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.

Reverse Delegation

“I don’t know,” Julio replied. “I try to delegate as often as I can, but it always ends up, back in my lap.”

“Does it seem like you delegate things to your team on Monday and then your team delegates back to you on Wednesday?” I asked.

“I never thought about it that way, but you’re right. It’s almost like reverse delegation. They get stuck with a problem, come to me for help and before you know it, they are out the door with the project on my desk.”

“How does that happen?”
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Working Leadership Online
April 6 – Delegation SkillsUltimate Leverage
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Apr 27 – Control Systems and Feedback Loops
May 18 – Managing TimeManaging Yourself
Jun 8 – Team Problem SolvingPower of Team

Saving the Day

“I know I need to delegate more often, and I try, but I gotta tell you, I am not happy with some of the results,” Julio explained. “It takes longer to delegate than to do it myself. And half the time, I have to come back in, take over the project and begin again. It’s frustrating.”

“And what else?” I asked.

“You want me to go on?” he replied.

I nodded.

“I don’t trust them. I have a great team, but they let me down too often. We have a mission critical project and I try to get some help and it’s always me having to save the day.”

“Why do you think that happens?” -TF
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April 6 – Delegation SkillsUltimate Leverage
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Details

From Working Leadership Online on the subject of Planning.

Question:
I see the guidelines for creating a vision, but it seems a little far-fetched. Actually, I think most vision statements are far-fetched. They are too vague, or too warm and fuzzy. They describe a world that doesn’t exist.

Response:
Exactly, a world that doesn’t exist. Planning is about creating the future. And you are right, most vision statements are too vague. A vision statement should describe a specific point in time and should be detailed, rather than vague. Whenever I write a plan, my vision statement is often the longest part of the whole plan. It is detailed in its description of how things look and how things work. The more descriptive the vision, the easier the rest of planning steps flow.

Slow Now, Fast Later

“That fixes accountability between you and your team, but who will I hold accountable for the Goal?”

Gordon nodded and smiled. “Me,” he said quietly.

“Even if the reason we didn’t achieve the Goal was a defect in the team’s Action Plan?”

Gordon was catching on. “Yes, as the Manager, even though the team comes up with the Action Plan, I have to approve it. And, as the manager, if there is a defect in the Plan, a missing step or an overlooked contingency, it is my responsibility to challenge the team until the Plan is one that will work.”

“This takes time, and often, we have go slow now, so we can go fast later.”

Accountability for the Plan

“Something else important happens, when your team creates the Action Plan,” I continued.

Gordon was listening.

“You set the Performance Standards. But if you also create the Action Plan, and the Plan fails, between you and the team, who is accountable? The team comes back and says, -Yes, boss, we did exactly what you said and your Action Plan failed. Not our fault.”

Gordon was still listening.

“Or, you set the Performance Standards. And the team creates the Action Plan. And, now, if the Action Plan fails, between you and the team, who is accountable?”

Who Creates the Action Plan?

“You have a team meeting,” I describe. “Someone has to talk and it’s not you, because no one listens to you. So, who talks?”

“My team?” Gordon answered slowly.

“Yes,” I nodded. “You describe the essence of the Vision and the Performance Standards. The team sets out the Action Plan.”

“But my team may not know what steps to take and besides, it will take too long to get them all to agree,” Gordon protested.

I nodded and smiled. “I didn’t say that your team would get there quickly. Sometimes you have to go slow now, so you can go fast later. You need your team, involved, engaged, thinking, solving problems and making decisions. You are not going to get there by telling them what to do.”

Gordon was skeptical, “But, what if I am not getting what I want?”

“If you are not getting what you want, then you are asking the wrong questions.” -TF

Not a Tape That Self-Destructs

“First of all, who’s goal is it?” I asked. Gordon was perplexed. His memo to the team fell flat and he needed their cooperation to complete the project.

“Well, it’s my goal, but it’s their goal. I gave it to them,” he explained.

I sat still. Gordon finally broke the silence. “Okay, it’s my goal.”

“And your job is to get your team engaged to achieve your goal. How can you do that? I gotta tell you. I looked at the project specs and the deliverables and the milestones aren’t that exciting.”

“Well, yes, but when the project is finished, overall, it will be quite an accomplishment. That’s how I described the vision in my memo,” Gordon continued.

“And you think a memo is the best way to engage your team? This is not Mission Impossible. Your memo is not as exciting as a tape that self-destructs.” I stopped and let Gordon stew for a bit. “No one listens to you, no one reads your memos. Yet, you need them to cooperate to achieve your goal. How are you going to do that?” -TF

Authority and Power

“Okay, here is what I want to happen,” Gordon explained. His description was thorough. He painted a good picture.

“I can see your vision,” I replied. “How do your people see this?”

“That’s the problem. I think I explained it well, in the memo I sent out, but they don’t seem to get it. For some of my team, I don’t even think they read it, and I get a little heartburn from that.”

“So, you haven’t figured it out, yet?” I asked.

“Figured what out?” Gordon’s head tilted.

“As interesting as I think I am, I finally figured it out. Nobody listens to me. As interesting as you think you are, nobody listens to you.”

“But, I’m the boss! They have to listen to me.”

“Gordon, you have a kid at home, right? Do you, as the parent, have the authority, at dinner, to demand that broccoli be eaten?”

Gordon sat up. “Well, yes I do.”

“But your kid has the power to determine whether broccoli will, in fact, be eaten.”
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There’s a lot of valuable information in this course that isn’t easily available elsewhere, and the coaching from Tom in addition to accountability for actually carrying out the assignments makes for a solid learning experience. Keep up the good work. The online format makes the course accessible, and makes it easy to put into practice directly in a work environment. -Erik LaBianca

Working Leadership Online, register now.
Mar 16Planning – Creating the Future
Apr 6Delegation – Ultimate Leverage
Apr 27Control Systems and Feedback Loops

Shoot From the Hip?

From Working Leadership Online:

Question:
You said the first step in planning is NOT goal setting. But when we plan, we sit around the table and set goals. What did we miss?

Response:
The biggest problem in planning is the “shoot from the hip” goal setting exercise. Setting goals are important, and there are two critical steps that come first.

In my younger days, my alarm would go off at 3:30a. In a groggy stupor, I would sit up and reach for the clock. Something kept me from sailing it across the room. Something kept me moving, out of bed, lacing my shoes for a 15 mile run to the beach and back. It was NOT the goal of running 15 miles. In fact, the thought of running 15 miles at 3:30a was about as negative as I could think.

I was training for a marathon. And the one thing that moved me forward was NOT the goal of 15 miles for the day, not even the goal of completing the marathon. The only thing that moved me forward was the vision of me, crossing the finish line.

The first step in the planning process is to create a clear and compelling vision. It is the only tool, for the manager, to paint a picture of the future, to create enthusiasm and excitement in the team to go forward.

Yes, I was quite dapper, hair in the wind, tape across my chest, crowd cheering me on, slim in my running togs. Shoes laced, out the door, training for a marathon. The first step in planning is to create a clear and compelling vision. -TF
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Working Leadership Online, register now.
Mar 16Planning – Creating the Future
Apr 6Delegation – Ultimate Leverage
Apr 27Control Systems and Feedback Loops

Someone Might Hold Us Accountable

I just completed the curriculum for the next Subject Area in Working Leadership Online. Planning – Creating the Future.

I am always struck by what planning helps us do and what excuses we have for not planning more often.

  • We don’t have time to plan.
  • Our plan never works anyway.
  • We don’t have enough information to plan.
  • We could create a plan, but the boss will veto it.
  • I was responsible for the last plan and it didn’t work. I caught hell for it. No more planning for me.
  • If we put a plan together, someone will try to hold us accountable for it.

That last one is my favorite.
Planning – Creating the Future kicks off March 16. Working Leadership Online. Register now.