How You Will Change Your Management Style

Hello.

Why are you reading this newsletter? Why are you studying? What is the general purpose of learning?

It’s never enough to say this: we believe that the goal of learning is to make a difference in real life. Today we will talk about changes: how and why they happen and do not happen, and what will begin to change for you when you go through the Tetics PRO program in 2021.

The change formula (sometimes also called the Glacier (Beckhard-Harris) formula) is as follows:

D * FS * V > R

(Dissatisfaction * First Steps * Vision> Resistance)

Dissatisfaction with the current situation. The higher the level of dissatisfaction is, the more likely changes are. The difficulty here is that you don’t always feel right at the moment that something is wrong. You work, manage the team somehow, and everything seems to be ok. And then – bang! This is a typical story about “resting on our laurels”, meaning insensitivity to problems.

Here is an example: let’s say, your management style is dominated by the directive style (no need to deny it, it was a great surprise for me to find out that it prevails in me to a BIG extent). This means that you know best of all in the team how to work in general and how to solve problems in particular. This automatically means that everything in the team is driven by your energy. If there is a lot of your personal energy, the team can be driven successfully for a long time. Modern business is very contributive to it. You seem to be running somewhere all the time. Planning, work, release, retrospective, moving on: planning, work, release… It’s pretty hard to listen to yourself on the run: is everything really OK? There seems to be a retrospective, but it is rather about the project than about yourself. And it also happens on the run, so that the results are even more effective. And then bang – there is no energy left. How did it happen?

On every three-day session we will have exercises, one of the goals of which is… to add to your dissatisfaction. So that you can constructively doubt whether your leadership style is doing well. Because behind this, changes can begin that can bring important alterations to your life. At the same time they will insure against a sudden “bang” and loss of energy.

Vision: Where do you want to go? The more clearly you understand this, the higher the likelihood of change is. Do you understand what kind of manager you want to become, taking into account your psychotype, personality structure, tasks facing you, goals you strive for, and needs that you want to satisfy?

A vision is about an image of yourself in your reality. You can go through the SMARTERE questions:

S What specifically do you want to achieve?

M If the goal is to be measured, then what are these criteria?

A How ambitious is this goal for you, in fact?

R What will be the result of this goal?

T When do you want to achieve this?

E How do you feel now that you have answered the previous questions?

R What will be your reward when you receive this? Is this what you need today?

E How ecological is this goal? How will it affect the ecosystem in which you live?

We discussed these questions with the participants of the recent course “Management in the coaching style”. These questions will definitely come up during the three-day sessions of Tetics PRO. Because sometimes, only by trying something, you can understand whether you want to go there.

First Steps: The easier it is to take them, the higher the probability of changes is. Why, for example, doesn’t the advice “Mice, you become hedgehogs” work? Because this is not the First Step, it is the Vision. And the first step is unclear. It can be, for example, like this: mice, take a couple of needles there, attach them to your ears, see how you deal with this… Does it help you to defend yourself? Is it easy to sleep? What conclusions do you draw from this experience? The first steps should be in the zone of proximal human development. Otherwise, this is a so-so first step…

Going and clearing up the backlog of your problems with your supervisor. Talking about goals with an employee. Telling a person that you will not appoint him to a new position. In real life, it can be very difficult. Because this stuffing can hardly be turned back. These are real people, these are real relationships.

As part of three-day sessions of Tetics PRO, we will try something different from what you are accustomed to, in a safe environment: study groups, demo sessions, career and non-directive management studios. In order not to make the mistakes of the first experience in real life. It’s better to be mistaken in training than in combat.

Resistance: The lower the resistance, the higher the chance of change. There will always be resistance, because evolution has taught us to save energy. Sometimes it comes unconsciously. For example, I propose an experiment to someone: tell someone directly what he thinks about him. And resistance begins: we shift the talk to something abstract. Then, direct speech seems to begin, but in an apologetic tone. Then something else. Everything, except saying directly specific words.

Our resistances are based on who we are, on our beliefs, on our projections and, let’s not be afraid of this word, introjections. Catching it in yourself within the framework of educational activities is another of our tasks. Because it can be a repetition of what happens (and bothers you) in real life. But we will talk about this in the next mailings.

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To summarize, here is the formula for your change:

(Dissatisfaction * First Steps * Vision > Resistance)

In Tetics PRO, we will go through it in all five main and three additional blocks (three-day sessions):

1. Audit of the command at the entrance

2. Interviewing, hiring and firing

3. Communication within the team (constructive confrontation)

4. Setting and control of tasks, delegation

5. Command status control and feedback

6-8. Defending the team, project and processes (negotiations)

It will definitely change your management style, your results and your satisfaction with work.

Tetics PRO: your program of change in 2021 >>

Good luck and see you at the program!

Alex Orlov

Managing partner