What To Do When People Don't Do As You Would Like Them To.

Mind Control! - Do we all wish we could make others do our bidding

Don’t we all wish; at some point in our lives; that we can control people around us. “If only I can get him/her to do that!” or “Why did he/she act like that?” This feeling of hopelessness in the inability to control what others do or say; in our personal lives or professional; drives us crazy. 

Personally, our journeys are very different. But professionally we as bosses all face the same problem. The wishful thinking that our employees could or rather should think like us. One thing we tend to forget is, “They aren’t us!” If they were we would be out of a job!

I face a few problems when it comes to man management:

1.    Loyalty: The good old days where an employee started and ended his career with your organization is gone. Jumping ship is inevitable. Something we as bosses need to start hedging for. 

2.    Charisma: How many times have you walked into a meeting which your employee is heading and you are kicking yourself in the shin thinking “WHAT! I raised you better!” But we forget we were as inexperienced at one time and probably sounded worse. 

3.    Client Poaching: We all have firewalls and SOPs in place for information theft and standing bylaws for non-competes for every high-ranking official that puts in their papers. You have to remember your true clientele will remain with you regardless. Those who wish to leave will regardless.  

With tie-ups, collaborations or partnerships for that matter things are slightly different. Do not expect the same level of expertise, quality or reliability. They owe you no loyalty. Being a micro-manager and going over every detail multiple times works in my industry, it might not be the same for you. Find out what works for your industry and implement it. Rest assured you can’t eliminate it but you can definitely bring down the error quotient.

I find that our biggest challenge is continuity with our staff, colleagues or vendors. People tend to move to greener pastures as better opportunities come their way. Honestly, who can fault them? Wouldn’t you jump ship too? Say a better-paying client came along or a better functioning employee, won't your loyalties change?

You can tackle this problem two-fold. One catches on to the bandwagon and holds on for dear life or you will get left behind on the platform. By this I mean you can no longer take your time and grow your company at your pace. It’s the super bowl and everyone is watching you! It’s time to go big or go home cause the person next to you already has an upper hand. You need to keep your community/tribe engaged enough so they feel they have a lot to contribute and a lot to give back as well. 

Two is taking your tribe with you. As is said in The Holy Bible “Do on to others as you would have them do unto you.” Build up your staff and vendors so that when you move to the next level they are capable of delivering the same service you expect. This cannot be done without a lot of time and skill investment. And even then, there is no guarantee they will stay.

What do you do you ask? You give your best and leave them to their own devices. The ones that believe in you will stay with you. 

Until next time, Remember to Smile, Breathe and Go Slowly.