The Most Successful Managers of People Aren’t Managing People
Aha! There it was, staring me straight in the face. For months I had been on the look out for a word to replace “Manager.” I had Thesaurus-ed it like crazy, finding all sorts of possibilities, but nothing new ever hit the mark. Meanwhile, I had been reading study after study lamenting the critical rise of disengagement in the workplace—52%, 68%, and, Gallup’s most recent number, a whopping 87%! The creep towards greater disengagement was in full swing, and I had no replacement word for Manager.
If you’re wondering why I was so keen on replacing the word manager, the reason is this:
When it comes to people and their performance, “managing” is not the best tool for the job.
If you’re interested in boosting performance and fortifying the company culture, a lot of time and energy will be expended trying to tighten a bolt with a screwdriver. Here’s why—if you ask a hundred people if they believe traditional business management brings out their best, you will hear a resounding NO. People, by in large, don’t respond positively to being managed.
One of the key reasons is that management itself tends to establish the parameters of what needs to be done and how to do it. A sort of “jump this high” mindset. It leaves little room for creativity, authenticity and aspiration—the juice of higher-level action and performance. Secondly, it is oftentimes steeped in a “command/control” legacy-based marinade that people naturally resist. Nobody likes to be commanded or controlled. They may put up with it, they may inure themselves to it, they may grit their teeth and soldier on… but they’ll likely never move into their potential. Managing is simply the wrong tool for the job.
On the other hand, management is an ideal instrument for the non-living aspects of business. Numbers, metrics, technology, automation and process are perfectly suited for management. But for living things like people, a different approach is needed. Something in better alignment to humans and our potential for remarkable action and performance.
It’s important to remember, that remarkable performance is an inside job born of trust, support, commitment and inspiration.
It’s fostered, not exacted. Which brings us back to my search of a new word for manager. Strangely enough, it had been staring up at me all along, partly contained in all those studies regarding workplace (dis)engagement. If engagement is what’s missing in business, isn’t that what’s needed?
Eureka! Behold the Engager—people dedicated to engaging others to shine.
Helping others to create powerful ways to move into their potential—to excel, to innovate, to exceed. The Engager is connected to the people in their charge and intentional about bringing out the best in each of them. They remove roadblocks to performance and enlist ways to help people engage with their work, the company, the mission and the vision. Now, that’s a game changer.
Engagers recognize the difference between the static, the mechanized and the living. They realize that each aspect is unique and thus best influenced in unique ways. For the people aspect, developing skills and practices that build “engagement” are the best tools for catalyzing performance and excellence. And for those who desire something to manage, there will always be plenty of reports and metrics that need attention.
Now it’s your turn to become an engager. Request a Needs Discovery Conversation in our Leading Forward program.