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.

Accountability for the Plan

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“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?

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“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

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“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

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“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 16 – Planning – Creating the Future
Apr 6 – Delegation – Ultimate Leverage
Apr 27 – Control Systems and Feedback Loops

Shoot From the Hip?

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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 16 – Planning – Creating the Future
Apr 6 – Delegation – Ultimate Leverage
Apr 27 – Control Systems and Feedback Loops

Someone Might Hold Us Accountable

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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.

Objective Intuition

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From Working Leadership Online:

Question:
You talked about capability as one of the factors in underperformance. How can I measure that, so I can make better decisions about assignments?

Response:
As a Manager, you may think you have only a feeling about someone’s capability, but, in fact, that feeling can be objectively measured. This measurement was documented in statistically valid research studies by Dr. Elliott Jaques as early as 1952 and continuously validated in studies until his death in 2003.

The metric is Time Span. Time Span is the length of time a person can work into the future, without direction, using their own discretionary judgment.

As a Manager, think about any task assignment for any of your team members. Some will complete the immediate parts of the task and then get stuck, come back to you for more direction or just check out. Those Time Spans are relatively short.

Others can take a complex task assignment and carry it forward to its completion. These Time Spans may last for a few days, weeks or months. Time Span is the length of time a person can work into the future, without direction, using their own discretionary judgment.

Once a manager understands this simple concept, the intuitive feeling about a person’s capability can be objectively measured and better decisions can be made about task assignments. -TF
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Working Leadership Online, register now.
Mar 16 – Planning – Creating the Future
Apr 6 – Delegation – Ultimate Leverage
Apr 27 – Control Systems and Feedback Loops

Capability, Skill and Interest

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From Working Leadership Online:

Question:
Why do we constantly have to correct workers? Why don’t they just do the task lists given? Where is the balance between constant harping at employees and merely checking their work?

Aside from the fact that supervision is the job, I am, many times, at a loss to define why some Stratum I workers need constant correction. I realize it could be in the supervisor’s methods or it could be in the systems.

Response:
Whenever I observe an underperforming team member. I always ask myself these first questions. “Are they doing their best?” and if they are, then, “Is their best, good enough?”

If they are not doing their best, meaning, they could do better if something changed, I then follow these questions:

  • Do I, as their manager, think they have the capability to achieve the goals I have assigned to them?
  • Is their underperformance due to a lack of skill, which leads to some training and practice?
  • Is their underperformance due to a lack of interest? Are they simply not interested in this kind of work?

As the manager, you should be able to answer these questions.

Preview – Two Critical Steps in Planning

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Early this year, we kicked off our Working Leadership Online series. We have 15 people working their way through specific Field Work, spending time with their teams, and making progress on issues they face as managers. Here is a preview of the upcoming Subject Areas in this program.

Mar 16 – Planning – Creating the Future
Often, managers jump in and just start setting goals. When that happens, they miss two critical steps in the planning process. Have you ever wondered why you are the only person excited about your plan going forward? Planning – Creating the Future will explore the elements and proper sequence using a powerful planning model. In the Field Work assignment, participants will create and a publish a plan specific to their own situation.

Apr 6 – Delegation – Ultimate Leverage
Apr 27 – Control Systems and Feedback Loops
May 18 – Managing Time – Managing Yourself
Jun 8 – Team Problem Solving – Power of Team

To find out more about Working Leadership Online, just follow the link.

Rearranging Deck Chairs

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“When you look at this inventory problem, where should you be spending your time?” I asked.

Bruce looked down. “You’re right. I walk around the store barking orders about removing this display or re-working that shelf arrangement. I have team members to do that, and I have supervisors to make sure it happens.”

“What should you focus on?” I repeated.

“I need to focus on the system. I mean, I can still walk around the store. It gives me a better sense of reality, but I need to focus on the system. It’s the system that provides the predictability in our inventory management. Everything else is simply rearranging deck chairs.”