I believe that all supporters of leaders, whatever their job title, have heard this time and time again, that they would like to have techniques and ways to quickly increase accountability, performance, turnover, profits.
And I understand that desire, and as a management trainer it would be very easy to fall into that trap – to start selling exactly what the market is asking for: high-speed technology with powerful results.
After all, a manager is under pressure: numbers, expectations, owners, market, employees, customers, etc. Naturally, there is a temptation to look for something that will bring quick results and pleasure. But over the years, in my own leadership and in supporting leaders today, I have seen that:
Most drivers do not need more techniques. These are all already known. What managers need is clarity about what will help the potential that is there to finally work and what will prevent the techniques that are already known from being applied.
In addition, high-speed techniques are dangerous. We don’t see the effects in the short term, but we do in the long term. Just as a nice meal is good for a moment, but in the long term we know that the effects on our bodies are terrible. In the short term, it’s better to stay on the sofa, but in the long term, it’s better to go for a walk or to exercise.
In the short term, we get quick results, or pleasure, but in the long term we get a dangerous wave of burnout, silent extinction and disengagement. A mental health crisis. We’ve already seen it, but we keep on putting it off as if nothing has happened. This is dangerous.
Technique is a tool that is only useful if the person using it is centered, calm, clear and in touch with their own power, i.e. has the inner resources to use these techniques in the first place. That is, one who has removed his or her own internal obstacles to expressing his or her personal potential. The one who has calmed down his inner anxiety, his fear of the future, his will of supreme responsibility, who has no will to control life, to have things just so and to have everyone fully committed to his purpose.
Who have looked inwards, not outwards. Sounds esoteric, but practice shows that it works. Just look at some of the very successful top leaders in Estonia, they share a deep interest in spirituality and esotericism (or the inner world).
Once the internal things are in place:
– turnover goes up,
– profitability improves,
– the team takes real responsibility,
– the company has a whole new dynamic.
And this is not because it is purposeful, it is simply a corollary. A change in mindset brings a change in outcomes without the need to anxiously and nervously monitor the results.
Everybody knows the techniques, but most people do not want to look at the obstacles to their implementation and application. The real impact of a manager is not in the techniques, but in him or herself, the (non-)user of the management techniques learnt.
If you find and help to overcome these obstacles, the changes are lasting.
Although it takes more time, the results are longer lasting and more sustainable.
The question is not: “What technique do I need?”
The question is: “What needs to change in me for the management technique to work?”
