Can We All Just Get Along?

Perhaps oddly, there is a theme linking management effectiveness and the lament of Rodney King, whose sad entry into policing history was just commemorated.  We must treat each other with respect, regardless of the circumstances.  That doesn’t mean always being the nice guy, but it does mean practicing restraint and empathy.

Inc.com recently published “8 Core Beliefs of ExtraordinaryBosses”.  Collectively, they represent how we would all like to be treated by others, colleagues and bosses.  Our co-workers and customers are all functioning adults.  Although some people are easier to get along with than others, everyone is entitled to choose how they conduct their lives.  Good managers relish the variety inherent in differing approaches to work, acknowledging and nurturing the creativity engendered by novel insights. 

Even so, not everyone is suited to every working environment.  Sometimes novelty is disruptive to critical processes.  Occasional disruption is refreshing; continuous dissonance requires management intervention.  As managers, we must clearly see the behaviours separate from the perpetrator’s personality.  We are entitled to and required to ask for behaviours to be changed, in the interests of productivity or effectiveness.  We are not entitled to ask people to revise their personal life-views, although we can counsel and suggest that they may find more fulfillment in a different position or organization.  This road may even lead to dismissal, a move that still must be based on behaviour and performance, not personality. 

I have seen a number of people move on from a large bureaucracy to successfully run their own businesses.  Both the bureaucracy and the entrepreneurs were happier because their skills were better employed.