I’ve just been re-reading a favourite management book of mine – please don’t be put off by the long title: Max Landsberg’s The Tao of Coaching, Boost your Effectiveness at Work by Inspiring and Developing Those Around You (Harper Collins Business) – first published back in 1996.
Despite that lengthy title, it really is an accessible management book, packed full of useful and practical ideas to help with the management of people.
I love one of his analogies, that pays homage to Socrates, suggesting managers are the ‘midwives’ to understanding. Just as midwives help deliver babies, but don’t actually give birth to them, so a manager can ‘help’, but not ‘make’ people understand.
When you manage someone and they come to you with a work problem, do you tend to tell them what to do, or ask them some questions? Max Landsberg recommends we ask our employees a few good questions (the ones that start with what, when, how or why?) in place of telling or instructing and see what happens – it’s simple, but powerful stuff (it works well with partners, friends and offspring too!).
Try it and see what happens – the results can be surprising!