Manage To Engage | Businesses Grow When People Do

At the root of the conflict between supervision and management is the issue of power. People are subconsciously afraid of their own power and therefore want to be supervised. And those who are in management positions, knowing that the people below them can do everything they can become threatening to their sense of power. We all have those voices inside of us. But that’s just the ego, and we can’t let the ego rule us. I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

Now we know the difference between supervision and management, and how falling into the trap of supervision prevents us from doing the strategic work that will truly grow your organization. If you catch yourself supervising, don’t defend the action—do something about it. It’s not hard to figure out what you need to do. It’s not even that hard to find the time to do it. What’s holding most people back is the willingness to do something uncomfortable. You’re never going to find out what your employees are capable of until you put some pressure on them, but most managers get caught up in being the one to know it all that they willingly hold their organizations back. But if you’re willing to not be needed, everything can get better. I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

The employee mindset—or default human nature—is to exert the lowest amount of effort possible to accomplish the task at hand. If you show someone that every time they drop the ball you’ll be there to catch it, then they’re not likely to get any better at catching—let alone stepping up for more responsibility. When you build a culture of supervision, the result is that you begin dragging down each and every role in the organization. And if you can just follow the breadcrumbs and see where you continually fall into supervision instead of management, you can completely transform your organization. I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

Supervision and management are often used interchangeably, but I’m going to make the argument for why that couldn’t be more wrong. Supervision means, quite literally, to oversee. In action, that typically means making sure the people who already know what they’re supposed to do, do it. That’s not a great use of time, though it is occasionally necessary. Management, on the other hand, is about developing people and helping them to evolve. It’s getting people to a place where they don’t need you at all. I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

You have a choice. In every moment of your life, you choose how to react. That’s how we started discussing the idea of excuses, a few lessons back, and to some, that thought is terrifying. Even continuing to live every day is a choice. Instead of being terrified by the idea, let the power to choose empower you. If you want to, you can choose to make your life better. No more excuses. This episode was originally recorded as part of the https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/authority (Claiming Self-Authority course), available at https://clearandopen.com/ (ClearandOpen.com). I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

Excuses aren’t all bad news. As we explored last week, the areas in which we make excuses are likely the areas we don’t want to look at. If we use that to our advantage, tracking what we make excuses around can be one of the most powerful tools we can use to reclaim our power. This episode was originally recorded as part of the https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/authority (Claiming Self-Authority course), available at https://clearandopen.com/ (ClearandOpen.com). I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

What is an excuse, really? Making an excuse comes down to denying your role in an outcome. If you had the ability to respond to a situation in any way, whether you did or not, you had a hand in that outcome. To deny that is to make excuses. We always have a choice. And if we’re refusing to acknowledge our choices, there’s likely a choice we’ve made that we don’t want to look at. That’s where the opportunity to learn something about ourselves lies. This episode was originally recorded as part of the https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/authority (Claiming Self-Authority course), available at https://clearandopen.com/ (ClearandOpen.com). I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

It’s quite easy to say “don’t make excuses.” Obvious, even. But it’s one thing to say something, another to know how to do it, and something else entirely to actually apply it to your life. Knowing something is not being something. Making excuses (or not) is a moment-to-moment decision – one you have to make every day for the rest of your life. You never stop deciding, but you can get better at noticing those moments. This episode was originally recorded as part of the https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/authority (Claiming Self-Authority course), available at https://clearandopen.com/ (ClearandOpen.com).

Gaining mastery is a slow process. As much as we’d love a hyper-focused training montage across a week or a month that leaves us at our goal, in reality, mastery requires slow, methodical application of curiosity. Curiosity is essential no matter what it is you are striving to achieve. The downside – or so it may seem – is that curiosity can often lead to discomfort. But you can’t grow without discomfort, and once you realize that, you can start to view discomfort as a good thing rather than something to avoid. This episode was originally recorded as part of the https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/authority (Claiming Self-Authority course), available at https://clearandopen.com/ (ClearandOpen.com). I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

Clear communication could solve the majority of problems business leaders face every day. Imagine how much time would be saved if you asked your team to do something, took the time to make sure they understood it effectively, and they got it done on the first try? When you don’t take the time to confirm that something has been properly understood, that time gets wasted exponentially on the back end. Following up and even redoing work takes far more time in the long run. A little curiosity upfront or after the fact: did they understand what I asked them to do? Or, if not, why is that? Asking those simple questions changes everything. This episode was originally recorded as part of the https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/authority (Claiming Self-Authority course), available at https://clearandopen.com/ (ClearandOpen.com). I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

Let’s reframe responsibility. No one is inherently responsible or irresponsible. Responsibility is simply the ability to respond to a situation. You have the opportunity to respond in every situation you are in. And the irony of it – what I call the responsibility paradox – is that people who aren’t being responsible don’t wonder if they are being responsible, because that is the responsible thing to do. One of the most powerful ways of harnessing responsibility is to respond to a situation with curiosity. When you are curious, you start to look at the things you normally wouldn’t notice, and that’s when real insight can be found. This episode was originally recorded as part of the https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/authority (Claiming Self-Authority course), available at https://clearandopen.com/ (ClearandOpen.com). I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

One of the best tools for claiming self-authority is the enneagram. It’s one I use constantly. When you learn to understand and use the enneagram well, it is completely life-changing. Rarely do we understand how differently people think until we really dive into this work. And when you know yourself, how you communicate, and how other people perceive you, incredible things happen. This episode was originally recorded as part of the https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/authority (Claiming Self-Authority course), available at https://clearandopen.com/ (ClearandOpen.com). I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

I discussed the willingness to lose it all last week, and I want to start by clarifying something: being willing to lose it all does not guarantee that you won’t lose it all. That’s a hard pill to swallow, but it’s true: the stronger your will, the higher the likelihood that you will have to fail – and fail hard – to achieve true self-authority. You won’t know the price until you take the leap, but let me tell you this: it is absolutely a price worth paying. How bad do you want it? This episode was originally recorded as part of the https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/authority (Claiming Self-Authority course), available at https://clearandopen.com/ (ClearandOpen.com). I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

Last week we talked about why “follow your passion” is poor advice. It’s understandable that we’d think that. We’ve been conditioned to think that acquisition leads to action, and that action leads to feeling or being a certain way. But what if we’ve had it backwards all along? What if it’s the being that leads to doing, and that leads to having what we want? That’s the true path. This episode was originally recorded as part of the https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/authority (Claiming Self-Authority course), available at https://clearandopen.com/ (ClearandOpen.com). I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

There are two things that define the mature self more than anything else: a soulmate and a passion path. Neither are something you go out and get – you attract them by being the kind of person who deserves them. But we’re not conditioned to work on who we are. Instead, we’re told to define what we want and acquire it. “Find your passion.” We have to deconstruct our current paradigm and start working on being the kind of person who does what they are passionate about, not the kind of person who’s always chasing. This episode was originally recorded as part of the https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/authority (Claiming Self-Authority course), available at https://clearandopen.com/ (ClearandOpen.com). I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

Our society places such concern over intelligence. We’re led to believe that getting good grades, going to college, and gaining certified knowledge will lead to happiness, but the reality is just the opposite. The more intelligent you are, the better the mind gets at obstructing our feelings. The first step to overcoming this mental block is to realize that it exists. We can’t conceptualize ourselves into being happy. This episode was originally recorded as part of the https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/authority (Claiming Self-Authority course), available at https://clearandopen.com/ (ClearandOpen.com). I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

As you explore your own authentic power, you need to be aware of the ways in which you give your power away. Maybe you’re bolstering your lack of authority by joining a group dynamic that gives you a sense of control or power. And of course, being a part of groups is not a bad thing. But unless you’ve forged yourself in the fires of loneliness, you will never know how you are leaking your power to others in order to remain a part of those groups. See where you are giving away your power so that you can gain more individually. This episode was originally recorded as part of the https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/authority (Claiming Self-Authority course), available at https://clearandopen.com/ (ClearandOpen.com). I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

Doing nothing is hard. You’ve done the hard work to dredge up feelings from the deepest crevices of your mind, and now you’re supposed to stop… but doing nothing is still doing something. It is an active process. Any behavior that serves to numb feelings is suspect. Treating the symptoms rather than the cause only leads to feeling worse. When you really see what’s happening in your life – without trying to change it – that’s when things start moving. This episode was originally recorded as part of the https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/authority (Claiming Self-Authority course), available at https://clearandopen.com/ (ClearandOpen.com). I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

We’ve learned to challenge our parents’ reality and establish emotional boundaries. That’s hard work. But many of us are afraid to keep tugging on that thread and see what unravels. When your emotions are all out in the open, what are you supposed to do with them? All you have to do – as simple or as complex as it may seem – is to look at it, embrace it, and feel it. And do it without judgment. Wishing it weren’t there is only going to make things worse. This episode was originally recorded as part of the https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/authority (Claiming Self-Authority course), available at https://clearandopen.com/ (ClearandOpen.com). I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

Doing the work is, surprisingly, only half of the work. The second – and often more challenging – part is to take a closer look at what comes out. Previously, we had looked at some uncomfortable parts of our pasts: acknowledging our weaknesses, examining the flaws of our parents, and looking at the relationships between them. We’re going to take some time to reflect on the lessons we’ve learned, as well as why it can be so hard to adjust the perceptions of our parents in our minds. This episode was originally recorded as part of the https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/authority (Claiming Self-Authority course), available at https://clearandopen.com/ (ClearandOpen.com). I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)