What if we taught managers that failure happens, and it’s OK sometimes?

I was just doing some research on keywords around management skills — seems like something I discuss often — and the volume on searches is higher than you’d think (about 1,900/month), yet every article that’s popular around management skills is complete bullshit and fluff. My site isn’t great for SEO — I still think most people find it through “should I move to Minneapolis?” (where I don’t even live presently) or some 1984 true crime case — but I think I can do a better job explaining a core issue of management skills, so let’s try. Shall we?

Management skills: How we often think of them

One of the most confusing things for many people in business is the idea that management isn’t intuitive, which is an idea backed up by executives at Google and beyond. Here’s what that means: you get promoted (i.e. you become a manager) through a series of actions around “I hit my targets” or “I achieved my goals,” right? Then you become this manager and you think — “Well, I need to drive that in others!” That’s actually incorrect. When you think about replicating your management skills in others and you think that way, you’re endorsing micromanagement. Most people hate that. Above all, consider this: we want workplaces to be logic-driven, and that’s why we assign process and protocol…