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.

Which is the Best Method?

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Working Leadership Online Update
We still have open slots for our next Subject Area that kicks off on Monday – Bringing Value as a Manager. Follow this link for a Free Introductory Membership.

“What kind of questions?” asked Ted.

“Look, in your position, as Manager, you often don’t have the technical details necessary to make a decision. As a Manager, that’s not your job. Your job is to bring value to the problem solving and decision making of your team.” I waited for Ted to catch up.

“By asking questions?”

“Most Managers think their team will see them as weak if they have difficulty making a decision, even if the Manager doesn’t have the technical details. So, sometimes, Managers make a decision because they think it’s their job.

“If you have two engineers, each with a different method of solving a problem, you may not know which method is technically the best way.”

“So, how do you make the decision?”

“You don’t bring value by making a decision and telling them what to do. You bring value by asking questions.

  • What were the top three criteria on which you based your recommendation?
  • What impact will your recommendation have on the time frame of the project?
  • What two things could go wrong with your recommendation?

“Your job, as Manager, is not telling people what to do. Your job is to bring value to their problem solving and decision making.”

Committed to Bring Value?

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“Yes, but shouldn’t these people be reporting to me?” asked Ted.

“That depends. Functionally, their roles produce results you are interested in, but are you prepared to be their Manager?” I replied.

“I think so. I think they can report to me. I think I can hold them accountable for producing those results. I think I can check up on them to make sure they are working,” Ted proposed.

“That’s only the surface part of being a Manager.” I stopped to draw a picture. “Here you are, and these people, you believe, should report to you. But are you prepared to be their Manager?

“Your most important role, in the Manager relationship with your team, is for you to bring value to their problem solving and decision making.” Ted stared at the simple picture of circles and lines. “Are you bringing value by telling them that their reports are due on Friday and then reminding them Monday morning that their reports are late?”

Ted was still staring, but putting the pieces together. “Well, no, not when you put it that way.”

“Then, how, as their Manager, do you bring that value? And are you committed to bring that value? Are you willing to commit the time to bring that value?

“The answers to these questions will determine whether you should be the manager of this team.”

The Music Clicked

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“What do you mean, bring value?” Joan asked. “Sounds easy to say, but I don’t know what you mean. How does a manager bring value to the problem solving and decision making of the team?”

“So, you and I are sitting here talking,” I nodded. “And in our conversation, am I telling you, directing you on how to be a manager?”

“Well, no,” she replied.

“And would you say that our conversations are valuable, valuable to you, in your role, as a manager?”

Joan followed the nod. “Yes,” she said slowly.

“I am not telling you what to do, yet, I am bringing value to the conversation?” I could see Joan making a leap in her mind to follow. “How am I doing that? If I am not telling you what to do, what kinds of sentences am I using?”

The music clicked. “Questions,” she responded. “You are not telling me what to do. You are asking questions. And your questions are bringing value to the decisions I have to make and the problems I have to solve.”

Not a Personality Conflict

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“She ignores me, like I am not even here,” Joan complained, “I know she has been here for twelve years and I have only been here for nine months, but, I am her boss.”

“What is the behavior you observe?” I asked.

“I call a meeting of my staff, she doesn’t show. I walk past her in the hallway and she doesn’t acknowledge me. She is focus forward. I have seen personality conflicts before, but this one takes the cake.”

“How do you think you will gain her respect?”

Joan shook her head. “I just want her to be nice. At this point, I have about given up on respect.”

I waited for the pity party to settle for a few seconds. “First, this is not a personality conflict. Second, I don’t care if she is nice to you, I just want her respect.”

“Yeah, right, how is that going to happen?”

“It is really very simple. All you have to do is bring value to her problem solving and decision making. Stimulate her thinking. Help her improve to the next level. You cannot gain respect by giving directives or demanding that she be a nice person. You can only gain respect by bringing value.”

The next Subject Area in our Working Leadership Online program begins August 2, 2010 – Coaching – Bringing Value as a Manager. As is our custom, we are opening 50 slots with a Free Introductory membership (one month). If you have an interest, please follow the link.

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Matching Capability

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“Tell me, why do you think it is important to match the person’s Time Span capability with the Time Span required in the task?” I asked. This was like an impromptu quiz, with a point.

Jonas looked left. “Because if the person doesn’t have the capability to complete the task, it won’t get done. Obvious, I think.”

“And how does that person feel about that task, their role in the company?”

“I suppose they would feel frustrated, a bit overwhelmed,” Jonas replied.

“And so what happens then?”

“Well, usually, that person gets put on the bubble. And if they stay on the bubble, long enough, they’re history.”

“Theoretically, that sounds good,” I pushed, “but that’s not what I see. Can this person make it on the basis of their performance?”

Jonas shook his head, “Nope.”

“So, how does this person survive? How does this person stay on your payroll?”

Jonas smiled. “You’re right. I call it Teflon. Nothing sticks. And try to hold the person accountable, you hear every excuse.”

“So, why is it important to match the person’s Time Span capability with the Time Span required in the task?”

Reveal Capability with This Simple Exercise

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“So, how can you tell?” Jonas asked. “How do you measure Time Span capability in a person?”

“How can you tell anything about a person?” I replied.

“I can tell you the most about people I know,” he nodded.

“Let’s start there. With the people you know the most. In fact, let’s make a list of those people who see you, as their manager. That should be a list of four or five people.”

“Okay, I have the list, now what?”

“Take that list and rank them according to Time Span. Longest Time Span at the top of the list and shortest Time Span at the bottom of the list. Here are some questions I ask myself.

  • If I had a project that would take a year to complete, which of those on the list would I feel most comfortable with?
  • And if I had a slightly shorter project, who is the next person I would feel comfortable in making that assignment?
  • And if I only felt comfortable assigning a short phase of a larger project, who would that person be?
  • And who on the list, do I have to check up on every ten minutes, just to see if they are still working?

With that list in hand, how does it look?”

Jonas was working while I was talking. “Got it,” he finished.

“And now, as you look at that list, your team ranked in Time Span order, how confident do you feel about the accuracy of your ranking?”

Jonas nodded, “I think I did a pretty good job.”

“If I were to tell you that you did a highly accurate assessment of your team members, why would I have such a high level of confidence in your ability to make this assessment? Do you consider yourself an expert on Time Span?”

“Well, no, but I know these people. I have known each of them for several years.”

“Exactly, you see, you have not been doing this exercise for the past few minutes. You have been doing this exercise for years. Every manager always maintains a running intuitive judgment about the Time Span capability of their team. You just never though about it this way before. And now, you have a very simple tool to work with.”

The Myth of Results Based Performance

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“I’m curious, though,” Jonas was thinking out loud. “As we create these tests for Rudy, to determine his capability in longer Time Span tasks, I am wondering how long this assessment period will take? If we test his capability on a 12 month Time Span task, does that mean we have to wait for the results after 12 months to make our decision? We base our Performance Appraisals on results. In fact, we hired a consultant to come in to develop our Results-based Performance Appraisal System.”

I held back, all but the glint of a smile. “Interesting question. Many companies proclaim an undying commitment to a results orientation. Management For Results. But let me ask you this, Jonas. When you observe a 12 month Time Span task, do you have to wait 12 months for the results to determine whether the person is being effective in the position?”

Now, it was Jonas’ turn to smile, as he shook his head from side to side. “No, you don’t. You can tell way before that.” Jonas stopped, then continued. “I wonder about our system of Performance Appraisals. Perhaps instead of Manage for Results, we should Manage for Effectiveness?”

Blessed Are the Flexible

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So, what is this recovery going to look like. My primary economic forecasters, Alan and Brian Beaulieu are not expecting a double-dip, but they are predicting a long slow dig out.

Victor Cheng is issuing a strong warning anticipating a double-dip. Victor’s observations are based on conceptual trends and events, while Alan and Brian pay more attention to numeric indicators.

My sense is that we are looking, not at a V shape or U shape recovery, but something that looks more like an L shape recovery. Seven actions to take.

  1. Examine your revenue budget to make sure it is realistic. From your budget, create at least a tactical 6 month forecast, aggressively updated every 30 days.
  2. Take a long look at your personnel plan for the next 12 months. Determine which positions are absolutely necessary based on your revenue budget. Now, lay your tactical 6 month forecast on top of that personnel plan to see if, in the short term, it is survivable. Update aggressively every month.
  3. Eliminate any operational function that is not necessary to meet your customer demands.
  4. Simplify every operational process. It is likely, you will find an effective solution inside most of your methods and processes that is simpler and at a lower cost structure.
  5. Consolidate methods and processes, so that similar tasks are staged and cross-trained. This will allow you to maintain operations in the event you have to reduce headcount.
  6. Outsource any process that is not part of your core value stream. Outsourcing allows you to fix costs and jettison overhead in the event that process is no longer necessary.
  7. Technology. Before adding headcount, explore technology to see if there is an alternative to labor intensive processes.

    8. During this time of uncertainty, blessed are the flexible, for they will not get bent out of shape.

    Credit to the Four Hour Work Week, for some of the central themes of survivability.

Over-runs, Under-runs and Backorders

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“It’s just that, with our volume down, it seemed that the supervisor’s role could be covered by one of our managers,” Rene defended.

“For that matter,” I replied, “your production roles are simple enough, couldn’t the manager step in and cover those as well?”

Rene laughed. “We joked about that, but you don’t save any money by laying off a production person. You save more by laying off the supervisor.”

“And how much are you saving, now, running your manager in a supervisor’s role and letting your systems go to hell in a handbasket?”

The smile left Rene’s face. “I know, I know. We haven’t counted up what this is costing us, but with the over-runs and under-runs, and customers on backorder, I figure it took us two weeks to lose back what we may have saved in the last 18 months.”

Put Out Fires, Or Work on the System

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“You are running short and running long,” I repeated. “Are there any patterns to the fluctuations that would help us understand.”

“Absolutely, but the manager is working as a supervisor and doesn’t have the time to lay it all out,” Rene continued. “We have spreadsheet models that we used two years ago, but the assumptions don’t hold up, need to be tweaked. You know, it’s funny. The manager asked me last week if, what he is doing now, as a supervisor, is really the best use of his time?”

“What did he mean?”

“I don’t know,” Rene replied. “For a minute, I though we might have a motivation problem. You know, right now, everybody has to pitch in and do whatever it takes. But it did get me to thinking. We didn’t hire him to be a supervisor, it’s just now, that’s what we need him to do.”

“That’s what you need him to do, or someone else to do? Do you need someone to put out all the fires or do you need your manager to work on the system that will prevent most of those fires?”