"There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million." Walt Streightiff.
"Amélie" I called. "Nothing Daddy" came the response. I was wondering where my 3-year-old daughter was in the house but her reply made me curious so I went to investigate. You see when Amélie says “nothing” it usually means leave me alone because I’m doing something which is so wondrous you simply would not understand. This was too irresistible to ignore.
I eventually found her sitting on the floor in our bedroom playing with 3 rubber wedge-shaped doorstops she had collected from around the house but these were no longer doorstops. No, these were ‘people’ talking to each other in their own special language and having what looked to be a fantastic time of it! This got me thinking about the special gift all children have for seeing something magical in everything & everyone and how wondrous a gift that would be for every manager. You see as adults, in fact as developed human beings, our thinking still tends towards that very basic survival response of looking out for danger and harm. Except today, for most of us at least, that harm no longer exists so the automatic response focuses on the 'dangers' that lurk in the less-than-perfect performance of our team; politicians; partners [delete as appropriate]. This programming is so strong in all of us that seeing the good in people or situations too easily invokes the response "why should I" but no manager will ever excel by seeing the bad in his/her people ahead of the good; by spotting all the things that should have been done in favour of the things that things that were actually done; by not being discerning enough every working day to see the qualities in each and every person.
So, if you really want to be a great manager take a tip from a 3-year-old. You might just be surprised what a difference it makes!
