He was a manager of line workers (people who climb telephone poles, etc) at Ma Bell back before the Baby Bell era. He may not have invented the idea that management is a service job, but he wrote about it eloquently.
Greenleaf gets used in some questionable contexts. He has lots of fans in right-wing theological schools, for example, where student preacher wannabees are fed the myth that they are "servant leaders." Those folks can deceive themselves into thinking they're humble and become blinded to their own arrogance. The same is true of everybody. But the misuse of Greenleaf's work doesn't mean it's bad work.
I believe the context of a management consultant saying, "get to know your employees" and then beaming back up to his starship is also questionable. This stuff is not magic. It's hard work and long term work for the manager. It takes a lifetime of practice to get it right. That means people who do this are going to get it wrong, a lot.
Military academies have year-long courses in ways of leadership, where officer wannabees get to read about and practice doing these sorts of things. So they get to make a few of their lifetime quota of mistakes in a controlled environment. We programmers don't get that kind of training.
In business, "willingness to make mistakes" is usually a trope advanced by an egotistical senior executive. It's usually not real at the level of line manager where these "powerful conversations" make sense. All this is especially true in the Silicon Valley style youth culture.
Lots of comments here have said, "I don't want my manager psychoanalyzing me" or something like that. They're right on. If a manager in a management-by-objective company gets a monkey on his back to ask every staffer "tell me about your childhood," lots can go wrong. First of all it's forced and fake. Second, what if staff members tell you the truth when you ask that? Are you ready for that? Probably not.
So what can a manager actually do?
It's all about attitude. A manager who often asks, "how can I help you?" and then accepts both "leave me alone so I can get my work done" and "send me to a conference on some-new-thing" as answers, is a manager with a good attitude.
A manager with such an attitude can ask, "why?" when somebody discloses hopes and dreams, learn something about the staff member, and become a partner in helping that staff member get closer to those hopes and dreams.
So, here's MY listicle for managers: One step to developing your people: Habitually and often, ask "how can I help you?" and accept the answers you get.
He was a manager of line workers (people who climb telephone poles, etc) at Ma Bell back before the Baby Bell era. He may not have invented the idea that management is a service job, but he wrote about it eloquently.
Greenleaf gets used in some questionable contexts. He has lots of fans in right-wing theological schools, for example, where student preacher wannabees are fed the myth that they are "servant leaders." Those folks can deceive themselves into thinking they're humble and become blinded to their own arrogance. The same is true of everybody. But the misuse of Greenleaf's work doesn't mean it's bad work.
I believe the context of a management consultant saying, "get to know your employees" and then beaming back up to his starship is also questionable. This stuff is not magic. It's hard work and long term work for the manager. It takes a lifetime of practice to get it right. That means people who do this are going to get it wrong, a lot.
Military academies have year-long courses in ways of leadership, where officer wannabees get to read about and practice doing these sorts of things. So they get to make a few of their lifetime quota of mistakes in a controlled environment. We programmers don't get that kind of training.
In business, "willingness to make mistakes" is usually a trope advanced by an egotistical senior executive. It's usually not real at the level of line manager where these "powerful conversations" make sense. All this is especially true in the Silicon Valley style youth culture.
Lots of comments here have said, "I don't want my manager psychoanalyzing me" or something like that. They're right on. If a manager in a management-by-objective company gets a monkey on his back to ask every staffer "tell me about your childhood," lots can go wrong. First of all it's forced and fake. Second, what if staff members tell you the truth when you ask that? Are you ready for that? Probably not.
So what can a manager actually do?
It's all about attitude. A manager who often asks, "how can I help you?" and then accepts both "leave me alone so I can get my work done" and "send me to a conference on some-new-thing" as answers, is a manager with a good attitude.
A manager with such an attitude can ask, "why?" when somebody discloses hopes and dreams, learn something about the staff member, and become a partner in helping that staff member get closer to those hopes and dreams.
So, here's MY listicle for managers: One step to developing your people: Habitually and often, ask "how can I help you?" and accept the answers you get.