Managers as Robots of Cliches and Fads - Oh No!

My Boss's Day post provoked reader Mike to share the following comment:

I'm afraid I have a somewhat dim view of management. What I see, as a worker, is people who read the management book-of-the-month and then make changes accordingly without passing any of it through the thought process. And woe to the manager who questions.

I do like my manager as a person and I liked the manager before her. They're smart and well-meaning. But they're trapped in the yes-person role, confined to speaking in acronyms and doing their best to act as if what they are doing is rational and truly makes sense for the customers.

I could go on, but there's no need. It's no wonder that so many younger people look at the hollow managers of today and resist falling into the life of endless meetings and of trying to justify arbitrary decisions from above.

I know Mike is right that some managers just don't get it and they jerk their teams around with flavor of the month initiatives. For the managers out there who, admittedly, are too enamored by trends and conference speaker books, check out what Mike is saying here. Management is so important because it affects how people view their jobs.

And I know that we will always have a broad range of managers - just like everything in life, including employees - with some being extraordinary and some having minimal positive impact. Mike, thanks for the comment, and I hope that your observations generate some good discussions AND reflection.

As a book author, I would also like to say that I know it is tough not to get sucked into the latest model, metaphor, or method displayed on the end cap of your local Barnes and Noble. The publishing system is designed for renewal (except the classics, which endure) since books stay on shelves no more than six weeks. The approach I recommend is to create your model and philosophy for management and find learning resources that reinforce and deepen your ONE message and approach. This will be more effective than relying on the book's structure to become your schema for management or success.