| The day job as a manager is all about managing your | | | | doing what I was paid for - managing and even |
| people to deliver, to meet the needs of your | | | | leading a great bunch of people, all of whom could do |
| customers or clients and generating success after | | | | this better than me. It was time to do my job. The |
| success! Right? And you have consequences if that | | | | time had come to leverage their potential and create |
| doesn't happen.Worst case scenario is that you lose | | | | value using my unique skills and talents.As it |
| your job or your business, because your people | | | | happened, my office was on the fourth floor |
| haven't delivered. So the temptation is | | | | (because it had a view!) and the business traded on |
| understandable. Get in there, dirty your hands and | | | | the lowest two floors. And this became my |
| work your socks off making it happen.Admirable, | | | | metaphor for managing from high up. The Rockies, |
| fulfilling even!But how much energy have you got? | | | | not the Prairies.Even though I spent a lot of my time |
| How hard do your really want to work. Indeed, how | | | | on the Prairies, I was, in my mind, way up high. I was |
| long can you take the pace of keeping everyone | | | | managing the people from above. I was managing |
| else afloat. Before you fall apart, or it kills you?Or, | | | | the great people I had.I was able to step back from |
| despite all your years of strife and giving your heart | | | | working 'in the business' to 'on the business', as |
| and soul for your business, you lose it, or your job, | | | | Michael Gerber would say. And it made a great |
| or both. | | | | difference to me. I realised that part of it was |
| It doesn't seem fair does it?But there is another | | | | showing my troops that I was working just as hard |
| way - and it's easy.Use your people betterSpace | | | | as they were, and, indeed, I could do their job pretty |
| ships sent off into the far universe, use the | | | | well.Yet, I was also resisting where the stretch was |
| gravitational pull of planets to accelerate them | | | | for me - letting go of other people's jobs, and doing |
| onwards, just like gravity pulls us to earth. It's free | | | | my own.For me, it was a shift to the next level, |
| energy!The limited fuel that the rockets have, is used | | | | Sure, I did my hands on stuff from time to time. But |
| to ever-so-gently fine tune direction, so that as they | | | | it was at my choice and to work with them to show |
| approach the planet pulling them in, they alter their | | | | soldarity and focus when the chips were down. But it |
| course to miss the planet and, with renewed energy, | | | | was after the management stuff was done.It was |
| they carry on their mission. Clever stuff eh?That's | | | | my way of bringing the Rockies down to the Prairies, |
| what you can doIf you play a bigger game than | | | | yet enjoying the fruits of both.Copyright 2005. Martin |
| spending your whole life doing the job that others | | | | Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He |
| can and should be doing, in the false belief that you | | | | works worldwide, |
| are 'helping out', then you aren't going to cut it. In | | | | mainly by phone, with small business owners, |
| fact, like I once realised, moving from one sized | | | | managers and corporate leaders. He has hundreds of |
| store to a bigger one - you cannot do it all - it's time | | | | hints, tips and ideas at his website, to editors. This |
| to manage the business through the people - it's just | | | | article may be edited for use in your publication or |
| too big for me now.And that was a big and painful | | | | newsletter. But please leave a live link to the |
| realisation for meBut I got it!It came to me one | | | | website) |
| Easter, when I was running a big store and I was | | | | ...helping you, to help your people, to help your |
| filling up the Easter eggs. It was fun! But I wasn't | | | | business grow... |