| abstract
| - I first managed people when I directed plays for the theater. In college, I rallied friends and classmates to create experiences on stages, lawns and street corners to entertain and move people. I quickly understood the below truths that resonate deeply in any workplace. 1. As a director (think manager), you don't play a role during the actual performance. Beforehand, you give direction. You inspire. You nurture the performance. You cultivate the cast (think team). But at the most important moment, all you can do is sit in the back and watch. They can succeed without you. Then all of this work isn't really about you, then, is it? It is about your cast (think team) and their performance. 2. You learn a play (think job). When an actor begins, there are only the lines. The lines have to be learned. The blocking has to be learned. The relationship between characters has to be discovered. How is this group going to express this collection of words? There's an amazing about of learning going on by the actors, designers, crew members and the director herself. Is a director (think manager) a teacher? Certainly, the director (think manager) facilitates learning. At times, she can absolutely be the final arbiter. But like the best teachers, she can nurture discovery on the part of each actor (think employee) and the cast (think team) as a whole. How, as a manager, do you teach your team? How often can you facilitate discovery and when do have to directly arbitrate decision-making? 3. People can best take risks if they are confident it is safe. Actors perform outrageous and courageous acts of comic buffoonery and soul-bearing vulnerability. A director (think manager) seeks to create an environment to cultivate the very best performance from the cast (think team). Your employees may not have the extreme physical and emotional demands of an actor in their workday.Whatever the industry you work in, your employee probably spends a majority of their waking time at this job. They identify themselves, probably in a significant way, with their job. They perform their job with their whole selves everyday. Have you made work safe and a place to learn and take risks? These truths of performance, learning and safety came back to me as I listened to this week's Freakonomics podcast "How to Be More Productive". In particular, they covered Google's study of successful teams. Psychological safety resonated most with me and my early theater experiences, so I Googled the concept and ran across Amy Edmondson's research. The brilliant infographic at the top comes from this HBR article. While my own path has drifted far from directing and away from the theater, the resonances between the truths I found early in the theater and Google's and Professor Edmondon's findings excited me. Are your workers psychologically safe? Have you cultivated an environment for your team that supports interpersonal risk-tasking where team members are accepted and respected? Your team is performing right now without you. Create an environment where they can thrive on their own and as a team. Foster great performance through facilitating learning and discovery in a safe environment. Shakespeare can be relied on to say it best: "All the world's a stage. And all the men and women merely players..." Whatever duties your employees are asked to perform, be it at Google or on a stage, managers have the opportunity to set the stage for learning, discovery and success. You may then proverbially sit in the back and enjoy the great reward of watching an amazing show.
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