| My favorite book this year is Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, a memoir about how he launched Nike. It’s a must read – I loved it! In one story, Phil reflects on a moment in Tokyo with his mentor, Hayami, in which Phil complains, “We have so much opportunity, but we’re having a terrible time getting managers who can seize those opportunities.” Hayami nodded and said, “See those bamboo trees up there? Next year when you come, they will be one foot higher.” Phil understood the message.
Bamboo trees, like managers, grow over time, not instantaneously. And impatience will not make them grow faster. Upon his return to Nike’s headquarters in Oregon, Phil prioritized training and long-term planning for his management team, to great success. He realized that he had expected his managers to be successful without helping them grow. Managers need (and actually crave) development and opportunities to learn.
But most development in organizations is focused on new hires, individual contributors, and executives. Whereas, being in the middle often means fending for yourself… in one of the most important jobs in the entire company! We can do better than that for our managers… 3 ways we can help managers learn, develop, and grow: Education: skills and training (i.e., classes, training, books, workshops) Experience: events, occurrences, and situations (i.e., projects, teams, stretch assignments, challenging employees) Elucidation: explanations, clarifications, and insights that bolster the education and experience (i.e., mentoring, coaching, assessments, feedback)
If we need the middle to be successful, we need to prepare the middle to be successful. (and if you are in the middle, never forget that it is ultimately your responsibility to seek education, experience, and elucidation in order to grow your own bamboo) |
