Even if they have the exact skills that Iâm looking for, itâs better not to try to fit a round peg into a square hole. Each of us ought to be working in an environment that we love with the people who share our passions. And if along the way we realize that weâre meant to do something else, letâs celebrate that instead of seeing it as a failure.
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As a manager, you are judged on your teamâs outcomes, so your job is to do whatever most helps them succeed. If your team is lacking key skills, then you need to spend your time training or hiring. If someone is creating problems for others, then you need to get him to stop. If people donât know what they should be doing, then you need to construct a plan. A lot of this work is unglamorous. But because itâs important, it must be done, and if nobody else does it, then it falls to you.
This is why adaptability is a key trait of great managers. As your team changesâwhether itâs goals shifting, people joining or leaving, or processes evolvingâwhat you do every day will also change.
Call it what you wantâfit, motivation, chemistryâbut the things a person cares about must also be what the team (and company) cares about. If not, then that person might find themselves in frequent misalignment with what they want for their own career.
If the fit just isnât right on a particular team, sometimes a move within the same organization solves the issueâa new environment plus a different problem to noodle on is often exactly whatâs needed. If that doesnât work, then perhaps the fit is with the company as a whole, in which case parting ways may be the best outcome for everyone.
Repeatedly talk about your values so that everyone understands what great talent looks like. And, above all, make it clear that building the team isnât just one personâs job, itâs everyoneâs job.
If you say something is important to you and youâd like the rest of your team to care about it, be the first person to live that value. Otherwise, donât be surprised when nobody else does either.
Exhibiting this kind of passion is a part of every top-notch executiveâs management style. Who wants to work for a pessimist? Who wants to work for a manager who always sees the glass as half empty? Who wants to work for a manager who is always pointing out the weaknesses in your company or institution? Who wants to work for someone who criticizes and finds fault much quicker than finding excitement or promise? We all love to work for winners and be part of winning.