accepted. Everyone was happy, it appeared. The management felt I did it again with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I introspected, I realized that I handled the pressure of time well. A good part of the team felt relieved that they did not fail. So my theory of using the pressure of failure seem to work. Quality was reasonably there. Well the code reviews did not happen because the customer kept changing the needs \u2013 so he had to pay some price for it, isn\u2019t it. As far as my teams learning was concerned \u2013 yes this was a tough project, they will have future occasions to learn to solve the problems themselves. For now they have learnt to run to the leader when then had a problem to solve \u2013 without wasting time. The management was happy as the schedule and budgets were managed well. After all the undiscovered issues, could be future source of revenue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, when I look back, many of them have repeated this formula\u2026 solve the problems for your team. Ensure that fear of failure will push people to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comparison \u2013 Parenting and Team Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As I conclude<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
As I conclude<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n