# Authentic management By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2022-08-31 Remote [[work]] has stoked a lot of long-held fears of management. How do you manage someone who you can't see working? How do you know that they are working? How do you know that they are working hard enough? These questions have always existed because inevitably a manager can't watch everyone working all of the time. This hasn't prevented some managers and companies from attempting to come up with solutions to constantly monitor work activities with cameras and computer spyware. But, there will always be gaps as well as the human tendency to underestimate the creativity of other humans. So, the core questions remain and the tried-and-true management approach of watching people becomes nearly impossible with the rise of the remote workforce. What is a manager left to do in such a situation? It's time to consider a new approach to management that balances the realities of business with the realities of our humanity (Check out [[Management in Quandary - A Critique of Organizational Power|Management In Quandary]]). Yes, managers are paid to do things on behalf of the business which means they are paid to do things that aren't in solidarity with those whom they manage. They are paid to hire people, fire people, and maximize company [[value]]. So, many will want to carefully monitor all aspects of their employee's work for their job security. However, this doesn't mean that they must hide this fact and pretend that "we are in this [[together]] as equals." In the workplace, managers and workers are not equal no matter what anyone tells you. As a manager, acknowledging this situation to yourself is the first step to authenticity and better management. The second step is the [[courage]] to admit the situation with your team. They already know this, but calling out the elephant in the room creates an opportunity for genuine [[growth]], discovery, and connection. Both parties acknowledging the game they are in and the part they are playing creates a foundation of [[understanding]] and solidarity. Mutual respect, honest conversations, and real challenges get discussed. Managers can begin to rediscover their humanity and workers can begin to see managers as authentic people who might one day be trustworthy. Managers discover that they don't need to watch everything going on. Instead, managers focus on more important matters to ensure that the humans working for them as well as themselves are better off. #### Related Items [[Management]] [[Business]] [[Authenticity]] [[Inequality]] [[Remote Work]] [[Games]] [[Solidarity]]