Managing your manager…
This is a skill that can make such a difference in whatever walk of life you work in; it requires you to be proactive; it requires that you be able to use your imagination.
What are we talking about?
Well, in essence, it's like if you had downloaded a manager app in your head, and instead of waiting to be told what to do, you just do it, in advance of any request or deadline.
For example, let’s say that your manager requires forecast reports every Friday. These are important because they need this information to roll up for national reporting.
So, instead of being chased, you get them in well in time, before they are actually required.
There are literally countless examples like this; but this is a bit old school, you might say. In the days of technology and horizontal—team of teams—structures and processes, we don't need this type of thinking, right?
Far from it.
Only, the manager, is replaced by your colleagues.
Sorry?
What I mean is that instead of waiting to be told what to do, think ahead, guesstimate what needs to be done, and do it, whatever the task is… and not just once, but all the time. And here, I have news for the team: this should be a skill practiced by all… no exceptions. Action-oriented behaviors are a key requirement for high-performance teamwork.
However, you have to train at this; you have to help people understand that empathy is a business skill. Like passing the football from midfield to forward, you don’t kick it where they are, you need to shoot to where you think they will be. This move puts speed into the game and means that you can adapt to changing circumstances, with efficiency and effectiveness.
On another note, when you are working in a lean start-up situation, creating an MVP, this ability means that you can innovate and create solutions to unseen problems.
The difficulty with our education systems is that we train people to be like sheep, herding them together, treating them all the same, measuring them with inappropriate and ineffective standards. We don't focus on unearthing their creative flair, we don't look at their weaknesses and strengths and help them grow… and sometimes—well, a lot of the times—these norms are carried on into corporate life; they waste a lot of potential.
Playing immersive multiplayer video games can help unlock these hidden talents.
How do we know?
Because we have spent years working with teams to do this very thing. What is surprising with this, is that helping teams break the cultural barriers and adopt new norms and values actually happens at speed. In as little as four sessions, you can have teams who looked like they were wading through water start to act like they are on steroids.
Particularly, now that we have introduced ChatGPT into CinQ, our leadership and teamwork video game, it becomes even more relevant that you learn to kick-start these skills. As AI becomes more and more prevalent as a tool, driving new value across organizations, learning to use this in a team situation with a high level of soft skills become a priority for survival and adaptation.
Rock and roll.
DISCLAIMER: This article was written by a human.