"If you pick the right people and give them the opportunity
to spread their wings and put compensation as a carrier
behind it you almost don't have to manage them."
-- Jack Welch
Picking the right people. I think it is certainly a co-creative experience. We pick them, they pick us, there's a bond that holds it all together.
As a manager for over 40 years, I've hired a lot of people and used to stress a bit about finding the right ones. There were so many that weren't the right ones after all. I found that some people are quite skilled at the interview process, that they seemed to have been on vacation when they were teaching the actual doing of the job part.
Still, all in all, I have found (or they found me. . .) some pretty talented and good people to work with, and that is the success that overshadows the rest of it.
It's funny to look back just now about how many things I tried about interviews, even including personality testing (fun ones of course!). None of it was worth a dime. Seriously. You can't really tell until you've worked with them a while, so a breathing test to make sure they are alive is just about as good as anything. Well, almost.
I don't think you can manage people anyway. You can give them an opportunity, make suggestions, offer encouragement, state what you want, but managing them sounds like manipulation to me. I have worked for some of those guys. . . Not much fun. So, I've always tried to encourage people to spread their wings, take responsibility and even to show me a better way.
Those that actually spread their wings succeed, and I will always be open to helping people do just that, even when it may mean they move on to their own business or some other wonderful new opportunity. You don't put eagles in cages.
I think what it has to do more than anything else is loving the people you work with. When you love them, you want the best for them and you treat them like you would want to be treated: with respect, dignity, encouragement, and reward.
The right people respond to this environment and soar, the rest will move on of their own accord. It's all good.
As I see our company now, the people we have attracted have been so talented and delighted in the opportunity and have worked without supervision toward the shared vision, and it is so exciting to be a part of this. As I look back on the history of people I've worked with, I see so many of the same kind. I have been blessed and I love all of them.
It's Been A Wonderful Journey So Far!
Spread Some Joy Today--Loving the people you work with is the best way to have a successful career or job.
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