Managing for People Who Hate Managing by Devora Zack

Author:Devora Zack
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Published: 2012-10-19T04:00:00+00:00

Sample Example

Arrowheads

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I have a deceptively simple activity in which I give teams of three to eight people a set of seven plastic geometric pieces, one in the shape of an arrowhead. Instructions are sparse: Create five simultaneously existing arrowheads of the same size and shape, using the pieces provided.

Piece of cake.

Some groups solve the challenge quickly, some take thirty minutes or more, some groups never solve the puzzle. Most groups realize it is easy to assemble four arrowheads and inform me there are not enough pieces for five. I carefully count the seven parts on their table and assure them that they have enough resources.

Have you ever worked with (or near) a team who made the same claim: “We don’t have enough resources to achieve our task”? And then another, comparable team somehow accomplishes the impossible with the same or fewer resources?

Sometimes in this activity a participant will short circuit. He will cling to the notion that the challenge is impossible. Even as other teams around him triumphantly announce success, he will continue to pronounce this an unsolvable task doomed to failure. Over and over, he will repeat his conviction.

From experience, I know his team will fail. They always do. One vocal naysayer will smash any hope of success to smithereens. The most common mistake I see in these situations is the manager letting the negative voice go on too loud and too long before addressing or mitigating the situation. Negative energy can jeopardize the outcome of an entire team.

When you ignore or downplay the significance of a single person’s negativity, the result spreads far beyond that individual. Speak to that person, look for the cause, discuss alternatives, ask for support. Don’t let a small flame turn into a wildfire that destroys everyone’s best efforts.

Parenthetically, the arrowhead puzzle requires thinking outside the box. Or, in this case, inside the arrowheads. Four arrowheads are created from the pieces provided and the fifth is created through the arrangement of the other four—in the negative space that appears when they are placed in the correct pattern. In case you were wondering.

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