From programmer to Project Manager (18): It's futile to change anyone.

Everyone will have shortcomings and shortcomings, as a manager, if you always want to transform their employees, this is an unrealistic approach, because everyone is a thoughtful individual, can only be changed from the inside out. Everyone has its niche, and the project manager is more likely to think about how to make use of him than to reinvent his staff.

1. Everyone can only change from the Inside Out

There are no perfect people in the world, programmers are the same, there will be such a shortage. It's not easy for a project manager to find someone who feels really "good", and how to treat the programmer's shortcomings is a question that every project manager needs to think about.

Some project managers face the shortcomings of programmers, will appear too impatient, disciplining. Some programmers think relatively dull, what problems need to be repeatedly communicated to confirm, the project manager criticized them: "How do you understand the ability so bad!" Go back and look at the logical book. "Some people do things slow slowed feet, how anxious also anxious not to come, the project manager can't help saying:" How so simple life also can not do, not is .... "So simple thing?" Some people have to put forward a lot of questions, the project manager to open the scold: "You how so annoying! Think about it, think about it and ask again. Some people talk with customers for half a day, also can not say why, the project manager anxious straight sweating, suppress anger in front of the customer's face.

The project manager is understandably anxious to be able to put pressure on the staff to give them the impetus to grow, in a critical way. But in the end, it turns out that such a way is useless.

Faced with the shortcomings of employees, many managers out of love, training talents for the purpose of giving too many reminders, teaching, criticism, and even temper. In fact, it is very difficult for a person to change themselves, to change others is mostly a futile.

Associate our parents with our teachings. Parents take pains to teach us all kinds of knowledge, the truth of life, after listening to become nagging, the individual can not have any impact. This is because the experience of others can not become their own experience, a person has experience must rely on their own experience to obtain. When others tell you roses good incense, if you did not see, you will not have the feeling, only you saw it with the eyes of its bright, with the nose to smell its fragrance, touch its moist with the hand, your understanding of the roses can become your own experience, into your own knowledge.

Most people only have their own experience of setbacks, can really grow. Everyone's growth is a continuous process of error, as a manager, there is a need to remind and teach, but do not need to worry about it. If you are too impatient, and want to quickly change the staff, it will only lose their patience, and further lead to employees are also bored, or even deliberately avoid the project manager, to avoid embarrassment. Therefore, the project manager must learn to tolerate the employees ' mistakes properly, in fact, they really give them the opportunity to grow up.

To take a step back, employees in the company are actually just playing a job, not to transform themselves. The project manager has no obligation and no right to ask a person to change, but only with the right one. It's so easy to break up. Growth is the intrinsic need for a person to develop, not the external requirements of the manager.

American writer Sir Alex Ferguson has a famous saying: "No one can persuade others to change." Each of us has a door to change that can only be opened from within, and we cannot open doors for others, no matter what the sentiment or the rationale. "The project manager should stop drew up to change your staff, or else it might be as if destructive enthusiasm's story tells you that kindness is hurting others."

2. How to develop employees

Each person can only be changed from the inside out, it does not mean that managers are completely indifferent to the problems of employees, but should adopt a more scientific approach to train employees.

(1) cultivate employees as if they were educating children

There are two important misconceptions about the traditional way in which Chinese parents educate their children:

First, mold education. The usual way for Chinese parents to educate their children is to make sure that it must be like that, or this can't be done, that can't be done, the parents gave the children a variety of boundaries, like molds, children can only follow the shape of the mold to grow. This will only let the child's nature not to play, will eventually cause the child's rebellious mentality.

The second is spoon-feeding education. Parents let their children in various classes, regardless of the day and night to instill a variety of scientific and cultural knowledge, whether the child can not accept, not to ask whether the child is interested. This abruptly the knowledge into the belly of the educational way, children will inevitably appear "indigestion", and finally may be "weak body."

Both of these misunderstandings are not respect for human nature and the performance of the Law of human growth. Internationally, there is a widely recognized educational concept called Waldorf education. In this concept, each child is like a small sapling, he has the ability to grow, parents should do, should not be to pull saplings, pruning branches, but for children to create a good growth atmosphere, to provide suitable for children to grow the soil.

Although we are talking about the education of our children, we can use the same concept to train our employees. In a company, managers want to let employees grow, its first task is not machinery to tell employees what you should do, but to create a good team atmosphere, to create suitable for employees to grow the soil, let employees grow themselves.

The team has a positive atmosphere, more energy to inspire employees, knowledge is like the soil nutrients, can flow in it, each employee can receive this kind of nourishment. And in a lifeless team, each employee is a block of energy, knowledge is closed, outside the difficult to come in, the inside also out. The main task for the project manager is to connect the closed and energetic bodies to allow the energy to flow freely so that everyone can gain maximum growth.

(2) to differentiate between the deficiencies of the employees

It is important to create an atmosphere, but we cannot turn a blind eye to the shortcomings of our employees. For different types of employees, different measures should be taken.

Problems with lack of skills

Because of the talent echelon construction, the company will often recruit new employees with less experience, and they will often be assigned to exercise in the project. Even old employees, faced with new business, or technology, will also be hard to handle. In the face of this problem, the project manager should take the initiative to face, strengthen the training and counselling staff, if necessary, can hold regular internal technical exchanges, through mutual learning, not only skills to achieve greater progress, but also more active team atmosphere, more active staff, the project team more cohesive.

Personality and attitude issues

Employee personality defects or negative attitudes often lead to improper behavior, which is the most painful place for project managers and where project managers want to transform their employees. But as the saying goes, the drum does not have to be hammered, the drum you do not sound is useless. Rather than lecturing and criticizing, it might be better to just make the appropriate points and leave the two sides alone.

As the name implies, the point is to remind, nudge. In general, reminders can be, for important issues, then make a point, the project manager to fulfill his responsibilities can be. It is indeed the responsibility of the project manager to lead the staff to progress together, but not to transform him.

The reasons for improper behavior of employees, to carry out targeted analysis, the distinction is external factors, or its character, that is, to see the problem in who, according to the actual situation to find ways. For example, some people like to work with the project manager, which may be the project manager's own reasons, such as the project manager is too stubborn, self-righteous, regardless of staff feelings and so on. In this case, the project manager should self-review and self-change. There may also be a combination of reasons, such as low staff treatment, in the heart, to the project manager in the form of negative confrontation to vent. At this point, the project manager needs to analyze and evaluate the employees ' ability and salary, put their feelings into consideration and help them to gain reasonable benefits.

Correct view of employee characteristics

There are thousands of people, many things are not right and wrong points. Some problems seem to be the staff's shortcomings, in fact, in a different perspective, it is a person's characteristics, to be treated with peace of mind. For example, the staff of poor words, poor understanding, on the surface is a disadvantage, in fact, it is his characteristics, which is like the design of software features, is not considered a bug. A person is characterized by the design of God, not the project manager can be reformed.

3. Everyone has a niche

Li Bai has a poem: "Born I will be useful", this is not only for each of us encouragement, but also to remind the project manager, to learn to employ.

A good manager will be applied to the material. Since everyone is useful, then we should conform to his characteristics, to play his strengths, why should we stare at his lack of places?

I believe everyone has seen root carving. Good root carving works should be designed and crafted to conform to the shape of the roots, and they are often surprising to the wonders of nature and the artist's imagination. Imagine if the root of the knife axe hacking, the edges of its corners are flattened, make very smooth, you touch it is very comfortable, but it is lost its artistry.

I have also seen this introduction, the painter casually pour a piece of ink on the paper, and then conform to the ink on the work into the idea, with Hing painting, the final work seamless, become fine artwork. In fact, each person is like a group of white ink, if you want to erase this group of ink, the final result is that the white paper is wiped out a big hole irreparable.

Visible, whether it is the root of the seemingly crooked melon, or strange ink drops, in an artist's eyes, have its unique value.

Isn't it the same with people? Everyone has their own characteristics, no matter what kind of talent, in good control of the managers there, can make the most of their own, for the team to contribute accordingly. It is also an art.

In the project, there will be a variety of different personalities, different characteristics of people. Instead of focusing on how to improve the staff's inadequacy, it is better to use the director. You don't have to change him, you can also use them well.

Management expert Yu Shivi a very incisive example of how to employ the Director:

If he is very fond of money, let him do the sales, he is very careful, can let him do the design work, see things only look at the people on the ground, suitable to keep the warehouse, the people who use calculators should do accounting; This is called employing advantage. The worst is to think of people as the same, different families, different schools to cultivate different people, each place has a different culture, sub-culture. As supervisors, these issues should be taken care of. I have a management staff, he put the right to see very important, no big demand for money, I put the company's seal to him, every day in the office "Bang Bang Bang" stamp, and put his position in the middle of the office, let everyone look at him, let him have a sense of power, and he was very happy.

Inspired by Yu Shivi, we can also apply the material in the project, for example:

People who like to give advice can also be responsible for quality management.

A glib person can make him responsible for communicating with the customer;

A taciturn person, generally thoughtful, can be responsible for the work of a strong technical;

For those who have a stubborn temper, they should arrange for a definite and uncontroversial work to be given to him;

Slow slowed foot person, should arrange the buffer time more work, cannot arrange the work on the critical path;

A person with quick thinking can arrange an urgent task for him.

In short, the project manager should adapt to a person's characteristics to arrange the work, rather than imposition, so as to the strength of the team to maximize.

From programmer to Project Manager (18): It's futile to change anyone.