Reminders

Yesterday, I taught a leadership workshop for a group of seasoned supervisors and managers.

Bright folks and they were equipped with years of experience. Several probably could have taught the class. The program, however, was a hit because, although there were some new approaches for them to consider, for the most part the workshop reminded them of things they already knew or suspected but had set aside.

That is a common characteristic of training. The teacher doesn't instruct so much as remind and the class members sit there thinking, "I knew that. Why haven't I been doing that?"

And that, of course, is an additional feature: Asking ourselves why we haven't put our knowledge into practice. Examining the hidden ways in which a lower caliber of leadership or management is inadvertently rewarded or even desired.

If you knew it and haven't been doing it, there is a reason why. The answer, like a surgeon's scalpel, may go to the heart of your leadership/management problems.