The human brain is composed of 85 billion neurons. This means that in any structure, the intelligence in place is potentially immense. Still, the manager must stop behaving like a monarch, holder of a power he thinks is divine and bordering on megalomania.
1. You must initiate, invite, and stop ordering
Too often the freshly promoted manager thinks they are privileged and therefore behaves like a monarch. Authoritarian management crushes individuals and quickly becomes counterproductive.
Imagine you had a person on your back in the literal sense: how long will you last before you collapse under their weight?
This is exactly what happens with management that is behind all its employees. It weighs down instead of lightening the load and helping them take flight.
2. You must allow autonomy
Each employee has their domain of expertise. The neuronal power mentioned above should allow you to visualize the potential power of an individual. Let this power express itself to get the best out of it. You must stimulate this power by giving autonomy to your employees. Yes, autonomy, the source of creativity and fulfillment.
Trust is the key to this autonomy.
3. Give positive feedback
Positive feedback consists of congratulating employees on what is well done. You must thank your employees for the positive points achieved and never start with the negative. In the mind of your team, the image of the collapsing house of cards will take on its full meaning because the negative appeared first and therefore serves as a basis for evaluation thereafter. Starting with the positive therefore allows one to see a well-built structure with multiple ways for improvement for the simple reason that negative closes off while positive opens up.
4. Listen actively
Active listening should not be defined in opposition to a supposed passive listening. We listen actively when we know how to be silent to let the other person speak. We must also deconstruct to reconstruct to disregard everything we know at the moment we are listening. We must ask questions in an open manner to establish a real exchange of ideas. The new manager feeds on the intelligence of their employees and reciprocally feeds them with their own reflections. Active listening involves being silent and recording absolutely everything the person says, or risk missing the essential. Missing the essential means missing crucial information or even a missing link in the chain of reflection. That is why we cannot afford to miss this, or else we cannot solve a problem or even build a project.
5. Collective intelligence
Having common values gives meaning to the actions of a group or a company. These shared values allow projects to be completed successfully and to withstand difficult times. They constitute a good defense against individualism. The union and collective intelligence created allow for efficient work and a fluid flow of information. Values federate, and their absence promotes the fragmentation of individuals.
You win a World Cup with a team, not with a sum of individuals!
6. Carpe Diem
You must live the present moment to better project yourself into the future. Every day you must learn and share this learning with your team. In this way, you will breathe creativity permanently.
7. Creativity is the key
The key to innovation and human progress is creativity. Without it, humans would never have built anything lasting and would not have been able to get out of difficult situations. The creativity of your employees is your best asset. You must use collaborative work tools to allow each person to bring something new, to bring a new perspective. Thus everything will move faster and better, and no one will be left on the bench.
Abdelhamid NIATI
