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.

The Problem with Results

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Great response to the announcement about our Online Leadership program. Target start date is August 9. Details.
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“That’s the problem with our results based system,” Audrey explained. “As his manager, I have to sit around and wait for the results to come in. If they don’t, I am supposed to be quick and decisive. Chop phim off at the knees.”

“You sound like it doesn’t work out sometimes.”

“More than sometimes. There are almost always outside circumstances that impact results. I can have someone doing a great job, but some circumstance spoils the party. Even though they were doing a great job, they get a (2) on their performance appraisal.

“Or even worse,” Audrey continued. “I have a supervisor, who is really doing a lousy job, but they get lucky, the goal gets achieved, so they score a (5).”

“And?” I prodded.

“And, now my boss says we have to cut overhead, somebody has to go. I have to pick the lousy supervisor with the (5) and let go the good supervisor with a (2).”

Online Program

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Over the past 13 years, I have had many requests to deliver our classroom program in other parts of the country. Unfortunately, the logistics of this type of program are difficult. We can’t do the work that needs to be done in a one-shot seminar.

So, we have been working hard to create the same learning program in an online platform. We studied online learning for several years and spent the time creating a platform we are finally happy with.
If you have interest in participating or have someone on your team that you think would be interested, here is the heads up.

  • We will have about 20 participants in an online interactive group.
  • I will personally be the instructor.
  • There will be application assignments that have to be done at work (so to participate, you have to actually be working in a management capacity).
  • There will be outside reading in addition to the time spent online with interactive discussion assignments, about two per week.
  • This is not some zippy online course that you can wing your way through. Participants should plan to commit 2-3 hours per week for five weeks.

If you are interested, follow this link to the pre-registration. Pre-registration only commits your interest. Once we have a group together, we will confirm the start date and see who is ready to go.

The tuition for the program is $600, but if you pre-register, you will get a $50 credit toward the program. Looking forward to seeing you online. -TF

Do You Believe It?

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“When you evaluate his effectiveness, given his resources and his challenges, how does he stack up?” I asked.

Audrey was quick to reply. “No way. That’s the problem. We have a results based performance review system. He is obviously not getting the results we want, but there is always something, some circumstance that prevents him or his team from delivering the goal. And that something, that circumstance always seems to make sense.”

“You mean the excuse that gets him off the hook is the excuse that you believe.” -TF

The Problem is Not the Problem

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“We call him, Teflon,” Audrey said. “Nothing sticks. Things go wrong in his department all the time, but he always has an explanation why one thing or another caused the problem. Always something out of his control. Not his fault.”

“Has he ever taken responsibility for some performance measure in his area?” I asked.

“No, he has never had to. You would think there is a worldwide conspiracy out to get him and foil all his plans. Even when I don’t buy his excuse, he has a backup excuse to replace it. Do you think he is just unlucky?”

“Audrey, sometimes the explanation for the problem tells you more about the explainer than it does about the problem.” -TF

Not a River

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“So, life is NOT a river,” Ellen repeated.

“No,” I replied. “And I cannot teach you the things you need to know to become a better manager. You cannot read a book on management and suddenly be a better manager.”

Ellen looked disappointed.

“If you can’t teach me, then who?”

“Ellen, it is your journey. You are responsible for the preparation. You are responsible for taking the steps. You are responsible for learning along the way. What you choose to read and who you choose to listen to are important, but you are responsible for the learning.” -TF

The Journey

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“I know I need some help,” Ellen explained. “I am in a new role, I have to step up my game. I know you and I know that many people trust you to help them. I need you to teach me, so that I can become a better manager.”

“I am flattered,” I replied, “but I must tell you a story.”

There was a young woman searching for the meaning of life. She had heard of a wise man who lived at the top of a mountain, who, by all reports, could help in her quest. So she made preparations for the journey.

It was a long journey, traveling by foot. Many overnights before she arrived at the mountain. The mountain was not particularly dangerous to climb, but the path was another two days journey into a higher elevation.

Finally, she arrived, and sat with the wise man she had heard so much about. After explaining the reason for her travel, she asked the question. “Sir, what is the meaning of life?”

To which, the wise man quickly responded, “My child, Life is a River.”

The young woman was clearly taken aback. “I heard you were a wise man, so I traveled many days to arrive at your mountain, then traveled two more days into the clouds to speak with you about the meaning of life, and all you have to say is that Life is a River?”

The wise man looked directly at her, “You mean, it’s not a river?” -TF

Importance of the MOR Conversation

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July 16 kicks off our summer Leadership program here in Fort Lauderdale. For registration information, please visit www.workingleadership.com.
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“So, the relationship between the supervisor and the line worker or the manager and the supervisor is all about the work. And that relationship is an accountability relationship,” I explained.

Sylvia nodded, so I continued, “What is the appropriate relationship between the manager and the line worker? What is the nature of the relationship for the Manager Once Removed?”

“It can’t also be an accountability relationship, because the line worker would then have two bosses. That’s a little schizophrenic.” Sylvia’s head turned. “But the conversation I was having with Muriel, our line worker, wasn’t about the work. I was interested in how she was doing as a person. I was interested in how she was adjusting, how she was finding things with the company.”

It was my turn to nod. Sylvia continued.

“As the Manager Once Removed, I think it is important to have those kinds of conversations. Her supervisor will talk with her about the work, making sure the work gets done. My role, as a Manager, is to create the system, monitor the system. It’s important for me to find out the condition of the system.”

“Is it also your responsibility to be grooming your next wave of supervisors?” I asked.

“Yes, and my next supervisors are going to come from my best team leaders. As the Manager Once Removed, I need to be having conversations about career paths and opportunities within the company.”

“And, as a Manager, do you also have an accountability relationship with the supervisor who reports to you?”

“Yes, and I can find out a lot about Vince’s performance as a supervisor by having a Manager Once Removed conversation with Muriel.”

Nature of the Relationship

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Our summer Leadership program in Fort Lauderdale kicks off July 16. For registration information, visit www.workingleadership.com.
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“First of all, Sylvia, every company is a real company, even a company of three,” I replied. “As companies grow larger, the structure of how they work together becomes more complicated, for better or for worse.”

“Well, we have a good sized company,” Sylvia responded. “We have supervisors, managers, vice-presidents and a CEO. And we have an organizational chart.”

“So, let’s talk about those relationships and how they work best. A line worker reports to a supervisor or a supervisor reports to a manager. What is the nature of the relationship? What do they talk about?”

Sylvia struggled to describe this. Everyone knows, magically, how this reporting relationship works, but describing it is difficult.

“They talk about problems,” Sylvia started. “Problems with the work.”

“Or successes with the work,” I picked up. “But their relationship is around the work. It’s all about the work. This reporting relationship is an accountability relationship.”

Sylvia nodded.

“As a manager, when you have a conversation with a line worker, you are the Manager Once Removed. What is this conversation about? What is the nature of this relationship?”

“That’s what Vince objected to,” Sylvia quickly protested. “I felt that it was an appropriate conversation, but when Vince objected, I didn’t know what to say.”

“That’s because Vince was wrong. What is the nature of the relationship of the Manager Once Removed?” -TF

Undermining Authority?

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It’s July and in two weeks, the summer will be half over. Don’t miss our summer boot camp for managers in Fort Lauderdale. It’s a six week program that kicks off July 16. For more information, visit www.workingleadership.com.
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“He said that I was undermining his authority, that if I had anything to say to one of his team members, I needed to go through him and he would deliver the message. Otherwise, he said, Hands Off.” Sylvia was off balance. “I didn’t know what to say.”

“What did you say?” I asked.

“Well, I told him I was sorry, that I didn’t realize I had overstepped my bounds on his team and that I would try to be more considerate in the future.”

“And how did he respond?”

“He started talking about professionalism and that if I had worked where he used to work, that I would have been written up,” Sylvia replied.

“So, this place where he used to work, was this some sort of policy, that managers could only engage people one layer down in the organization?”

“Exactly. He said that if I had worked for a real company, I would have known that.”

Hands Off

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“Muriel is a line worker, who reports to her supervisor, Vince, who reports to me. Muriel has been here for six months. I am certainly not her supervisor, but I am the Manager Once Removed for her team. Her team is a very important element of my system,” Sylvia explained.

“What’s the problem?” I asked.

“I was talking to Muriel, just asking how things are going, about how she has adjusted to working here. That’s when the fireworks started.”

Sylvia had my curiosity. “Tell me more,” I prompted.

“Her supervisor, Vince, remember that Vince reports to me. Vince walked by, interrupted us, began grilling me on our conversation. I tried to tactfully excuse Sylvia from the discussion, but she had a scared look on her face.”

“What did Vince say?”

“I pulled him into my office so we could talk in private. He said that I was undermining his authority, that if I had anything to say to one of his team members, I needed to go through him and he would deliver the message. Otherwise, he said, Hands Off.”