Do You Want To be a Better Manager?

How To Be A Better Manager

By F. John Reh, About.com Guide

 

Earlier, we did a Letterman-like top ten list - How To Tell If You Are Management Material. Here are some key skills and abilities that help anyone be a better manager.

Need For Good Managers Increasing

The need for good managers is not going away. It is intensifying. With ‘flatter’ organizations and self-directed teams becoming common; with personal computers and networks making information available to more people more quickly; the raw number of managers needed is decreasing. However, the need for good managers, people who can manage themselves and others in a high stress environment, is increasing. 

I believe anyone can be a good manager. It is as much trainable skill as it is inherent ability; as much science as art. Here are some things that make you a better manager:
As a person:

• You have confidence in yourself and your abilities. You are happy with who you are, but you are still learning and getting better.
• You are something of an extrovert. You don’t have to be the life of the party, but you can’t be a wallflower. Management is a people skill - it’s not the job for someone who doesn’t enjoy people.
• You are honest and straight forward. Your success depends heavily on the trust of others.
• You are an includer not an excluder. You bring others into what you do. You don’t exclude other because they lack certain attributes.
• You have a ‘presence’. Managers must lead. Effective leaders have a quality about them that makes people notice when they enter a room.

On the job:

• You are consistent, but not rigid; dependable, but can change your mind. You make decisions, but easily accept input from others.
• You are a little bit crazy. You think out-of-the box. You try new things and if they fail, you admit the mistake, but don’t apologize for having tried.
• You are not afraid to “do the math”. You make plans and schedules and work toward them.
• You are nimble and can change plans quickly, but you are not flighty.
• You see information as a tool to be used, not as power to be hoarded.

Take a look at yourself against this list. Find the places where you can improve and then get going. And , if you need help, remember that's what this site is all about - Helping new managers get started and experienced managers get better. 

 

My Thoughts

 

If you're wondering why managers get higher pay and better perks, this article should tell you why.  It's a tall order, isn't it.  A giant of an order, actually.  

 

If you want to be a better manager, it doesn't call for better skills, apparently.   The article didn't mention better planning skills nor better presentation skills nor the ability to know the right and wrong of decision making.

Go over the article again.  It talked about confidence, liking people, honesty, being straightforward.  It talked about consistency and flexibility, about change and thinking outside the box.  It talked about being a better person, not a person with more skills.

Think about that!

WHAT GREAT BOSSES NEVER DO

5 Things Great Bosses Never Do
By Jeff Haden | August 8, 2011
from bnet.com

What you don’t do can make as much or sometimes more impact than what you actually do — and can also say a lot about your leadership style and abilities as a manager.

Here are five things great leaders never do:

Deliver annual performance reviews. Annual or semi-annual appraisals waste everyone’s time. Years ago my review was late, so I mentioned it to my boss. He said, “I’ll get to it… but you realize you won’t learn a thing. You’ve already heard everything I will say, good or bad. If anything on your review comes as a surprise to you I haven’t done my job.” He was right. The best feedback isn’t scheduled; the best feedback happens on the spot when it makes the most impact, either as praise and encouragement or as training and suggestions for improvement. Waiting for a scheduled review is the lazy way out. Your job is to coach and mentor and develop — every day.

Say, “Look… I’ve been meaning to apologize…” Apologies should be made on the spot, every time. You should never need to apologize for not having apologized sooner. When you mess up, ‘fess up. Right away. Don’t you want employees to immediately tell you when they make a mistake? Model the same behavior.

Hold meetings to solicit ideas. Many companies hold brainstorming sessions to solicit ideas for improvement, especially when times get tough. Sounds great — after all, you’re “engaging employees” and “valuing their contributions,” right? But you don’t need a meeting to get input. When employees know you listen they often bring ideas to you. Plus, the better way to ask for ideas is to talk to people individually and to be more specific. Say, “I wish we could find a way to get orders through our system faster. What would you change if you were me?” Trust me: Employees picture themselves doing your job — and doing your job better — all the time. They have ideas. Be open, act on good ideas, explain why less than good ideas aren’t feasible… and you’ll get all the input you can handle.

Create development plans. Development plans are, like annual performance reviews, largely a corporate construct. (HR staffers love to monitor compliance and alert managers when supervisors are late turning in their employees’ development plans. Or maybe that’s just my experience.) You should know what each of your employees hopes to achieve: Skills and experience they want to gain, career paths they hope to take, etc. So talk about it — informally. Assign projects that fit. Provide training that fits. Create opportunities that fit. Then give feedback on the spot. “Develop” is a verb that requires action; “development” is a noun that sits in a file cabinet.

Call in favors. I know lots of bosses who play the guilt game, like saying, “John, I’ve been very flexible with your schedule the last few months while your wife was sick… now I really need you to come through for me and work this weekend…” Generosity should always be a one-way street. Be flexible when it’s the right thing to do. Be accommodating when it’s the right thing to do. Never lend money to friends unless you don’t care if you are repaid, and never do “favors” for employees in anticipation of return. As a leader, only give — never take.

MY THOUGHTS

I hope you got the point?

I don't think the article is saying there's no need for appraisals. There is. Except a successful bosses don't provide appraisals only when it is required by HR. Measuring performance is ongoing. So is giving feedback. One of the rules in conducting performance appraisals is that there should be no surprises. Meaning, your staff should know how you see his/her work with or without the formal appraisal. Coaching, training, mentoring should be provided so the staff is likely to get a better appraisal rating.

I also agree that there is no need for development plans. If the boss is doing his job. As a training practitioner, I require and monitor development plans because without them, no development will ever take place.

And meetings! Entirely correct. Exchange of ideas should be a regular ongoing thing.

What I liked most about this article are the thoughts presented about apologizing and giving favors. Absolutely true. Timing is very important when saying sorry. And helping should be done in the context of caring for your staff. Not because you want something in return.

WHEN WORKERS JUST DON'T CARE

Survey: Half of Workers Just Don’t Care
By Kimberly Weisul | June 20, 2011

You know those people who sit on either side of you at the department meeting every week? Chances are one of the three of you is looking for another job, or at least seriously thinking about it. And another 21 percent of your co-workers probably show little interest in their jobs, even though they aren’t planning to leave. At least part of the blame can be placed at the feet of stingy compensation packages, which aren’t making employees as happy as they once did.

That’s the news from the latest installment of Mercer’s What’s Working survey, which shows that from an employee point of view, not much is. All the measures commonly used to get a bead on employee engagement have been declining over the past few years, and steadily increasing numbers of employees are looking to change jobs.

First, the folks who say they’re ’seriously considering leaving’ their jobs:

Overall, 32 percent of workers say they’re ready to go.

The malaise is most pronounced amongst the youngest workers–those aged 16-24. Some 44 percent of those folks have got one eye–if not two–on the door.

As employees get older, they’re more likely to stay put. Of those who are 25 to 34 years old, 40 percent say they’re seriously considering leaving. But even among the oldest age group (those 55 to 64 years old) 24 percent say they’re seriously considering leaving.

Not caring, but not leaving, either

It’s hard enough to be committed to your job when you’re ready to leave it. But for employers, the even worse news might be that an additional 21 percent of workers view their employers very unfavorably and have what Mercer calls “rock bottom” scores on engagement–measures of how much they care about their jobs, their work, and their employer. Among those:

Only half say they have been treated fairly by their company

Only 46 percent would recommend their organization as a good place to work.
Only 29 percent believe that the organization is well-managed

In most cases, the scores for this group are even worse than they are for the employees who are seriously considering leaving their jobs. In other words, employers are facing a core group of disaffected employees, and unless they can figure out exactly who they are and then either re-engage them or get rid of them, they’re stuck with them.

“The business consequences of this erosion in employee sentiment are significant, and clearly the issue goes far beyond retention,” said Mindy Fox, a senior partner at Mercer and the firm’s US Region Leader. “Diminished loyalty and widespread apathy can undermine business performance, particularly as companies increasingly look to their workforces to drive productivity gains and spur innovation.”

Part of employees’ dissatisfaction may stem from the long-lasting recession and the fact that employees don’t believe their jobs are necessarily providing them with the salary, benefits, and security they need.

Retirement worries loom large. Only 43 percent of employees say they’re doing enough to prepare for retirement. That’s down from 47 percent in 2005.

Benefits programs don’t get the raves they once did. Some 68 percent of employees say their base pay is good or very good, down from 76 percent in 2005.

Health care in particular is seen as less generous. Only 59 percent are satisfied with their health benefits, down from 66 percent.

Pay isn’t great either. Just 53 percent are satisfied with their base pay, down from 58 percent in 2005.

Do you have one eye on the door? Or does the person sitting next to you?

Read more: http://www.bnet.com/blog/business-research/survey-half-of-workers-just-don-8217t-care/1729#ixzz1Pzc6QWwL

MY THOUGHTS

Such a sad, sad state of affairs - uncaring but staying. If the organization is really poorly managed, it wouldn't care, too. But if the organization is being wrongly accused of mismanagement, these uncaring employees should better start caring before they get the axe.

EXCUSES FOR NOT COACHING

“I Don’t Have Time” and Other Excuses Managers Give for Not Coaching
By John Baldoni | May 12, 2011

These days you would be hard pressed to find a leader who does not know that a large part of his job is to coach his employees. Nor is it hard to find evidence that the companies with the strongest leadership cultures are those that develop people at every level.

And yet you don’t have to look too far to find managers who ignore this vital part of their job description. Why? The culture in which they work may not insist on it, and many managers also find the idea uncomfortable. The idea of talking one on one to an employee about how she is doing and what she could be doing better makes them uneasy. So they develop rationales for not coaching.

Here are the most common excuses I’ve heard, and my rebuttal to them.

1. “I don’t like getting personal with my employees.”

Reality: Coaching is a conversation. It focuses on how an employee is performing in the workplace. It need not get into an employee’s personal life. The focus should be on what is happening on the workplace.

2. “I am a manager, not a therapist.”

Reality: Coaching is not therapy. Behavioral issues that affect performance are a manager’s concern but it is not your role to solve them. You should coordinate with human resources to find a licensed therapist or executive coach to provide assistance. But if the behavior is affecting other employees, you have an obligation to intervene and ensure the safety and welfare of direct reports.

3. “I don’t have time for it.”

Reality: Your job is to make sure the right things get done on time and on budget. How will that occur if don’t make the time to find and develop the right people for the jobs?

4. “I don’t like to dwell on the negatives.“

Reality: Whenever I hear this excuse, I ask, “How long can you afford to carry a person who is not doing the job? ” Subpar performers are a drain on time as well as resources–and the entire team.

5. “I don’t want my people feeling too secure about their jobs.”

Reality: Exit interview surveys reveal that employees often leave their jobs because they have the impression–often mistaken–that they are undervalued. As long as compensation needs are met, your staff is working for recognition. Coaching is one way to show it.

It’s important for organizations to address the reasons people give for not coaching. Only when the company treats coaching as a priority will it create a culture in which coaching is not something managers ought to do–but something they do.

What reasons have you given–or heard others give–for not coaching at your company?

MY THOUGHTS

I'd such a lot of supervisors and managers do not know how to coach. That's why they are making all these excuses. And it requires extra effort.

ARE YOU TRAINING SUCKERS?

Are You Training People to Suck Up to You?
By Kelly Goldsmith and Marshall Goldsmith

http://www.bnet.com/blog/marshall-goldsmith/are-you-training-people-to-suck-up-to-you/145?tag=footer

Almost every company — and every leader — claims to want employees to honestly express their opinions. Almost everyone claims to hate “suck-ups” who just provide hollow praise to their bosses.

It’s a puzzling situation. If everyone hates suck-ups so much, why does so much sucking-up go on? The simple answer is that people tend to create an environment where others learn to suck up to them.

You’re probably thinking, “The Goldsmiths are making a good point. I see other leaders encouraging suck-ups all the time. Of course I find this to be disgusting!” It’s incredibly easy to see other leaders encouraging suck-ups. And it’s incredibly difficult to realize that you (without meaning to) may be doing the same thing.

In teaching classes, we’ve often ask leaders, “How many of you own a dog that you love?” Invariably these leaders smile, wave their hands in the air, and share the names of their ever-faithful mutts. Next we ask, “What family member gets the most unqualified positive recognition at home?” The possible answers are: A.) my husband, wife or partner; B.) my kids; or C.) my dog. More than 80 percent of the time the clear winner is … the dog!

We then ask these same leaders if they actually love their dogs more than the other members of their families. The invariably say no (although some appear to be lying). The next question is, “Then why is the dog the family member who gets the most unqualified positive recognition?” The answers always sound the same: “The dog never talks back!” “The dog never criticizes me!” “The dog is always happy to see me!” “The dog gives me unconditional love!”

In other words, the dog is a suck-up.

Here is a simple test that may help you avoid encouraging suck-ups in your own work environment. Rank-order your direct reports (or, if you don’t have direct reports, use co-workers) in three ways:

1.How much does this person like me? (You may not know the real answer, but it doesn’t matter. How much do you think this person likes you?)

2.What is this person’s contribution to our company and our customers?

3.How much positive personal recognition do I give to this person?

If you’re honest with yourself, in some cases you may find that your recognition is more highly correlated with No. 1 (liking) than No. 2 (contribution). You may be falling into a trap that you despise in others: creating an environment where people learn to suck up to you.

Think of your own experience in observing suck-ups. The ones that we all hate are obvious or embarrassing about it. These people’s problem is not that they suck up — it’s that they’re bad at it. Subtle suck-ups who don’t obviously look like they are sucking up do much better. They’re much more skilled in their tactics.

Challenge yourself as a leader or co-worker. Make sure that when you give recognition, you’re giving it for the right reason. Don’t assume that you’re too enlightened to fall into the “encouraging suck-ups” trap. Anyone can make this mistake.

What’s your experience in observing employees who suck-up and leaders who encourage this behavior?

MY THOUGHTS

It depends on why you and your staff (or co-worker) like each other. It's really no different from 'birds of the same feather'. If you're competent,an excellent producer, your staff probably likes you because he/she is competent and provides you with excellent support. So, you give personal recognition that's due. Most excellent performers do not suck-up. They don't need to. No need for worry.

But if you're an imbecile (sorry!)...well do your math.

LEADER'S TIME

The One Priority Leaders Need to Spend Time On (But Don't)
By Sean Silverthorne | October 19, 2010

When Robert Pozen counsels CEOs on how to spend their time, he shares one piece of advice that they almost had never considered. We’ll get to that advice in a minute.

Pozen is an ideal person to provide counsel on this subject because, for much of his career, he has flown at high executive levels where time is at a premium. Now a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, Pozen was chairman of MFS Investment Management, ran the Fidelity Management & Research Co., served as associate general counsel at the SEC, and held variety of appointments at high-powered law firms. In other words, his experience is worth considering when it comes to time management.

Top execs usually plan their time by figuring out the top priorities of the organization, then determining who is best equipped to implement them, Pozen tells HBR.org. Too often the answer is, “Me.” The answer might be right, but the question is the wrong one to ask.

“The question is not who’s best at performing high-priority functions, but which things can you and only you as the CEO get done? If you don’t ask yourself that question, your time allocations are bound to be wrong. Lots of CEOs who have been great number twos flounder as number one because they are implicitly asking the wrong question. That happens because they usually rose to CEO by being very good at getting things done themselves.”

In other words, delegate implementation to the next-best person, and spend your time doing only what the CEO can do. This could be meeting with high-level stakeholders, recruiting top talent, hearing concerns of key customers, or giving talks to important audiences.

“You really have to hold yourself back from taking on other functions or tasks even if you might excel at performing them,” cautions Pozen

This is great advice for many top executives, not just CEOs. Figure out the unique tasks or roles that only someone in your position in the organization can do, and farm out the less important things–even if you do them better than anyone else in the business.

You can read the entire interview with Pozen at What Not to Spend Your Time On, at HBR.org.

MY THOUGHTS

In other words, don't micro-manage. And give your people the chance to show that they deserve your trust.

COMBAT WORKPALCE STRESS

March 18, 2011
Top 10 Strategies for Combating Employee Stress
http://safety.blr.com/workplace-safety-news/employee-health/employee-health/Top-10-Strategies-for-Combating-Employee-Stress/

Workplace stress is a bigger problem than it used to be, and employers have good reason to be more concerned about it than in the past, says Barry Hall, principal at Buck Consultants.

In a recent survey, 82% of participants reported that their company’s healthcare costs are significantly or moderately impacted by worker stress. In addition, respondents said they have seen a significant or moderate impact on absenteeism (79%) and on workplace safety (77%), according to the survey by Buck Consultants (www.buckconsultants.com).

Proactive Approach

Worker stress levels have increased within the past few years as a result of economy-related factors, such as layoffs, greater workloads, the need for some employees to work second jobs to make ends meet, and lower household incomes due to family members’ lost wages, Hall explains.

In response, many employers are taking steps to help their employees manage stress. In fact, Buck Consultants found that 66% of participants in its “Stress in the Workplace” survey have implemented four or more programs aimed at reducing stress, and 22% have at least eight programs in place.

According to the survey, the top 10 strategies being used by employers to address stress are:

An employee assistance program (78%)
Flexible work schedules (63%)
Work/life balance support programs (46%)
Leadership training on worker stress (45%)
Online healthy lifestyle programs (45%)
On-site fitness centers (43%)
Physical activity programs (38%)
Stress awareness campaigns (35%)
Financial management classes (30%)
Personal health/lifestyle management coaching (29%)

Significant ROI

Implementing stress management programs makes good business sense because the return on investment (ROI) is high. “It is a business issue for employers,” Hall says. “Employers increasingly realize they must address the rising tide of employee stress and not just to improve employees’ well-being,” says Hall. “Those who ignore stress will take a hit to their bottom line in higher costs and lower productivity.”

Employers that help employees manage stress tend to experience greater employee productivity, higher morale, lower absenteeism, reduced healthcare costs, lower turnover, fewer accidents, and lower workers’ compensation costs, reports Hall.

Acknowledge Stress

He says employers should not be “afraid” to acknowledge and address workplace stress. “I think there is still a lot of hesitancy to address it or to bring it up [with employees]. A lot of employers realize that they are a key contributor to it.”

Although there is no “magic” number of stress management programs to implement, Hall encourages employers to use as many effective programs as possible, because a program or resource “that works for one employee might not work for another.”

MY THOUGHTS

There's no doubt about it - workplace stress is a reality that needs to be addressed. I don't think this is something that should be left for the employee to manage. As the article suggests, employers have much to gain by investing on stress management programs. I just wish the programs are not the superficial attempts that scratches the surface. These programs should be part of a culture that enables and empowers employees to pick up on whatever the employer initiates.

ADMIRE YOUR EMPLOYEES

ADMIRE YOUR EMPLOYEES

From the article 'Hire, Inspire, Admire, Retire'
A condensed Employee Life Cycle

By F. John Reh, About.com Guide

Admire

Once you have hired the best employees and have challenged and motivated them, you can not relax. The biggest mistake a manager can make is to ignore employees. The same attention you paid to their work assignments, to their satisfaction levels, to their sense of being part of a great team needs to continue for as long as they are in your group. As soon as you start to slack off, their satisfaction and motivation decreases. If you don't do something, they will become disenchanted and will leave. They will become part of the "employee turnover" statistic you were trying to avoid.

* You want TGIM (thank goodness it's Monday) employees not TGIF (thank goodness it's Friday) ones.

* Give them positive feedback as much as you can, even if it's just a good word.

* Provide appropriate rewards and recognition for jobs done well.

* Create referral programs and reward your employees for referring other employee candidates "who are just as great as you".

MY THOUGHTS

Having TGIM poses a real challenge. Especially if you are a TGIF manager. I really don't mind TGIFs. I think a good weekend helps people go through Mondays.

INSPIRE YOUR EMPLOYEES

Inspire your Employees

from the article 'A condensed Employee Life Cycle'
By F. John Reh, About.com Guide

Inspire

Once you have recruited the best employees to come to work on your team, the hard part begins. You have to inspire them to perform to their capabilities. You have to challenge and motivate them. That is where you will get their best effort and their creativity that will help your organization excel.

* Make them welcome. Make them feel like part of the team from the first day.

* Set goals for them that are hard, but can be achieved. Set S.M.A.R.T. goals.

* Be a leader, not just a manager.

MY THOUGHTS

I would have to go back to hiring. None of these challenges and inspiration will work if you have the wrong person on board.

THE IMPORTANCE OF HIRING WELL

THE IMPORTANCE OF HIRING WELL

Fromthe article 'A condensed Employee Life Cycle'
By F. John Reh, About.com Guide

Hire

This first step is probably the most important. It is important to hire the best people you can find. This is not a time to be cheap. The cost of replacing a bad hire far exceeds the marginal additional cost of hiring the best person in the first place.

* Hire talent, not just trainable skills. Skills can be taught to a talented employee. A skilled employee can not just be given talent.

* Improve your interviewing skills. Often this can be as simple as knowing what questions to ask during the hiring process.

* Make your company a place people want to come to and work for. Company culture can be a powerful recruiting tool. Make sure yours reflects the goals the company wants to achieve.

MY THOUGHTS

It is unfortunate that a lot of companies do not realize this. They go about hiring without much thought, often treating applicants without much care. And then they wonder why they have a very high turnover rate and why they have very few excellent performers on board.

THE EMPLOYEE LIFE CYCLE

Hire, Inspire, Admire, Retire (Intro)

from the article "Hire, Inspire, Admire, Retire"
A condensed Employee Life Cycle

By F. John Reh, About.com Guide

Today I saw a chart of a 12-step Employee Life Cycle. Maybe Human Resources professionals need that much detail, but functional managers don't. Here is a four-step, condensed employee life cycle plan that tells you everything you need to know.

Hire, Inspire, Admire, Retire

An employee life cycle is the steps the employees go through from the time they enter a company until they leave. Often Human Resources professionals focus their attention on the steps in this process in hopes of making an impact on the company's bottom line. That is a good thing for them to do. Their goal is to reduce the company's cost per employee hired.

Unfortunately, they aren't the ones who really make a difference – managers are. People don't really work for companies; they work for a boss. To the extent that you can be a good boss, you can keep employees, keep them happy, and reduce the costs associated with employee turnover. In the process, you will make your own job easier and increase your value to the company.

Employees are one of a company's largest expenses these days Unlike other major capital costs (buildings, machinery, technology, etc.) human capital is highly volatile. You, as a manager, are in a key position to reduce that volatility using the condensed employee life cycle of HIAR (pronounced hire) - Hire, Inspire, Admire, Retire.

MY THOUGHTS

it can't be put more simply. first, we lure people to join our company. then we encourage them to prove that we made the right decision by getting them. then we reward them for proving that we are right so they will stay with us until they retire.

QUIT WHINING

Quit Whining and Motivate Your Team
By Steve Tobak | February 9, 2011

Who knew you could turn “suck it up and quit complaining” into a franchise. Well, Jon Gordon, author of Soup: A Recipe to Nourish Your Team and Culture, The No Complaining Rule, and others, has done just that.

In a recent post, he offers a dozen dos and don’ts to help managers and employees improve productivity by avoiding workplace negativity.

According to Gordon, negativity, complaining, and pessimism are “now the norm in a lot of workplaces” and I generally agree. You folks know how much The Corner Office despises whining and complaining.

That said, I’m more than a little concerned that folks might get the wrong idea and think that avoiding negativity and complaining means be nice, be PC, and avoid constructive confrontation. That’s certainly not the case and I’ve added some comments to Gordon’s 12 Dos and Don’ts to drive that home:

1. DON’T: Let negativity be your go-to response. DO: Respond constructively when someone offers up an idea. That doesn’t mean you should sugar-coat what you really think or passive-aggressively say you agree with something you disagree with. Just try to be constructive about it.

2. DON’T: Give in to the temptation to whine. DO: Push for solutions. Amen, brother. Not only does whining annoy the hell out of everybody, it takes the place of what you should be doing, and that’s solving workplace problems.

3. DON’T: Leave vicious voicemails or send critical emails. DO: Suck it up and have tough talks in person. Way too many managers and execs send flame mail without ever thinking about how intimidating and frustrating it is to be on the receiving end.

4. DON’T: Overload your team with Monday morning emails. DO: Consolidate your communication. Hatred of Monday mornings is universal. If you really want to demotivate your team, send them a stack of emails over the weekend.

5. DON’T: Confuse activity with progress. DO: Set goals and hold yourself and your employees accountable for results. All managers set goals; few truly hold themselves and their teams accountable. Which is sad because that’s the most effective way to improve performance.

6. DON’T: Let sub-par work slide. DO: Institute a zero-tolerance policy for low performers. When you let poor performance go unchecked, you risk that becoming the new normal for your group. Folks will think, why bother?

7. DON’T: Assume others have all the information they need. DO: Make sure the right people are in the know. When I’m under pressure, my communications skills notoriously deteriorate. Nothing frustrates and demoralizes good employees more than when being expected to know what to do while lacking critical data.

8. DON’T: Allow disorganization to impede productivity. DO: Make an effort to keep up with stuff. Chronic disorganization will drain your team’s energy. Don’t let everything fall apart when you’re on the road. Put somebody else in charge.

9. DON’T: Sacrifice quality for expediency. DO: Take the time to do the job right. Quality 101: Do it right the first time! It takes longer to do it over.

10. DON’T: Let unmet deadlines throw everything off track. DO: Set reasonable deadlines and hold people accountable. When your team is chronically missing deadlines, it means something’s wrong: you’re either setting unreasonable goals, you’re overloading them, or they’re not motivated. In any case, it’s a management problem.

11. DON’T: Move onto what’s next before acknowledging what’s happening now. DO: Express appreciation and admiration as appropriate and in real time. Manage in the present. When employees achieve tough milestones, reward them with praise and give them a break.

12. DON’T: Point fingers to take the heat off yourself. DO: Take responsibility for your actions. When a leader plays the blame game, it sets a terrible example for employees. Take your lumps with dignity and humility and they’ll do the same.

Got any tips to add to Gordon’s?

MY THOUGHTS

the whiners are usually the non-performers. the ones who are disorganized and have nothing better to do. that's the reason they have time to whine and complain and point fingers. if you're a performer, you're always focused on what needs to be done. there's really no time to whine.

HOW TO MOTIVATE PEOPLE

How to Seriously Motivate People
By Steve Tobak | September 15, 2010

In the early 80s, corporate America got tired of Japan Inc. kicking its butt all over the place and decided to get quality. My company, Texas Instruments, made a big commitment to quality by sending every engineer to a week-long Juran training class.

The most important thing I learned and the only thing I still remember to this day, which shows how impactful it was, is that the vast majority of workplace problems are actually management problems. While that statement was meant to be about improving quality, to me, it’s always had a broader meaning.

I’ve always thought of it as an axiom for improving all kinds of management and organizational systems … including how to motivate employees.

Now, some people just aren’t cut out for the work they do. They hate their jobs, their coworkers, even themselves. Others act like children dressed up as men and women. There will always be some percentage of any population, including your group, that’s difficult or impossible to motivate.

If you’ve done your best and they still don’t get it, get rid of them. If for some reason you’re prevented from doing that, what can I tell you; you’re screwed. Barring that torturous situation, most people want to work and will work hard if they feel that …

* their work is appreciated, recognized, and challenging;
* they’re compensated appropriately;
* their management is competent, hard working, and doesn’t have its hand in the cookie jar, more or less.

And guess what? It’s entirely up to you, the manager, to provide an environment that will meet those conditions. It isn’t easy, but then, you’ve got to ask yourself what kind of manager you want to be? If the answer’s a great one, you’ll need these 10 techniques for seriously motivating your people:

1. Exhibit flawless work ethic. Lead by example. If you screw around, they’ll emulate you. Likewise, if you’re seriously hard-working, they’ll seek your approval by doing the same.

2. Indoctrinate them with the big picture. Everybody wants to be a part of something useful. Make the work important to them by telling them why it’s important to others.

3. Set goals and hold them accountable. Goal setting in most companies is ineffective. It’s either too top down, too bottom up, or there’s little or no follow-up. Strike a balance somewhere in the middle. Where is different for each situation.

4. Provide genuine, real-time feedback, good and bad, no BS. Ask for the same from them. This is one of the hardest things for any manager to do, especially the negative stuff.

5. Promote their accomplishments and take the heat for their failures. They need to know you’ve got their back.

6. Provide the tools they need to be effective; keep management off their backs; otherwise, get out of the way.

7. Give them as much responsibility as they can handle, no more, no less. That’s sort of tricky if you have a big group because it’s really an individual thing.

8. Communicate what’s going on as openly as you can within reason and without unduly burdening them with confidential information they don’t need to know.

9. Give them personal time to get important things done. We’re not talking about running errands, but important stuff that’s got to be done 9 to 5 like doctor’s appointments.

10. Have some empathy, humility, and a sense of humor. It’ll go a long way. Mostly, be yourself. No jokes about sociopaths; they probably don’t read management blogs anyway.

That’s it; now go out and motivate somebody!

MY THOUGHTS

while i agree that no matter what you do there are just some people who cannot be motivated, there is that issue of top management support. if you have the right people, motivating them is a breeze. you just need to make sure they always have something to work for. (take note that i said 'for' and not 'on') when you have the wrong people, nothing you do will seem to work. but that's not the real problem.

the real problem when you have problem employees is when you do not have top management support to make things work. it's like banging yourself on a wall. and you end up the bad guy, your problem staff your victim.

beware the 'victims'. you won't believe the things they would do to 'axe' the 'bad guy'. and when they have the management support then Steve Tobak is right - you are so screwed.

Can you be a Leader and a Manager?

Are You a Leader or a Manager? Marcus Buckingham Says You Can't Be Both
By Donna Fenn | November 1, 2010

Last week, I had the pleasure of hearing Marcus Buckingham speak at the Inc. Magazine and Winning Workplaces Leadership Conference and I learned two things: everything sounds smarter when spoken in a British accent; leadership is the opposite of management. “Very few of you will be very, very good at both,” Buckingham told the audience of CEOs. All companies need both managers and leaders, of course, and Buckingham insists that there’s no hierarchy involved in the distinction. Both the roles are fundamentally different. Which one are you?

A manager’s role, he explained, is to get people to work harder for you than they would for someone else by identifying individual strengths and weaknesses and turning that into performance. A leader, on the other hand, must rally people to a better future by tapping into universal characteristics that transcend differences such as sex, race, and personality type. And Buckingham says the most powerful trait that we all have in common is our fear of the unknown; it’s why we ritualize death, after all. “Modern day leaders traffic in the unknown,” says Buckingham. Their challenge is to “take people’s legitimate anxiety about the unknown and turn it into confidence, into spiritedness.” That, he says, ultimately drives a company’s performance.

But how do you accomplish that? The best way, says Buckingham is to be “vivid” - a word I heard a lot at the conference, so I’m thinking that perhaps “vivid” is the new “authentic.” In other words, leaders need to be very clear about what they are asking their followers (aka employees) to do. Buckingham insists that all effective leaders need to clear about four key points:

Who do we serve? At Lexus, for instance, dealers are king and the company is aligned around serving their needs so that they can better serve customers and ultimately sell more cars. At the retail giant Tesco, everything revolves around serving harried housewives, and getting them in and out of the store quickly. Companies that try to serve too many audiences serve none well, cautions Buckingham, so pick just one.

What is our core strength? Maybe you think your company excels in many areas. But according to Buckingham, a truly effective leader aligns the company to capitalize on one key strength and then works every day to make that strength even stronger to give the company a competitive edge. At Facebook, the company’s core strength is its engineers. “The whole company is built around making engineers think that this is the best place for them to work,” says Buckingham.

What is our core score? Pick a number or metric by which you define success. It doesn’t even have to be the right number because according to Buckingham, being clear is even more important than being right. For instance, in order to change the culture of Her Majesty’s prison system, Buckingham notes that several years ago Sir David Ramsbotham, who was then in charge the prisons, changed the way the system measured success. Rather than simply measuring the number of escapees, he shifted the focus to number of repeat offenders. The main purpose of a prison, he reasoned, should be to serve the prisoner in such a way that he or she would be less likely to commit another crime upon release. That shift resulted in the transformation of the British prison system.

What actions can we take today? Early on in his tenure, New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani was fixated on enforcing “quality of life” initiatives that New Yorkers either loved or hated. He vowed to crack down on the squeegee men who forcibly cleaned car windshields at red lights then demanded payment; he worked to get rid of all graffiti in the subway system; and he compelled every cab driver to wear a collared shirt. Whether or not you think these were appropriate actions to take, they were unambiguous and their success helped establish Giuliani as an effective leader.

What do you think about Marcus Buckingham’s definition of leaders and managers? Do you think you can be good at both? Do you think his four points of clarity can make you a better leader?

MY THOUGHTS

i think you can be both. actually, you should be both. the key is in knowing when to use which.

managing (since yourjob is to make people work) involves the nitty gritty. that means looking at details, zeroing in on a problem and actually dipping your finger into finding the solutions. in other words, managers are the ones involved in the process of making things work.

leaders on the other hand hate 'process'. leadership is all about vision. and leaders cannot wait but see the vision being materialized. Buckingham is right - a leader must be vividly clear about the vision. but they will not get into the 'behind the scenes' of getting things done.

as a leader, you cannot do away with managing. after all, you have these managers reporting to you. which means that as a leader, you should also know how to manage. this is the only way for you to gauge if your managers can do and are doing their jobs.

if you do not have the right managers, you will end up micro-managing. that will cloud your vision. so, as a leader, you want to surround yourself with the best managers you can find - managers who can translate the vision into workable strategies. but you want managers who also know how to lead, who knows how to inspire, motivate, rally his people behind him. this is the type of manager who will give you enough time to create visions - because they only need leaders to provide the clear, vivid, motherhood directions. as managers though, they should be able to create their own visions in their own turfs - visions that go hand in hand with your vision. otherwise, you will have a brewing conflict at hand.

Leaders create the path. Managers clear the path. Why can't you be both?

Keeping Your High Performers thru COACHING

KEEP YOUR HIGH PERFORMERS THRU COACHING

from "High-Impact Performers For Tough Times: 6 Ways to Keep Them Happy"
By Kelly Goldsmith and Marshall Goldsmith | January 28, 2011

Provide Coaching:

By working one-on-one with employees in a coaching relationship, leaders can discover and tap the talents of individuals and direct their development, align their behaviors and skills, thus becoming active as agents of change, enhancing the success of the organization.

MY THOUGHTS

i hope that's clear - you send your high performers to training that will make them even better - high performers appreciate that. the reason they are high performers is that they keep on learning.

but your job of making high performers stay with you should not stop with sending them to a seminar or a workshop. as a manager, your description will always include coaching - a one-on-one activity which kind of personalizes your attempts to develop an employee. sounds tough! but not really. coaching is as easy as answering questions, guiding your staff on something new, showing them how things are done. it means being there for them when they need your help. and learning when to back off.

KEEP YOUR HIGH PERFOMERS WITH TRAINING

OFFER ON-GOING TRAINING

from the article "High-Impact Performers For Tough Times: 6 Ways to Keep Them Happy"
By Kelly Goldsmith and Marshall Goldsmith | January 28, 2011

Offer On-Going Training:

High on the list for leaders who want to retain high-impact performers is training and on-going education, both of which ensure that people can

1) do their jobs properly, and

2) can improve on existing systems.

Cross training — giving people the opportunity to experience and train in different aspects of the company — is a great way to cross-fertilize between departments and across regions. This is a great competitive advantage when organizations are required to cut back on manpower. Cross-trained employees are equipped to handle different functions in the organization far more easily than those confined in silos.

MY THOUGHTS

sometimes you get lucky and find people who do not need training at all - they are excellent and they keep on getting better and better because they train themselves. that's rare. and these ideal employees will probably still look for an employer who will invest on him/her.

in this country,cross-training is also hardly ever used. except probably in multinationals and highly progressive local companies. in fact, training is not really a priority in a lot of our businesses. it is seen as an expense rather than as investment. no wonder high performers are hard to come by. and we wonder why this country is stuck somewhere between 'developed' and 'underdeveloped'.

CREATE A THRIVING ENVIRONMENT for high performers

FOCUS ON A THRIVING ENVIRONMENT

from the article "High-Impact Performers For Tough Times: 6 Ways to Keep Them Happy"
By Kelly Goldsmith and Marshall Goldsmith | January 28, 2011

Focus on a Thriving Environment:

You need more than the fad-of-the-month leadership development program to create an environment in which high-impact performers want to stay and will put their all into an organization. You need an environment where people are learning, getting training, and developing their skills-where through inquiry and dialogue, the leader creates an environment that allows each individual to thrive.

MY THOUGHTS

now, that's the kind of environment i will always thrive in. an environment i've always wanted to help create. the sad part, not everybody appreciates it. for some people, it's enough to coast along, sit idly, like nails that need hammers to be useful. they get the paycheck anyway. not my cup of tea.

SHOW RESPECT

Keep High Performers: SHOW RESPECT

from the article: High-Impact Performers For Tough Times: 6 Ways to Keep Them Happy
By Kelly Goldsmith and Marshall Goldsmith | January 28, 2011

SHOW RESPECT

This may seem obvious, but it can’t be done by rote. Genuinely treating employees with kindness, respect, and dignity will elicit loyalty to both the leader and the organization. It is possible to lead people through fear and intimidation; however, the odds of retaining and developing people using this style are slim.

MY THOUGHTS

genuine kindness. genuine respect. if your feigning kindness and respect to build loyalty to you, you're in for some big surprises. you will get what you deserve.

WHEN NOT TO DELEGATE

When Not to Delegate
By Sean Silverthorne | February 7, 2011

One of the accepted rules of 21st century managers is that we must delegate. Empower your troops closest to the customer to make crucial decisions. Give them the chance to show what they’ve got.

But I wonder if we sometimes overdo this wise advice, expecting that redirecting a job is as easy as changing the channel with a remote. Are we setting up middle managers for failure when we hold them accountable for decisions they aren’t prepared to make? Are we handing off responsibilities that should stay with us? HBR blogger Whitey Johnson had similar thoughts recently, and developed three reasons you shouldn’t delegate.

I’ll summarize her three rules, and add one of my own.

Don’t delegate when:

1. The task has not been thought through. If you can’t explain the task and the goals in concrete terms, then you have more work to do before handing it off to someone else to accomplish.

2. You are the best person for the job. If it’s something you know well and can add real value to, do it yourself.

3. You could learn from making the decision yourself. The best learning comes from doing, so don’t shortchange your own development by letting others take your place.

I think there is a fourth reason not to delegate: You can’t find someone to reward. Delegating a responsibility should be considered an honor for the recipient, a time to practice what they have learned and create a real accomplishment. If no one on your team buys into the responsibility you are bestowing or has shown enough skill to deserve a chance, the job should remain on your plate.

Looking back on your own advancement, did you ever delegate a job that came back to bite you? On the flip side, did a boss give you a responsibility that became a real career-enhancer?

MY THOUGHTS

if i am not mistaken, management is defined as "achieving results through others". i take this definition to mean that, as a manager, you do not have to do things yourself. as a manager, you should know how to direct the work of "others" so you can achieve your results. this is what delegation is about.

theoretically, there is nothing wrong with delegation. it is a much needed management principle. the problem is in how we delegate.

when you're simply throwing around instructions without much thought, you are not delegating. you are treating your staff as if they are house help.

delegation is a developmental tool. of course it's supposed to give managers more time to do other tasks such as planning (which should be 80% of your time if you're part of management). but more than anything else, we delegate because we want to develop our staff and the organization.

we delegate because we want our staff to be able to do what you can do - so they can be promoted and/or allow you to do something new. we also delegate because we want to develop "the bench" within the organization. we want to develop people who can take over the reigns when the situation calls for it.

TIPS ON HIRING

Tips on Hiring
From the article"How to Guarantee You Won’t Make A Bad Hire"
By Dave Logan | February 2, 2011

Horowitz gives lots of specific steps, including:

* Know what you want.
* Run a process that figures out the right match.
* Make a lonely decision.

I strongly suggest readers take a look at Horowitz’s long list of questions to ask to assess whether the candidate is smart enough, knows how to hire sales people, is systematic and comprehensive on how to think about sales processes, and understands operational excellence.

I would add two points on competence:

* Do not, under any circumstances, hire for untapped potential. Most people develop only a small part of their abilities, and hiring for untapped potential is like buying land in Nevada and waiting for California to fall into the ocean. It’ll probably happen, but not in time to help you now.

* Make sure the person is “scary smart.” People can develop a lot of aspects of themselves, but IQ is not one of them. Unless the person has the mental horsepower, run!

The second key for hiring is, surprisingly, not even mentioned in Horowitz’s post. It is: Hire for a values fit with the management team you already have. This key has three steps:

1. Identify the values the management team already has. A great way to do this is to run the “mountains and valleys” exercise with your team.

2. Get the team’s agreement that the values you identified are, in fact, their values.

3. In the interview with candidates, ask open-ended questions in follow-up to what the person says.

The hard part of this process is asking open-ended questions. In general, closed-ended questions will bring up competencies and open-ended will lead you to values. Note an exchange with a closed-ended question:

Hiring Manager: What steps did you follow to get to that result?

Candidate: First, I knew what I wanted. Second, I made a two-week plan and ran it past the team. Third, I was relentless in the follow-up.

You’ve learned slightly more about competencies, but nothing about values. Contrast that exchange to two back-to-back open-ended questions:

Hiring Manager: Why was that result so important to you?

Candidate: The integrity of the team was on the line.

Hiring Manager: Why was integrity of the team so important?

Candidate: If we lost integrity, we’d lose the trust of senior executives.

This exchange is important for two reasons. First, you’ve gone off script, so you’re probably asking questions for which the person doesn’t have a prepared answer. Second, you’re now understanding how the person makes decisions, and what principles are most important.

When you meet with the hiring team to make a decision, you only want to hire people who both have the competencies and share the team values. If you’re uncertain about either one, keep looking.

Made a hiring mistake? Made a great hire and have a lesson to share? If so, I hope you’ll post a comment below.

MY THOUGHTS

i hire based on potential, something not recommended in this article. hiring based on potential is a strategy i use when, after a really long search, i still can't find the right person for the job. what i don't do is hire someone who will not fit into the culture of the organization. this is a constant struggle between hr and the other departments. department managers would make decisions mostly based on the skills set of a candidate. and culture fit (which translates to values) is equally, if not more crucial. so,as an hr practitioner, i prefer to screen the candidates first and refer to requesting department only those who have the values the organization requires.