The New Crop: Issue #63
don't compare your process to someone else's product + "great managers don't hold umbrellas"
What’s in this issue:
💭 Thought: Don’t compare your process to someone else’s product
😆 Today’s Laugh
In case you missed it (like I did), here are some photos from the now-annual Pet Gala, which, from what I can tell, seems like the Met Gala but for dogs.
Photos by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
💭 Today’s Thought
We have a tendency to compare what’s going on for us on the inside to what we see going on for others on the outside.
For example:
Outside: a fellow mom appears to have everything perfectly together.
Inside: I’m stressed and messing up left and right, how does she do it?
Outside: a co-worker courageously kicks off a project
Inside: It would scare me to do that work, they make it look so easy!
In these situations, there’s a whole lot of data that is completely unavailable to us — what’s going on for others on the inside. And in the absence of that data, we’re quick to make assumptions and judgments that are often unfair, both of ourselves and of others…
That fellow mom might also be really stressed out.
Your co-worker might have gone through 15 iterations of her project kick-off document before settling on the one you saw.
Be mindful not to compare your process to someone else’s finished product.
Consider asking these questions when you fall into this comparison trap, to help you tap into compassion for yourself and others:
What data can’t I see?
What am I grateful for?
What gifts, talents, and blessings do I possess?
📚 Today’s Read
Great Managers Don’t Hold Umbrellas
One of the most popular management mantras has been to “be the umbrella” for your team or “be the human shield”. A great manager should protect the team from distractions so they can focus on their tasks without sweating stakeholder stress.
Makes sense, right? But what happens to managers who are effective umbrellas? And what would happen if their employees got their feet wet? Is an “umbrella boss” best for the team in the short and the long term? - Emily Sheen
Click here to read more about how being an “umbrella boss” might hold teams back (and what to do instead).
See you next week!
xo,
Anne