Fear Makes a Manager Poor

"You always fear...what you don't understand"
- Carmine Falcone, Batman Begins

You also fear what you can't control, especially if you risk losing something you feel you need to "make it".

Fear is one of those weird drivers that doesn't make sense, but often seems to get the best of us; reaching its height of feeding frenzy at the worst possible moments.

Afraid of losing your job?
Watch fear kick in and cause you to do the very dumb things you don't want to do if you want to keep your job.

Afraid of saying the wrong thing?
Fear loves to distract you to the point of keeping you bound up and at a loss for the boldness you need to say the right thing.

Afraid of not making someone happy?
Guess what, you'll never make everyone happy. A focus on pleasing people = pending disaster.

Afraid of saying no?
You won't be respected enough for someone to trust you when they need to say yes.

Afraid of going against the flow?
So are most people, which means you'll just fit right into the vanilla school of everyone else.

Recognize fear for what it is and then get rid of it. It has no place in the office of a good manager.

Related entries: Ride Out.

Drama; Don't Do It

One of my favorite shows on TV is Top Chef. Through watching it over the last several seasons, I've learned that there is a difference between people who can cook really well and a Chef. You've got folks with real talent that can't get it all together in the time allotted and certainly can't work with other people. They are the ones yelling, running, and cussing up a storm down to the last second. It makes for good TV, but these guys never win. Its the contestants that, sure - may stress - but do it with purpose and with little if no drama.

Back to business...

If you find that business is theater, you're in the wrong building.

Business is about accomplishing objectives together for a purpose. Drama is about bringing attention to yourself (as seen on TV).

I have certainly been guilty of drama, especially when there's the risk (AKA stress) of not getting to that business objective. But it is not a helpful tool. If anything, it spends your energy and the energy of those around you on something that distracts from the real chance to maybe, just maybe hit that goal.

So here's the question that you've got to honestly answer to yourself...do you thrive on drama? A few easy ways to tell:

• Does every task you work on come down to the last possible minute - with you cranking it out mere seconds before catastrophe strikes?
• Are you beating up those around you with your stress as you barrel your way down to a last-minute result?
• Does the end product reek of lackluster quality, due to steps skipped as you cranked out your last-min result?
  

It really doesn't have to be last min...really. Just a little planning, communication, and thinking more than just for today. That'll mean you've got to say goodbye to drama though. Either that, or you can seek out the next spot on reality TV.