First Rule of Management: First, Do No Harm
Medical ethics begins with the principle primum non nocere, Do No Harm. It’s the first rule of management too. Not because harm caused may or may not be worse than harm not prevented. But because it is so common for managers to do more harm than good.
A recent study by Nielsen Co. found that
“Companies with less senior-management involvement in the new-product process generate 80% more revenue from new products than those with the highest levels of senior-management involvement …
“While we don’t dispute senior management’s strengths and good intentions, they are often too quick to get involved in the creative process, especially when things are not going well and their mere presence can stifle free thinking …
“When senior managers do get involved, he said, there’s a ‘tendency to hip shoot. They come in, throw a grenade, and it slows things down.'”
(hat tip: Larry Kramer).
Management, like government, is a tricky job. It’s necessary, and yet it frequently harms more than it helps.
I just came back from a vacation, walked into a Kanban meeting, and was amazed by how my team was functioning. I know they function like that all the time, but the vacation let me see it with fresh eyes.
But such a scene always leads to some introspection. There’s always that self-doubt and pain in the ego when seeing your people functioning perfectly without you. And I have too much dissonance here to see this objectively, so I’ll state my claim and let you decide.
Managers’ first job is to not interfere with their team. Be ready to step in when needed, and provide help when called on. Have other critical tasks that you can do so you don’t feel the need to interfere or save the day. But when in doubt, step aside and let your people do their jobs. Make sure they get the credit they deserve. Don’t sap their enthusiasm or step on their toes. Give them the control and authority they need to enjoy their jobs and to succeed at them. Help, guide, encourage, support. Take pride in how successful they are without you. But first: do no harm.
June 22, 2010 @ 6:17 am
They say that the goal of teachers (and parents) is to raise the kids up to the point in which they (the teachers, not the kids) are not needed.
It becomes a little tricky when it comes to management and your work place..
June 22, 2010 @ 10:13 am
Yeah. Can be a career limiting strategy for managers.
June 22, 2010 @ 2:11 pm
managers who give hi-level marching orders and a shoulder to cry on are the best! Go, Gil!
June 22, 2010 @ 4:37 pm
Thanx Danny!
June 23, 2010 @ 2:51 pm
Gil
Great article, couldn't have said it better. Having worked at companies where management shoots from the hip, I can tell you that our teams worked best without management involvement, and we used to shudder when certain managers entered the room. Managers should be there when needed, at crisis time, when leadership is needed and to light the road ahead. Great Article
Hillel A
June 23, 2010 @ 9:55 pm
Thanks, Hillel!
June 27, 2010 @ 4:17 pm
Glad I read this. It's been a while since I managed a team; from my current point of view, it's a valuable thing to know your managers trust you. That's another thing that 'Do no harm' can accomplish: employee confidence. It's probably one of the most valuable things an employee can earn from a manager.