By Hedges Capers
We at DoorTwo have often talked about a difference between leadership and management. The leader’s job is to create change, while the manager’s job is to organize and maintain similarities by refining systems and creating a smooth-running, repetitive operation.
It has long been observed that if a stimulus remains the same, we no longer remain aware of it. Examples are all around you. How many of us have gone camping, been kept awake the first night by the silence, but eventually became unaware of it?
If routinization and replication are the goals of a management system, do we not also run the risk of finding ourselves unable to remain conscious? Creativity and innovation require a changing, supportive, and safe environment. Routinization eliminates the need for thinking and when perfected is a lethargic concoction. If you have any doubts as to the reality of this, sit perfectly still for a moment. That numb sensation of a foot asleep might be all the warning innovative management needs.
So, when you wear your management hat, it is important to periodically question your systems to see if you feel numb.
