Managing Others Is Not About Managing Up or Down—It’s Only About Managing Needs

If you’re aware of what the other person needs, management becomes possible. Without that awareness, it isn’t. Whether they’re above or below you, as long as they’re a human being and not a machine, the lever that controls them is their needs.

Leaders have resources, and whether they give to the virtuous or the wicked, the resources go out the same way. It’s like a child’s time—allocated to studying is allocation, allocated to gaming is also allocation. Most people can’t favor the virtuous and distance themselves from the corrupt, just as most kids couldn’t favor studying and distance themselves from gaming. So if you understand that, why not leverage it?