Business management
Managers oversee tasks to ensure that they are completed. Hopefully correctly. When they are not completed properly, the manager should be able to give enough direction to adjust the outcome. Oftentimes, employees end up feeling as if they were the only one responsible for the errors if this happens. But there may have been circumstances that influenced or sabotaged the tasks, or the tasks had some inherent weakness, or the employee had needs that were not met. There could be lots of excuses. If the emphasis could be removed from the lack of completion and placed on what it took to finish up, any negative feelings associated with the employee could vanish and the scarcity might become a learning moment for everyone. Business doesn’t grow without learning from failure.
Business Flop
Most kids have performed a belly flop. Whether to complete a graceful dive or show off, the telltale sign of a red belly is seen and felt as those who are watching get to make pained noises. The intention doesn’t matter. But what follows does. If a graceful dive was the goal, there may be other attempts and fails with direction from the sidelines. If the flop was intended, the audience gets to chuckle and smile. Either way, the belly flop had the same physical result. Businesses have belly flops too. What occurs next spills the beans about the culture of the workplace. If employees want to hide from their flops, that tells you that imperfection is not tolerated well. If the employee asks for more direction, they may realize what they needed to do differently. If the employee loses their privileges to the diving board, they get the message that the company doesn’t tolerate flops. The corporate equivalent to the chuckle is the gossip about the employee’s inability. The bigger question really is couldn’t the manager have known ahead of time and leaned in when necessary to guide the diver?
None of your Business
The greater question is what is really your business and what is none of your business. When we work in service to others, and that is what we all really do, knowing what our business is becomes critical. It doesn’t mean that the manager tells everyone what to do because that would just be easy and eliminate any learning. Teaching business techniques is subtle because it walks the high wire to enable engagement at just the right moment to support as well as enjoy the excitement of a well performed swan dive. Being in somebody’s business requires knowing when to stay out of their business. No meddling required or expected at times.
Business Splash
It is definitely more difficult to be the kind of manager who provides well-timed support because it requires more skill. It may also require understanding the subtle difference between stepping in and stepping on an employee. Most employees end up just shutting up when their manager starts lecturing them. Making the right splash should be the goal. The true test of a manager is how they embody the values hidden behind the company slogans. When culture is used to justify action, the slogan has just been hijacked. When culture is used to provide direction, the outcome grows. Business requires a new list of rules to take advantage of the adjusted values of current workplaces. It might be time for a game of wordle to discover some new phrases. Pay attention to what parts of your culture are discussed at meetings. If the first and only thing you ever hear about are sales, you can decipher what is more important than your culture. If the culture of a company is presented first at any meeting, take note. Someone cares about values.
Does your company culture mean something to you? Is there any award for those who demonstrate values in your workplace? What should happen with managers who don’t understand belly flops?
