Quotes of the Week
“The conventional definition of management is getting work done through people, but real management is developing people through work.” – Agha Hasan Abedi
“Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them.” – Paul Hawken.
Thought of the Week
We measure many things regarding work life. Engagement and workplace culture come to mind. We may tire of the topics, but the problem isn’t that we measure these things. The problem is that we measure these things — and do little with the information.
Strengths fall into this category.
We practice a somewhat lazy view of strengths.
That is never our intention, yet this is often the outcome. We spend considerable time and money identifying/measuring strengths, but then we essentially ignore the information. Life gets busy. Deadlines need to be met. Yet the practice of exploring — then ignoring strengths — can bring a certain frustration.
Why did we bother? It is a questionable strategy that makes little sense. People have a inherent drive to be their best selves and do great work. If we’ve got the keys to potential success, why not use them?
Yet, we proceed to throw challenging work at individual contributors who cannot possibly excel — or we under-utilize high performers with work that cannot possibly energize them. We’ve either broken the spirit of a less established employee or de-motivated the high performer who could spend their time in a more valuable way.
The bottom line is that the work needs to be completed. But at what cost? It is important to consider the psychological resources of the team while doing so. These resources provide internal stability within your team. Resources the team will need to utilize during times of stress or challenge. Resources that provide energy.
The Strategy: Value Litmus Test
Take the time to as ask the following 2 questions:
1. Where would the skills and abilities of X, bring the most value to the team?
2. Would X, find that assignment meaningful or fulfilling?
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The Core File is a brief, weekly post about work & organizations. It is designed to offer food for thought for your work week.
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Marla Gottschalk 