I love the hope a New Year brings. I hate the realization that it seldom comes to pass. I’ve spent the better part of the last quarter thinking about what I want to accomplish in 2010.
In a discussion the other day, I asked bluntly, “What is a manager’s job?” I had some ideas already, and none of them involved meetings. 🙂
The answer I got was lockstep with those thoughts. “To make his/her people better.“
As an independent, I’m not a manager, and I don’t think I’d enjoy being one. I have enough trouble getting myself to do all the work that has to be done. But I absolutely love making people better. It is the very essence of my business and what gets me up day after day. And it seems to be a great focus for 2010.
2009 ended with some great successes. It seems that the last few groups of people I taught were just ripe for the lessons that I had to give them. The results were wonderful, immediate, and life-changing. I can’t wait for 2010 and next week to get underway and do it some more. I had “life-changing” in some promotional materials and my copywriter made me take them out. He said it was too abstract. But that’s exactly what I want to do more of — changing lives.
Side note: If you are a manager, focus more on improving your underlings than getting them to “do” something. You’ll be better, and your organization and the people you serve will be, too.
Side note #2: Making someone better involves a whole lot less of telling them what is wrong and a whole lot more of providing the tools to help them get it right.
Side note #3: While it’s easy to get inspired to make others better, what are we doing to make ourselves better? I have my list. I want you to make one, too.
Make someone better. Start with yourself.
