Managing the brain and managing the emotions…
… are absolutely two different things. I was talking with one of my client senior managers with the widest span of responsibility yesterday.
They’re coping with a lot of the things that leaders have to. I started to explain things in terms of suspending a balance between the following areas of accountability as a leader and manager:
1. Being involved in the detail (normally on an urgent/ important basis) sufficient to be able to make an informed decision when called on to do so
2. Maintaining progress on the list of important value-add or change areas that will step change the company’s performance and future success (inc. strategy)
3. Monitoring and maintaining the systems of control over process as well as managing, mentoring and coaching people to be able to run the company tactically and operationally
I realised that the big challenge in this is that you can mentally allocate the focus to areas two and three; area one normally drags you in without your planning. Arguably, area three. is easier to plan for in terms of operational review meetings, 121s, performance reviews and coaching sessions.
But that’s all about the conscious intent as opposed to the reality.
