Author Archives: Tom Foster

About Tom Foster

Tom Foster spends most of his time talking with managers and business owners. The conversations are about business lives and personal lives, goals, objectives and measuring performance. In short, transforming groups of people into teams working together. Sometimes we make great strides understanding this management stuff, other times it’s measured in very short inches. But in all of this conversation, there are things that we learn. This blog is that part of the conversation I can share. Often, the names are changed to protect the guilty, but this is real life inside of real companies.

It’s Not My Fault

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“The subject for this meeting is our progress on the Phoenix Project. Looking at our project time lines, we are behind schedule and the client’s QC person is complaining that some of our work is sub-standard,” I explained.

“Yes, I know. I looked at the reports before I gave them to you. I have to tell you, I think I know where the problem is,” Roger backpedaled.

“We have a morale problem with one of our production teams. Some don’t show up on time. The pace of the work is taking longer than it should. I had hoped the problem was only temporary, isolated. We may have to do some housecleaning.”

“So, should I start with you?” I asked.

“What? Me?” Roger turned white, then red in the face. “But, I have been busting my backside on this project. You see me here, early, every day. My car is the last to leave after 5:00. I’ve been giving 100 percent? It’s not my fault. You want some names, I will give you names. I know who has been coming in late. I can point out the slow walkers. And besides that, the customer has made four significant design changes since we started. How could you possibly hold me accountable for things out of my control?”

I leaned back, watching Roger sputter through his defense like a kettle just shy of boiling. Sure, he had a point—latecomers and sluggishness were part of the issue—but the storm brewing in this project wasn’t entirely weathered by external factors. Sometimes, it’s not about who stays late; it’s about what actually gets done while the clock ticks. If the gears are grinding, no matter how early you oil them, maybe it’s time to clear out the old grit. Housecleaning, after all, isn’t just a figure of speech—it’s a strategy. A reset. A fresh sweep.

That’s why I’m starting from the ground up—literally. While the crew gets a wake-up call, the floors, desks, and shared spaces are getting their own kind of attention. I’ve brought in Crystal Cleaning Services, and not just because the name sounds poetic. These folks know how to deal with buildup—be it dust, grime, or dysfunction. Sometimes, a clean space signals a clean slate. And maybe, just maybe, seeing a little order restored around here will remind everyone what discipline looks like, even if it starts with a mop.

Leader or Manager? Argument Continues

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From the Ask Tom mailbag – from a new subscriber in Brazil.

Question:
Your blog is fantastic! I´d like to know, what´s your opinion about the difference between managers and leaders?

Response:
I usually avoid this discussion. It’s an important question, but usually draws all kinds of fire that is counter-productive. Let’s see if I can make a go of it without getting my underwear wrapped around the axle.

A manager is a role, an organizational role, with specific authority and accountability. A manager is that person, in the organization, who is held accountable for the output of other people. It is a very specific role in an organization designed to accomplish work.

Leadership is a necessary trait of an effective manager.

We often, in casual conversation refer to leadership roles, but in that sense, it carries only vague (generic) accountability and authority. And leadership, as a trait, may be found in other roles outside the role of a manager. In addition to managerial leadership, there is also political leadership, parental leadership, spiritual leadership, scientific leadership, academic leadership. These are all roles in groups organized for purposes other than work.

So, a manager is a very specific role, with defined accountability and authority, in an organization whose purpose is work. Leadership is a necessary trait.

Referring to a leadership role, a leader has undefined accountability and authority and may exist in many types of groups, organized for different purposes.

Only One Manager

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“You are not a manager, so people can report to you,” I chided. “You think your biggest question about management is, who reports to you. That is not the critical question.

“For you, it is a question of control. For me, it is a question of output, production, getting the work done. For me, the question is, which manager should be held accountable for the output of the team?”

Paula stopped. In mid-thought, she blurted, “But my direct reports, they report to me.”

“That’s a nice thought,” I nodded. “And the truth is, your team members report to people all over the organization. One of your team reports its daily unit production to accounting so they can tweak their forecasts. One of your engineers is responsible for a project segment in another department. You loaned one of your team leaders to the sales department for technical support in a rocky sales presentation. Your team reports to people all over the organization.”

Paula’s eyes were growing wider, so I stopped, but only for a moment. “Each member of your team reports to people all over the organization, but they can only have one manager, one manager that I can hold accountable for their output.”

Divining the Number

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I would like to welcome our new subscribers from the workshop in Denver, yesterday.

From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:
How does a manager determine a candidate’s Time Span capability?

Response:
Don’t over complicate this. Some managers think if they could just divine the number (Stratum I-II-III-IV) life would be good. What decisions would that impact?

  • Which candidate should I hire?
  • Which team member should I delegate this task to?
  • Which person should I promote?

All legitimate decisions.

So here is your answer. Your candidate has Stratum III capability. Just kidding 🙂 But let’s say I’m not kidding 😐 Your candidate has Stratum III capability. Where does that get you in the decision? My guess, nowhere.

Assessing a candidate’s capability can be a futile exercise. It’s like a sucker punch, attracting the manager in the wrong direction. The only thing I care about is the candidate’s capability related to the work. The sucker punch leads me to make a judgment about the candidate (their innate capability), that I am not qualified to make (I am not a forensic psychologist).

Yet, I am an expert about the work. Focus on the work. Focus on the Level of Work. What are the problems to be solved? What are the decisions to be made? Now, I can answer this central question –

Has the candidate demonstrated evidence of effectiveness in this Level of Work, in these tasks and activities, solving these problems and making these decisions?

Most managers make defective hiring decisions because they have not clearly defined the Level of Work in the role. Without this definition, the interviewer asks the wrong questions and bases the hiring decision on some mistaken understanding of experience and skill.

Focus first on the Level of Work, then on the evidence of the candidate’s effectiveness in that work.

Don’t Get Beat in the Paint

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This is the sixth in our series, Six Sins in the Hiring Interview.

This series is a prelude to our Hiring Talent Summer Camp.

Getting Beat in the Paint
Hiring Managers don’t interview candidates often enough, to get good at it, are seldom trained to conduct effective interviews and rely on faulty assumptions throughout the entire process. As Managers, we are totally unprepared. We ask the wrong questions and allow our stereotypes to get in the way. We end up making a decision within the first three minutes of the interview, based on misinterpretations and incomplete data.

The candidates we face have been coached by headhunters, trained through role play, and are intent on beating the interviewer in a game of cat and mouse. They stayed up late practicing their answers, polished their shoes and showed up early. Their preparation is thorough. Though they have scant qualifications for your open position, they are ready to beat you in the paint.

Our Hiring Talent Summer Camp begins Monday, June 18, 2012. It’s online. Don’t get beat in the paint.

Stupid Interview Questions

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This is the fifth in our series, Six Sins in the Hiring Interview.

  • Missing important (and obvious) clues during the interview
  • Head trash, the distraction of the stereotype in the back of your head
  • The fatal decision in the first three minutes of the interview
  • Losing control, losing your head, losing your wallet
  • Asking the wrong (stupid) interview questions
  • Getting beat in the paint

This series is a prelude to our Hiring Talent Summer Camp.

Asking the Wrong Questions
We ask the wrong questions in interviews because those are the questions we had to answer when we were a candidate. What goes around, comes around.

  • Where would you like to be in five years? (the all-time stupidest question)
  • What do you think about teamwork?
  • Do you work with a sense of urgency?
  • If you were an animal, what would you be?

There are hundreds more. But what’s wrong with these questions. They seem purposeful. Does this person have a vision for themselves (five years)? Would they make a good team member? Will they work quickly and efficiently? And if they were an animal, (well, that question is just plain stupid).

The problem isn’t the data you are trying to uncover. The problem is asking future-based, hypothetical or leading questions. Future based questions cannot be verified. Hypothetical questions are contrived and push the person to guess what you are thinking. Leading questions create a platform for the candidate to make up a meaningful stretch of the imagination. All of these questions encourage the candidate to make up stuff and lie to you.

There are specific questions you can ask that capture discrete pieces of real, verifiable, meaningful data. Let’s to back to vision, team and efficiency.

  • Tell me about a time when you had to create a plan for a project?
  • Tell me about a time when a project required a high level of teamwork?
  • Tell me about a project that had a tight time deadline?

These questions all have purpose, and will get you discrete pieces of real, verifiable, meaningful data.

Our Hiring Talent Summer Camp begins next Monday, June 18, 2012. It’s online, and full of great questions to ask in the interview.

Losing Control in the Interview

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This is the fourth in our series, Six Sins in the Hiring Interview.

  • Missing important (and obvious) clues during the interview
  • Head trash, the distraction of the stereotype in the back of your head
  • The fatal decision in the first three minutes of the interview
  • Losing control, losing your head, losing your wallet
  • Asking the wrong (stupid) interview questions
  • Getting beat in the paint

This series is a prelude to our Hiring Talent Summer Camp.

Losing Control in the Interview
I realize I haven’t heard a word the candidate has said for the past four minutes. Then I realized the candidate has been talking non-stop for the past four minutes.

“Can you tell me more about the company?” the candidate asks.

“Great company,” I reply and recite a brief thumbnail about the enterprise.

“Are there benefits?”
“Who would be my manager?”
“Would I have my own cubicle?”
“What kind of computer do I get?”
“Do we have paid holidays?”
“How long before I can take vacation?”
“What’s the work like?”
“Is there a dress code?”

I suddenly realize 45 minutes has passed, I know nothing about this candidate and I have two more waiting in the lobby. I lost control of the interview.

Happens all the time, often with a full complimentary tour of the building. Why do we lose control of the interview?

Who controls the conversation?

  • the person answering the questions?
  • the person asking the questions?

On the surface, it appears the person doing most of the talking must be in control, when, in fact, it is the person asking the questions. Why does the interviewer lose control? Most interviewers walk in the room with a written list of 4-5 questions. The more time the candidate fills, the fewer questions required.

“I had five prepared questions, but I only had to ask the first two, the candidate was really responsive, a good communicator. I kind of liked him.” Who was in control of the interview?

Here is the good news. If you suddenly realize you have lost control, you can immediately regain it by asking your next question. You do have a next question, don’t you. From your list of 60 prepared questions. The person asking the questions controls the interview.

Our Hiring Talent Summer Camp begins next Monday, June 18, 2012. It’s online, and you will have several chances to make that first impression.

Fatal Decision in the First Three Minutes

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This is the third in our series, Six Sins in the Hiring Interview.

  • Missing important (and obvious) clues during the interview
  • Head trash, the distraction of the stereotype in the back of your head
  • The fatal decision in the first three minutes of the interview
  • Losing control, losing your head, losing your wallet
  • Asking the wrong (stupid) interview questions
  • Getting beat in the paint

This series is a prelude to our Hiring Talent Summer Camp.

The Fatal Decision in the First Three Minutes
The iris of the eye opens and she knows she is in love. No matter that he is a drunk, a cheat and a thief. This chemical attraction is a non-verbal response that is as damaging to the resulting marriage as it is in the interview room.

  • “I liked that candidate as soon as I saw him. Reminded me of an old college roommate of mine. Smart guy. This candidate must be smart too.”
  • “I made up my mind in the first three minutes. Sometimes, you just know!”
  • “Normally, I would reject a candidate without experience, but there was something I noticed as soon as we sat down.”
  • “I don’t know why we have to interview the person for an hour. My mind was made up in the first three minutes.”

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Works both ways. How often do we make up our mind about someone in the first few moments of the interaction? What kind of damage could that do to the hiring process?

It’s actually okay to have a first impression, just not okay to make a hiring decision based on it. It’s all about the work. What’s the Level of Work? How is the work organized? What problems have to be solved? What decisions have to be made? These are the questions that balance your first impression.

Our Hiring Talent Summer Camp begins next Monday, June 18, 2012. It’s online, and you will have several chances to make that first impression.

Head Trash in the Interview

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This is the second in our series, Six Sins in the Hiring Interview.

  • Missing important (and obvious) clues during the interview
  • Head trash, the distraction of the stereotype in the back of your head
  • The fatal decision in the first three minutes of the interview
  • Losing control, losing your head, losing your wallet
  • Asking the wrong (stupid) interview questions
  • Getting beat in the paint

This series is a prelude to our Hiring Talent Summer Camp.

Head Trash, the Distraction of Stereotypes
In my day, it was long hair, today, it’s more likely the tattoo. There it is, creeping out of the shirt collar. As the interviewer, you have an immediate and visceral reaction.

You are not supposed to allow yourself to be influenced by stereotypes, but there it is. And it doesn’t have to be a tattoo. It could be short, chubby, slick, smirky, tall, thin, fat, slouch, prim or a hundred other non-verbal details that trigger something in the mind of the interviewer. And there is no magic pill to make that head trash go away. It’s still there, rattling around in the back of your head.

I could hypnotize you so you don’t pay attention to it. But that only works in Vegas stage shows.

We can’t help ourselves. We are wired to use these triggers. In cave man days, it was very useful for survival, to be able to look at someone and, in an instant, make a decision about danger or attraction. But this is an interview. How do you make a hiring decision in the midst of this head trash?

You cannot stop these triggers, but you can collect another 180 data points about the candidate. It’s not about the tattoo, it’s about the work. What’s the Level of Work? How is the work organized? What problems have to be solved? What decisions have to be made? If you have sixty written questions and you ask two drill-down question for every written question, you will come away with 180 pieces of data, about the candidate related to the work. And that’s how you balance the stereotypes in your head.

Our Hiring Talent Summer Camp begins next Monday, June 18, 2012. It’s online, so, if you have a secret tattoo, we will never know.

Six Sins in the Hiring Interview

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Over the next few days, we will cover the following Six Sins in the Hiring Interview.

  • Missing important (and obvious) clues during the interview
  • Head trash, the distraction of the stereotype in the back of your head
  • The fatal decision in the first three minutes of the interview
  • Losing control, losing your head, losing your wallet
  • Asking the wrong (stupid) interview questions
  • Getting beat in the paint

This series is a prelude to our Hiring Talent Summer Camp.

Missing Important and Obvious Clues
If we could follow a candidate around for a week, we would learn all kinds of things. We would learn about their habits, interests, routines, the way they solve problems and make decisions. Unfortunately, we can’t play Undercover Boss, we only have one tool in our arsenal, the Hiring Interview.

When the candidate sits down across the interview table, they are prepared. They scrub under their fingernails, iron their shirt and wear matching socks. They are ready. Ready to cover mis-steps and blemishes, ready with explanations of their highest achievements. And, as the interviewer, we miss important details. We miss obvious clues. All we have to do is ask.

So, why don’t we ask? Why do we miss fundamental pieces of data that are laying there for the asking?

It’s simple. The candidate is prepared, but we’re not. The reason we miss important details is that we don’t know what details we are looking for. We never sat down and figured out precisely what qualities we are looking for in the candidate. We have a lame job description (usually a derivative version of the classified ad) and a handful of questions that we hope (HOPE) will unlock the key to the candidates psyche.

And we wonder why we make so many hiring mistakes?

Hiring is not rocket science, but there is a method to the madness. And there are no magic tests.

It starts with the work. It’s all about the work. What’s the Level of Work? How is the work organized? What problems have to be solved? What decisions have to be made? What sixty prepared (written) questions should we ask?

If we are prepared, as interviewers, we will know what we are looking for and we will ask the right questions to capture the data. We won’t miss important (and obvious) clues.

Our Hiring Talent Summer Camp begins next Monday, June 18. It’s online, so, no, we don’t serve snacks and we don’t have a swimming pool.