People are considered adults in their private lives, at the bank, at their children’s schools, with family and among friends — so why are they suddenly treated like adolescents at work? Why can’t workers be involved in choosing their own leaders? Why can’t they speak up — challenge, question, share information openly? – The Seven Day Weekend

I think this extends past the workplace. We treat teenagers like 10-year-olds and then wonder why a 25-year-old can’t make life work for themselves.

They were never treated like an adult until suddenly they were 25 and it was all their responsibility. There was no leading into adulthood with some trials as they were teenagers.

You know all the things many of the prior generations did for us.

Back to the people you manage…if you want them to stick around, treat them like adults.

If you want to run a daycare for adult-sized children, keep treating them like children. Don’t come whining to me when you have to follow them around all the time to make sure things get done. It’s your own fault with your stupid diminishing1 behaviour.

To manage employees well, you need to focus on the outcomes you want. Let them figure out how to get those outcomes. An introvert will get them in a different way than an extrovert will.

Forget how it happens, focus on what happens.

If you can’t trust people to get the outcomes you want, then you either hired the wrong people or have built an organization that doesn’t support them.

Either way, it’s your fault.

Have an awesome day!

Curtis

PS: If you’re ready to start trusting people, let’s talk. If you think I’m off base and you can’t trust the people you hired, please scroll down and unsubscribe. I’m not wasting my time convincing you.

photo credit: andwat cc


  1. If you want to read more about Diminishing vs Multiplying behaviour read Multipliers. For a shorter overview of it, see my review