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.

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?”

Bringing Value as a Manager

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Rafael chuckled. “Alright, so the first step is to identify the problem. When my team asks for help, instead of me, giving the answer, I should ask them to clearly describe the problem.”

I was trying to stay out of the way, trying not to lead the witness. “Yes?”

“And the second step,” Rafael continued. “The second step, but the problem is, sometimes you can’t go to the second step. Because sometimes, the problem isn’t the problem. I mean, sometimes, the problem is only a symptom. You have to figure out what is causing the problem. That’s the key, the cause of the problem.”

“Write that down. What is the cause of the problem?”

“Once you have the cause of the problem, then it gets easy. There are usually a half dozen ways to fix the cause of the problem, you just pick the best one.”

“Let me get this down,” I said.

  • Identify the problem?
  • Identify the cause of the problem?
  • Identify alternative solutions?
  • Pick the best solution?

Rafael now has a genuine and helpful response for his team. Using these four steps, he can influence the process the team uses to solve problems. This process is easy to remember and very teachable. And if consistently used, the team will, over time, solve their current problems and exchange them for more and more complex problems. This process is one of two powerful coaching methods we will use next week in Coaching – Bringing Value as a Manager in Working Leadership Online.

Coaching for the Solution

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“Watch what my mind thinks?” Rafael mused. “Okay, how do we do that?”

“What’s the purpose here?” I asked. “If we know the purpose, we can figure out what we need to do.”

“Well, the purpose is to create a different response, I can make, when my team asks me to solve a problem. The response has to be helpful, like a coach. You want me to step through how I would solve a problem and then teach it to them,” Rafael stopped, and smiled.

“As we do this, would it be helpful to write it down, so we don’t forget,” I prompted.

“We could do that,” Rafael replied.

“Okay, what’s the first step?”

“Well, first I have to know what the problem is.”

“Good, write that down.”

“No, I mean, before I know what the first step is, I have to know what the problem is.”

I didn’t say a word, just raised my eyebrows. I watched as Rafael arrived at the first step. Identify the problem. There is a coaching point here. I could have told Rafael the first step, but that would play into the same dilemma he was having with his team. The coaching point is NOT to tell people what to do, but to ask questions, to move them to their own conclusions. This is the same process we use in Working Leadership, only there, you get to talk back to me.

Watching Your Mind Solve Problems

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“What is the new response? When my team lands the problem on my desk, what is my new response?” Rafael asked.

“First, your response cannot be to give them the solution. That’s what has created this dependency in the first place,” I replied. “But you cannot leave them twisting in the wind. Your response has to be helpful.”

“What, do I give them hints, start a little guessing game?”

“Hardly, we need to create something solid, that you can consistently use, as a coaching tool. Tell me, Rafael, how do you solve problems?”

Rafael stopped. His eyes glanced at the ceiling. “I don’t know, I guess it depends on the problem. Sometimes, I just know the answer.”

“How do you know the answer?” I pushed.

“I don’t know, experience I guess, it just comes to me.”

“You think it just comes to you, but even if it seems instantaneous, your mind goes through a process to solve the problem. All we have to do is slow your mind down and watch what it thinks.”