DO YOU WANT TO BE MANAGED?

, Written by: Jay Doran, CEO and Founder of Culture Matters

"Mom! There is no way I am doing it!"

"Johnny, if you don't clean your room, you're grounded."

"But, Mom, it's my room, damnit!"

"What?!" "Did you just swear at me?" "Listen, if you don't clean your room, I am telling your Father."

Johnny sighs.

"Ahhhhhh… okay, I will do it"

Johnny speaks to himself.

"I freakin’ hate her, why do I have to do this bull…"

 And so, it goes on the daily struggles of life. The rooms left unkempt, the bed stays unmade, our tasks lay incomplete, and our relationships beguiled. What can we expect? After all, do you want to be managed?

Whether it is Mom, Dad, our lover or our boss, it appears someone is always telling us what to do. Who to date, how to live, where to go, what to do, or who to be. Early on, our self-significance is undervalued all the way up until our later years in life. From birth, we rely on our parents until old age when our caregivers watch our every move.

"Don't do this!" "Stop touching that" "Calm down!" "Speak up!" "Be Quiet!"

Oh, how we HATE being managed. It is no wonder why we loath 8AM. The alarm clock rings, we roll over in our perfect bed and say, "just a few minutes more" all the while knowing we must get up. We come to this conclusion not because it's righteous but do to conformity. We have succumbed to life's labors.

THERE MUST BE A BETTER WAY!

If there is not a better way, this vicious cycle will surely continue and for our full lifetime.

Well, let me let you in on a little secret- leadership is freedom and unshackles chains of conformity. Form the conscious and unconscious habit not to push, but to pull, stop telling, and start story telling. As a founder, parent, boss, lover and friend, it is your duty to pay careful attention to your love, your body giving it and every utterance of your vernacular conveyed. The difference between the influencer and the influence lies in this understanding. If only Mommy knew.

"Mom! There is no way I am doing it!"

"Johnny, I hear you. Listen, lovey, I get it. When I was young I didn't want to do it either, it sucks."

Mom continues…

"Can I ask you though, if you put it off could you please do it later?"

"Yes, Mom."

Johnny thinks to himself, "Okay, that makes sense, eventually I will have to get it done."

His Mom continues…

"Friday, you have plans with Robby and Joey?"

"Yeah, Mom, I do."

"Ah, okay, I see you have a lot going on, a lot in your head and I imagine the last thing you want to do is clean, but wouldn't you rather do it now versus being late to your plans on Friday?"

Johnny thinks about that….

"Yeah, I didn't think about it that way. I will do it now."

"Thanks, Johnny, I love you."

"Love you too, Mom."

 If only we knew our management was in our hearts and the key to its ignition is love, and the start of the ignition is perception. Every gallon of gasoline is our ability to listen, the pedal is understanding, and the clutch is all our questions.

Great leaders put themselves in other people’s shoes. They feel their emotions, and they ask genuine questions to get down to the facts. Great leaders do not like to be managed, and they take that into account. After all, who likes to be managed, do you?

“Leadership is freedom and unshackles chains of conformity.”