Seeing how others see

I'm taking a Myers Briggs test right now. My whole team is taking the test this week. I learned alot from doing the test in grad school; it helped many of us adapt to our different approaches to working. But that's for another blog entry.

One of the questions: Are you more likely to
a) see how others are useful
b) see how others see

My answer is a), but I wish it were b). That's not to say I'm all about usefulness; I think I do probe on a deeper level more than most would consider typical of a manager. But I think there's something here to work on. The a) answer is more tactical I think; b) is more strategic. Are you seeking results? Or are you seeking to understand the people on the bus¹ to channel them effectively towards helping you to - not only answer questions and solve problems, but to - ask the right questions and identify the approach to solving the problem.

I blogged some time ago about this quote I like - "Managers use people to do work; Leaders use work to grow people." Related (same?) point.

¹Reference here to "Good to Great"... a book that suggests that one of the attributes of a company that bridges the gap from good to great is that it focuses less on the strategy than on the people you have defining the strategy... their metaphor is a bus, having the right people on the bus, and having the right people in the right seats on the bus.