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Laura C's avatar

My work just started doing this kind of manager training/workforce development stuff. The managers are in a longer series of trainings, but non-managers were put into a one-off workshop thing, and it was a glorious disaster. They did a DISC assessment. They talked to us about "emotional intelligence" and "growth mindsets" and "psychological safety" at work. And we pushed back on all of it, hard. The nervous laughter from the trainer reached epic levels. It kind of made my day in the end, but I was pretty angry that this level of corporate nonsense was being inflicted on us.

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Ams C's avatar

I LIVED for this entire interview! As someone with a Management degree, who continues to study within the Management field and looking at pursuing further education, ALL OF THIS.

One of the things that I say to people is that we don't see management as an actual skill. We don't value the position or what it entails. We think it's just someone in a position to make our lives more difficult or micromanage because they're power tripping. It's turned into more of a social stepping stone vs. seen as a position that actually requires training and knowledge.

I also wonder if we've also cast managers into this specific, stereotypical light and just kind of accept that it's going to be a shit show rather than realizing that, hey, things could be better if we invested in education, training, and looking at new ways of operating.

I mean, so much of that is also mixed in with what the business is doing, what it's priorities are, etc. A good, healthy manager can't undo harmful work environments if a workplace isn't committed to doing that work, though they can certainly try.

Thank you so much for this interview and I can't wait to get my hands on their book from the library!

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