The Management Paradox

There’s a difference between being a leader and being a manager | By Sabrina Thomas | January 28, 2020

The management paradox, as described by Hamza, is that growing organizations require and depend on management, but people do not like to be managed. This is especially true for the younger generations such as Gen. Y, which makes up for about half of the working population. Gen. Y is built for a workplace of tomorrow, yet managers of organizations are stuck in a “command-and-control” mindset because of the traditional approach to organizational management. They believe the old way is the best way. However, research suggests otherwise.

So the question Hamza poses is this: What is the role of management in the next generation?

The answer to this question, simply put, is that there is no management at all. Of course, there is still a need for structure, authority, and respect, but without the idea of traditional “What I say goes.” Traditional management focuses on production results while leadership focuses on personal development. Instead, managers must put aside their traditional workplace values, and focus on adaptation. Focus on what is best for their workers. Focus on the empowerment of their team. Focus on leadership.

There are many ways to bring creating an environment of empowerment and leadership. For each company and/or business, it will be different. Not one team of an organization is going to work exactly the same as another; it all depends on the wants and needs of the team. As Robert Frost once said, “Ends and beginnings-- there are no such things. There are only middles.” As long as well-done work is on time, the possibilities for building a successful working community is endless.

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Hamza Kahn, a multi-award winning marketer, an accomplished entrepreneur, and a dynamic keynote speaker, showed up fifteen minutes late to work every single day.  

His boss, displeased with Hamza’s tardiness to the office, told him that it looked like he was not pulling his weight. To Hamza, this hurt, but rather than tell his boss it would never happen again, he quit. He did not appreciate that he had to be tethered to his office desk to make it seem like he was doing work when in reality, he could be doing work from anywhere he could find Wi-Fi, which he did. To prove a point, Hamza showed up early his last two weeks at his job every day, not to do work, but to secretly watch movies at his desk. As his boss walked by his desk, his boss gave him a thumbs-up of approval.

Hamza proved that his boss, someone who was merely managing and not leading, was content with him at his desk not doing any work rather than being fifteen minutes late while being able to be incredibly productive. You can hear more of this story in Hamza’s TEDTalk.