One of the most profound lessons I learned in my early career came from an Assistant Professor teaching Introduction to Business at a two-year business college. As the Dean of Faculty, I was auditing/reviewing one of his courses, and I’m glad I did.
The lecture for that day involved explaining the the word MANAGE and that it was a “thing” word. A person manages their checking account, or manages their careers. Therefore, one can only MANAGE things, but not PEOPLE. “People”, he claimed are LEAD, not MANAGED.
The rest of the lecture distinguished between the old Henry Ford concept of “micromanagement” vs. the new concept of “management by objective.” Interestingly, the professor said that statistics proved companies using “management by objective” were three times as profitable as companies still micromanaging their people.
Using myself as a Consultant for example, my job is to provide leadership to insureds and claimants on how to manage their claims. My objective is not to manage insureds, and it is never a good idea to allow my clients to manage me. Disability is a people issue, and claims are a thing issue. And, in the last 25 years, it has always been my experience that “best laid plans” to manage people in this profession, either way, usually fails. My job as a Consultant is to be a LEADER and show insureds how to solve problems and manage claims to a successful end. Together, we manage claims, not people.
I hope this gives you something to think about for today, and how you can be an inspirational leader to your family, and social groups. Have a great day!
