My 20 Management Illusions

Woke up in the morning with LinkedIn reminding me with my 20 years of “management” anniversary !! couldn’t believe it was that long, I still remember my first days. For few seconds I could only reflect on the number of mistakes I made, failures I have gone through and the tiny illusions had about management.

So, I decided to share my 20 Management illusions I had (and seen) over the past 20 years:

1- I said it …. Means …. Everyone knows it !!

The biggest management illusion and the king of all!! I thought that when I communicate a message or a decision it means that the whole organization would know about it and will live by it. The biggest illusion… there is no enough communication, and we have to use different medians, we have to repeat it, keep it simple and have serious check points to truly realize how deep the message was delivered without kidding ourselves

2- Power points… Equal …. Strategy !!

Absolutely hilarious when you read it, but one of the most fallen-in traps, used to start thinking about strategy with the first PowerPoint slide, making it “look” nice and compelling and the results are usually frustrating. Learned how to study carefully, involve stakeholders, write on white sheets, truly challenge assumptions and only then plot it on simple presentation format

3- If discreet… It will go Unnoticed !!?

Assuming that an action or a decision will be kept secrete away from your team is one of the biggest illusions, no secretes can be kept in corporates. I realized that today’s exception for an employee is tomorrow’s rule for everyone, no matter how much you emphasized its confidentiality or assuming it is just one time incident that will go unnoticed.

4- Making Friends … Making Teams !!

“If I manage to make my team my friends then they would be good team”… only in your dreams… another illusion, nice group of people is not necessarily a good team. A team means diversity, competencies, and support, my role is to be there for them, listen carefully, facilitate healthy interaction and encourage positive challenge. its OK to be liked but have to be Respected.

5- Bad Results… it’s Bad Luck !!

For years I was trying to link failure incidents to “just” bad luck to feel good about myself and my team, and usually it is easy to do the link, till I realized that the failure of tomorrow is seeded today. So many details need to be taken care of today to ensure tomorrow’s results are as planned. Of course, luck (good or bad) will always be a factor but my role is to keep it to the minimal

6- Customers lives here !!

One of the biggest illusions, assuming customers listen, sees & believes in what you are communicating to them as if they are working at your site, the truth is far from that, very far. Customers lives in their own worlds and they can’t care less about your messages. Learned how to find the right value proposition for personalized approach and repeat it endlessly before they realize small % of what we are saying.

7- Numbers never lies !!

“It is all about numbers and they tell you the story”. Numbers are truly important but if you are presented with the wrong set of numbers, you are automatically set to take the wrong perspectives. I learned to challenge the numbers, look for alignments ( or discrepancies) in them, find different set of numbers and believe in my gut feelings?

8- More Involvement… More Control… Better Results !!

The illusion of “The more you yell and the more you control people or tasks, the higher the chances are to succeed…” is absolutely not true, when you are getting your nose in every detail the team spontaneously switch to autopilot mode, they expect you to deliver, they switch off their creativity and get less engaged leading to bad results. Responsible delegation leads to better results.

9- We are the best… Can’t get any better !!

Very frequently managers fall into the complacency mode where they get convinced, they are the best and nothing better can be achieved. For sure, that was always the first step to fall, and quickly. I learned to always keep raising the bar, not listening to complacent people, because quickly you will realize your rivals are overtaking you the minute you slow down.

10- The way we used to do it…!!

One of the most common mistakes of management is buying in the statement “That’s how we always did it!!” I was so confused whether to challenge back and not accepting status quo versus making unpopular changes and getting exposed to unknown risks. Taking well managed risks always paid off more than avoiding them.

11- I’m Responsible for Everyone’s Happiness…!!

I was so frustrated every time I came across a demotivated colleague for whatever reason e.g. missed promotion, lessened benefits, etc… I thought I was responsible for everyone’s happiness. It is a goal impossible to achieve. I then realized we are here to create a healthy culture/ atmosphere for people to be able to prosper and “Self”-motivate, it is their choice.

12- Best Achievers are … Definitely Best Leaders !!

One good example of management illusion is the pressure to promote top achievers into team’s leadership roles. Many of the best achievers have very shallow self-awareness levels and believe they only need to clone themselves as it is all about delivering numbers and hitting targets without necessarily having the people’ oriented management skills?

13- Only Big Achievements should be Recognized…!!

One big illusion I had was the tendency to categorize achievements and recognizing only big ones, according to my own standards, I thought giving recognition to small accomplishments will jeopardize big achievers. I learned that big achievements are based on small, recognized steps.

14- Its OK not to plan, Daily…!!

Another illusion that frequently goes unnoticed. “I have annual plan, may be monthly one and it should be enough, so let’s directly dig into today’s challenges”. Big mistake, I realized that sparing these 30-60 mins every day in planning the day forward and revising the general plan is the only way to stay focused on the vision and ensures “eating the frog first thing in the morning”

15- Problems ignored… are problems solved !!

May be not a typical illusion but a major management pitfall, is the tendency to ignore some challenging & persisting problems or people, hoping that it would be sorted out “by itself”! NEVER, or may be seldom it does. Avoiding giving feedback is one element. I try to remember that intervention is painful but curative. ?

16- Fight Every Battle…!!

One tiny, yet very stressful, managerial situation is the illusion that managers need to fight every battle and win every fight!! I am trying to learn how to let go of irrelevant combats, things that are out of my control zone or with tiny outcomes. Yet, on the other extreme, not avoiding healthy conflicts whenever needed.

17- Better Do It Myself… It’s Better, Quicker & Cheaper !!

A common trap, doing tasks myself instead of taking the time in delegating, setting expectations, trusting and be ready to support the team. I knew that it is quicker and more efficient to do some tasks myself, but soon realized it would eventually fire back in less developed, less engaged teams.?

18- It is Raining Solutions…!!

Was so excited in the beginning to offer solutions for every challenge that was presented to me, soon realized that Decisions are easy to make, yet consequences are hard to anticipate or control, and that’s where the main challenge and focus needs to be. I learned to stop telling people what to do and start sharing expectations only, then they surprise you with better outcomes.

19- Appreciation… equals… Hypocrite !!?

Must admit I was so stubborn with this one, never liked those who always praise their superiors all the way, considered them hypocrites and so weak that they get their way up only through sweet-talking. Till I realized that executives are also human being like us!! They love to be appreciated, they like to get feedback about their performance, and they are happy to realize that their team are happy

20- My Company … Is, My Company !!

We were trained to think and act on behalf of the company as if it is our own one. While this is very true and appreciated, yet it is always important to remember that there are parts of the picture we might be missing and therefore I learned to trust my colleagues & superiors with some decisions that I am not necessarily comfortable with.?

Disclaimer: “Opinions expressed in this article are solely my own and do not express the views or opinion of my current employer”