How to become a human manager

How to Become a Human Manager
Eduardo Espinheira
2019 02 27

2019 02 27 Eduardo Espinheira
Hello, my name is Eduardo Espinheira
I’m a consultant, lecturer and manager.
And I’m trying my best to become: a Human Manager!
It is really new for me, I really feel I kept forgetting I was human
throughout my life.
I consider we should all learn, share and grow, so let me share with you
a couple of things I’ve learned so far…

I’ve been working for a couple of decades, and as everyone else I’ve
started detecting a couple of patterns on the expressions and mindsets
around me.
And they made me stop and think if those common expressions and
mindsets were right.
A lot of them weren’t!
Today, I’m going to share 7 we should really stop having!
Disclaimer: Believe me, there are many others!

Expression #1 “Management, Managing and Managers are bad”
This is a common misconception, and I keep hearing it!
We are all managers, and we need to take responsibility for it.
Creating anti-bodies for something so relevant will limit your ability to
learn and grow.

So… I came up with a kind of automatic response.
I say to myself and to others:
Management is part of everyone’s daily lives
and should be embraced
as one of the most important tasks we have.

Expression #2 “We are Infallible, we don’t have any Problems”
This one, works like a virus!
I keep meeting people who were infected and still have the symptoms.
And it is hard to admit, but from time to time I get infected too.

So I came up with a kind of a vaccine.
To calibrate myself and share with others:
Our companies and teams are made of people, humans.
Hence, we can fail and make mistakes.
Mistakes are normal, but we should admit and then address them.

Expression #3 “I don’t care if they were bothered by what I said”
This one is simply awful.
We forget that we deal with people, humans, with their own thoughts
and opinions, like ourselves.

So I came up with a mantra to trigger the correct mindset.
Who knows, maybe I’ll leverage some change around me by osmosis:
Most of the times we’re just managing ourselves,
but more often than not, we have to manage other people.
Human Managers should strive to be humans while managing
and be managed as humans.

Expression #4 “We are Special and have very Specific Problems”
This one is strangely common!
I keep hearing this on almost every customer I work with.
But, as a consultant, we detect patterns in problems.

So I created a concept, the MngtBug.
A Management Bug is a problem, cause or impact
in a Human Manager's decision
which produces an incorrect or unexpected result.

And to be sure that everyone got the right mindset, I created a
manifesto:
We as Human Managers have to make decisions
and some of them go wrong and result on a negative impact.
These problems are natural, they are simply bugs,
Management Bugs.
They are not unique, they are common and sometimes typical.
Management Bugs come in all shapes and forms
and can be related to each other.
We should build a comprehensive database of Management Bugs,
so that we can leverage our own problem identification and
everyone else’s.

Let’s do a small demonstration
For those of you with a MngtBug card deck:
pick 5 random cards,
look at them,
and without showing them to me,
tell me:
Have you ever seen any of those
MngtBugs yourself?
Raise your hands, if you did!

Expression #5 “We need Unique Solutions”
This one is related to the previous one, it seems some patterns come
paired with each other.
But, as a consultant, we detect patterns, even on solutions.
It is one of the main reasons outsiders can create value for a customer.

So I created a concept, the MngtFix.
A Management Fix is an actionable solution
for a problem with pros and cons
to be evaluated by a Human Manager.

Once again I wanted to get everyone on the same page, so I created another
manifesto
(sorry about that)
We as Human Managers have to come up with solutions,
sometimes more than one for a single problem.
These solutions are natural, they are simple fixes,
Management Fixes.
They are not unique, they are common and sometimes typical.
Management Fixes come in all shapes and forms
and can be related to each other.
We should build a comprehensive database of Management Fixes, so that
we can leverage our own problem solving and everyone else’s.

And now, let me do another demonstration
For those of you with a MngtFix card deck:
pick 5 random cards,
look at them,
and without showing them to me,
tell me:
Have you ever seen any of those
MngtFixes yourself?
Raise your hands, if you did!
SOLUTIONS

Expression #6 “Our problem is people leaving the company”
This habit of jumping to conclusions is normal, but worrying.
We confuse impacts with problems.
If we only tackle the impacts, the root cause will continue to spread.

But, maybe that’s just me!
Let us do a quick check:
Raise your hand if…
you ever tackled a problem,
which you realized later on, that it wasn’t the real issue
but just the impact of a deeper problem!

Expression #7 “Let’s hire more people to improve productivity”
The mindset on this one is dangerous. We don’t stop to analyze
problems so we don’t identify the correct solutions.
We don’t really run a diagnostic, we simply pick solutions from the
pharmacy shelf and auto-medicate ourselves. As if it was a good idea.
This can be deadly to an organization, team or an individual.

So I went searching for techniques to use
and help me diagnose problems to define
the right solutions. Something to leverage
awareness: a retrospective technique.
I found a technique called:
“Problem Solving”.
Then, I refined and improved it, so now, it
is called:
“Human Mngt Problem Solving”
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It is easy to use, but it still needs to
be moderated!
So let’s go… step by step
Take your:
- deck of MngtBugs
- deck of MngtFixes
- Problem Solving Workbook
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Browse through the MngtBugs card
deck to get the gist of it.
Select a couple of problems you identify
with and want to solve.
If you don’t find any, come up with one
yourself.
Don’t punish yourself for having
problems, they just prove you are alive
and doing something.
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Sort them by importance or any other
criteria that is relevant to you.
Put the first one on the Problem space
on the board. Or just write it down if
you came up with the problem yourself.
Don’t tackle more than one problem at
once, you need to understand them
before you can optimize their solutions.
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List the three main impacts and their
trends.
Once again, feel free to use the
MngtBugs card deck to find them or
simply inspire yourself.
Don’t dwell on a problem if the impacts
show minimal relevance.
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Write the three main causes which
originated the problem.
Once again, feel free to use the
MngtBugs card deck to find them or
simply get inspired.
Don’t skip this step, this is truly the
best way to find the weak spots of the
problem itself.
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Now we have a complete understanding of
the problem.
So we can come up with the best solutions.
Don’t get flustered, solutions are always
related to causes, impacts, and trends. P
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The solutions should first address the
causes.
Take note of the solution coverage
below the card space.
Use the MngtFix card deck if you need
to.
Remember, don’t focus first on the
impacts unless you prefer to mask the
problem instead of solving them.
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After assuring the coverage of all the
causes, continue to the impacts with the
same mindset.
Feel free to use the MngtFix card deck.
Each impact should be eliminated or
mitigated by one or more solutions.
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Combine and organize solutions so that
you have a comprehensive approach to
the situation.
Don’t solve one impact without checking
if you’re not creating another problem for
someone else.
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Feel free to take a picture of the board
and share with your team.
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Keep doing this regularly.
Don’t let your problems reach a point,
where the solutions are fewer or harder.
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Thank you for applying the:
“Human Mngt Problem Solving”
Usually, we apply it on individual
interviews to make it anonymous.
The patterns always arise… If you don’t
believe me… look around you!
The final output is a comprehensive list
of problems, impacts and causes felt
within the company…
paired with the solutions identified to
solve them.
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To sum it up, I’ve just shared with you some of the expressions I’m tackling
myself to become a better manager, a Human Manager!
Any retrospective technique is important. Use them regularly!
The Human Mngt Problem Solving is good to identify, understand and
solve problems on our organizations and teams.
It is a organizational diagnostic tool, like and X-ray.
Keep in mind, Human Management is aimed at igniting change and it has
to start with us.
Now I’m counting on you to learn, share and grow.

Feel free to explore https://www.humanmngt.com
or https://www.eduardoespinheira.com
Enjoy and comment the MngtBugs and MngtFixes shared every week
on social media
Subscribe our newsletter at http://bit.ly/humanmngt

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