a letter to my managers

We often read poignant letters from a parent to a child, an elder to a junior, a husband to a wife. These heartfelt notes contain the most important pieces of wisdom each individual gleaned over the course of a lifetime. But did you know that these can be just as effective when pouring out your professional passions to your work family?

I literally work to make the world a better place. That is my professional calling, to live tremendously and to help others to do the same. In order to accomplish this, I need a team as committed to and passionate about leaving this world a better place as I am. My father taught me that it is so much better if someone reads and thinks something for themselves versus having someone “tell” it to them. I often get questions from leaders across the world, in all different settings, asking what they can do to motivate their managers.

There are three little pamphlets so full of life-changing wisdom that I guarantee if you read these and incorporate their teachings, not only will your professional life change, but your personal life will too.

Here are the three things, and the three reading recommendations, I want to share with managers and I dare not wait until my final day at work to do so!

FIRST, I expect you to be a visionary because I expect you to want to grow up  in our hierarchy and not just show up. If all you want to do is draw a paycheck, then you are not devoted to this organization’s strategic vision. Vision is simply seeing what needs to be done and doing it. So few managers take any action without their bosses telling them it needs to be done. This is tiring for a leader and will ensure the organization stays stagnant. Please step up and do what needs to be done before I tell you. I know you see it. So act.

Reading Recommendation: The Price of Leadership, by Charlie “Tremendous” Jones

SECOND, I expect you to resolve the difficult issues. I can guarantee you that 99 44/100% of these problems will be related to personnel issues. We all see them; we’re not blind. I can hire a robot to take care of the clerical or manual tasks. I need you to address and resolve the personnel issues. I need you to deal head-on with any issues affecting the professional interaction and development of the team.  I hear so much blame dumped on leaders for the poor performance of their subordinates, when in fact the leaders often have several layers of managers who are paid to deal with these issues. If I have to tell you to take a personnel action, you’re not doing your job as a manager.

Reading Recommendation: The Common Denominator of Success, by Albert E.N. Gray

Third, I expect you to take immediate action when I bring an issue to your attention. I do not expect you to look at me with a puzzled look or to ask “why” or “how”? I expect you to dig into the issue and research it if you are unfamiliar with it or have limited experience in how to resolve it. Find someone who knows or figure it out yourself.  In the eternal words of Elbert Hubbard, I expect you to “Garcia” it. Asking “Why” never worked as a child. Asking “why” or “how” in a professional setting when the boss assigns a job to you can be tantamount to committing career suicide.

Reading Recommendation: A Message to Garcia, by Elbert Hubbard

Disengagement in the workforce is a chronic, global disease. If reading and incorporating these three life-changing classics in your organization doesn’t get your managers engaged in your professional mission, you need to make some serious changes; otherwise, you won’t get there from here. And just to guarantee your success, we’re offering all three of these career-enhancing classics for under $3. It doesn’t get any better than that!