Is your management really okay? Practical management you can use starting tomorrow to completely change the future of your team

This account shares content based on the theme of
【You can't fight with theory alone. Turning practical knowledge gained through real-world experience into your own asset.】

・Subordinates aren't growing.
・1-on-1s aren't working.
・There is no psychological safety.
・High turnover.
・They wait for instructions.
・They don't take on challenges.
・The team is fragmented.
・The philosophy isn't permeating the front lines.
・The leader themselves is exhausted.

If even one of these applies to you, this text will surely be helpful.

Through repeated trial and error in the field, I arrived at one conclusion.

Management has the power to change many futures.

And the key to unlocking that power was "Altruistic Lead Management."

Chapter 1: Why don't people grow in companies with strong control?

「Your thinking is naive.」
「I don't know what you're trying to say.」
「Nothing will change with a plan like that.」

He was an excellent young employee, but
that day, clutching the materials he had spent a week preparing,
he lost his words at a sales meeting where executives were also present.

It wasn't that the executives were bad people.
They cared about improving the company
more than anyone else.
They had responsibility for the numbers, and
I can understand why they would be strict.

Of course, I don't think it's good to
deny someone outright, but
I don't want to blame anyone in that situation.

「The problem is the structure, and
the flawed structure is what makes people suffer.」

However, one thing crossed my mind.
Another person is closing their heart
due to "boss management."

The moment I thought about that,
the faces of the people who had left over the past decade or so
came to mind.

The boss I respected.
The colleague I was close with.
The junior who was expected to have a bright future.

It wasn't that they lacked ability.
Quite the opposite.
They were excellent.
They were serious.
They had a strong sense of responsibility.
It was fun to be with them.

That's why they left.

I have been with the company for 16 years.
During that time, I have seen dozens of colleagues
quietly resign.
The reasons for leaving were different for everyone.
Salary.
Family.
Career change.
But when I heard their true feelings,
many people said this at the end.

「I'm tired.」
「Nothing changes.」
「There is no future.」
「They don't value people.」

I had always felt a sense of discomfort.
Why do the people who work the hardest leave?
Why do the most serious people close their hearts?
Why do people who were proactive start waiting for instructions?

I thought it was an individual problem.
They are mentally weak.
They lack grit.
They weren't suited for it.

In the midst of this, I encountered a certain way of thinking.
It is the "Water Quality Management Theory."

An organization has an atmosphere.
An atmosphere where not being scolded becomes the standard of justice.
An atmosphere where not failing is what gets you evaluated.
An atmosphere where it pays to keep your opinions to yourself.
An atmosphere where, even if someone is in trouble,
people look the other way.
An atmosphere where it is safer to follow precedent than to take on a challenge.

In such water,
even if you are told,
"Be proactive,"
"Think more,"
"Grow,"

there is no way you can swim.
Before changing people,
you must change the environment.That is the concept.

There was one problem.
I am not the president,
nor am I an executive.
I am not in HR either,
just one of the store managers.

I do not have significant authority,
and I cannot change the personnel system.
I cannot change the evaluation system either.

In a company where boss-led management was the norm,
if I said things like,
"Let's have a dialogue,"
"Let's build trust,"
"Let's understand each other,"
I would be asked if it would produce results,
and idealistic theories without precedent would be immediately shut down.

So, I stopped fighting head-on,
and decided to start small.
I selected only a few education leaders.

To my boss,
I only explained that,
"I want to strengthen training to increase sales."

Of course, that wasn't a lie,
but my true purpose was different.

I wanted to create a culture of nurturing people.
I wanted to circulate altruistic interactions.

I didn't want an organization where only one person works hard,
I wanted to create a team where everyone supports each other.
On top of that, I wanted to aim for a team that could also produce results.

Chapter 2: Creating an Organization Where You Can Talk Honestly

The day I decided to launch the education leaders.
The first thing I thought about was what to teach.

Leadership?
How to conduct interviews?
Sales skills?
Communication?
The more I thought about it, the less it felt right.

What this organization lacks right now is not knowledge,
but isn't there something we should do
before that?

So, at the first meeting,
I said,
"Today, please let me apologize first."

The air in the room stopped,
and the few people who had gathered
as education leaders
all looked at me at once.

"I wanted to start by apologizing for the pain
I have caused you in this store until now."

(There was a buzz, as if to say, 'Huh, what is he talking about?')

"Delegating training but leaving it entirely to you."
"Only looking at results and ignoring the process."
"Guidance that ignored the other person's feelings."
"Evaluations based solely on self-responsibility."

"I didn't even have the answer myself
on how to change it."

"Now, I truly feel sorry."

A silence hung in the air for a while.

No one said anything.

That silence felt strangely long.

Eventually, one staff member
slowly opened their mouth.

"…Honestly, it was really tough."

With those words, the stagnant air began to move.

Another member followed.

"I thought about quitting several times."

"I have always had doubts
about this approach."

"I thought that even if I said something,
nothing would change."

I offered no counterarguments or excuses.

"But the company has its own circumstances,"
"and there are numbers to meet,"
I could have given those explanations all day long.

But I felt that what was needed in that moment
was not an explanation,
but to simply listen and accept.

Looking back now, I think that meeting
finally became a place where we could
speak our true feelings.

After everyone had finished speaking,
I talked about the future.

"I don't think our current organization is healthy."
"People turn a blind eye when someone is in trouble," "They give up, thinking nothing will change anyway,"
"and they only care about protecting themselves."

"There is, to no small extent, that kind of atmosphere."

I wrote one word on the whiteboard.
"Indifference"
"I think the scariest thing in an organization is not failure,
but indifference."

No interest in the customer.
No interest in colleagues.
No interest in the company.
No interest in the future.

And in the end,
you even lose interest in yourself.

For sixteen years, I have seen that atmosphere many times.
That is why I wanted to change it.

"I want to create an organization where altruism circulates."
"When someone grows, everyone can rejoice."
"When someone is in trouble, we can naturally support each other."
"We can acknowledge both our weaknesses and our strengths."
"But it's not just about being soft."
"We seek results, ease of work, and job satisfaction."
"That is the kind of organization I want to build."

And finally, I said,
"I will prove that this will lead to the future."
"To do that, I want you to work with me
on the management approach I am about to explain."
"I need your help."
Silence fell once again.

This time, it was a different kind of silence than before.
One female staff member spoke up.

"I also want to change this store."

People are not moved by logic alone.
They are not moved by philosophy alone.
They cannot continue on emotion alone.
Logic shows the future, and emotion moves people.

What a leader needs is "sincerity"

The first ally I gained that day
did not sympathize with the theory,
nor were they convinced by a perfect plan.

A person in charge,
who did not run away and accepted responsibility,

I believe they saw their own future in my stance
of seriously trying to change the organization.

That small group that started with just a few people
would later become the "core"
that gradually changes the organization.

Chapter 3: Know "the person" before teaching

The education leader immediately began to take action.

That said, the organization didn't
change overnight.
In fact, the real struggle started here.

Even after being given the role of education leader,
most members
asked,
'How should I teach them?'

It was to be expected.

Because the education they had received until now
was 'teaching how to do the work.'
In other words, how to eat the fish.

How to serve customers.
The flow of sales.
Product knowledge.
How to give feedback.
Evaluation criteria.
In short, they thought
'what to teach' was education.
But what I wanted to convey
was how to catch the fish.

'The teaching method is fine for now.'
'Before that, look at the person.'

At first, the meaning didn't get across.
What does it mean to look at a person?
Does it mean looking at their work performance?
Does it mean looking at the results?
I shook my head.

'Why do you think that person took that action?'

Silence fell.
'What do you think they are struggling with?'
No one could answer.

'What do you think they value?'
Silence followed again.

'What kind of future do you think they want?'
The room was quiet.

Because they had never been asked
such questions before.

I was the same way.

For a long time, I had only
looked at people through 'results'.

Can do the job.
Cannot do the job.
Proactive.
Passive.
Can sell.
Cannot sell.
Follows instructions.
Does not follow them.
Before I knew it, I was looking at evaluations, not people.

That is why I wanted the education leaders
to realize that first.

Every time a sales shift ended,
I held one-on-one meetings.

'How have things been lately?'

When I asked that, many started talking about work tasks.

'Sales are...'
'The way of teaching is...'
'They just won't remember...'
I always replied with a question.

'What do you think that person is struggling with?'
At first, there was no reply.

'I don't know.'
That was the most common response.

But that was fine.

Realizing that you don't know something is the beginning of understanding.

A certain educational leader was worried almost every day.
They had a strong sense of responsibility.

They worked harder than anyone else.
That is precisely why they demanded the same standards from others.

“Why don't they do it?”
“Why don't they understand?”
I heard those words many times.

I asked,
“What if you were that person?”

The person fell silent.
“Can you see that person's efforts right now?”
“Or are you only looking at the results?”
They fell silent again.

That silence was proof that they had started to think.
A few weeks later.
The person smiled with a slightly tired face.
“It's too difficult.”
“Just understanding one person is this much work.”
Hearing those words, I felt a little relieved.

I thought they had finally reached the entrance.
Understanding people is not a beautiful story.
It is more painful than you can imagine.
There is no single answer.
An approach that worked yesterday might not work today.

Without seeing the correct answer, you keep thinking.
You accept the other person's emotions.
You face your own emotions as well.
That was a job not written in any textbook.

I was the same way.
It took me ten years to understand my wife,
and there are still things I don't understand.
People are just that complex.

That is why it is impossible for raising people to be easy.
One day, that educational leader reported happily,
“Today, for the first time, they came to me for advice.”

The person being mentored, who had only ever communicated about work tasks,
had started talking about their own worries on their own.

“Why do you think that is?”

When I asked that, the person answered a bit shyly,
“Recently, instead of talking about work,
I started listening to the person's own stories.”
“What they like.”

“What they want to do in the future.”
“If they are having any trouble lately.”
“At first, they wouldn't talk at all.”
“But little by little, they started to tell me their true feelings.”

I couldn't help but smile.
“That is dialogue.”
It didn't change because you taught them.
It changed because you tried to understand them.
That difference is very significant.

After that, I heard that the person being mentored said this:
“If you are willing to spend this much time on me, I want to live up to your expectations.”

People can be moved by being managed.
They can work hard for the sake of evaluation.
They can act because they don't want to be scolded.

But the moment they truly feel they want to grow is when they feel, “This person is trying to understand me.”

Education is not a technique for teaching knowledge, but the act of continuing to believe in that person's potential.

And strangely enough,
the educational leader themselves,
who made the effort to understand others,
also changed significantly.

The ability to see others also becomes the ability to see yourself.

Nurturing people was, in the end, also a way of nurturing myself.

Chapter 4: Why do people act based on the "future"?

Around the time the educational leaders
began to change little by little,
there was one person who I just couldn't stop thinking about.
He was more talented than anyone else.
He was quick at his work.
He was a fast learner.
He also had a sense of responsibility.
Even though he was young, he was expected to be a future store manager,
and he was someone who was
highly regarded by those around him.

That's why I thought from the beginning,
"This kid will
definitely become someone who leads the company."

But at the same time, in his eyes,
there was always the same color.

They were eyes that didn't trust his superiors.
At first, he didn't open his heart to me either.

"What is it that you actually want to do?"
"What will change if we do this?"
"Why are you an educational leader?"
"Why this specific team?"
"Isn't that just an ideal theory?"

His questions were sharp.
Sometimes he would hit on painful points.
But strangely,
I didn't feel bad about it.

If anything, I was happy.

I realized that he wanted to be convinced
precisely because he was thinking about it seriously.

So, I answered him every time without running away.

One day, I asked him,
"What is the reason you can't
trust the organization so much?"
He was silent for a moment, then began to speak.

It was his second year at the company.
His store manager suddenly called out to him,
"Why don't you come to next month's sales meeting?"
It was unusual for a young employee.
He is being counted on.
That's what he thought.

So he spent a week creating materials.
He researched sales figures.
He looked at the actual site.
He thought of improvement measures.
He remade them many times.
He cut into his sleep time to prepare.
And then the sales meeting arrived.
He began his explanation while nervous in front of the executives.

The presentation ended.
Silence.
It was the next moment.

"Your thinking is naive."
"What is the store manager teaching you?"
"I don't understand the meaning of this."
"Nothing will change with a plan like that."

Harsh words flew at him one after another.
He couldn't say anything.
The week he had spent preparing so desperately
was denied in just a few minutes.
Of course, I think there was
no malice in those words.

They wanted to improve the company.
They wanted him to grow.
That's why they conveyed it strictly.

They must be people who lived through
that kind of era.
But the person on the other side was a second-year employee
raised in the Reiwa era.

Their experiences are different.
The eras they grew up in are different.
The vessel to accept such things
had not yet been formed.

They say he changed after that day.
"No matter how hard I try, I'll just be denied."
"Even if they have expectations, this is how it ends up."
"If that's the case, I won't have expectations."
That's how, little by little,
he began to protect himself.

When it comes to extrinsic motivation,
people's self-defense becomes stronger

While listening to his story,
I was nodding over and over again.

Because I have seen that scene many times.

I have been with the company for sixteen years.
During that time, many colleagues have left.
A boss I respected.
A peer I laughed with.
A junior I cared for.
They were not people who lacked ability.

Quite the opposite.
They were serious.
They had a strong sense of responsibility.
They were expected to succeed.
That is precisely why they left.

I said to him,
“When I look at you now,
I feel the same atmosphere
as the people who left in the past.”

He listened in silence.
“There were bosses I respected.”
“There were peers.”
“There were subordinates.”
“The more capable people were,
the more exhausted they became and left.”
“I don't want to see that anymore.”
For the first time,
his expression changed just a little.

“I'm not doing this because I want to change the company. I'm doing it because I want to protect your future.”
“Ten years from now, twenty years from now.”
“When you become managers,
I don't want you to repeat the same things.”
“That is why I want to leave this way of thinking behind now.”

A silence followed.
He kept his head down for a while.
Then, he nodded slightly.
“...I didn't think
you were thinking that far ahead.”
Of course, he was the first person I had told this to.
It was my own true feelings.

From that point on,
he began to change little by little.
He still asked many questions.
But those questions were no longer for the sake of doubting,
they changed into questions
for thinking together.

He began to speak up more than anyone else on the front lines.
He began to share his own thoughts with those around him.
Of course, a heart that has once closed
does not open easily.

Trust is not born from a single meeting.

Chapter 5: Why did I choose altruistic management?

Those who have read this far
might have thought this.

“In the end, what was it
that changed the person?”

Was it an apology?
Was it dialogue?
Was it an educational leader?

Actually, there is one foundation
to everything I have practiced so far.

That is the concept of
“Lead Management.”

Before starting this initiative,
I learned about Lead Management.

Why do the most serious people leave?

Why does autonomy disappear
the more you strengthen control?

Why do organizations that only chase results
fail to develop people?

When I was looking for the answer to that,
I encountered this theory.

The first thing I felt when I started learning it was that
it was not an “ideal theory,”
but a “theory that explains
what was happening on the front lines.”

What I resonated with was
the Water Quality Management Theory.

Just because the fish aren't swimming energetically,
it's pointless to only focus on the fish.

What you really need to look at is the water.
If you try something new, you get shut down.
If you fail, your performance rating drops.
If you speak your mind, you are treated as a nuisance.

In an environment like that,
even if you tell people to 'be more proactive',
they wouldn't move.

Therefore, what needs to change
is not the people, but the environment.

The concept of 'changing the water, not the fish'
that I wrote about in the first chapter
was born from this.

And as I continued to put this into practice in the field,
I noticed there was a certain flow.

Everything begins with
'altruistic engagement'.

Instead of trying to change the other person,
you engage with their future.

That accumulation of actions gradually
builds a relationship of trust.

Once a relationship of trust is formed,
psychological safety grows,
where people feel it's okay to speak their true thoughts.

Because there is psychological safety,
people can finally take on challenges.

By repeating these challenges,
a sense of self-efficacy—the belief that 'I can do it too'—grows.

By accumulating experiences where not only successes
but also failures are accepted,
it leads to a sense of self-affirmation
that says, 'I belong here'.

As more people like that increase,
a new atmosphere is born throughout the entire organization.

A new employee who initially lacked confidence
began to mentor their juniors.

A leader who was struggling with training
became able to trust people and wait for them.

Someone who used to say 'nothing will change anyway'
started saying,
'Let's change it together'.

People who have been trusted
will, in turn, try to trust someone else.

People who have been nurtured
will, in turn, try to nurture someone else.

Altruism circulates from person to person.

It was because of this theory that I was able to continue practicing it without hesitation.

And that practice gradually changed the organization.

Chapter 6: Growth Cycles

Since learning lead management, there is one thing I have valued most in the field.

It is not about increasing dialogue.
It was about taking action together toward the future.

In the world, people are often told to 'have goals.'
However, having been involved with many people in the field,
there are never many who have clear goals from the start.

'What do you want to become in the future?'
Even if asked that,
'I don't know.'
The overwhelming majority of people answer that way.

That is why I did not force them to set goals.
Instead, I thought about the future with them.

What is it that they want to cherish?
What kind of life do they want to lead?
What kind of person would they be proud of themselves for becoming?
I drew that future together with them.

One day, I was having a meeting with an education leader.
That person was in charge of a new staff member.

At first, they only thought about teaching the work, but gradually they became conscious of understanding the other person,
and the new staff member began to work with more smiles than before.

I heard that story and asked this question.
'That person has changed recently, haven't they?'
'Don't you think it's because you were involved?'

Feeling a little shy,
'I would be happy if that were the case.'
they answered.

I continued.
'I think this one experience is very important.'

'If you gain experience over the next three, five, or ten years,'
'what do you think will happen?'

The person thought for a moment.

'Now I have guided one new person.'
'But in the future, it might be ten people.'
'It might be twenty.'
'If you move to a higher position,'
'you will be involved with more people.'

'When those people grow,'}, {
'they will also raise someone else.'

'If you think about it that way, don't you think your growth is not just for your own sake?'

The person nodded quietly.
I continued further.

"I believe that as you grow,
the number of people you can make happy
will increase."

"The number of people you can reach will also grow."

"The depth of the impact you can have
on those people will also change."

"In other words, both the quantity and quality
of the happiness you can provide to others
will increase."

"I think that future is wonderful."

The young person didn't say anything for a while.
Then, they smiled slightly and said,

"I've never thought about it
that way."

Sometimes, people cannot persevere through hard times
when it is only for their own sake.

But when they realize that their growth
leads to someone else's future happiness,
they can become strong.

That is why, at the end of every dialogue,
I always decide on a step toward the future.

"What shall we try next?"
"Who shall we reach out to?"
"How shall we engage with them?"

Small actions that lead to the future are fine.

And in the next meeting,
we look back on those actions together.

If it goes well, we celebrate together.
If it fails, I do not blame them.

"What shall we try next time?"
We think about the future again.

This repetition gradually changes people.

I believe this accumulation is the core
of altruistic management.

Altruism is not about sacrificing yourself,
but about believing in the other person's future
and engaging for the sake of that future.

And it is about that person
becoming someone who, in turn,
supports someone else's future.

When that chain is created,
one person's growth does not end with just one person.

What changes an organization
is neither systems nor orders.

It is the altruistic engagement of each individual
who believes in the future and takes action.

And each and every one of those interactions
will nurture people who will make others happy in the future.

I believe that is the essence of management.

Chapter 7: Vulnerability Makes an Organization Stronger

Around that time, another major turning point
arrived for the organization.

A veteran staff member who had been on a long-term leave
was set to return to work.

That person was a high performer
that everyone in the field acknowledged.
They produced results. They worked quickly. They had a strong sense of responsibility.

However, at the same time, they were also the type
to motivate people through fear and pressure.
They were the very embodiment of the
"boss management"
that we were trying to change.

When the news of their return came up,
tension ran through the team.

"Won't it be like it was before?"
"If they haven't changed, I might quit."
Such voices were even being raised.

However, I had a different perspective.

Over the past few months, together with the education leaders,
we have been practicing altruistic management,
and the foundation of the organization has begun to change little by little.

And above all, that person
had high capabilities.
If we could get them on board as a teammate,
there would be no one more reassuring.

So, I decided to face them head-on
during the training before their return.

The difference between lead management and
boss management.
Altruistic interaction.
Self-efficacy and self-esteem.
The idea of motivating people not through fear,
but through hope for the future.

After I finished talking, the person said quietly,

"...So what I have been doing until now
was boss management."

They slumped their shoulders and had a dejected expression.

It wasn't that I wanted to deny them.

"You were evaluated for that until now, weren't you?" "I think you just
never had the opportunity to be taught other ways."

I told them that,
and then continued.

"But if things stay as they are, people won't change."
"If you don't change, it will become difficult to make someone happy in the future."
"You have so much potential. That's exactly why I think it's such a waste."

After those words, they slowly began to open up.

"Actually, I'm extremely shy."
"It's not that I want to be cold to others."
"I've always had this anxiety that I have to do my best..."

Those around them had seen them as a "strong person."

However, behind that strength was a vulnerability they couldn't show anyone.

"Thank you for telling me."
"Right now, we are trying to build a team where we can grow while supporting each other's vulnerabilities."
"I will support you too. So, it's okay to take it one step at a time."
"First, try to understand the other person. To do that, let them know a little bit about yourself. Why don't we start there?"

After returning to work, that person changed surprisingly.

Of course, I think it was a small step for them personally.

However, to the staff who had once known fear, it was a dramatic change.

Initiating conversations. Listening to others. Softening their expression. Interactions that were unthinkable before began to increase little by little.

At the end of that day, I spoke to them immediately.

"I really noticed how hard you were trying today, and it truly came across. Thank you."

They smiled, looking a little surprised.

At that moment, I was convinced once again. People don't change by being blamed; they begin to change when they are understood and when someone believes in their future.

And that change doesn't end with just one person.

The person who once used fear to move others is now changing into someone who supports others.

That is exactly the altruistic management I was aiming for.

Final Chapter: Management has the power to change many futures

Over these sixteen years, I have met many different people.

Some have left. Some have grown and moved on. Some I have clashed with. Some have closed their hearts.

And there were those who thought
they couldn't change.

I thought people wouldn't
change easily.

Because of their personality.
Because of their values.
Because their experiences are different.

I had drawn a line somewhere.

But it's different now.
People can change.
However, they won't change just because you try to change them.

When they feel understood,
they begin to change little by little.

I have seen that moment many times.
A young employee who had closed their heart
began to talk about their own future.

A leader who was struggling with training
became able to trust people and wait for them.

Someone who used to run an organization through fear
became able to open up about their own weaknesses.

There was something common to all these changes.
Someone kept believing
in that person's potential.

People don't change through 'correct words',

but rather when they feel,

'They truly believe in my future,'only then do they take the first step.

Management is
not control.
It is not evaluation either.
I believe it is the work of believing in people's futures.

Of course, as a company,
profit is necessary.
Results are also required.
You cannot look away from the numbers.

But you must not
get the order wrong.

If you make profit the goal,
people become a means to an end.
If you make people the goal,
profit will follow as a result.

Altruistic management is
not gentle management.
It is not soft management either.
It is a gentle yet strict form of management
that takes responsibility for the future.

If you, who have read this text,
can make time tomorrow
to talk about someone's future,
even if it's just one person,

if you can believe in that person's potential
and think about a step toward the future together,

that dialogue will surely not
end with just that person.

It will be passed on to someone they will meet in the future, someone you have yet to see.
Work that changes the future begins with believing in the future of the person right in front of you.

Work that changes the future begins with believing in the future of the person right in front of you.

If anything here resonates with you, I would be happy if you could share it with those who need it.

Thank you for reading until the end 😊

I would be happy to share anything that might be useful, such as actual management methods, frameworks, or specific coaching content 🙋

Please feel free to reply in the comments 👇️