Like to succeed, but not afraid of failure!

I went bowling with 100 or so of my closest friends this afternoon. A few of us are pretty good, but most just enjoy having some fun with people they don't see much of. I'm not much good, but like most of us like it when I somehow manage to knock some pins over, but feel a bit embarrassed if I miss completely too often.

While watching some of our high achievers I noticed something interesting. When a throw immediately looked pretty good they would watch intently to see where the ball went.  More interestingly, when their aim was less accurate they would quickly turn away and not pay attention to the outcome.

This is all obviously only a bit of fun, but it seems to me that we have a bunch of people who do their best, really like it when we do well together, but are not terribly afraid of failure. Overall it seems to me that people who think like this very often do much better than those who are worried of what will happen if they get something wrong.

For what it's worth I watch any ball I throw like a hawk from the moment it leaves my hand. Sigh.

Please come and kick my bin!

In a previous life I was a manager in a very large North American technology company. The pace was rapid and the environment was robust. If you messed up (and we all do) the feedback from senior folk was generally rapid and fairly explicit. We had a VP from the US who liked to kick bins around. This was pretty scary, but it was a great environment to learn and grow. The feedback was clear, but so were the objectives. Decisions were made and stuff got done. The feedback also came upwards. If I messed something up for my team, made a poor decision or forgot to communicate nobody much was shy. Sometimes I got shouted at, but I always knew what my team thought of me.

The UK is a much gentler environment, especially in the public sector. Senior people say that they are "not sure that they are entirely comfortable about something" (this means the same as when a US manager comes and kicks your bin). You have to work harder to be sure you're going in the the right direction. Senior managers generally understand the language (otherwise they wouldn't be where they are) but it's tough for new first line managers who don't always perceive a clear direction or clear feedback. Staff tend to treat managers (especially those with fancy titles) with great deference. You need outstanding listening skills to spot when you've messed up and your people are unhappy.

The message of the day is cherish the staff who come and rant at you and value the feedback if your boss kicks your bin.