• Blog
  • Photos
  • About Daddy
  • Menu

dba: Daddy

Business & life lessons I learned while working as our daughter's primary caregiver
  • Blog
  • Photos
  • About Daddy
lead from behind.jpg

Leading From Behind: A Montessorial Approach To Management

February 25, 2014

"Knowing what you don't know". I've had a strong distaste for that expression ever since I first heard it. Probably because whenever I did, it was most often from the mouths of ineffective leaders and often unethical superiors who would cite such wisdom upon my questioning their direction. It became a cliche synonymous with "because I said so". Years later, I came to appreciate these words after a leader, with the utmost integrity, used them in a helpful context as opposed to a derogatory one. She said "They don't even know what they don't know" to underscore the value in our service to many clients who, due to inexperience, were not only unaware of the hidden risks we would mitigate for them but of the potential harm those risks could cause as well.  Years of practical application experience widens one’s field of vision and increases the ability to anticipate future outcomes. When someone’s vulnerability, due to a lack of experience is recognized…the more experienced individual may then choose to either exploit the ignorant party or protect them.

Aiming to protect someone, from something they don't know can harm them, often leads to even the best-intentioned managers merely reinforcing the need for their own presence. More productive managers develop their people by fostering independence. This is most efficiently accomplished by creating opportunities for experiential learning. The wisdom to know when protection from errors is more preferable than containment of damage, depends largely on one’s scope of vision in calculating the various potential related impacts.

 

Due to our first-hand experience with the enforcement of carefully worded contractual contingencies, this former mentor taught me that our moral and fiduciary obligation was to be diligent in breaking down every agreement word-by-word. She made me realize that, very often, legal contracts may appear to the untrained eye more as lengthy legal translations of standard simple terms rather than artfully crafted prose intended to bore, confuse and distract those who are not avid readers of legalese. She was dedicated to protecting those who were easy prey for exploitation. Those who enjoy such literature as they would fiction…or a film: With the tendency to suspend disbelief and surrender oneself to the overall plot. Continually moving along with the current and without ever getting hung up on the branches of  an unknown word, inaudible line or some other “small detail”.

 

By adopting a Montessorial approach to management, it has become easier for me to realize the long-term value in allowing some foreseeable errors to occur and mitigate the damages they cause (provided such mis-steps provide experiential learning experiences whose value exceeds the risk of not being able to contain the potential damage created as a result). I now see the attempt to avoid every foreseeable mistake, as conventional wisdom might dictate, as short sighted. The ability to prevent even unexpected events from having catastrophic effects is empowering for any manager who appreciates the value of working with people who not only grow to anticipate outcomes…but change their own behavior as a result of learning from their own mistakes.

 

When I used to lead hiking trips through the Application Trail, I would position myself at the end of the line and the paramedic in front. Leading from behind enabled me to not only see if any one member of the team might be failing to keep up with the group,  but also offered me the vantage point of seeing the entire team and anything that might cross their path.

 

As parents my wife and I are now learning, first hand, the value in replicating the same kind of leadership we regularly witness in the Montessori classroom. By maintaining even the smallest amount of distance from our daughter during most tasks, we strategically position ourselves to prevent harm as opposed to prevent failure. For example: taking one step back keeps us close enough to prevent her from picking up the sharp pieces of a broken drinking glass, but far enough away for her to learn what happens if she drops it. 

 

This new sort of "leading from behind" has not only proved to bolster our daughter’s confidence in knowing that it's OK to fail, but more importantly in making her (and us) more and more aware of her own resilience.

Tags: montessori, baan dek, montessorial approach, montessorial approach to management, management, management style, josh sapienza, dba, dba daddy, dbadaddy\, leadership, mistakes, ok to make a mistake, experiential, experiential learning, learn by doing, learn-by-doing, fatherhood, business lessons, lessons
Prev / Next

Latest Posts

Featured
move over piggy bank, there's more to do with our money than just saving it.
Mar 11, 2015
Outstanding Shares: Making Charity Part of Our Child's Daily Routine
Mar 11, 2015
Mar 11, 2015
Feb 23, 2015
Unleashing Innate Drive: She's Reading!
Feb 23, 2015
Feb 23, 2015
Feb 16, 2015
Imitation and Innovation: Wrapping-Up The Blog
Feb 16, 2015
Feb 16, 2015
Aug 6, 2014
Trends: Catherine's Favorite Apps & Shows
Aug 6, 2014
Aug 6, 2014
Mike Mulligan: The Nature of Independence
Jul 29, 2014
Mike Mulligan: The Nature of Independence
Jul 29, 2014
Jul 29, 2014
Jun 5, 2014
Continuing Education: The Romantic Nature of Learning
Jun 5, 2014
Jun 5, 2014
Apr 6, 2014
Gender Equality: Getting Serious About Propagation of Discrimination
Apr 6, 2014
Apr 6, 2014
Mar 11, 2014
Visual Content: The Story Behind The Masterpiece
Mar 11, 2014
Mar 11, 2014
lead from behind.jpg
Feb 25, 2014
Leading From Behind: A Montessorial Approach To Management
Feb 25, 2014
Feb 25, 2014
2013-09-21 13.49.54.jpg
Feb 1, 2014
Dynastic Trust: Advice to The Women My Daughter and Niece Will Someday Be.
Feb 1, 2014
Feb 1, 2014
2013-12-26 06.51.57.jpg
Jan 21, 2014
System Recovery: Backup In 10 Days after a Tonsilectomy
Jan 21, 2014
Jan 21, 2014
wong_baker PAIN SCALE.gif
Jan 11, 2014
Cut-Throat Business: My Daughter's Tonsilectomy
Jan 11, 2014
Jan 11, 2014
2013-08-16 13.50.10.jpg
Dec 4, 2013
Power Lunch: Try A New Place
Dec 4, 2013
Dec 4, 2013
2013-11-02 02.12.22.jpg
Nov 18, 2013
Third Party: Princess Themed Birthday Party
Nov 18, 2013
Nov 18, 2013
2013-08-25 11.45.27.jpg
Nov 4, 2013
Outside-in Perspective: Doing Well Without Me
Nov 4, 2013
Nov 4, 2013
train.jpg
Oct 22, 2013
MBWA: Taking the Longer Route
Oct 22, 2013
Oct 22, 2013
homeostasis.jpg
Oct 12, 2013
Homeostasis: The Result of Successful Management
Oct 12, 2013
Oct 12, 2013
cursive.jpg
Sep 30, 2013
Tools of The Trade: Intro to Cursive by Montessorium
Sep 30, 2013
Sep 30, 2013
2013-09-16 15.54.32.jpg
Sep 29, 2013
Staying Afloat: Never Turn Your Back on The Essentials
Sep 29, 2013
Sep 29, 2013
Aug 22, 2013
Circle Back: Valuable Lessons in Getting Back to Nature
Aug 22, 2013
Aug 22, 2013
2013-08-06 15.48.02-1.jpg
Aug 20, 2013
Motivation: Discovering The Best Environment
Aug 20, 2013
Aug 20, 2013
lower your expectations 1 (1).jpg
Aug 13, 2013
Environmental Influences: Competition, Adaptation & Evolution
Aug 13, 2013
Aug 13, 2013
show n tell.jpg
Jul 20, 2013
DMSMS: Is Handwriting Technically Obsolete?
Jul 20, 2013
Jul 20, 2013
2013-07-03 14.35.55.jpg
Jul 15, 2013
Mass Production: Behind The Scenes Of Dinner Aboard A Disney Cruise Ship
Jul 15, 2013
Jul 15, 2013
2013-07-05 10.54.30.jpg
Jul 12, 2013
The Acupuncture of Design: Our First Trip To Disney
Jul 12, 2013
Jul 12, 2013
DC1.jpg
Jul 11, 2013
Behind the Curtain: Photos of One Dry Cleaner's Station Flow
Jul 11, 2013
Jul 11, 2013
2013-07-02 20.14.07.jpg
Jul 10, 2013
New Lenses: Evaluating A Business' Process Management From A Montessorial Perspective
Jul 10, 2013
Jul 10, 2013
2013-07-06 11.06.57.jpg
Jul 9, 2013
Surveillance: I Spy With My Little Eye...
Jul 9, 2013
Jul 9, 2013
RPS.jpg
Jun 22, 2013
Risk & Expected Returns: The Applicability of Rock Paper Scissors
Jun 22, 2013
Jun 22, 2013
2013-06-05 10.09.22.jpg
Jun 17, 2013
Swim With The Sharks: Swimming Lessons at The Local College
Jun 17, 2013
Jun 17, 2013

Latest Posts


Month Archive

  • March 2015 (1)
  • February 2015 (2)
  • August 2014 (1)
  • July 2014 (1)
  • June 2014 (1)
  • April 2014 (1)
  • March 2014 (1)
  • February 2014 (2)
  • January 2014 (2)
  • December 2013 (1)
  • November 2013 (2)
  • October 2013 (2)
  • September 2013 (2)
  • August 2013 (3)
  • July 2013 (6)
  • June 2013 (5)
  • May 2013 (8)
  • April 2013 (10)
  • March 2013 (12)
  • February 2013 (11)
  • January 2013 (8)
  • December 2012 (11)
  • November 2012 (7)
  • October 2012 (5)