Turn: excellent managers focus not on mistakes, but on advantages

Personal understanding ：
Leaders who start from their advantages will focus more on those things that are going well , Then copy the successful experience to other fields --  Learn from failure , Copy the successful experience
solve the problem 、 Correcting shortcomings is only part of achieving goals --  Take advantage of
We hate managing others , We like to solve problems , We treat employees as problems , Our brain always responds to negative problems --  like   still Fear what , This needs to be considered clearly , The pleasure of experts always stimulates us
More active 、 More powerful discussion ; Inspire the team , Instead of reducing the efficiency of the team --  Find an advantage
Think of new and creative ways to use your strengths -- Starting from the advantages , Know your strengths , Build a team correctly
Recognize your strengths and set an example , Only in this way can we truly appreciate and explore the advantages of others

Good managers , It's not about mistakes , It's an advantage

Good managers , It's not about mistakes , It's an advantage

Be a successful manager , You must cultivate another trait . View ？ No . Creativity ？ Neither . Charisma ？ Not at all . We call this trait “ Starting from the advantages ”. Find problems with traditional leaders （ Then fix the problem ）、 Looking for gaps （ Then fill in the question ） Different thinking , Leaders who start from their advantages will focus more on those things that are going well , Then copy the successful experience to other fields . Need to know , Compared with constantly evaluating problems , Nip in the bud , When you expect to achieve outstanding results , More likely to make changes .

If you are a bridge designer , In order to design the best bridge , Will you study those bridges that have collapsed or those that have stood through the test of time ？ You may study both kinds of bridges . However , We often only pay attention to those collapsed bridges . Similar to this is , Leaders often study things that go wrong , Try to mend things after they are lost . conversely , Leaders who start from their advantages will focus more on those things that are going well , Then copy the successful experience to other fields . Leaders who start from advantages do not ignore the existing problems , They realized that ： solve the problem 、 Correcting shortcomings is only part of achieving goals . Leaders who start from advantages will also pay more attention to what people do well （ Their advantages ） On , Instead of focusing on what they didn't do well （ Their weakness ） On .

It may sound simple , However , To be a leader who starts from advantages, we need to face 4 There's a barrier ： We hate managing others , We like to solve problems , We treat employees as problems , Our brain always responds to negative problems .
We hate managing others . ok , Maybe it's not annoying , But some of us really don't like managing others . Why? ？ Many people are promoted to the position of manager because of their excellent performance in their own work . We are probably the best salesperson 、 The best Technician , Or the best analyst . The actual result is , Being a manager makes us far away from the work we originally enjoy . A brave person will admit to himself and his boss , Returning to the job that gives him the most satisfaction will make him happier .
We like to solve problems .“ My role is to analyze problems , Then find a solution .” One of our female clients said , She manages a team of testers .“ The boss paid me a salary , Don't you let me do these things ？”
We treat employees as problems . Although problem solving is the primary focus of many workplace roles , however , If the way of thinking to solve problems is extended to the way of treating employees, there will be a problem . Some people agree with this view ： Employees must be “ repair ”, Be spurred , Or need to be monitored every minute , So that they can perform well .
Our brain always responds to negative problems . Even if we are keen to manage others , Don't simply regard work as constantly solving problems , Be a leader who starts from advantages , There are other challenges . Baumeister and his colleagues in their articles published in academic journals 《 The bad is stronger than the good 》（Bad Is Stronger Than Good） We call this phenomenon “ Negative prejudice ”.
People are worried about what they have lost in their wallets 20 The reaction of the dollar is better than picking it up on the street 20 The reaction of the dollar is much stronger . If the customer's experience of a company is negative , Every customer will tell his negative experience on average 13 personal . contrary , If customers get first-class service , On average , Every customer will only tell 5 personal .

Amplify negative events
What do you tend to focus on ：
●   Performance evaluation or 360 Degree feedback results , What part of the content will you focus on ？ Will you skip the evaluation or feedback of your strengths , Look directly at your shortcomings or areas that need improvement ？
●   When receiving the employee survey results , What will you focus on ？ Will you skip the no problem part , Go straight to the end 10% The problematic part ？
Want to know whether the leadership method based on advantages is suitable for your leadership style ？ Perhaps you have already begun to use the leadership method based on advantages . It may also be for you , Looking at the role of leaders from the perspective of advantages is a major paradigm shift .

Stop asking the wrong questions
Most people will habitually study the problem . We learn how to analyze problems , Find out the root cause , Brainstorm possible solutions , Then implement the best way to solve the problem . This problem-solving model , It is also the working tradition of most consulting companies . We improve the results by solving one problem after another . This is a top priority for the company , Everyone has done a good job in this regard . But , Even if this method works , There is another way to improve the results that we often ignore . Imagine you are in a department 、 The place or region has achieved unprecedented success , It is necessary to think about the special factors behind success , In this way, you can replicate the same practice in other fields . We often use this strategy when studying our competitors , But we didn't put this “ What kind of practice works ” The analysis method of is applied to the company . Even if we do this , In trying to promote the right approach , Also often encounter resistance . We call it “ That doesn't work here ” Syndrome . Torry, Professor of psychology at New York University · Higgins and his colleagues found , People's mental state is often no more than two ： Or in the excitement of longing for results , Or be on the alert to avoid some unwanted result . This vigilance is very useful for maintaining the status quo and avoiding risks . However , If like most companies , To achieve challenging goals , You may need most employees to be in a state of excitement 、 Enterprising working state . Higgins and his colleagues found , When people focus on their own ideals and aspirations , Constantly remind yourself to realize , They will be more motivated to make changes , take action . Compared with constantly evaluating problems , Nip in the bud , When you expect to achieve outstanding results , More likely to make changes .

Be a smart imitator
Why a certain area 、 A team or a person performs better ？ Share these success stories , Then copy the successful experience to other fields . Discover your company 、 Correct practices within the team or department ：
●   Where is the best implementation of this change or improvement ？ What we can learn from it to apply to other fields ？
●   What qualities of this employee make him successful in this position ？
●   Why does the performance of this team or position continue to exceed expectations ？
This is the joint venture between Toyota and General Motors NUMMI（ New United engine manufacturing company ） To improve their own practices .NUMMI It was originally two companies in the same building . One of them manufactures Toyota Tacoma pickup , Another company manufactures Toyota corolla and Pontiac Vibe. For many years , The former has always outperformed the latter . A former employee of the latter told us ：“ One day , Our vice president of production decided to let the manager of the car company observe the working state of the manager of the pickup truck company and their team members , Understand why they are doing well .” The vice president said ：“ Why should we send the employees of the car company to Toyota car manufacturing base far away in Kentucky or Canada ？ They can observe the pickup truck manufacturing department of the base here .”  The bigger your company is , Partition 、 The more likely there are boundaries and barriers between departments and teams . Why? ？ This is because as the company grows , We often arrange employees to enter departments with clear division of labor , In order to improve work efficiency . If you want to break these artificial barriers , You can find the right way , Apply it to your work .

Success stories
We once helped a customer design a national sales conference . Two weeks before the meeting , We asked participants in this field for success stories . We ask participants to send us an email , Describe a recent positive incident , Or describe a person they recognize . Participants are from 10 Different regions . A week later , We only received from them 4 Replies from regions . Because the participants are all salesmen , So we know , It only takes a little competitive atmosphere to motivate them to act . We sent a reminder email , The explanation will reward the best story . Soon , A lot of stories poured into our mailbox . The conference committee chose one 8 A story , Read it to you in the two-day meeting schedule . They call the winner , Their story was selected . We print the rest of the success stories into posters , On the eve of the meeting , Post them on the hall corridor . We call it “ The palace of honor ”. When the salesperson who attended the meeting walked in the next morning , Are shocked by these stories . This is not an old sales meeting .

“ Soar to great heights ”（SOAR）   And not “ Study hard ”（SWOT）
You can apply the management method based on advantages to your business plan . The next time you discuss your development strategy or plan with your team members , Please break the traditional SWOT Analysis method ：
strengths（ advantage ）,weaknesses（ weaknesses ）,opportunities（ The opportunity to ）,threats（ threat ）.
Instead, , quote SOAR Analysis method ：
strengths（ advantage ）,opportunities（ The opportunity to ）,aspirations（ vision ）,results（ results ）.
Ellie is going to hold an annual autumn planning meeting , There are more than 75 Managers from service centers across the United States attended the meeting . She put SOAR The analytical method was applied to this meeting .“ Let's discuss in groups , I hope to excavate meaningful connotation from the previous strategic discussion ,” Ellie recalled ,“ We put SOAR Analytical method as a thinking paradigm .”

What's the result ？“ When we use SOAR When the analysis method asks about the task execution , A series of themes emerged ,” Ellie explained ,“ stay ‘ advantage ’ quadrant , There is our talented talent team 、 Our brand effect in the eyes of agents and our professional financial norms . stay ‘ The opportunity to ’ quadrant , Have self-service ability 、 Improve the company's website and analyze the customer base . “ Which quadrant surprises you most , Ellie ？” We asked .“‘ vision ’ Quadrant bar . We have never really discussed vision before . In this quadrant , We have noticed ‘ Build brand ’ This vision , This means that our brand should gain vitality , Let every customer really get a humanized interactive experience .”  “ About ‘ results ’ How about quadrant discussion ？” We asked .“ This part of the discussion is very constructive ,” She replied ,“ Our colleagues are very interested in this , We focused on how to make the company grow more without increasing costs . stay SOAR In the analysis method , We also realize that , Although our brand is hard enough in the agency , But what we hope to build is a strong brand with influence in the whole society .”
stay SWOT In the analysis method , What we see “ weaknesses ” The opposite is exactly the exploitable advantage , and “ threat ” Just behind the potential opportunities . Please let your team members enter a more positive 、 More powerful discussion ： What are their visions , What kind of goals are you eager to achieve . You might think SOAR The analysis method ignores the negative factors . This is not the case . stay SOAR In the analysis method , Weaknesses and threats were fully discussed , And in “ The opportunity to ” Quadrant discussion is reconstructed . for example , In Ellie's company , The enterprise website has not been updated for many years , There is no analysis of customer groups , And play the role of analysis results , But these points , Her competitors have done everything . These are obvious weaknesses , It can even be called a threat . But in SOAR In the analysis and discussion, they are reconstructed as opportunities , This makes people more motivated —— Don't give up , And give them encouragement .

The vast majority of the project summary meeting is to make up for the lost
When we first started working with a large insurance company IT（ information technology ） When the leaders of the department cooperate with the team , We ask them to share ways to improve their performance .“ We hold a project summary meeting every week .” This is their answer . We are curious ：“ How did you meet ？”“ We give a red card to the project team that deviates from the right track , Then discuss how to get them back on track .”“ well , This sounds reasonable ,” We said ,“ But what about the teams that are on track ？ Whether they will participate in the meeting , Share with you the useful methods ？ The department leaders present suddenly couldn't answer .“ I think our project summary is just mending things after they are lost ,” One of the managers said ,“ These project summary meetings are often punitive , And we never ask about the right things . in fact , We call these meetings ‘ Autopsy ’, And I also heard employees call it ‘ Leadership office meeting ’, This is how they really feel .”  Don't be naive , Problems occur every day in business operations , This is especially true in life ： Miss major events ; System crash ; The customer is angry , Threatening to end cooperation . Should we ignore these problems ？ Of course not . below , We want to teach you a way to inspire the team , Instead of reducing the efficiency of the team to deal with bad news .

Find a solution , Not a mistake
We are not advocating that you only pay attention to those things that are going well . We know that people can always learn from mistakes . However , When your employees come to you with questions , The way you respond to them is crucial . Losing control of emotions cannot solve the problem . We conducted a survey , Asked 80 A number of IT Employees in the industry ： When problems suddenly appear at work , How do their managers react . We provide the following statements to the interviewees , Ask them if they agree with the statement ：
●  （1） Facing problems , My project manager can put forward some ideas to help me solve ;
●  （2） My project manager can help me come up with solutions .
We synthesized the respondents' feedback on such statements , Then the feedback results were compared with their project performance . We found that , The management team with the highest score in the quarter has a higher score in the project performance evaluation than the management team with the lowest score in the quarter 39%. Some leaders avoid unexpected problems , Will tell their employees “ If you don't think of a possible solution , Don't come to me ”. This kind of thinking is problematic . Sometimes , Employees need to discuss feasible solutions with leaders . If you always want them to solve it independently , When you finally face the problem , I'm afraid it's too late . There is similar feedback in our research ： “ Our project managers tend to overreact when they first learn about problems , After knowing the whole situation, I will slowly calm down . Because of this , Team members , Including myself , There is no solution at all , Or when the problem is very serious , I won't go to him .”  If you are confused , I always fail to get the feedback of problems in time , And therefore miss the opportunity to solve , That may be because your employees are afraid to report problems to you . You should help employees expand their perspectives , Find a solution . Instead of making yourself a problem for employees to solve .
      Encourage bad news
Carlos felt very depressed , Even furious . He just learned that the project he led has been delayed 4 It's week . What's worse is , He heard this news from his colleagues at the weekly staff meeting held by his superiors , Instead of being directly reported to him by his team . Carlos found us , Seek coaching . He said ：“ If my staff came to me earlier , What else can I do about this problem . But now they come to me again , There's nothing I can do .”  We arranged a task for Carlos ：“ Next time we encounter a similar situation , You know there will be another time , Please concentrate on finding a solution to the problem .” In Carlos' next coaching class , We asked him to share his experience .“ I know everyone doesn't want to disappoint customers , But we can work together to solve this problem …… I know very well , Passing the buck won't help . contrary , We can brainstorm some solutions , Then implement one of them . At the end of the meeting , I want you to think about how to avoid this kind of incident happening again .”  Now you have learned to solve problems in different ways . Be a leader who starts from advantages , There is another thing you must know ： Your own advantages .

Know your strengths , Otherwise no one will understand
Visitors to Delphi, the ancient capital of Greece, will see a line of Greek characters engraved at the entrance of the Apollo Temple ：“Nosce te ipsum”（ Meaning for “ Know yourself ”）. To become a leader who starts from advantages , You must know yourself , In particular, we should really understand our own advantages . Focus on what you are good at —— Your strengths —— It's not a fad . We now have a wide range of data from various industries , Can show many positive business results . Focus on personal strengths , For increasing sales performance , Improve customer service , Improve innovation ability , Improve employee engagement , All work . Illustrate with examples . Gallup conducted a study on the salesmen of Marriott Resort Club . A group of salespeople complete the duration first 40 Minutes of personal advantage evaluation , Then we will have a one-on-one discussion with the manager on personal advantages . What is the result? ？ In the follow-up sales work , The sales volume completed by this group of salespersons is higher than those who did not participate in the personal advantage evaluation 17%. If this strategy is fully implemented in the company , Then every position will increase sales by millions . Sad is , There is only 20% Percent of employees think they have the opportunity to do what they are best at every day . Gallup found , Those project units that let employees do what they are best at every day , Its production efficiency 、 Customer loyalty and employee stability will be improved .

Steve · The way jobs works
Steve, former CEO of Apple · Jobs said in a speech delivered at the graduation ceremony of Stanford University ：“ In the past 33 Mid year , Every morning I look in the mirror and ask myself ：‘ If today is the last day of my life , Am I still willing to do what I intend to do today ？’”  Jobs didn't get sick when he asked himself this question .“ If the answer for many days in a row is ‘ Unwilling ’, I knew I needed to make some changes .” This doesn't mean that you have to change your job whenever things are not satisfactory . If you hate your job , Maybe you can think of some new creative ways to give full play to your advantages .

Not a special project
To become a leader based on advantages is not to implement some special projects . It's a state , A way of leadership . Leaders must first recognize their strengths and set an example , Only in this way can we truly appreciate and explore the advantages of others . It only takes three minutes , Free gift ： Ask questions to find your strengths , Find your strengths by asking yourself the following questions ：
●   What I'm really good at ？
●   What kind of work can really motivate me ？
●   When am I in the best condition ？
Ask yourself , Ask your colleagues again 、 staff 、 Friends and family , See if there is the same answer that appears many times . These are your strengths . Martin · Seligman clarified ：“ Although sometimes it is necessary to try to control defects at work , But this can only avoid failure , But it can't help us achieve excellence .” 

I have learned my advantages ： What to do now
Know your strengths , Otherwise no one will understand . Understanding begins with reviewing past experiences .“ In the past day or week , How do you use your strengths ？” We asked our customer Terry , He is 《 Wealth 》“ The world 500 strong ” The business leader of an enterprise . He told us ：“ Curiosity is my advantage , I noticed , Last week, I used this advantage to really understand two new employees . I also noticed , I am good at raising exploratory questions at the business summary meeting .”  After Terry looked back , We let him look to the future ：“ Let's spend the next week or two , Find some situations that allow you to use your strengths more 、 Project or challenge .” “ I have several meetings this week , I have to before the meeting , Understand the business operation requirements one step ahead of my team . To do this , I need to amplify my curiosity advantage .”
Once you understand your strengths , And make a demonstration , You'll do a good job “ Use your strengths ” This concept is introduced to the preparation of employees . But before that , You need to know how to build a team correctly .