The Driller
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EQUIPMENT
  • SAFETY
  • VIDEOS
  • EDUCATION
  • SOURCEBOOK
  • EVENTS
  • SUBMIT
  • ABOUT
  • SIGN UP
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • NEWS
  • Water
  • Geothermal
  • Construction
  • Environmental
  • Mining
  • All Industry News
  • EQUIPMENT
  • Rigs & Heavy Equipment
  • Consumables
  • Pumps
  • Featured Products
  • VIDEOS
  • Newscast
  • Drill Talks
  • Ask Brock
  • Emerging Drillers
  • EDUCATION
  • Drilling Business Insights
  • Reference Desk
  • Sponsored Insights
  • EVENTS
  • Conferences & Demo Days
  • Newscast LIVE
  • SUBMIT
  • Drillers @Work
  • ABOUT
  • Contact
  • Advertise
The Driller
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
The Driller
  • NEWS
    • Water
    • Geothermal
    • Construction
    • Environmental
    • Mining
    • All Industry News
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EQUIPMENT
    • Rigs & Heavy Equipment
    • Consumables
    • Pumps
    • Featured Products
  • SAFETY
  • VIDEOS
    • Newscast
    • Drill Talks
    • Ask Brock
    • Emerging Drillers
  • EDUCATION
    • Drilling Business Insights
    • Reference Desk
    • Sponsored Insights
  • SOURCEBOOK
  • EVENTS
    • Conferences & Demo Days
    • Newscast LIVE
  • SUBMIT
    • Drillers @Work
  • ABOUT
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP

Leaders of People

June 1, 2001
Business management specialist Peter R. Scholtes offers a few observations about the two ends of the management continuum - some comments on some of the differences between the wonderful and the clueless.

I have been an observer of business managers for about 45 years. I've been a student of the species for over 30 years and a consultant to them for over 25 years. Some managers have been wonderful: respectful of their people, knowledgeable about their business, dedicated to their customers, and conveying a clear sense of direction and focus. These leaders have been a joy to work with.

Then there were others. I call them the clueless. Whatever they are tuned in to, it has little to do with leadership.

What I offer here are a few observations about the two ends of the management continuum - some comments on some of the differences between the wonderful and the clueless.

1. External Focus vs. Internal Focus
Wonderful managers keep their people focused on the world outside the organization. Their people have a deep, daily understanding of customers and their needs.

Clueless managers keep their people focused internally. Their people direct their attention upward, having a deep daily understanding of the bosses and their needs. (An employee, introducing his manager to a visitor was asked by the visitor, "Is this your superior?" "No," he replied, "This is my boss!".)

2. Regard for Others
The sincere belief of the wonderful manager is "If I'm a good manager, it is partly because I work with good people." The clueless manager sincerely believes, "If I seem inadequate as a manager, it is because I work with inadequate people."

What should we conclude from these variant beliefs? Perhaps each type of manager - somehow or other - attracts very different subspecies of the human workforce. Or perhaps the wonderful manager has learned how to help ordinary people do everyday work extraordinarily well. How is this done? By focusing everyone on the systems, processes and methods of work that are best suited to reliably and consistently assure that the customers get what they need and need what they get.

This will happen when leaders view the workers as colleagues working in the systems together on behalf of outside customers. This will not happen when managers see workers as potential problems needing to be controlled.

3. Real, Everyday, Face-to-Face Relationships
Viewing workers as potential adversaries and future problems describes a manager who has no real, everyday, face-to-face, one-on-one, person-to-person relationships with his or her people. This, perhaps, is the most important factor separating wonderful managers from clueless managers: relationships. The clueless manager exercises a remote control approach to people: Don't socialize with them. Don't get too close. Don't trust them, or at least manage with a premise of their untrustworthiness.

Remote control management is an approach to people that treats them like machines that can be made to work if you use the right settings and push the right buttons. The belief behind remote control management is that people don't really want to work or do a good job. Therefore, management must coerce or "motivate" workers to do their job.

What's missing for the clueless manager are relationships with people. In the absence of relationships, we view people as extensions of the mechanism, however humanistic our rhetoric may be.

The Wonderful Manager thrives on relationships with people, both inside and outside the organization. The Wonderful Manager encourages the fostering of one-to-one relationships within the organization. The Wonderful Manager relates to people with trust, respect and a willingness to hear their voices.

What to Do?

For the clueless to transform themselves into wonderful managers will probably take a "road to Damascus" type personal transformation - we're talking long-shot here. But I am an incurable optimist. So let me try a few suggestions I consider to be some of the secrets of wonderful managers.

The following tips might not transform the clueless, but they may help the not-yet-quite-wonderful move in the right direction.

1. Question the Assumptions You've Had About People
We all act on the basis of some premises about people. What are yours? You may need someone's help in finding out what yours are. For instance, do you believe that people cannot be trusted? That they don't want to do a good job? That as a manager you must "motivate" (i.e. bribe or threaten) them? Find out why you believe these things. When did you learn these assumptions and from whom?

2. Work With Your People - and Help Them Work With Each Other
Help them work together to understand your customers and to understand and improve your systems processes and methods. This is the path to excitement and accomplishment: to do good work for customers.

3. Be Honest With Your People and Speak Clearly to Them
Tell them the good news and bad news and keep them informed about how things are going. Avoid double talk, acronyms, techno-speak and management babble. Stop sounding like a Dilbert cartoon. Swear off expressions like "empowered", "self directed", "high performance", "reinventing" and "re-engineering".

This is just a start. It is certainly not an exhaustive treatment of the subject. But these concepts and approaches would have helped about 80 percent of the managers I have known to be better for their people, their organizations and their customers.

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • geotechnical drilling rig

    6 Onsite Phrases Environmental Drillers Hate

    Here are six phrases that highlight common frustrations...
    Opinions
    By: Jeff Garby
  • Wayne Nash

    Pipe Stuck? Common Causes and Solutions for Drillers

    If you have drilled for any length of time, sooner or...
    Markets
    By: Wayne Nash
  • submersible pumps, water well pumps

    Selecting and Sizing Submersible Pump Cable

    This article helps pump installers and servicers decide...
    Water
    By: Bob Pelikan
You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Subscribe For Free!
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • Manage My Preferences

The Driller Newscast: 21st Century Drillers | Part 1 DEMAND

The Driller Newscast: 21st Century Drillers | Part 1 DEMAND

The Driller Newscast, Episode 147: Global Geothermal Collaboration at NY-GEO 2025

The Driller Newscast, Episode 147: Global Geothermal Collaboration at NY-GEO 2025

The Driller Newscast: New York Geo Talks 2025 Conference with Hands-on Driller Education

The Driller Newscast: New York Geo Talks 2025 Conference with Hands-on Driller Education

The Driller Newscast - The Big, Not-So-Beautiful Bill: How to Lose Clean Energy and Alienate the Planet

The Driller Newscast - The Big, Not-So-Beautiful Bill: How to Lose Clean Energy and Alienate the Planet

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the The Driller audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of The Driller or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • demo of a DM450 drilling rig during a customer factory visit
    Sponsored byGeoprobe

    Built for You: Smarter Drill Rigs, Stronger Support, Bigger Opportunities

Popular Stories

MainPhotoTwoBrothers.jpg

Two Brothers' Journey Through the Drilling Industry

demo of a DM450 drilling rig during a customer factory visit

Built for You: Smarter Drill Rigs, Stronger Support, Bigger Opportunities

AI and Drought Concerns

AI’s Growing Thirst for Water and Power

The Driller Classifieds

COMPRESSORS

EAST WEST MACHINERY & DRILLING IS BUYING AND SELLING AIR COMPRESSORS, AIR BOOSTERS, AIR ENDS & PARTS
Company: East West Machinery

DRILL RIGS

LOOKING FOR LATE MODEL TOPHEADS & DRILLTECH D25'S
Company: Spikes’s Rig Sales

DRILL RIG PARTS

MEETING DRILLERS NEEDS AROUND THE WORLD
Company: East West Machinery

ELEVATORS

SEMCO INC. PIPE ELEVATORS
Company: Semco Inc.

GROUTERS

GROUTING EQUIPMENT - GROUT PUMPS & GROUT HOSE REELS
Company: Geo-Loop Inc.

PUMP HOISTS

SEMCO INC. - BASIC PUMP HOISTS
Company: Semco Inc.

WELL PACKERS

LANSAS PRODUCTS - INFLATABLE WELL PACKERS
Company: Vanderlans Lansas Products

WELL SCREENS

WELL SCREENS & SLOTTED PIPE
Company: Alloy Screen Works

Products

Water Quality Engineering: Physical / Chemical Treatment Processes

Water Quality Engineering: Physical / Chemical Treatment Processes

By carefully explaining both the underlying theory and the underlying mathematics, this text enables readers to fully grasp the fundamentals of physical and chemical treatment processes for water and wastewater.

See More Products

Subscribe to The Driller Newscast

Related Articles

  • Missions Group Seeking Rig To Aid People Dying Of Thirst

    See More
  • Industry Leaders Review Australian Challenges

    See More
  • Looking for a Few Good People

    See More
×

Dig deeper into the drilling and water supply industry!

Build your knowledge with The Driller, covering the people, equipment and technologies across drilling markets.

SIGN UP NOW
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
    • Classifieds
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eNewsletters
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

The Driller
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
The Driller
  • NEWS
    • Water
    • Geothermal
    • Construction
    • Environmental
    • Mining
    • All Industry News
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EQUIPMENT
    • Rigs & Heavy Equipment
    • Consumables
    • Pumps
    • Featured Products
  • SAFETY
  • VIDEOS
    • Newscast
    • Drill Talks
    • Ask Brock
    • Emerging Drillers
  • EDUCATION
    • Drilling Business Insights
    • Reference Desk
    • Sponsored Insights
  • SOURCEBOOK
  • EVENTS
    • Conferences & Demo Days
    • Newscast LIVE
  • SUBMIT
    • Drillers @Work
  • ABOUT
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP