Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Your job is to develop stars.

You do not have the responsibility for your people’s continuous development. Your job is to make them realize that they themselves are completely responsible to update themselves, to seek more education and to attend the courses that are appropriate.

Here’s why – this is the story you must get your people to understand:

When you end your education you have a high degree of freedom and you have a (relatively) high degree of capabilities – you are a star.

Then you start adding responsibilities in your life – spouse, house and kids, mortgage, cars and stuff that are all OK, but it lowers your degree of freedom.

AND the world changes, so your (relative) capability sinks.

If you let both of these happen – and you don’t do anything - you will end up in the “quadrant of humiliation”– where you have to take crap from the boss, because you are afraid of loosing the job.

It is OK if you want to be a surfer dude and have all the freedom in the world – then capabilities are maybe not so important - OR if you want to be the world’s most capable (of whatever you are) – then it is maybe not so important to have a large degree of freedom.

For most of us – we have to make sure we stay above the red line (see figure). You must have enough freedom and enough capabilities to not have fear. The best is, of course, to be a star, but for most of us: STAY ABOVE THE RED LINE.

If you trust that your boss is going to take care of you and develop you and make sure that you grow your capabilities: SORRY. That boss will not be around when you wake up one morning and find yourself in “the quadrant of humiliation”.

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