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BLUF - How do you reconcile management advice from different sources when they contradict each other (Manager Tools vs other podcasts etc)?
I’m sure most of us that are here are here because we believe in the advice that manager tools gives. And it is still good to keep an open mind and learn from many sources. Often I find more similarities on management advice in podcasts and books than differences. Sometimes the differences really stand out and I wonder what the best way to figure out what advice is the most accurate.
Today I came across a very dramatic difference between what I believe Manager Tools advises and what a new podcast I have been listening to advises. The new podcast is called Radical Candor. https://www.radicalcandor.com Many of the things that Radical Candor talks about share a common thread with Manager Tools. They have a very strong focus on feedback and building relationships as well as one on ones with some differences in how they go about them. Today I listened to episode 19: “Being a Boss Isn’t for Everyone… Including Some Bosses: https://www.radicalcandor.com/blog/podcast-episode-19/ and they cited a statistic from a Gallup study that said that 50% - 70% of people shouldn’t be managers. The survey said that 10% of people are “prewired” to be managers and the rest have the potential with the proper training. This seems to be dramatically different from what I understand Manager Tools believes. I don’t remember if they said everyone can be a manager. But I know they say that being a manager is a learned skill that can be taught not something people are born with.
I would find it interesting to hear what people think of these two different views on management in general. Even more I wonder what other people have done when they come across markedly different advice regarding management.
Thanks
Ron
P.S. - This is in no way meant to be negative about what Manager Tools teaches. I have been listening to Manager Tools for almost 10 years and it has changed my life both in and out of work.
The answer was there
Ron :
To address your question about this :
"The survey said that 10% of people are “prewired” to be managers and the rest have the potential with the proper training
This is not in conflict with M-T that I can tell.
10% prewired - depending on what you mean by pre-wired. That could be genetics and it could be how someone was raised. Some parents use child rearing tactics that would implicitly teach much of what M-T covers. Such things would seem like second nature to some folks.
And this idea that " rest have the potential with the proper training" is also the point.
M-T always says that management is hard - and it is boring - and it is a skill that is practiced over and over again with tools and techniques that much be practiced with repetition and discipline.
This is what many people might find challenging about management. And the article is right - it is not for everyone. But, the reasons for that are more complex than a simple -- "not-cut out for management"
Anyone can learn to be a painter - with paint by numbers. And eventually, that would lead to a high level of craft painting skill. That doesn't mean that they will be a great visionary artist ...
There is a difference between craft and art.
M-T seems to teach that in general successful Management is a craft that can be learned - if someone wants to .
Does this perspective conflict with the article you read ?
TJP