Perspective: A Neglected But Powerful Management Tool

Agreta is a project manager in Dallas.

  Talent Management  

Early one Saturday morning, I rushed to the store to buy a present for my child before he could wake up—his first “tooth fairy” surprise. I brought the gift, put it next to his pillow and waited anxiously.

After he woke up, his first reaction was one of surprise and happiness—but that was short lived. He said, “Mom! The tooth fairy hasn’t done a good job. I like that I got a gift for my broken tooth, but I already have so many action figures. Why one more extra? A game or a puzzle would have been better!”

The reaction took away all my enthusiasm, but after some time I realized my mistake. I thought he loved his Avengers, so he would love to get another one—but that turned out to be a fallacy. I had the right idea to buy a tooth fairy gift, but even with my best intentions, I was doomed.

A Matter of Motivation
A similar situation can occur in an organization, where the perspective of motivation can differ widely between employer and employee. Even with the best of efforts and intention involved, the employer may not be able to retain the best-performing employees. So it’s vital to understand the perspective of resources when managing them, irrespective of the process/stage (hiring, retaining and/or terminating).

Let’s look at an organizational example, where employees are made to swipe in and swipe out to …

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