That's Not My Monkey: 1

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You aren’t the one that’s responsible for their misfortunes if they choose to ignore your good advice. But many managers have some level of self-awareness yet are still ineffective at making behavioral changes.

Not my circus not my monkeys explained - Healthybodyathome Not my circus not my monkeys explained - Healthybodyathome

Responsibilities within in the first two categories are mandatory; disregarding them will result in penalties. In other words, subordinate-imposed responsibilities start the moment you accept responsibility for an employee’s problem. Definitions and other text are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. Your employee has a new job that comes with responsibilities, but you’ve agreed to make the next move.The not my circus, not my problem attitude conveys that you don’t want to get involved into someone else’s drama and problems.

Thats-not-my-monkey - Puppets By Post Thats-not-my-monkey - Puppets By Post

Covey, who wrote an afterword to the Harvard Business Review article, pointed out that the monkey management solution, while ahead of its time, is fairly dictatorial. Most managers, says Covey, recognize that employees are underutilized; still, many can’t let go of the monkeys, perhaps because they subconsciously fear that giving employees power will increase their own vulnerability.This means that you have no power over your colleagues and thus, consequently, you can’t directly control how well they do their work. As a leader, it’s certainly your job to oversee your employees — but it’s not your job to solve all of their problems. But what I’m saying is that you have limited influence when you’re at the same level of the social hierarchy at work. It may take more time up front than taking on the monkeys yourself, but in the long run, it will pay off. The key to monkey management is to avoid accumulating monkeys in the first place—and quickly discard the ones you do find on your back.