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8/7/2019 Why Good Managers are Good Lovers - Short Version
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Why Good Managers are Good Lovers
Frederic W. Widlak, Ph.D.
[MBA Commencement Address at Wyzsza Szkola Biznesu—National-Louis Universityin Nowy Sacz, Poland on March 8, 2008]
Today, I am here to tell you why good managers are good
lovers.
A few years ago, I presented a workshop to the asystents [junior
faculty members] here at Wyzsza Szkola Biznesu—National-Louis
University about improving their teaching. I began by trying toconvince them that good teachers were good lovers. How did I
generate this outrageous idea?
When I was thinking very intensely about the characteristics of a
good teacher, I found that I had to consider more than “content”
and “process.” Anyone who teaches should know the content—the
subject matter to be taught—and use an appropriate process—the
teaching method that works best for the students. But a teachingmachine or a computer can be programmed to do that. A good
teacher understands the purpose of the teaching—the goals of the
educational program, which are much broader than the individual
teacher’s objectives and are specified in terms of the students’
outcomes. But I think that there is an additional characteristic of
good teachers that goes beyond content, process, and purpose.
This additional characteristic is difficult to define in a single word,
so I will try to describe it. A good teacher can communicate to the
students a love for the subject matter, a love for teaching, a love
for learning, and a love for them. My assertion is that this
communication is simultaneously intellectual, emotional, and
8/7/2019 Why Good Managers are Good Lovers - Short Version
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spiritual. This results in changes in the way that students think,
feel, and are connected with the universe.
This reminded me of something I had read in Erich Fromm’s book,
The Art of Loving: “Mature love is union under the condition of
preserving one’s integrity, one’s individuality. Love is an activepower in man, a power which breaks through the walls which
separate man from his fellow men, which unites him with others;
love makes him overcome the sense of isolation and separateness,
yet permits him to be himself, to retain his integrity.” This
convinced me of the connection between teaching and loving.
In a job interview many years ago, I was asked to describe what a
good manager was like. After thinking a few seconds, I answeredthat a good manager was a good teacher. Just like a teacher, a
manager should be an excellent communicator, facilitator, and
evaluator. Both teachers and managers must be able to explain the
content and the process of the work to be done, to give
encouragement and incentives to the students or workers, to give
rewards for good work, to be patient with work that is not-so-good,
and to help the students or workers improve and advance in their
careers.
If good teachers are indeed good lovers, and if good managers are
good teachers, then it logically follows that good managers are
good lovers.
But the work of a manager is not exactly like that of a teacher.
What are some additional things to consider when you are a
manager? You should keep two general questions in mind: First
—Am I doing things right (that is, correctly)? And second—Am Idoing the right (that is, relevant) things?
The first question deals with administrative, operational issues
while the second deals with strategic, visionary issues. Warren
Bennis makes the distinction between transactional leadership
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(Doing things right) and transformational leadership (Doing the
right thing).
Transactions versus Transformations -- What is the
difference?
The dictionary definition of a transaction is that it is a business
deal or negotiation. At the end of a transaction, each person has
some things added and other things subtracted.
The dictionary definition of a transformation is that it is a change
or alteration in form or function, esp. a radical one. At the end of a
transformation, each person involved is different from before, but
probably in different ways.
True leadership is transformational. Therefore the teaching of
leadership as a management subject is complicated, because the
end result for each student will necessarily be different. Except for
your names, all of your National-Louis University diplomas look
the same, but you are more than customers who have bought an
education. You have each changed in your own way.
It is clear that we expect teachers to be transformers. I believe that
we must also expect managers to be transformers.
Love is a transformational process, rather than a transactional
event. Managers need to incorporate transformational, process-
oriented loving into their work.
Just as good teachers are much more than “talking books”, good
managers are much more than “worker controllers.” Goodmanagers are good lovers. Be a good manager and a good
lover.
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