FREE online courses on Building a Winning Team - Encouragement and Feedback
- Learn From Your Subordinates
The
General came to a foxhole and found a GI curled up in it. “What are you doing in
that there foxhole, son? There's a @#**@* WAR going on, or didn't you notice”,
the General barked. “Sir, if a fox noticed the war, an' he gone dug this hole to
take cover in, then he's smarter'n me, shorenuff!” replied the soldier. Just
then, a bullet clanged off the General's steel helmet, and he dived into the
neighboring foxhole. “ Darn
right”, grunted the discomfited General, “ Good thinking, Son. Reckon I'll stay
put here till we get covering fire”.
Sometimes, the men know more about
the situation on the ground than the managers, and that's acceptable because that's their
job; the manager can't know it all, and cannot process information he doesn't
have first hand.
Managers march to a different
drummer, they have a different role and a different orientation. It is not just learning
specialized things that are involved, but taking decisions in a constantly
changing scenario, where new approaches may be
required. Old ways, old solutions may have become redundant. The actual
person responsible for doing the job usually knows best. Hence the importance of developing staff/
subordinates, and the conscious creation of a
learning culture/ atmosphere, which can really pay off when the chips are
down, i.e., when you need information yourself.
Foremen, typists, secretaries and line-assistants are ideal sources, eager to
help and add a word of inside caution.
- Keep three important
considerations in mind when doing this:
- Establish your
competence in your core area, It pre-supposes an atmosphere of mutual trust,
but take care to select a really trustworthy person
- Get as much background
information as possible before tuition, to dispel possible unrealistic first
impressions, later transmitted through the grapevine.
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