We All Know More

Recently, I encountered an interesting experience.  Nowadays, when I go to a doctor, I ‘google’ first. I want to know better about my condition, treatment options, pros & cons of medication, etc.

I noticed that my specialist doctor got very irritated when I questioned him about his suggested treatment and threw in some of my own knowledge and some alternatives. He just couldn’t handle  being challenged. He even lost his temper.

I take the above as an opening story to give some advice for you to consider if you are a manager.

There is plenty of qualified knowledge, yes, and also some rubbish, accessible through the web. I also note that younger staff check on the web first before engaging in discussions. So, one may expect staff to be much more knowledgeable. That is, of course, a good sign. But, it is also likely that younger staff show much less respect towards managers. The reason is, if you look back one generation, the manager was ‘the’ source of knowledge. Today, not only the manager is the source of knowledge but, more frequently, the web.

So, in my view, any manager is well advised to allow, better encourage, staff to challenge them, listen very carefully and make decision also taking into account the feedback from the staff. As a manager, be happy, when challenged and be confident enough to change your mind when your staff brings up valid arguments.

 As ‘todays’ manager you may experience less automatic respect from your staff, just because you are one level higher.  Of course, you need to face the challenge to make sure that your knowledge is also one level higher. If that is the case and you are willing and able to solicit constructive criticism from your staff, LISTEN, and have the strength to give credit to your staff for suggestions and change your mind, you will earn respect. Earned respect is much more durable than respect accredited because of position only.