It’s a trap we might fall into… If we have management responsibility for someone, we probably feel we are expected to make their change and growth happen.
But hang on…
We know the way human psychology works, if any change is going to happen, it needs to start with us. We need to go first. We need to “be the change we want to see in the world.”
That’s how it works in everyday life.
But in the special situation where we are the boss, our response to the duties of our role is to think we are expected to change other people, and moreover that it will be possible. “We just need to tell them.”
Think about it though…
The natural human dynamic isn’t very likely to shift just because we occupy a certain position in a hierarchy.
Even if we are the boss, we still need to “be the change.” We need to go first. We need identify our part of the pattern that’s causing trouble and alter it.
Then the other person will realise it’s time for them to grow, and we can request, even demand, a change with a chance of a successful outcome.
That’s leadership.
Managerial authority can overcome human nature to some extent, but much better to use the natural process than to fight it.
Don’t be lured into thinking managerial authority will be strong enough to reverse the natural way. It probably won’t.