August is when real managers go on vacation while juniors hold the fort. (Yes, I know August is history, but we can learn a lot from history.)  August is also when a lot of MBWA takes place.

No, not management by walking around.  That’s so Seventies.

I’m talking about management by wondering about.  You know what I mean.  You’re lying in the sun somewhere when you start wondering about the office.  Are they coping without you?  Are they messing up?  Are they missing you?

So you start managing by ‘wondering about’.  First, you wonder about your emails.  Then you break your promise and you read your emails on that thingy that allows you to Manage By Wandering Away from the office.  Before you know it, you’re sending emails that start with ‘I’m just wondering about...’

Of course, you’re not fooling them back at the office.  They know you are more than just wondering.  You’re trying to manage them from a distance.  After all, you are a real manager on vacation.

Delegate your keys

Here’s the rub.  You can delegate authority, but you cannot delegate responsibility – you may give a subordinate the necessary power to do something, but you will still be held responsible for the consequences.

This fear of being held responsible for someone else’s actions stops many managers delegating effectively.  And from having a decent vacation.

Come on, people, have some faith.  When you go away, hand over your authority, your fear and your keys.  I remember physically moving into my boss’ office whenever he was away.  That way my colleagues and my boss’ bosses knew I was in charge and accountable.

Now that’s delegating.  Actually, it was succession planning.  My boss knew that he could not go on vacation unless someone could stand in for him.  Nor could he be promoted. 

Self-respect trumps self-esteem

Being promoted takes a bit of self-serving... so how’s your self-serving bias?  Let me explain.  When we view success or good outcomes as due to our own doing or personal characteristics - that’s self-serving bias.  When we blame failure or bad outcomes on external causes or bad luck - self-serving bias again.

Why do we do this?  If we can claim responsibility for good things, then our self-esteem is enhanced.  And if we can blame failure on external factors then we can protect our self-esteem.

Go on, blame whomever you like for whatever you want, but be warned.  I’ve tried blame and I felt better for only a few seconds at a time.

True, blame keeps my self-esteem intact.  But my self-respect demands that I take responsibility for doing something about my predicament.

Talk about respect... What would happen if everyone behaved the way you do? (Emmanuel Kant called this the categorical imperative.)

If you think that the outcome would be negative, then obviously you should not behave that way.  For example, what would happen if everyone lied?  That’s right.  You couldn’t trust anyone.  So, don’t lie.  Ever.

Now consider the out-of-control executive reward systems.  What if everyone paid themselves a crazy bonus?  What if everyone got rewarded, irrespective of actual performance?

My guess is that we would have the mess we’re in right now.

So please apply this moral test, especially when it goes against your narrow self-interest.  You will help all of us and regain our respect.