“The delusion that you’re perfect – or that if you just do the right thing, things will always work out ok – makes you resistant to change and fearful of failure. You’d rather not discover that you’re imperfect, that maybe what you where doing was wrong. The more people go through those discoveries the better” – Esther Dyson

Sorry to be the one to burst your bubble but, nobody is perfect. Not even you. You don’t need to handicap yourself by carrying around that kind of burden. Strive for perfection? Yes – always but realize that you won’t be perfect every time – in everything you do.

The people you work with and interact with will make mistakes. It’s how you choose to react when they happen that will make all the difference in the world.

Successful Managers of the 21st Century will be:

• Those managers who can look at the mistakes their people will make as opportunities to coach them and to teach them what they’ll need to know – So those kinds of mistakes won’t happen again. The students will never learn if the teacher doesn’t know how to teach.
• Those managers who understand that successful outcomes are the result of parking their egos at the door and doing what ever they need to do to get the desired result.
• Those managers who understand that they need to create an environment that is conducive to learning. They understand that adults can learn new things – given the right set of circumstances and in the right environment.
• Those managers who understand that they can’t do it alone. That they need to build collaborative teams and surround themselves with people who are capable of doing some tasks better than they do. And then staying out of their way and letting them do it.
• Those managers who understand that they don’t need to know everything. That it’s ok to ask others for help or advice. That the more they include their people in the decision-making process – the more likely their people will want to come along.
• Those managers that understand that not everyone is motivated the same way – But everyone can be motivated. They understand that they need to know what their people’s aspirations are so that they can help them achieve them. They understand that if their people win – they will win – and most importantly their clients will win.
• Those managers who understand that they need to loosen up once and awhile and not take things too seriously all of the time. That it’s ok to share a joke or tell an amusing story. That it’s ok to show their employees that they do have a fun side to them.
• Those managers that understand that managing is a “Team” sport. (Together Everyone Achieves More) That they need their people a great deal more than their people need them . They realize that when things start to fall apart and go south – it’s the team’s manager that usually gets replaced first.
• Those managers who understand that no body is perfect – especially themselves. And that if they aren’t perfect all of the time and in everything they do – then they shouldn’t expect it – or demand it – from someone else.
• Yes successful Managers of the 21st Century strive for perfection in everything they do. But they don’t get “bent-out-of-shape” if they fall short now and again. Most importantly – successful 21st century managers are human.