Heroes & Legends Pt 3 -- The Hero

The last time we talked about Heroes and Legends we worked through some of the differences and worked out some of the kinks between the two.  Now I want to really start to dive in and work on the Hero by itself.  The Hero, as I've stated in previous posts, is generated from a motivated effort.  To really understand that I want to begin to dig into the definitions of those words.

Motivation
One definition given for motivation is: the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior.  That's pretty cut and dry.  It also speaks directly towards the point I'm trying to make with the Hero Response.  The Hero is aroused to action toward a desired goal.  As with any force in nature, something must initiate that movement.  


A focus area for the 2-Pros team around motivation has been to discuss intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.  Now there is much research available on this topic, but I'll leave that to other experts.  Where we feel that intrinsic and extrinsic motivations come in to play is that we feel understanding what is motivating is key to initiating motivation.

For the Hero this is especially important.  Whether we are seeking to initiate a Hero Response within ourselves or in a staff member that we are coaching, we will need to provide the spark.

Effort
A definition offered for effort is: a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end.  The iconic trait of a Hero is effort.  Because with a Hero we don't just limit effort to "tending toward a particular end." Rather, with Heroes, we associate maximum effort, such as an athlete with intense facial expressions pumping down the field or a firefighter barreling through a fiery doorway to save a trapped child.  Sometimes it's more subtle, like a parent who persevered job loss and health issues to raise us , but it still associates enormous effort.


In this way, effort is a requirement for a Hero.  A Hero who didn't give it their all would be something less.  So as with motivation, effort is a key piece to breaking down the Hero.


In brief, then, our Hero is someone who is aroused to utilize herculean effort to accomplish a task.  Later this week, I will share a couple stories of heroic stories so that we can put some application to the Hero Response.

Why I Believe My World Is Flat

I was reading a more than average post on the Careerealism Blog today (here) and it got me thinking.  The post is great, covering the topic of identifying and dealing with a passive-agressive boss.  The post makes a number of great points and you should read it.  People get promoted to management positions for all sorts of reasons, and most unfortunately leadership is only one of them.

As you might have guessed, this topic stoked another fire within me.  I don't currently have a passive-aggressive boss, but I do know a number of people who do.  What I can identify with though is hierarchical obstacles in the workplace.  In nearly every multi-person company you will find some form of hierarchy.  No matter how flat a company wants it to be, from the top-down perspective it must exist on some level.  If I'm the CEO I can't be accountable for every single person in my company, so I create a management team, as we grow so will those levels, it's inevitable.  And that's OK... from the top.  But what about the folks who are looking up at the hierarchy?

To those people I say, make it flat.  There's a fair difference between respect and worship.  I've held various positions on sales teams, from the new kid, to the star, to the manager myself, but never did that change the fact that the manager's cog spun just like the rest.  Sure, the manager has a different list of responsibilities and expectations, but they are still just a member of team.  The most successful teams that I have observed have all understood that.  Team members treated management with respect and showed understanding of the authority that management had for making team decisions, but also showed that they had expectations of management.  Likewise management remained transparent to the staff, relaying reasoning behind decisions, and ensured the team completed it's mission by holding everyone accountable.

Now there's a few ground rules to this type of thinking:

Respect

• Team Members - I mentioned it above and it's first on the list here for a reason.  Flattening out a hierarchy isn't the same thing as a rebel takeover.  Viewing management as part of the team is about being inclusive.  A flat hierarchy will not overrule a manager's leadership, company or industry knowledge, big picture thinking, or any other skill-set that made them managers in the first place.
• Managers - Including yourself into your team's natural "society" can make you feel like one of the gang. Keep in mind that you still need to have a healthy respect for what's left of the natural barrier between your responsibility and that of your staff.  i.e. it might be OK for them to chuckle about the company's promise to upgrade technology by the end of the next fiscal year, but you're not allowed to cross that line.  

Ownership

• Team Members - Now that you've flattened things out, you need to show your equality by owning your job.  Escalations are inevitable, but the more of a task you complete before turing to management for assistance the less separation you show between the positions.  This isn't about showing a manager that you don't need them, but about taking responsibility for tasks assigned to team members that are now more equal.
• Managers - As your team takes better ownership of tasks you need to resist the urge to micromanage them with your newfound free time.  If they asked for the responsibility to do the job as a respected team member, let them work it to natural checkpoints before reviewing their work.  Instead, use your new time to excel in those areas of planning and leadership that you longed for when you accepted your management position.  After all, that's your role on this team.

Communication

• Team Members - Communication is always a high priority for teams.  In a flat hierarchy you do not report to your manager, you converse.  There is a finer line there than I think most people realize.  In a conversation you openly share information about the subject.  That might mean honest feedback on challenges or results, or a new idea that you have to improve production.  An important stance to have in these conversations is that you are conversing with the member of your team who has the most need to know, since they are the team member responsible for future strategies.
• Managers - A large pitfall of managing is that we sometimes become demanding.  As a member of the team we can't allow power to get the best of us.  We need to encourage open and honest communication.  Two excellent ways to promote this are by becoming more transparent to the reasoning behind our planning, and reminding team members why it's important for us to have accurate information.

There's probably a bunch more to this idea, but this is what jumped in my head today reading the passive-aggressive manager post.  Any thoughts?  Feel free to post away in comments.