Monkey Mentality Management

Share this ARTICLE with your colleagues on LinkedIn .

---

MONKEY MENTALITY MANAGEMENT

I received the story which follows via email from a client of ours just this morning. I think it is just as plausible as it is hysterical. Please read on:

“If you start with a cage containing four monkeys, hang a banana from the top of the inside of the cage on a string, and then you place a set of stairs under the banana, before long a monkey will go to the stairs and climb toward the banana.

 
ALL the monkeys are sprayed with cold water. After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with same result — As soon as he touches the stairs, you spray ALL the monkeys with cold water. Pretty soon, when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.
 
Now, put the cold water away. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new monkey. The new monkey sees the banana and attempts to climb the stairs. To his shock, ALL of the other monkeys beat the crap out of him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs he will be assaulted.
 
Next, remove another of the original four monkeys, replacing it with a new monkey. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm — because he is now part of the “team”.
 
Then, replace a third original monkey with a new monkey, followed by the fourth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he is attacked.
 
Now, the monkeys that are beating him up have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs. Neither do they know why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.
 
Finally, having replaced all of the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys will have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, not one of the monkeys will try to climb the stairway for the banana. Why, you ask? Because in their minds, that is the way it has always been!
 
This is how today’s House and Senate operates; and this is why, occasionally, ALL of the monkeys need to be REPLACED AT THE SAME TIME!”

Please Note: The above story is not intended to insult monkeys in any way, and no monkeys (or bananas) were harmed in the making of this article.

Thank you, as always, for reading me.

Douglas Castle for Global Edge International Consulting Associates, Inc. and The Global Edge International Blog

Please Join Me On LinkedIn

Please Follow GEI Consulting On LinkedIn

Please Like GEI Consulting On Our Facebook Page

Please Follow GEI Consulting On Google Plus

Labels, Tags, Keywords, Categories And Search Terms For This Article:
monkeys, legislators, psychological conditioning, entrenched behavior, herd mentality, management, leadership, foolishness, Taking Command Blog, Douglas E. Castle, GEI Consulting







TAKING COMMAND! ACHIEVING YOUR OBJECTIVES.

http://takingcommand.blogspot.com

The Guide to self-mastery, goal-setting, strategic planning and decision making, leadership, management, contingency planning, leveraging assets, rule and domination, choosing allies, dealing with enemies, assessing risk, time management, negotiation... achieving personal authority, influence, wealth and success through total TRANSFORMATION.

Key Terms: Leadership, management, self-growth, self-mastery, personal power, career advancement, negotiation, winning, wealth, success


***************
This site is proudly affiliated with Global Edge International Consulting Associates, Inc. ["GEI”]
Free Subscription to The GEI Business Daily!
Sign Up For Our Free GEI Newsletter!
Receive Our Free GEI RSS Feed!

***Follow GEI's Company Page On LinkedIn!

Please Like GEI on Facebook...

Please Follow GEI on LinkedIn...


Please Follow GEI on Twitter...

Leadership: Delegate Or Die - Douglas E. Castle

Share this ARTICLE with your colleagues on LinkedIn .

---

Leadership: Delegate Or Die

One Of the Most Important Responsibilities Of A Leader Is To Delegate Responsibility

By: Douglas E. Castle
For The Taking Command Blog, The GEI Consulting Blog, GEI Consulting

To be a leader and to maintain a position of leadership, you must be a competent and efficient delegator. By the act of delegating, you are not relinquishing control – you are actually expanding the realm and scope of your control. The larger the responsibilities and the larger the organization, the more proficient you must be at delegation.

In the military, “delegation” is defined as the action by which a commander assigns part of his or her authority commensurate with the assigned task to a subordinate commander. While ultimate responsibility cannot be relinquished, delegation of authority carries with it the imposition of a measure of responsibility. The extent of the authority delegated must be clearly stated.

Your success at delegation will determine the strength and length of your reign as a leader and commander. The most significant insights and skills which are required in successful delegation are listed below. They are worth studying:

==+ If you are obsessive-compulsive by your nature, do all that you can to rationally counterbalance this dangerous impediment to effective delegation. You cannot micromanage and be a leader. You cannot be the servant of your subordinates because you are insistent about things being done exactly as you would have them done;

==+ You must constantly keep the big picture and the broader focus in mind. If you are a perfectionist and overly detail-oriented, you will never be able to attain your organizational objectives while mired in minutiae;

==+ Understand all of your responsibilities, and itemize or componentize each of them. You'll find that each individual component can be delegated (as it must) to someone in your organization whom you can select. If the right individual is not among your inventory of Human Assets, then you must either replace some of your people, or your must acquire some new members with the requisite skill sets. The objective is to export as many of your responsibilities as possible, while retain the central responsibility of organizational stewardship, oversight and goal attainment;

==+ When you delegate responsibility for the accomplishment of a task or function, also remember to grant the requisite authority and to impose the necessary accountability to the person to whom you've charged with the job. Responsibility without authority is a recipe for managerial impotence and non- performance. Responsibility without accountability is a recipe for waste, abuse and failure;

==+ Since you, as a leader, are ultimately responsible for the successful and efficient attainment of your organization's most important goals, you must constantly monitor the performance of those to whom you've delegated, without being drawn in to correcting their mistakes yourself. Observe, measure, suggest, monitor and determine whether the subject task has been assigned to the right individual; sometimes a change may be warranted.

==+ Where you observe leadership potential in some of those persons to whom you've delegated tasks, you may find it wise to increase their roster or responsibilities, but to also grant them greater authority to sub-delegate to others who are subordinate to them. Remember that the greatest leaders know how to identify and cultivate leadership within their organizations. Be aggressive and bold about identifying and leveraging the leadership talents of other leaders within your organization. Encourage leadership and acceptance of increased responsibility. Reward it and give it appropriate recognition. Empowering other leaders liberates you to be a greater leader yourself.

==+ As you develop leaders and assign them to their respective specialty areas (not unlike fiefdoms within a kingdom), clearly identify where each one's territory begins and ends. Clearly define their responsibilities with minimal overlap. Keep your subordinate leaders separated from each other (unless you are present and orchestrating or conducting a meeting or hearing reports) – fiefdoms should not compete, but neither should their feudal lords unite, lest they undermine the king's leadership. 

In brief, don't permit your subordinates to take you over. Delegate, but do so without ever permitting your absolute command from being undermined. Keep your emerging leaders separated from each other, and even instill a competitive spirit amongst them to 'fight' for your approval.

As always, thank you for reading me. 


Douglas E Castle 

Join me on Linked In
Please Follow GEI Consulting On LinkedIn

Please Like GEI Consulting On Our Facebook Page

Please Follow GEI Consulting On Google Plus  


Labels, Tags, Keywords, Categories And Search Terms For This Article:
Douglas E. Castle, leadership, management, delegation, responsibility, authority, taking command, grooming leaders, accountability, business, career advancement, self-promotion, personal power, organization, GEI Consulting, The Taking Command Blog

---------------

TAKING COMMAND! ACHIEVING YOUR OBJECTIVES.

http://takingcommand.blogspot.com

The Guide to self-mastery, goal-setting, strategic planning and decision making, leadership, management, contingency planning, leveraging assets, rule and domination, choosing allies, dealing with enemies, assessing risk, time management, negotiation... achieving personal authority, influence, wealth and success through total TRANSFORMATION.

Key Terms: Leadership, management, self-growth, self-mastery, personal power, career advancement, negotiation, winning, wealth, success