Dueling Paradigms
You’ve spent the last 12 years riding your technical skills up the corporate
ladder. Now the payoff--you’re a manager. Congratulations.
You get the perks: Big title. Big paycheck. Big office.
Big people problems!
People problems, you think? Ha, no issue.
You’re the best in the department. You know every piece of equipment. You know
business thanks to the MBA you earned at night.
And, you are motivated. You work hard. You are committed to excellence. People
problems…no issue.
But...the Sales manager frustrates you because she “never gets all the
details.” And...the administrative assistant irritates you by talking on the
phone about personal issues? Well…the customer service people…they cost your
department lots of money because they just don’t know how to politely tell a
customer no? Hmmm, maybe there are
some
people issues out there.
What you see may well be a case of “dueling paradigms” - a problem that could
poison your team.
Your paradigm – your viewpoint – is how you see the world. Sounds obvious…and it
is…but very often, good people don’t see the
real
problem until they have made a lot of costly mistakes.
You interpret people’s words and actions through your paradigm. But they often
have a different paradigm, and they act on their paradigm, not yours. The
conflict comes when we assume they have our paradigm…and they assume we have
theirs.
The people problems most technical people face as managers are predictable.
People in highly technical fields like engineering, medicine, information
technology, etc. often see the world through a technical/analytical filter…and
they expect
people
to respond with the same precision they demand from their
profession.
But what made them good technically, what got them to management, may be their
biggest barrier to further success…because as a manager, people skills are far
more important than technical skills.
People from non-technical backgrounds face a similar problem. They often view
the world through a people/relationship filter, and they may have a difficult
time understanding highly analytical people. Fortunately, there is hope. Look
at the following pages for some principles you can use to build better working relationships and
stronger teams.
