This influenced how I lead... in seconds - "How Will You Measure Your Life?", C. M. Christensen
- Richelle Molaro
- Feb 12
- 3 min read
Original post:
I'm at the airport, realizing that I haven't packed my "comfort book" for my week-long business trip. I'm sure many of you have a comfort book, you know the one that weighs down your carry-on bag, where every time you look at it, un-opened, it reminds you of the delicate art of juggling work deadlines, the pace of travel and staying in touch with home while away with little time to check-in with ourselves.
Well, I decided I needed a book. It is time to change my ways and build more down-time into my trip. Ever the over-achiever, I bought four books. Basically a book every two days, that would be a new record for me. One of the four books I picked up was HBR's 10 Must Reads "On Managing Yourself", a collection of their "definitive" articles on the subject. Excellent, I will get some great pointers and that will hopefully help me avoid neglecting my comfort books, or buying more than one at a time.
In reading the first article, "How Will You Measure Your Life?" by Clayton M. Christensen (https://hbr.org/2010/07/how-will-you-measure-your-life), his perspective changed how I "people manage" and my role as a leader. In my view, it is universally applicable, whether you are a leader, colleague, people manager - in any event where we are working with another human, consider this:
C. Christensen's reflection re helping his students answer how they can be happy in their careers based on the research of F. Herzberg - "In my mind's eye I saw one of my managers leave for work one morning with a relatively strong level of self-esteem. Then I pictured her driving home to her family 10 hours later, feeling unappreciated, frustrated, underutilized, and demeaned. I imagined how profoundly her lowered self-esteem affected the way she interacted with her children. The vision in my mind then fast-forwarded to another day, when she drove home with greater self-esteem - feeling that she had learned a lot, been recognized for achieving valuable things, and played a significant role in the success of some important initiatives. Then I imagined how positively that affected her as a spouse and parent. My conclusion: Management is the most noble of professions if it's practiced well. No other occupation offers as many ways to help others learn and grow, take responsibility and be recognized for achievement, and contribute to the success of a team."
As a "people manager", I am reflecting on - how does my team feel after they interact with me? how do they feel in interacting with others in the business? are we creating exceptions to our culture that cause individuals to feel deflated at the end of their work days? or do we genuinely have an environment where individuals feel a sense of empowerment, agency and can see their efforts in our collective outcomes? I don't love the term "people manager", since this isn't really the job - the job is inspiring action and change with those that you have the closest ability to influence - either positively or negatively. I would argue that embracing this mindset gets us away from "people management" and into the heart of authentic, human leadership. Subject for another post...
As a colleague, I am reflecting on - how do my peers feel after they interact with me? are conversations positive, focused on the best we all bring? are the conversations negative and focused on what we can't change?
As a leader, I am reflecting on what structures need to be in place to make what seems to be a very simple concept be front and centre in the minds of other leaders and colleagues. Also, how can we communicate the value of impact as a a collective instead of focusing on the achievement of a myopic agenda?
Working in a hybrid environment, many colleagues aren't driving home - so we should visualize how they feel when they log off for the day. What do they carry with them from work back into their interactions with others, and what impact does that have? How are they feeling at the conclusion of 2023, and what will they bring into 2024? How can we support each person that we lead or manage in finding opportunities to learn, grow in their responsibilities, contribute to others and be recognized for their achievements? This rings true from strategic planning to even the most simple communications.
In my opinion, his article is excellent with many other impactful takeaways. If you have time, read it all. The idea shared above is my personal favorite.
Has this left an impression on you? How? What will you do differently? What impact are you leaving on those who cross your path?
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