Posts in category New To Management

Setting Expectations – How Far?

Jan24
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Steve

The other day, I asked a group of “new” managers, “what is the basic thing or task that you need to do for your employees?” The overwhelming favorite was setting expectations. Why is that? It is almost always the first thing that is taught to managers. You have to provide direction to your employees and the best way to do that is setting goals and expectations. They seemed to listen to that lesson well… What if you were to take it a look at expectations a bit further? Would you see the minimum set needed to be successful? How high of expectations do you give? We all have employees that go much further than the stated expectations. Those could be your raising stars. Do you set higher expectations for them? Do you tell them those expectations? If so, do you tell the other employees as well?  Draws out that do you provide a sliding scale of expectations?

For me, those questions are tough to answer. Why? Couple of things come to mind right off the top. First, when you lay everything out in a nice neat package, you may lose the creativity of those high performing stars on your team. They will not have the freedom to stretch on their own. I have worked in two types of rewards systems. Merit systems would struggle with setting up the higher expectations and having everyone or almost everyone meet those expectations you have set out. You would be basically telling the team here are the expectations, but at the end of year we will not be able to reward all the same. The other was a flat time in grade system. This system sets you have to be in grade for a minimum timeframe before promotion. Depending on where you fall is more important than what you have done (for the most part). As an employee, I wanted to know how I could move up and be extremely successful. Almost all of the employees I have managed wanted the same.

From experience,  I have had managers that have communicated the exceeding expectations set and others that would not. For those that would not, I would simply ask, “Describe what that may look like?” The answers were all over the place. I did get what was felt an honest answer, “I’ll know it when I see it.” When you stop and really think about that you have two simple thoughts. The manager has not clue would probably be the first thing that pops in… Think some. I took it as if I truly want to be a high performer, I have the door open as to what that means. I can do whatever I think is right (of course, within some set of rules) and make it happen. Stand out and be seen! Raising my value (to myself, my team and organization).

What would you do? Those “new” managers really struggled with this question. From the experienced crowd – what would you really do

Photo from: Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

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Emotions in the Workplace?

Jan05
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Steve

One of the most difficult tasks for a manager is dealing with emotions in the workplace. Partly because the organization as a whole, would like to keep emotions, especially negative ones, out of the workplace. I have worked for managers, VP level folks, that would have us all check our emotions (negative ones) at the door, before we walk in. Just not feasible. We all are feeling people. Whatever you see, hear or touch usually gets a reaction or emotion from you. Good or bad emotions – they all happen. A little story telling now. I happened to be in a senior level meeting, when we were discussing morale within the departments. Many of the works that came out were fear, frustration, anger, and dissatisfaction were used. The VP stopped the discussion and told us, “enough about these emotions, I don’t want to hear about them. You need to get morale up. That is your job, make it happen.” I am not one to sit and not say anything. I lightheartedly said, “Beatings will continue to morale goes up.” Some laughed, others sat quietly. I quickly pointed out that we (the leadership team) needed to validate their emotions. We needed to understand what was at the root of the emotion, rather than ignore them. VP looked at me with anger. I quickly added, that I probably sparked an emotion with those statements. Before you punish, let’s think… Defused situation (I just knew, I was going to get killed).  Emotions are there…

How do you as a manager deal with them? As a manager, at least a good manager, you have to be able to see, hear and help. How do you set this up for your people?

  • You need to develop an open, trusting environment. People have to have the ability to speak freely. With no fear of reprimand. Start with the individuals on the team first, then make sure you take it to the complete team. Start small, then go big.
  • Know you people. Think of the fear emotions… Some folks can deal with it themselves, they “fear” they may fail and they buckle down and do whatever is necessary. Others may shutdown. Recognize what works for each person and get to moving forward quickly.
  • Push through the uncomfortable. Sometimes dealing with emotions can be uncomfortable. It happens. You as the manager need to make sure that you deal with the situation as early as possible to lessen the effect long term. Role play that discuss with a mentor, be honest and push through – you will be surprised at the end of it.
  • Be real and yourself. Slow down.. The first thing that most people do is react. Slow down and think it through first. I know this is a broken record when it comes to be a manager. You have to set the example for your team. All eyes are watching you all the time. Make sure that you are being real. If you are having one of those days (like your folks), acknowledge it with them. Maybe they will have some insight for you! Last time I checked, you managers are people too.
  • Ask others if they are feeling the same way. When in the team setting, go ahead and ask for additional information. Some folks are more vocal than others and sometimes we think it is just them. If you ask, you maybe surprised to see that more folks are in the same boat. Just afraid to speak up first. Once on the table, it can be worked.

Don’t think that emotions are not going to play in your teams. Be ready, be prepared and don’t be afraid. The sooner you confront, acknowledge and validate, the quicker moving forward can happen. All negative emotions can true to a positive, if handled properly. Same is true for positive emotions (passion). If you play that one up too much on your “rising star” – the rest of the team will be deflated or be negative toward that person. This is a very tricky subject, probably why that VP wanted nothing to do with it. You have to deal with it…

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Top Ten List of My Most Hated Mgmt Terms

Dec30
2011 2 Comments Written by Steve

As 2011 is leaving us, it is time to have certain phrases or words that should leave as well. You know those management terms or sayings that stick with certain people. Think of a weekly meeting or maybe a project review and listen to the terms that you hear… I bet it will not take long for you to find some that just need to stop being used.

Here are those that want to leave 2011:

  1. Transparency… What is that really? If you were trying to figure it out, you would have to be like a spelling bee contestant. “Can I have that in a sentence please?”
  1. Thinking Outside the Box… I know this one has been around for quite sometime, it is definitely time to hang that one out to dry.
  1. Drill Down… This is for the folks that don’t understand the concept at a higher level. Hence you have to drill down for them to understand. Well, as the manager this truly makes you look pretty dumb (at least to your folks).
  1. Reaching Out… The only thing that should reach out is a baby asking to be picked up or hugged. Otherwise, just say, “Get in contact with xxxx.”
  1. Thought Leadership… Let’s not make up terms that just dummy down their overall intent. This one comes across as an oxymoron, just like military intelligence. Sorry – stop it!
  1. Boil the Ocean… Why would you think about boiling the ocean? I think we all understand that the task at hand is going to be difficult – or maybe not (just say – “this is going to be difficult.”)
  1. Going Green… This is one that is fashionable and we all want to seem hip and cool. After the first time, this gets very old.
  1. Internalize… Another one of those that I am sure have been around for a couple of years. Are you asking me to think about it some more? If so, then say that.
  1. Let’s ask out stakeholders community… Maybe it is me, but I have already discussed with those folks in the know and what I am saying is with their comments in mind. Should be part of all discussions that information is gathered before a recommendation is come up. Once a recommendation is ready, no need to ask the stakeholders again. Sorry, waste of time. Or maybe you really don’t trust your folks.. Whichever – stop!
  1. Drink the Kool-aid, Eat Our Own Dog Food… Or anything else that just means we have to try it before we ask others too. So sick of these…

Have any that drive you nuts?

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Best Week of the Year, Productivity Wise

Dec26
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Steve

When I was working for a large enterprise, I used to love coming into work the week after Christmas. Why? Simply put, there were very few folks around. Seems like everyone loves to take that last week off to spend time with the family or just relax. Me, I went into the office for one thing… To get stuff done! Why? Far fewer distractions. With most of the office staff off, the cube farm was extremely quiet. With most of my team out, I had less to keep up on. Giving more time for me to get manager stuff done. No due dates were ever place on the last week of the year. Sounds silly, but review almost all of the stuff that you ever had to get done. Did it ever fall on the last week of the year? Again, more “free” time to get the other stuff done.

What I used to focus on that last week of the year!

  • Employee performance appraisals. If your company uses a review system, this is the week to really sit down and focus on the overall performance of your employees. Quiet time in the office – is a wonderful time to sit and think, jot down some notes on each employee (accomplishments, strengths and areas to work on).
  • Next years plan in more detail. I used to have to submit my yearly plan around Oct of the year before. Usually by the end of the year, you would receive your budget and such. Use this week to really lay out the upcoming years plans, expectations and goals in a rev. 0 fashion. Once everyone is back, go over the rev 0 plan and firm it up with your teams inputs.
  • Reflect back on the past year. Write done the accomplishments and successes that your team and you have done. Share it with the team with a nice thank-you note (it should be in their inbox when they come in).  I would send off this to my manager, to share what the team has done. Most managers, would copy all and add their thanks to the team as well!

What would you do with this week?

I truly enjoyed going into the office! The stuff that I got done was important to me and my team.

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So You Can Judge Talent?

Dec19
2011 2 Comments Written by Steve

Talent can be judged? Think back to a time when you thought this person was going to be the cat’s meow, did they end up that way? I always thought that I could judge talent. Pick the raising star from a herd of folks! Well, it is amazing how many times I have gotten it wrong. Why? When you are judging talent, you put forth your bias toward the folks. You may find a person that is a younger version of yourself and think, well, that is the star. Take a look at the criteria that you are using to judge. Is it really fresh? Does it cover everything? Probably not. I was asked to judge a Spelling Bee for a local elementary school. I thought way not test out to see if I could pick the winner after sizing up the 12 participants. I watched and listened as they were getting ready to start (using my filters to see which one would stand out). Once again, I did not do well.

Since I normally would get it wrong, I stopped really judging and just let the work define the person. It is easier to focus my attention on the team and the folks that are the real talent will raise to the top. Set up an environment where those folks can flourish. How is that?

  • Teamwork: As the manager you need to set up a truly team atmosphere.  Have it be a collective group, that works on the complete picture. I like to involve everyone in the setting of goals, timelines and have them work together to achieve those amazing results. There are many traps to watch out for… So, it takes a lot of effort on the managers part to make sure everyone is aligned and moving in the same direction.
  • Diversity: It is something that is talked about a lot. Some folks think of this as only the different cultures, but it can include age. Make sure that when you are hiring that you keep in mind, your team. If you already have a very mature team, maybe hiring someone younger or fresh out of school – can help add to the team. You have to be willing to take chances to make the team better.
  • 8-5, no way: Don’t know any other way to put this category, it is not about being in the office from 8-5, Monday thru Friday. It is about getting the work “DONE.” It is simply about the productivity of each individual and the team as a whole. I used to have status review meetings that were about 20 minutes long. It was a simple way for the team to keep an eye on the work. Work that they knew would be coming their way and when.. Work that they could help out another, if needed. As a manager, it is great to witness the team helping each other. Mandatory hours don’t really work…
  • Set stretch goals: When the team has worked out their plan and timelines – add a stretch goal. Everyone loves challenges. When you set up the stretch goal remember to not do it every single time. Do it on those particular important ones, that could be a breakthrough or a key deliverable to help the larger organization win big. I have found that all teams, love to win big. Some pretty amazing outcomes have happened from a stretch goal that was extremely visible to the organization.

Once the environment is set, you can watch your people grow. For those that still like to judge talent and make assumptions on who is that star.. Did the star rise? Did someone else really step up? How  about the team? I have found some pretty incredible people that would have gone unnoticed if I stuck to my first impressions. I would rather have all or almost all of the team be stars… It is the team environment that you set up that is better than just your judgment.

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When Approached, What Would You Do?

Dec15
2011 1 Comment Written by Steve

How many times has this happened to you or maybe someone you know? There is a particular opening in your overall organization and the manager of said opening approaches you and asks, “You are going to apply for that manager opening, right?” You knew about the opening, so that is no surprise. You know the department and some of the people on the team. You are put on the spot by the question. What do you answer? Probably the easiest answer off the top of the head is, “sure, I am going to apply.” How about, “let me think about it some and I will let you know.” Or maybe, “thanks, but I really don’t think this is the right position at this particular time.” There really are only three choices, yes, no or maybe (how you wrap them, is up to you).

If you are like most people, you probably said, “yes, of course.” Manager leaves and you sit back and think about what you just had done. Do you really want to take on that manager role? You start thinking deeper on the subject.  You also start thinking about is there going to be interviews or were you contacted because you are going to get “tagged” for the position. Either way you are just thinking.. Sometimes those thoughts lead you to this is really the right time, right opportunity and that you really want to take on the position. On the other hand, the deeper thoughts really have you thinking that this is not the opportunity for you. The very next thought goes to, “What am I going to tell the manager?” You start to think that maybe the best answer was, let me think about it and I will get back to you.

Well, if your decision is to not go forward. Time to let the manager know. The sooner the better. Be prepared to answer a follow-on question, “why the change of heart?”

If you want the position, update your resume and start thinking about what you would do if you are awarded the position. When I am helping others with this step, I listen to what they think is going on with the position and how they can really make a difference. I just say to them, “you have the makings of a very passionate answer to the why do you want this position question.” Refine it! If you are like me, you probably have already started to think about what the first steps are going to be.

  • No longer than a 30 Day Plan: Meeting the team, customers and stakeholders. Getting an overall impression on how the team is doing. Watching how the work is accomplished. Looking for key missing ingredients that maybe missing in the process, planning and execution. At the very end, drawing up you initial asset.
  • Day 31 – meeting with your manager on you particular thoughts on planning what is going to happen next. Call out any help needed from the manager. Ask the question, manager did others from the team apply for the position of manager as well? Just need to know who or whom. How you deal individually with them will be different.
  • Start working with the team on your overall feedback you have received and maybe some thoughts on what is next. Work with the team to develop a 90 day action plan. Put some stuff out there (that you see or heard) and how would the team address. If the team struggles with doing this, facilitate the process (help them).What you want is a solid team developed 90 day action plan.
  • Keep on eye on the 90 day action plan! Keep it in front of you, your  team and your manager. Need to hold each other accountable. Review the complete 90 day plan at the end – show successes… Work on the next window (I like 90 days).

What would you do?

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Collaborative Problem Solving

Dec07
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Steve

I found a post from a couple of years ago, that I wrote inside of my past employer that I thought would be a good one here. Of course, I have updated it some! When you think about collaborative problem solving you think of trying to herd cats to accomplish fixing something or maybe you welcome the opportunity to get the collective team together to fix something. How well does collective problem solving work for you? For me, early on in my career, I used to get a mixed bag of results. I sometimes welcomed or dreaded using collaborative problem solving. Why? Simply put the barrier of success could be me or you or someone on the team. Think back to the problem – was it really a problem or maybe an individual made it a problem? Add more people into the mix, the problem can really be far from really what is happening. So, what do you do??

Keep the focus on the simply on the problem. Of course, that means that you and the team need to spend sometime truly identifying the problem. Clearly and concisely as possible. Identify the gap on what is happening and what should be happening. Define that desired state! First step in collaborative here is getting agreement on the problem. Once agreed upon, write it down – keep it visible.

Problem must matter! Above you got agreement on the problem, that is a powerful first step. Getting the team to really focus on what the expected outcome will be and how great it will be for them will add a layer of frosting on the teams cake. Some of the team may agree on the problem and just go about doing the same old stuff (status quo), but keep the focused on the why and benefits will keep them from the status quo.

Let team discuss concerns and potential barriers. Giving the team an opportunity to put forth all of the concerns (some of that will be their personal agenda) and desired outcomes gives everyone a clear view. So, create that safe environment to get people talking.  If everyone was just to let the team lead do everything from identifying the problem, why and desired outcome – nothing will change. Get everyone involved, actively involved.

Get everyone on board. I know this seems like just me summarizing what was above. Think about it awhile… If you are the leader of the team, this area is going to be the toughest for you. Your team may say that they are on board. They may even give it a try. Actions speak! Watch closely for individuals that a still posturing or holding out for their solution. Be ready to act on your part quickly. Remember this is the whole team.

Over the years, I have seen better results when I apply the above. Is it completely successful? Not really. Collaborative problem solving is difficult and requires time and effort. When collaborative problem solving is done right, it is a very powerful tool. It also, demonstrates to the complete team that they are a high performing team…

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We Have Entered – The Thankful Season

Nov30
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Steve

I truly enjoy this time of the year. It is the holiday season for thinking about the year and what are you truly thankful for. For me, as a manager, I used this time to think back over the year and reflect on everything. I used to write down into three lists (Good, Bad and Just Ugly) how things went, how the team performed, how we learned, how we had grown and who had done an outstanding job. Sitting down reflecting is something that people talk about as a necessity, but rarely really do it (well). Writing it down, makes you really think about those situations. You have to ask questions like was this positive, did it have significant impact, what was learned and so on… For my teams, I usually ask them to do the same thing. It is nice to use, as a team building exercise for a pot luck or team dinner. Everyone gets an opportunity to share their observations.

Looking at the list can be a very eye opening experience. You can see trends for the year, that maybe while you were in the thick of things – just did not notice. I have seen growth within my teams in some areas that I would have guessed were not strengths. I also can notice if my team is slipping. I can notice the folks that really have stepped up and done some pretty incredible things.

“Seeing” is just part of what you should do… Next comes actions – you know the “doing” part. I like to send personal notes to the folks that have really stepped up. Let them know that I am thankful for those actions (spell them out in the note) that they had take. If you noticed, you should say something. From the team’s standpoint – I like to look at those trends and identify training or team building activities that can help our team grow next year. When the team does the same reflection, it is powerful stuff – when we pretty much notice the same areas. Now we have the complete team looking objectively, and we can put in place some solid plans for improvement.

Here is your assignment:

  • Sit in a quiet place. Just you, your paper, pencil (or pen) and your thoughts.
  • Reflect back on your year… What was the good? What was not so good or What could be better? Who really stepped up and did some incredible stuff?
  • Once you feel you have captured everything. Reread them each and look for trends and opportunities that must be taken.
  • Develop your plans for next year!

If you are a manager, if you feel comfortable, ask you team to do the same exercise (for themselves and the team as a whole). As the manager, you can have your team share their thoughts and reflections on the team. Then develop the team plans after all your data is received. I typically have the team use their personal reflection for their performance appraisal and development plans.

Let me know how it goes?

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Leaders Born or Created?

Nov08
2011 2 Comments Written by Steve

The few days back, I saw a tweet go out that asked are leaders born or can they be made. Just two days ago, I overheard a discussion at the local Starbucks on this topic. I have heard many different arguments over the years. I go with both! When I was coaching youth sports, I get the opportunity to witness first hand those young folks that are born into leading. The experience that I am going to share comes from coaching youth hockey ages 7-10. There was always one or two players that just stand out from the other players as leaders. Many of my peer coaches would say that they are their best players and lead by example. Which probably is the case more times than not, but I had a few rare players that were not the best players but were the best communicators and team mates. At those ages, they did not really have any time to learn how to do that, they just did it. It comes natural. When I look back and then look towards today – those leaders are still leaders, just doing it in different places.

I do think that some training and coaching of people to be leaders is possible. In the workplace, you get to interact with many different folks, some standout for their potential in leading a team. From  my experience I have seen both sides of the spectrum. Those folks that have the ability, but really want nothing to do with leading. They prefer to just do what they are doing. Other folks want to be leaders, but frankly, don’t really demonstrate the initial abilities or characteristics necessary. Having discussions with both sets of folks is interesting. For me, I want to make sure that my teams are set up with secession plans. I want to develop my folks to help them achieve their dreams. Here is where I believe that training and mentoring comes into play. Everyone has a blind spot or two that needs attention. When you step into a management role and really want to do well, you need some training. You really need someone to help you with highlighting those blind spots and putting focus on the “right” areas. Training and follow-up will help lessen the blind spot. For me, leadership is something that is a life-long learning experience. There is always something new to learn or find out about yourself.

Leaders need to be honest, have a demonstrated track record of success, be excellent communicators, place an emphasis on serving those they lead, be fluid in their approach, have laser focus with a bias toward action. Some of those items come natural. Others can be helped along. So, when I hear or see that question about are leaders born or created, I go with both…

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Is Your Team Successful?

Nov02
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Steve

One of the most frequently asked questions that I got during my training days of “New to Management” was around how do, as the manager, know if my team is successful or not? Great question for managers to ask. I used to think that I had a good team that was delivering their on the objectives in a timely and cost efficient manner was a very good indicator of how well things were going. Sounds good, but there is so much more. No one every really likes to answer a question with a question, but I wanted to use the complete class to brainstorm what a successful team could look like. Off goes the question… “what is your view of a success team?” Here is what followed..

  • A team that works together to accomplish whatever is set in front of them.
  • A team that works whatever hours are necessary to accomplish their goals.
  • Hitting their numbers, pushing product and doing a quality job.
  • The team gets along.
  • Someone in the team sees a problem and the team handles it.
  • Each member of the team is pulling their own weight.
  • Team is not afraid of failure, as they can accomplish anything they set their mind to it.
  • I as the manager, do not have to be “too” involved. The team understands that they are empowered.
  • Work gets done, on-time and within budget.
  • The team helps each other out.

These all sound pretty good, right? I can remember in my early days as a manager thinking if my team was to accomplish these or a subset of them, I felt pretty good. I used to hear from my management that my team was the best one of all of the teams in the department. That was not enough, as upper management to me, is not there daily or in the trenches when work is getting done.  As I gained more experience with managing teams, I started to really look underneath the surface and see how the team was really working together. Asking myself, how does the team accomplish the work that is set out in front of them? What is the overall commitment level of each and every team member? Do they really work together? What motivates the team members to do new and interesting stuff (innovation)? I started to develop my own scorecard for success of the teams that I led.

  • Getting the work done in a timely and cost effective manner – this still is the overall measure of success. That never changes as this is the most visible to the complete department. Getting your work done. If you don’t you won’t be around much.
  • Gauging the overall free flow of ideas and information – having great discussions about how to improve, how to do stuff better, or what is really happening. Having a team that shares the good, bad and ugly when it comes to team self reflection. Doing this in a constructive and not threatening manner. Working the problem rather than focusing on the individual.  The discussions were pretty lively and listening to them build on each other’s thoughts, made me see that a complete diverse team is better than a set of individual’s. Where I worked we used to do a yearly plan for the upcoming year. I used to include my complete team in this exercise. Set up some basic assumptions (budget and rev 0 goals) and what the team work together to set the plan together. The overall ownership of that plan was strong among the team. I usually had to point out that we must not try to do too much, we realize that year over year stuff happens, we must be flexible.
  • Balanced workload – for all team members. It is an easy thing to say, but in practice very difficult to manage. Here is where the manager really has to know what is going on with each individual on the team. Is there too much work being loaded up on all, too much on a few or not enough on some. The team members want to do a good job, they really want to receive praise and better raises and doing more work than the others seems the easiest way to demonstrate worth. Not good for the team.
  • True development plans in place for everyone. “True” development plans require much work from the individual team member and the manager. The team member needs to be honest in what they want to do, how they do it and what do they want to be when they grow up. What is their passion? The manager than becomes the coach and helps to develop a plan that works for the individual and the team. Sometimes the individual’s passion is not within the team overall direction. The manager has to make sure to balance and do the best in every situation. I have had to help get new positions for my team members to insure that the best of the employee, team, department and company were winning.

Some of these items can be measured by metrics, but most of them are more on how you know the team is doing. Spending time with the team in different ways. Being an observer during meetings – rather than talking 100%. Facilitator during planning meetings – rather than telling what will get done. Walking around the office, listening to the team working together – rather than sitting in your office. Asking questions and listening to the answers – rather than assuming you know what is happening. It is easy to take control as the manager.. You may even think that is why you are the manager. Observe, listen and act when necessary – that is truly what your team wants.

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