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.

How To Get the Most

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In a week’s time, July 27, Working Leadership Online begins the second in our summer coaching series, Coaching – The Employee Contract and Underperformance. This is perhaps the toughest conversation a manager has to have.

We are offering (10) scholarships to the program. If you are interested in this online program, please reply to [Ask Tom]. First come first served.

I am updating the Orientation to the program, here is a short clip of “How to get the most from this program.”

Learn by doing. This program is not designed as a lecture series. This program is NOT about how much I know. This program is about you. We have developed specific elements to be completed in your working environment. That’s why we called it Working Leadership.

The Goal is NOT to read a bunch of stuff. The Goal is NOT to simply complete assignments. The Goal is to create new habits, habits that are discovered, habits that become a part of who you are, as a manager.

We have created a learning community. Each person in Working Leadership is committed to pushing themselves to a higher level. I know, because this program makes you think. If you are reading this, then you are part of that group with the desire to learn. If you are not that kind of person, well, what’s the point? You aren’t reading this anyway. -TF

Trumping Hope

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“You made the promotion decision. Is that when things began to unravel?” I asked.

Joann looked pensive. Her head slowly nodding. “Yes. So, the problem appears to be an underperforming manager, but the cause of the problem is me?”

“You made the decision. Now, you are living with the result.”

“But, I had hoped this person could make the grade,” she explained.

“And you were hoping you could hang this situation on someone else. Hoping no one would discover your decision.” I could see the blood draining from Joann’s face. “So, what are you going to do?”

“I am going to have to eat some crow,” Joann relented. “I have to take responsibility for the decision. And the first person I have to talk to is the person I promoted.”

Over-promoting someone to a position significantly beyond their capability is a frequent mistake, yet the accountability rarely lands on the person who makes the promotion decision. Often, it ends with a messy termination and no winners.

All of this distraught could have been avoided by testing the candidate prior to the promotion. Testing the internal candidate, with delegated Time Span appropriate tasks, and observing their behavior, in the heat of reality, trumps hope every time.

The Cause of the Problem

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“As clearly as you can, describe what is happening, what do you observe?” I asked. “What is the problem?”

Joann paused before she responded. “The problem is that the manager is not supporting the team when it runs up against a difficult problem or decision. That’s when the team member ends up in my office.”

“Okay, that’s the symptom. That’s the problem. What is causing the problem?” I prompted.

“I’m not sure,” she said. “It could be a personality conflict, a breakdown in communication, or it could be that the manager just doesn’t know how to solve the problem or make the decision.”

“Which do you think it is? We cannot resolve this situation, until we know what is causing this chain of events. We might try fixing the wrong thing,” I observed.

Joann was shaking her head. “I don’t want to think about this, but I don’t believe the manager is capable of helping. Given a difficult problem to solve, the manager solves problems the same way as everyone on the team. Given a difficult decision to make, the manager makes decisions the same way as everyone on the team. They all flounder together.”

“How did this person make manager?”

Joann shifted uncomfortably. “I made the promotion.”

Pay Attention to Symptoms

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“How do you discourage the end-run employee?” Joann complained. “I often get team members bypassing their manager and bringing their decisions to me. I don’t want to undercut the authority of their manager, but they have real issues and say they are not getting the support they need.”

“They are not getting the support they need, or they are not getting the support they want?” I asked. “As a child, if I didn’t get the support I wanted from mom (using the car on Friday night), I always went to Dad.”

“I don’t think that’s the case. It’s pretty easy to tell when I am being played. This is more serious.”

“What do you need to know? What do you think you need to do?”

Joann grimaced. “I think I need to put my foot down, send them back to their manager. For once, maybe, I can be too busy. I just need to stop this behavior.”

“And what if the problem isn’t with the team member? What if the problem is with their manager? What if this end-around behavior is a symptom of something that needs more attention?”

Building Organizational Infrastructure

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The sun is just streaming in over Sandia Peak here in Albuquerque, NM. Working with Charlie Hawkins’ Vistage groups on the research of Elliott Jaques and his findings on Time Span.

From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:
We have managed to find a niche in this recession where we think we can grow. We are ready to scale. Understanding the layers of the organization, we believe we have Stratum I and Stratum IV (capable) people, missing layers II and III. What is our next move? Do we grow the company up from the bottom or from the top down?

Response:
Let’s describe the trouble and let you pick your poison.

A quick review of Stratum roles (in the discipline of management).
Stratum I – Production, assembling a product or delivering a service.
Stratum II – Making sure production gets done, supervisory role.
Stratum III – Creating, monitoring and improving systems.
Stratum IV – Integration, bringing an organizations different disciplines into a whole system.

Right now, your perceive that you are effectively delivering a product or service into your market. That market is responding and appears to have an appetite for more (even in this difficult economy).

From a role perspective, you have a layer of Stratum I pumping out Production and a layer of Stratum IV wise guys who think they have a tiger by the tail. I will concede that your Stratum IV (capable) people are looking down the road 2-5 years and that’s why they can see the tiger.

The trouble will be in growing. BTW, this trouble is normal, natural and unavoidable. And you still have to grow through it. Your excited Stratum IV hunters in heat will spearhead a sales effort and start raising your volume (product or service). This will outstrip your Stratum I abilities to control both pace and quality. You will suffer difficulties in scheduling to meet demand and quality control to meet specifications.

This volume will create the need to look ahead (three months plus) and monitor production’s pace and quality. Specific processes must be developed, documented and trained to insure we are working production on time and within spec. This is clearly a Stratum II role. In the beginning, one of your Stratum IV wise guys will step in and temporarily fill the gap. This term will be short-lived as boredom in the role sets in, necessitating the need to hire a proper Stratum II supervisor.

This same scenario will play itself out again as volume and market increases. The need to look out (twelve months plus), to invest in systems, procure capital equipment, re-arrange production resources for efficiency will draw one of your Stratum IV (capable) honchos into the mix. There will be temporary challenge creating these systems, but likely, the discipline to monitor and maintain those systems will require the hiring of a proper Stratum III (capable) manager.

Building this infrastructure will be dictated by the time between hope and reality (reality always wins). My counsel would be to clearly define your goals (milestones) and watch for follow-through indicators for your growing market. Do not hire on hope, hire on confirmation of indicators.

Keep in touch. -TF

Calibrating Time Span

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:
Now that I know more about Time Span, I realize I have over promoted someone beyond their capability. What can I do to repair the damage? I need this person’s skills, but they are floundering in this new position.

Response:
You have already taken the first step. You have accepted responsibility for your dilemma. Often, we blame the floundering team member when it was our miscalculation.

Now, that you understand Time Span, your next move is to calibrate task assignments (goals) within the Time Span capability of the person. To understand the Time Span of the task assignment, you have to trace your way back to the goal. A goal is a “what, by when.” The “by when” of the goal is the Time Span of the task.

If you list out the Time Span of the former task assignments (where the team member was successful) along with the Time Span of the new task assignments (where the team member is having difficulty), you will likely see a pattern. This pattern will be helpful in determining what Time Span task assignments are appropriate.

Combining Ideas

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“How do I best explain it?” asked Glenn. “I need the team to meet the output goals, but be efficient while they are doing it.”

“Let’s start with a different explanation,” I replied. “You sound as if, meeting output goals, and being efficient, work against each other.”

“I did?” Curtis pushed back.

“Yes, you said, meet output goals, but be efficient. You are trying to balance one against the other, as if it is win-lose or lose-win.”

Glenn’s attention was focused, so I continued.

“You want to meet output goals, and be efficient. It’s not one or the other. You can have both. In fact, the more efficient the production, the more the output. Instead of using the word but, replace it with the word and.”

Often, the solution to a problem emerges not from choosing between ideas, but combining ideas. Explaining the difference can be as simple as replacing a word.

Management Decisions As Mystery

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“You are looking at longer Time Span goals and creating systems,” I said. “What is Curtis’ goal?”

Glenn looked serious. “Curtis doesn’t have to worry about the system. As a supervisor, he just has to make sure production gets done.”

“Is that why he is throwing you under the bus? You are trying to create a system, and he is just trying to make the production goals for the day.”

“But, I explained the reason for the system. I don’t see why he doesn’t buy in. I expect him to be a team player,” Glenn defended.

“Your longer Time Span goals, the ones that drive your system, are your goals, not his. He has his own goals related to getting production done. And those are shorter Time Span goals. If you are going to get any traction on this, you are going to have to speak in terms of his production goals.”

Often a manager speaks out of both sides of the mouth. On one hand, Glenn wants to drive production to meet output goals. On the other hand, he knows that production must be efficient to meet profitability goals. Until Glenn can explain both requirements as necessary, his decisions will remain a mystery to his team. And when his decisions are a mystery, his team, if pressed, will throw those decisions under the bus in an effort to just get the production done.

Driving the System

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“How do you explain your role as a manager, and Curtis’ role as a supervisor, so Curtis understands and can, in turn, explain it to his team? Without throwing each other under the bus?” I asked.

Glenn was thinking, but only to his fallback position. “I am the manager, I design the system. Curtis is the supervisor, he drives the system.”

“Sounds a bit authoritarian,” I observed. “What drives your system, why is it necessary to have a system, in the first place?”

“Because things would be a mess, if we didn’t have a system,” Glenn defended. “I mean we could run around all crazy and put band-aids on things, but we would still have problems over and over. I want to prevent problems, for the long haul.”

“You don’t want to fix the problem over and over, so you created a system. What’s your goal?”

“You’re right. I am not worried about losing a tool on Tuesday. I am working on productivity rates over a long period of time.”

“What period of time? When did you start thinking about productivity?”

“We were in a planning meeting and our CFO showed us a report on labor rates and revenue. He wanted to know if we could improve the ratio,” Glenn explained.

“How long did your executive team give you to make the improvements?”

“The CFO gives me a report every month, and we look at it in a planning meeting each quarter.”

“What’s your goal?” I asked again. “How much improvement do you want, and in what period of time?”

Whose Role Is It?

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“Curtis just threw me under the bus, when he is the one responsible for the decision,” Glenn explained. “During the day, we give our technicians full access to an inventory of specialty tools, but at the end of the shift, all specialty tools have to be returned. It looks like we are mother hen, but the supervisor, Curtis, checks to make sure all the tools are returned and in working order. If we need one and it’s missing or broken, the down-time costs us.”

“What’s the problem?” I asked.

“Curtis had to explain the rule, again, to some of the crew, and he was getting pushback. Rather than explain it, he just said it was my rule and that if anyone had a problem with it, they could see me.”

“Is it your rule?”

“It’s part of the system I designed. A daily tool check keeps our specialty tools close enough to prevent down-time from a missing or broken tool. An hourly check is too often, but if we don’t do it once a day, the tools get legs and walk off.”

“So, it’s your system?”

“It is my system, but it is Curtis’ role to explain the system and enforce the system. He doesn’t have to design the system, just drive it.”

“So, how do you explain it to Curtis, so he doesn’t throw you under the bus?”