With translation into the language of reality
Leaders and managers sometimes like to share sweet recipes for success and the recipients of these recipes gladly accept them. Oh, how sweet is our ideal desirable world!
Meanwhile for practitioners I suggest the translation of these advices into the language of reality:
| What do we hear
|
What do we think | What does it mean in reality |
| I immediately fire the employees who do not reach planned goals.
|
What a great leader! He is able to reach the result without going into details! | Employees live in fear, there is a big change of employees, the company does not reach the result. |
| Our company‘s activities are based on values and we follow them.
|
How nicely they managed to implement and integrate the values!
|
Unfair, unethical work is carried out secretly. |
| All employees are highly motivated in our company. Everybody is motivated by extraordinary challenges. | Where did they find such employees? Probably they have such a good innovative product.
|
Problems are waiting around the corner. After honey-moon the time for hangover will come. |
| We are united by incredibly good atmosphere.
|
I would love to work there! | The focus on the result is low. Managers and shareholders may change soon.
|
| We gather just for work. | Wow, they are such hardworkers! This is a team of professionals. | Where can I find such an employee?
|
| The main thing is to learn to get in touch with our fears! | What a brave, open man! | They have big fairs that they are constantly struggling with.
|
| My life mission is to help others.
|
The person discovered his calling. | It is a way how to avoid looking at yourself. |
| The main point is to be yourself and become a leader.
|
What an authentic man! | It may be that he is stuglling to find a common language with some people. |
| The most important language in the world is love language.
|
He is a spiritual person. | There is a lack of love, especially love for yourself. |
| Say what you do and do what you say. | What a conscious leader!
|
I have to convince people why it is worth for them to achieve my goals.
|
To summarize – there is human reality behind each facade. Our desire to believe in a charming picture is the way to forget uncomfortable reality, maybe to get rest from it. This is not too bad either as long as vocation from reality does not take too long. When I work with leaders and managers, I realized that it is more interesting not only to hear what to say, but to notice what they do not say.
Dr. Alisa Miniotaitė is a management and leadership expert, founder of UAB ALISA MANAGEMENT LABORATORY, ISM University of Management and Economics, Leadership Program Manager
Commentary is published in the news radio show “Leader’s Dilemma” and news page 15min.lt
