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.

More Challenge

“We lost our best salesperson,” Krista explained. “I don’t know what happened. She had been with us for four years, was making good money, won salesperson of the year last December. I am confused.”

“Were you able to talk to her, before she left, to find out the story?” I asked.

“She had a de-brief with HR, but I don’t know if we ever get the truth out of those exit interviews.”

“They why do you think she quit?”

“I think she had been promised a crack at some of our bigger accounts,” Krista started. “But our Director of Sales and Marketing decided to hold back. Instead, he re-assigned a bunch of smaller accounts to her. He kept the big accounts for himself, even though he doesn’t make commission on them.”

“How do you think that made her feel?” I prompted, knowing the answer.

“You could tell it was a big let-down. I guess the money and the awards weren’t good enough for her.”

“What do you think she was looking for in her job?”

“Funny, she said she didn’t feel like she was growing. I think she was bored. My opinion, she wanted more challenge.”

Working Hard

“I’m working as hard as I can,” Jerrold defended.

“I know you are working hard,” I matched. “Are you focused on the right things?”

Jerrold was tensing up. “Look, production has to get done and we seem to be short-handed, maybe we cut back a little too much. The only way I know how, is to pitch in and help out.”

“Every minute you spend in production is a minute you are not spending scheduling and adjusting,” I replied. “I am not saying you shouldn’t help out on the line, but that is not the work of supervision. You are burned out, not because you are working too hard. You are burned out because you are working hard and not making any progress.”

Jerrold was quiet. His breathing slowed. “I know what I need to do. I just need to do it.”

It seems noble to roll up your sleeves and pitch in to help out. It feels good. But if you continue to focus on production work at the expense of supervision work, you will fail. You will feel beat up and ineffective. As you are ineffective, you will get pummeled by customer demand, your boss and ultimately, your team will turn on you.

In the short term, you may get today’s quota out the door. In the long term, you begin the death spiral.

Burned Out

“I’m tired,” Jerrold explained. “I’m trying to keep up with everything, but the faster I work, the behinder I get,” he smiled.

“What’s up?” I asked. (Advanced diagnostic question.)

“I feel like I am buried in work, my team is up to their elbows and, still, there is more to be done. Burned out. That’s how I feel. I know we have downsized. I know we all have to pitch in and cover. But there are times, when I feel overwhelmed.”

“Are you doing the production work? Or are you making sure the production work gets done?” I followed.

“Both. It’s my responsibility to make sure the production work gets done, but we are short handed, so I spend my turn on the line as well.” Jerrold sat up.

“Is this an energy problem, or an organization problem?”

New Normal

Even my economists (the only people I trust) are describing the bottom of this market. The recovery is set to begin over the next few months. Things will begin to improve.

“We are on the verge of an end to a historic decline in the housing market. The window of opportunity regarding when to act begins now.” Ecotrends.

It is time to remake, but this is different. The old times will not be restored. These are new times. I have been reading an article called The New Normal. Not for what it says but for its central question.

What is the New Normal?

Facilities lay idle, some abandoned. Waste has been squeezed out of capacity. We watch our friends receive pink slips, compensation frozen in time.

But the signs of spring begin to sprout if you will notice. For some, it will continue to look like nuclear winter. But we will survive. But we will be different.

What is your New Normal?

Build on Strength

Yes, you gave me some negative feedback. In my training program, as my coach, to create a champion ice skater, we talked about discipline. And now my laces are smartly tied, no longer dragging the ice.

But am I now, by virtue of correcting this weakness, a champion ice skater?

The answer to the question about negative feedback is, yes, it must be spoken, but correcting a weakness does not make a champion. It just means I am not going to fall on my face, skating across my laces.

As my coach, one thing you see, is that I have a natural and strong accelerating push-off. It is my strength. It is the one tool you have, as my coach, to build on strength. Sure, you have to tell me my laces are untied, but correcting that will never make me a champion. To make me a champion, you have to build on strength.

Laces Untied

If you have agreed to be my coach, to turn me into a champion ice skater, the first thing you notice is that my skates are untied.

As a habit, I am sloppy about my equipment. The knots in my laces are loose and within minutes, they come apart and the laces drag the ice. As my coach, you want to be positive, but my laces are untied. Do you ignore this weakness, or is it part of your obligation, as a coach, to deliver some negative feedback?

This is not a rhetorical question.

Showing Up

Most people don’t know that I am a championship ice skater.

At least I will be, if you agree to be my coach. As my coach, you have many responsibilities, this is the first.

Woody Allen says that half of making progress in life is just “showing up.” The first responsibility of any coach is to make sure team members show up. I cannot get better unless you show up for practice. So, if you are going to be my coach and turn me into a championship ice skater, your first responsibility is to make sure I show up for practice.

How is your team showing up for practice?

We have two scholarships available for next week’s (Aug 17) kickoff at Working Leadership Online. Coaching Performance – Time Span and Highest Capability. If you would like one, please respond to Ask Tom.

Coaching Highest Capability

You see the person relax. You know they are capable of more. But they stop, take a break, coast. Compared to their peers, head and shoulders above. So they get head and shoulders above and put it in neutral. You are the manager.

How can you bring this person to a higher plane of performance?

A skill is made of two things. There is a technical knowledge piece. That’s the stuff we go to school for. That is what is taught in textbooks. And it is necessary.

The other piece is most often overlooked, and that is practice. Technical knowledge and practiced performance make a skill. What is your role as a manager, as a coach, in making that happen?

In our coaching series in Working Leadership Online, so far this summer, we have looked at

  • Coaching – Bringing Value as a Manager
  • Coaching Underperformance – Time Span and the Employee Contract

We finish the series, kicking off next Monday, August 17.

  • Coaching Performance – Time Span and Highest Capability

We have reserved ten invitations for a free scholarship. If you would like to receive an invitation, please respond to Ask Tom.

Avoiding the Real Issue

“I am still uncomfortable with confrontation,” Lauren explained. “There is a knot in the middle of my stomach.”

“How long have you felt this way?”

“About a week,” she said. “He is not doing his best. I saw that. I only started to feel uncomfortable when I knew I had to say something to him.”

“So, your stomach is your guidepost?”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Your stomach is a valuable detector. Here is one thing for certain. If your stomach is upside down, it is likely you are dealing with a real issue. If your stomach feels fine, you can be assured you are avoiding the real issue.”

Lauren felt fine until the point of confrontation. While she observed underperformance, she was fine as long as she avoided the issue. Your stomach is a valuable detector. What issues are you avoiding?

Fear of Confrontation

Managers contribute to underperformance by avoiding the issue. Managers hope. I am here to tell you there is no hope. There is only the conversation.

In our Working Leadership Online program, I asked a participant to describe the benefit of the Field Work related to accountability.

“Getting over the fear of having the conversation. I was scared it would spiral out of control. The meeting went nothing like I anticipated.”

We provide a proven model to deal with underperformance, but the biggest obstacle is still the fear of confrontation. Our model not only addresses the underperformance, but also the fear on the part of the manager. Here are the essential steps.

  • Describe the behavior (underperformance) you observed, as a manager.
  • Describe the impact of the behavior.
  • Describe the implications of what will happen if nothing changes.
  • Describe your contribution to the underperformance, as a manager. (Yes, as a manager, you are part of the problem.)
  • Describe the ideal outcome.
  • Ask for an action plan.
  • Listen.

Except for the last step, this is a monologue, lasting less than 60 seconds. There are some other ground rules, but this is the core. Now, check your fear at the door.