Recognize that personal evolution should be relatively rapid and a natural consequence of discovering one’s strengths and weaknesses; as a result, career paths are not planned at the outset. The evolutionary process is about discovering people’s likes and dislikes as well as their strengths and weaknesses; it occurs when people are put into jobs they are likely to succeed at, but in which they have to stretch themselves. Each person’s career will evolve based on what we all learn about what the person is like. They should be given enough freedom to learn and think for themselves while being coached so they are prevented from making unacceptable mistakes. The feedback they receive should help them reflect on whether their problems are the kind that can be resolved by additional learning or stem from natural abilities that are unlikely to change. Typically it takes from six to twelve months to get to know a new employee in a by-and-large sort of way, and about eighteen months for them to internalize and adapt to the culture. During this time there should be periodic mini-reviews and several major ones. Following each of these assessments, new assignments should be made that are tailored to their likes and dislikes and strengths and weaknesses. This is an iterative process, in which the accumulated experiences of training, testing, and adjusting direct the person to ever more suitable roles and responsibilities. At Bridgewater, it is typically both a challenging and rewarding process that benefits the individual by providing better self-understanding and greater familiarity with various jobs. When it results in a parting of ways, it’s usually because people find they cannot be excellent and happy in any job at the firm.
Understand that training guides the process of personal evolution. Trainees must be open-minded; the process requires them to suspend their egos while they discover what they are doing well and what they are doing poorly and decide what to do about it. The trainer must be open-minded as well, and it’s best if at least two believable trainers work with each trainee in order to triangulate their views about what the trainee is like. This training is an apprentice relationship; it occurs as the trainer and trainee share experiences, much like when a ski instructor skis alongside his student. The process promotes growth, development, and transparency around where people stand, why they stand where they stand, and what they can do about improving it. It hastens not just their own personal evolution but the evolution of the organization.
Teach your people to fish rather than give them fish, even if that means letting them make some mistakes. Sometimes you need to stand by and let someone make a mistake (provided it’s not too serious) so they can learn. It’s a bad sign if you are constantly telling people what they should do; micromanagement typically reflects inability on the part of the person being managed. It’s also not a good thing for you as a manager. Instead of micromanaging, you should be training and testing. Give people your thoughts on how they might approach their decisions, but don’t dictate to them. The most useful thing you can do is to get in sync with them, exploring how they are doing things and why.
Recognize that experience creates internalized learning that book learning can’t replace. There are huge differences between memory-based book learning and hands-on, internalized learning. A medical student who has learned to perform an operation in a medical school class has not learned it in the same way as a doctor who has already conducted several operations. People who excel at book learning tend to call up from memory what they have learned in order to follow stored instructions. People who have internalized their learning use the thoughts flowing from their subconscious without thinking, in the same way they walk down the street. Understanding these differences is essential.
Provide constant feedback. Most training comes from doing and getting in sync about performance. Feedback should reflect what is succeeding and what is not in proportion to the actual situation, rather than in an attempt to balance compliments and criticisms. Remember that you are responsible for achieving your goals, and you want your machine to function as intended. For it to do so, the employees you supervise must meet expectations, and only you can help them understand whether they are stacking up. As their strengths and weaknesses become clearer, responsibilities can be more appropriately tailored to make the machine work better and to facilitate personal evolution.
Evaluate accurately, not kindly. Nobody ever said radical honesty was easy. Sometimes, especially with new employees who have not yet gotten used to it, an honest assessment feels like an attack. Rise to a higher level and keep your eye on the bigger picture and counsel the person you are evaluating to do the same.