Month: September 2010

23

Rising from the Ashes

Susan Mazza | 24 September 2010 | Leading Organizations

Can failure be the source of success?

This is a true story…

Donna (real person, fictitious name) was someone who had previously failed in managing a project but was now ready to put herself out there again.  After all, the project she led before was something no one else had even tried to do.  She was at peace with what happened.

Now she was asking to manage a new project.  She wanted a chance to prove herself.  Even though she had failed the last time, she had learned and was confident she would succeed this time around.

Her boss, John (real person, fictitious name), wanted to give her another chance.  She had been a high performer in her regular job.  That was why he chose her the first time.

But she had failed.

It wasn’t just that the team didn’t meet their goal.  The team fell apart.  He still didn’t understand what happened.  She was very good at her job.  She seemed to be a great manager of the people who reported to her. So what the heck happened? [click to continue...]

0

The Beginner’s Challenge

Susan Mazza | 16 September 2010 | Personal Leadership

A true sign of mastery is realizing just how much you don’t know.   Since masters and beginners share “not knowing” in common, why is “not knowing” so freeing for us when we have achieved mastery, and so darn uncomfortable when we are beginners?

Amber Naslund got me thinking about this in her post titled The Restless Novice.

Here are a few of the things I came up with when I considered her question: what gets in the way of being a beginner?

  • We like to look good, even if it is at the expense of our own progress.
  • When we are a beginner we can’t control how we appear to others and we are likely to look clumsy or silly in the process.
  • We don’t like to struggle.  Even if we find learning exciting when we are in the midst of it, our perception, fueled by fear, doubt or worry, is often that it will be hard for us.
  • We are impatient.  Learning takes time, especially when you are brand new to something and time is a scarce.
  • In our culture people are revered for their knowledge and expertise.  Being the “one who knows” is rewarded and not knowing often makes you “look bad” (or at least provokes the fear that you look bad which feels just as real).
    • [click to continue...]
15

The Challenge of Managing People is People

Susan Mazza | 09 September 2010 | Leading Organizations

There is no doubt working with people is a lot less predictable and messy than working with things. When I asked the question “What is your biggest challenge in managing people?” on twitter one of the first responses I got was from @LeeJCarey who said “the biggest challenge in managing people is people”.  So true!

Managing people is challenging even when you are really good at it.  Yet if you are committed to increasing the impact you can have, your level of success or even the amount of money you make at some point you need to rely on other people.  Doing it all yourself is inherently limiting.  Success is never a solo endeavor.

Now of course managing people is only one aspect of learning to effectively produce results with others.  And in the end it isn’t just about getting things done or even the result.  You can get a whole lot done and still not feel particularly satisfied with the outcome.  You can also get the job done in a way that costs your relationships rather than build them, especially when the pressure is really on!  If you are the boss you can command people do what you need them to do, but does that approach really get you the outcomes you want for the long term? [click to continue...]