Stop Telling… Start Leading! - Introduction
| “People are born either as managers or as worker bees.” Wow! Is this right? Do you really have to be born a manager, or leader? Is it true that some of those skills can never be learned? –Lee Iacocca “I can do that!” many will answer. “I can motivate others.” But how? In 2004 Henry Mintzberg famously asked for “managers, not MBAs” in his book of the same name. In May 2005 the Harvard Business Review published “How Business Schools Lost Their Way,” Warren Bennis’ and James O’Toole’s take on managers failing because of the theoretical-centered education provided by most top business schools. Is there really anything new? Can any management guru teach you something that hasn’t yet been discovered and put into practice? No. In fact, when you encounter “experts” who claim they’ve discovered something new, my advice is, run! The truth is that it’s all about existing knowledge presented in new ways. More than that, it’s about teaching knowledge in ways the student understands-and uses. Everyone who teaches-and managers should teach their employees-ought to be able to recognize quickly how well the student is taking in the material being taught, and how to adjust the flow of information to each student’s needs. Among the essential components for a successful teaching experience are high standards and expectations, ongoing feedback, and a dynamic that engages both teacher and student. The problem is that too often the process becomes the focus instead of the results. How often have you watched a film touted as an action movie and thought “Come on-where’s the action they promised?” |
Tags: encounter harvard business review henry mintzberg high standards lee iacocca management guru mbas results toole top business schools warren bennis worker bees
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