Sometimes life throws us a curve.   We think we've got it
together, and we're doing the right thing – only to find out
that we didn't really know what the right thing was in the first
place.

Take Michael for example.  As a department manager in a major
corporation, Michael had 24 employees under his supervision.  He
was kept fairly busy supervising those employees, ensuring
quotas were met, and reporting to his supervisors.  Michael also
spent a fair amount of time trying to impress those supervisors
and the corporation's upper management; you see, Michael was on
a quest to climb the corporate ladder and was working hard for a
promotion.

When the promotional opportunity arrived, Michael was confident.
His department had met their goals; he had made sure of that.
He had become quite good at assigning duties and delegating
responsibilities and following through with employees who didn't
or couldn't fulfill those tasks.  Frankly, he thought of the
interview process for the promotion as a formality – he was by
far the best candidate.

The morning of the interview, Michael entered the conference
room in his power suit and tie, prepared to recite his
accomplishments to his supervisors.   Imagine his surprise when
he looked around the table and not one supervisor or
administrator was present.  The entire committee consisted of
employees in his department - the very employees under his
management!  Their roles quickly reversed as one employee
explained that the company decided those best able to determine
if a manager should be promoted were the employees he worked
for.  Michael was stunned – he didn't work for them at all –
they worked for him!

That is where Michael was wrong.  The company believed that a
manager's role is to make it easier for employees accomplish
their jobs, to remove any obstacles in their way, and to make
sure they had the all the tools and training they needed to get
the job done.  In essence, his job was to help them!  Michael
was crestfallen as he realized that he had been managing his
department under an entirely different philosophy, assuming his
job was to give orders, and his subordinates were to follow
them.  Michael's management style had backfired; if he had
helped his employees, they most certainly would have recognized
and rewarded his contributions to their team.

Put yourself in Michael's shoes.  Imagine being told you lost
your job but could reapply, all you had to do was receive the
recommendations of your subordinates or coworkers.  Would you
want your fate resting in their hands? 

Gregory Scott Reid, #1 best selling author The Millionaire 
Mentor, Positive Impact, and co-author Wake up...Live the life 
you Love  http://www.motivational-speaker-gregory-scott-reid.com