Stepping Forward Together: Creating Trust and Commitment in the Workplace. Mac Ph.D. McIntire
are no better than the tools they possess and their ability to use them. Having the right tools – and knowing when and how to use them – is absolutely critical to success.”
Paul nodded his agreement with my analogy.
“I’m a tools guy,” I explained. “I’ve spent most of my adult life developing techniques that make companies and people more productive. I’ve analyzed human interactions and reactions in nearly every professional situation you can imagine. I’ve scrutinized the workplace from every angle. At this point, I dare say I know how to get people to work better together. And it’s not as hard as you think. That’s why I say that, contrary to what Casey Stengle said and you might believe, it’s easy to both get good players and get them to play well together – but only if you have the right tools.”
“That makes sense,” Paul agreed.
“If you’re interested, I’ll share one of those tools with you right now. I’ll bet by the time we’ve landed in Las Vegas I will have given you something to help fix whatever problems you’re facing at your tool manufacturing plant.”
“I’m definitely interested!”
“Great,” I smiled, “because I could talk about this stuff all night. And it sure will make the flight go a lot faster.”
With that, I quickly did what I could to transform our row into a makeshift meeting room. I reached under the seat in front of me, pulled out my briefcase, and took out a yellow notepad and a mechanical pencil. I grabbed a couple of printed 3x5 cards and slipped them into my shirt pocket. I’d show Paul what was on the card later. I pulled down the tray tables in front of both of our seats so we would have plenty of room to work. Then I began.
“Paul, in a few minutes I’m going to teach you a powerful model that will show you how to build strong work teams. I’m going to teach you how to get your employees to be enthusiastic about and committed to their jobs. But I first need to tell you a little bit about myself and my core philosophies so you’ll know where I’m coming from.
“One thing you need to know about me is that I try to reduce everything to its simplest, most basic form. I believe in making things as easy to understand as possible. That’s why I develop systematic tools and models to help people grasp how things work – particularly how organizations and human beings work – at the most basic level. So you’ll hear a lot of simple models and pithy statements from me – but that doesn’t mean we aren’t navigating complex territory. I’ve found the easier a complex concept is to grasp the more likely it is people will internalize what they learn and they’ll use that knowledge to improve their performance.
“Real learning takes place internally,” I said, motioning up and down my body with both hands. “Learning is an internal process, not something that happens externally. Deep, personal, profound learning only comes after serious introspection and contemplation. I’ believe most managers and employees have a wealth of experience and knowledge already stored within them. They’ve been collecting information consciously and unconsciously all of their lives. Consequently, sometimes the best place to look for answers to your problems is by searching within your own mind, heart or intuitive senses. Serious introspection can often disclose what is right or wrong or effective or ineffective. That’s why, as we talk about your business tonight, I’m going to tell you over and over again to ‘go inside yourself.’ When I say that, it means I want you to process this information in the context of what you believe, how you think, and what you feel is appropriate or inappropriate. To manage others effectively you need to gain a firm understanding of your core philosophies, your values and your personal beliefs – because until you know and understand who you are, you can’t know and understand others. You cannot manage others effectively until you can manage yourself.”
Paul was listening intently.
“As we sit here and discuss these concepts, I want you to constantly go inside yourself to search your mind, your heart, and your intuition for the answers you seek. When these three processing centers are in harmony – your head, your heart, and your intuition – you’ll know when you’ve come to the right conclusion. This is your innate system of internal checks and balances. If something seems right intellectually, but your heart tells you otherwise, you probably should listen to your heart. If your heart tells you to go in one direction and your head tells you to go in another, you should pay attention to your head. And, if something feels right or wrong in your stomach, your intuitive hunch may be correct. Therefore, the best way to know what is right or wrong is to confirm it in your head, your heart, and your intuitive senses.”
I told Paul the process for moving others is the same as it is for moving oneself. “To get people to move in the direction you want and to do what you want them to do, you have to appeal to people’s heads, hearts, and intuitive senses. When you align all three of these decision centers the odds are higher people will commit to whatever you ask of them.”
I needed Paul to fully grasp the significance of what I was saying. It was critical to his knowing whether the tool I wanted to share with him would work for him. While discussing the model, I wanted him to constantly evaluate the usefulness of what I was saying based upon the validation he received in his head, heart and intuitive senses.
“Paul, I’m telling you this very important point before I explain anything else to you for two reasons. I’m assuming you’re sincerely interested in learning how to move your employees to do what you want them to do?”
“Yes, I’m interested,” he confirmed.
“OK. But before I can help you move your employees, I have to first move you. I have to convince you that whatever I tell you is true so you’ll commit to doing the things I tell you. And I won’t get you to believe me unless I can convince you in your head, your heart, and your personal intuition.
“Then, once I’ve convinced you, I have to teach you how to convince your employees and managers so they’ll also get it in their heads, their hearts and their intuitive senses. This is the key to moving people. If you want to get people to do what you want them to do the way you want them to do it, you have to convince them in all three locations. When you tap all three decision making centers, the odds are higher your workers will commit to whatever you ask of them.
“What I’m about to explain to you is the internal process people go through before they will commit to a specific course of action,” I continued. “Much of what I’ll tell you, you probably already know. That’s because your head, heart, and intuitive insights contain a wealth of knowledge and experiences you’ve been capturing throughout your life, both consciously and unconsciously. You may know a lot more about effective management than you think. The answers to a lot of the problems over which you’ve been struggling may already be inside of you. The problem is that much of what you know subconsciously you can’t explain. My talent lies in developing tools and models that tap into your subconscious knowledge so it can be consciously evaluated, processed, altered and assimilated.”
I could see Paul was pondering what I was saying. I paused to give him time to process the information. When I sensed he had concluded his internal dialogue, I continued.
“You’ve probably heard people express the belief that good managers are born, not made, haven’t you Paul?” I asked.
“Yes,” he replied.
“I don’t believe it,” I submitted. “Clearly, some managers seem to have a greater innate ability than others; but the belief that managers are born, not developed, is a convenient excuse for those who cannot discern the ‘science’ behind good management. It’s easier for less astute people to claim that management is an ‘art form’ that cannot be taught to less endowed supervisors. That way they don’t have to take the time or invest the energy to try to figure out how they can be better managers themselves.
“In reality, there are no inherent secrets or mysteries to managing competently. The skills, abilities and attributes of the ‘natural’ manager are unconscious processes that, as yet, have not been exposed to the conscious scrutiny of lesser skilled managers. Once exposed to the consciousness of others,