Business is Child's Play

United We Stand Divided We Fall

The other day I heard one of my kids ask my husband for something. From upstairs I heard him politely decline the request. Not a minute later that same child marched upstairs and informed me that “Dad said we could”. Little stinker. This time I heard the actual conversation, but how frequently have our kids tried to play us? I can recall many times when we’ve questioned each other over something the kids are doing, only to learn that it wasn’t insubordination amongst one of us, but rather the kids. We’ve come close to arguments because of that deceptive behavior. My husband finally told the kids,

“Mommy and I are on the same team and we talk to each other, so don’t try to pull this again”.

Although small and young, kids are not naive. They are very aware, and given the right environment, quite manipulative. The key is to create an environment where they can’t pull those shenanigans. We’ve discussed, and agreed upon, our family values and how we want to raise the kids. We’re not simply part-time babysitters, we’re responsible for the development of our children. As parents, our communication skills have improved because we know if we don’t communicate, the kids will take over the house.

The same is true amongst management teams.

Some employees will watch for rifts between managers and work those divides to their advantage. Often with an ulterior motive, co-workers will play both sides of the fence in an effort to gain an advantage. If that employee senses an impending resolution they’ll often try to create a greater divide. When managers fight, rumors start, sides are taken, distraction abounds, productivity halts, and chaos ensues.

Aside from keeping managerial disagreements behind closed doors and off the main floor, managers must remember they’re on the same team. Management teams must begin to see themselves as leadership teams. The difference between managers and leaders is that leaders have a vision. A leadership team must share, and communicate, a common vision. That vision will not only unite the leadership team, but also the people they work with. Vision will keep managers focused and will eliminate an environment that creates disparagement.

Do you work for managers, or leaders?

Post By Marilyn Cox (74 Posts)

Marilyn Cox is the Director of Marketing Communications at Cincom Systems. She is responsible for the marketing communication and content strategy as well as sales enablement. She manages technical writing, education development, translation services, copywriting, and graphic design resources. She also manages large scale marketing campaigns, website initiatives, and the Eloqua strategy. Marilyn is a PMP certified project manager responsible for the development of project management processes, integration management, scope management, time management, cost management, quality management, human resource management, communication management, risk management, and procurement management. Marilyn received her degree in Political Science from The Ohio State University and is the author of BusinessisChildsPlay.com. She classifies herself as a left brain mind living in a right brain world. Her focus is content development to enable and align marketing and sales strategies. While not geeking out over marketing analytics she enjoys Ironman training in solitude and Ironmom conditioning with her two children.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, February 12th, 2012 at 2:16 pm. It is filed under Communication Value, Employee Development, Leadership. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.