Secrets of Effective Management (Not) #24 – The Zen of Management: Acceptance is a Strength

Acceptance is a skill to be cultivated.   You can get more out of your employees by letting important tasks like creating organization charts languish.  While people are working, trying to generate positive value for the company, the lack of management-provided tools such as an organization chart or seating chart will frustrate them and cause waste and hassle.  Those with the greatest need will be forced to create their own charts, just to do their jobs.  While some of these tools may not be all-encompassing or particularly correct some, such as those created by employees working on major proposals, may be very useful.  In addition, many such documents will be better than a manager could have produced because the people creating them are actively working inside the organization and doing the legwork for you.   In the spirit of the Zen manager, simply accept this gift from the cosmos and make it official.

Selfless anonymity is a good thing.  Crediting the author isn’t necessary, and may not be possible.  Once you find such a document, possibly on the floor or in the output hopper of the office printer-copier, you have the option to claim it as your own, but that might not be the best course of action.  If there are flaws in it, they can be corrected, but the important point is that you can’t be blamed for errors and didn’t have to do the work to create it yourself.  Blow it up and post it conspicuously somewhere, and the business will be better organized with almost no effort or liability on your part.

Thus, Zen-like thinking can be an advantage for you, keeping your employees busy creating documents normally provided by people in a higher pay bracket – savings for your budget – and providing important tools to the business while leaving you ample time for practicing your putting game.

Advertisement