Management is an Attitude

Eric Nehrlich, Management is an Attitude:

"A recent realization is that being a manager isn’t something that others can bestow upon me. The way to get others to treat me as a manager is not to wait for mystical authority to be granted to me, like the sword from the stone. It’s to start acting like a manager. This means taking responsibility for other people’s actions, which is a terrifying thing.

I have no problems being responsible for my own actions, because if I screw up, it’s because of factors under my direct control and I’m happy to accept the blame for that. Taking responsibility for others means I have to take responsibility for things that are not under my direct control.

If I can’t convince somebody to change, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it’s my responsibility to continue reframing my ideas until I can convince them. Or to at least bring the issue out into the open so we can discuss it.

It means I am responsible for continuous and effective communication so that they can make appropriate decisions."