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.

Who Should Be the Leader?

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

I read the post on Race Day, and I am very curious about how the crew selected the crew leader for Race Day? Did they just elect someone?

Response:

This is a very interesting question. In some of my workshops, I often assign a small group to complete a complex task. While the exercise is to the complete the task, the purpose of the exercise is to put the group in a position where a leader emerges.

So, who becomes the leader? It is seldom put to a vote, but the group always has an intuitive sense who the best person should be.

At first, I thought the decision might be related to technical skills, but that is often not the case. Most often, it is the person who has the time span most suited for the assigned task.

It is the person who understands not only each of the individual steps of the task, but the most appropriate sequence, the relationships of those steps, and most importantly, the people who will be performing each of the steps.

The fascinating part in the selection of this person, is that the members of the group have an intuitive sense of who the leader should be. -TF

Race Day

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

A couple of weeks ago, in Execute Like a Dictator, you make a quick reference, (BTW, you cannot be the dictator). What did you mean by that?

Response:

In his book Driving Force, Peter Schutz, the former CEO of Porshe uses an analogy to contrast the difference between planning (democracy) and implementation (dictatorship).

Implementation as dictatorship is captured by his story of Raceday. In the pits, there is no discussion of 401-k plans, or office holidays or the quality of food in the company cafeteria. On Raceday, there is only pure focus on replacing the worn tires, refueling the tank and getting that car back out on the track. As the CEO of Porshe, Peter had the pleasure (and the pit pass) to be close to the action.

On one occasion, there was a bit of confusion and the pit leader screamed at him, “Hey, you, go get (something that Peter described as heavy and dirty).” There was no discussion, this was a dictatorship. Peter scurried away and fetched the dirty, heavy object back to the side of the race car.

This system of implementation on Raceday (as a dictatorship) is required. It is the only way to be competitive. There can be no time for discussion, generating alternatives, being sensitive to feelings. It is Raceday and to win the race, their execution had to be flawless.

But notice that the CEO was NOT the dictator. Yes, there was someone barking direct orders, but it was the crew leader who was the dictator. During the planning stages, in preparation for Raceday, the crew duly selected someone to be their leader for the day. In their planning, they agreed that person would coordinate their efforts and they would, without question, comply with their full efforts.

So, as the manager in your organization, you may find implementation, to be competitive, must be like a dictatorship. You may also find yourself fetching something heavy and dirty. -TF

What Could Be More Important?

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“Why is it important for a Manager to think one year into the future?” I asked.

Melanie had finally opened her mind to discovery. “If I had been thinking out a year, I could have had conversations with my supervisors a long time before they quit. I would have known what changes to make to keep them challenged. I didn’t think they would be interested in learning new things and stepping into more difficult projects.”

“So, if I asked you, as a Manager, to take a single piece of paper and chart out your team members, think about their capabilities and interests, and develop a one year plan for each one, could you do it?”

“Well, yes, but I would probably have to talk to each person, to make sure I was on target, it’s going to take some time,” Melanie replied.

“So, what do you have to do that is more important?” -TF

Could They Have Found It Here?

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“But, how could I possibly know a year in the future, what my team members will do?” Melanie asked. “I don’t even know what I am going to be doing a year from now.”

“That’s an interesting question,” I replied. “What questions could you ask? Think about the two supervisors you just lost, who graduated from night school. What questions could you have asked?”

“Well, I could have asked them if they were going to night school.”

I smiled. “You already told me you knew they were going to night school, so somehow you had managed to ask that question. Think deeper. Think further out into the future.”

Melanie’s mind began to crank. “I could have asked them what they were studying. I could have asked why that interested them. What they hoped would happen as a result of going to school.”

“And if you had known the answers to those questions?” I prompted.

“I guess I would have found out if what they wanted was something they could find here, in our company.”

“But you didn’t get that chance, did you?” -TF

Melanie’s Discovery

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Melanie was thinking. I repeated my question.

“What things do you need to pay attention to that will have an impact one year from now?”

“This company is pretty stable in what it does,” she replied. “We may replace a machine or our volume might go up or down. But what is really volatile, is the people. You never know what is going to happen with the people.” Melanie’s mind began to race like she had just discovered uranium.

“You’re right,” she continued. “The biggest thing that always changes is the people.”

“And even if the people don’t change, the people change. Even if it’s still the same people, they are not the same people.”

Melanie’s discovery of uranium was shifting to panic. This new world that opened up just a few seconds ago, suddenly got very scary.

“So, I am responsible for knowing that, a year into the future?” she asked.

I nodded. -TF

Seeing the Future

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“You were promoted because your manager was promoted. I didn’t think you were ready to make the move from supervisor to manager, but the position was open and the COO was impatient. He is now having second thoughts when he looks at your turnover statistics.”

Melanie became quiet. Her voice was calm. “I didn’t know that. But you said two of my supervisors quit because they graduated night school and got better jobs. I can’t help that?”

“We didn’t find that out until the exit interview. They had jobs lined up three months before they gave you notice. And you didn’t know.”

“But how was I supposed to know. We stay pretty busy around here,” she protested.

“Melanie, the job of being a manager is not about being busy. It’s not about scrambling to save the day. As a supervisor, you were effective at that. Now, it is killing your effectiveness as a manager. As a manager, your role is completely different.

“You said you could anticipate things, as a supervisor,” I continued. “You said you could see the future. I need you to see even further into the future. As a manager, I need you to think out 12 months.”

Melanie shifted, sat up, “But, who knows what is going to happen a year from now?”

“Indeed,” I said. “What things do you need to pay attention to that will have an impact one year from now?” -TF

From Supervisor to Manager

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Our next Leadership program kicks off January 9, 2008. For registration information, visit www.workingleadership.com.
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“Do you know why you were promoted from supervisor to manager last year?” I asked.

“Because, I was the best darn supervisor the company had,” Melanie replied.

“And, being the best supervisor, what did you do that none of the other supervisors were able to do?”

“Oh, that was easy. I could see the future. I could tell when something was going to get screwed up, weeks ahead of time, and I could adjust the schedule to make sure we stayed productive. You know, if you reject some raw material because it’s out of spec, that means you have to shift some stuff around.”

“Yes, you were one of the best schedulers around.”

“What do you mean, were?” quizzed Melanie. “I still am.”

“Not exactly. Do you know why you were promoted from supervisor to manager last year?” -TF

Three Months Notice

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“This is all spilt milk, anyway,” Melanie snorted. “I know I have to buckle down, get out there, split up the work, then see if I can put an ad in the paper. I have gone through this before, third time this year.”

“I know,” I nodded. “I have read the exit interviews. Did you know that two of the three supervisors that left you this year had graduated from night school?”

Melanie’s eyes got wide. “Well, I knew they were going to school at night.”

“Did you know they had new jobs lined up three months before they graduated?”

“Well, I thought that was all talk. I didn’t pay any attention to that.”

“I know you didn’t pay attention. If you had paid attention, you would have three months advance time to prepare a new supervisor to take over. Now, you have to scramble. Melanie, the only reason you still have a job, here, as a manager, is that you are a pretty good scrambler. But, one day, you won’t be able to scramble and you’ll get sacked for a loss.” -TF

Knowing Enough to Predict

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Thanks to Larry Stamper for his response to yesterday’s post about Melanie’s dilemma.
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“Who is responsible for the team?” I asked again. “Who is responsible for the performance of the team, and all the things that affect performance?”

Melanie started looking around her office, as if someone was going to appear.

I continued. “If it’s not you, as the department manager, if it’s not you, then who?”

Melanie’s eyes stopped skirting the room. There was no hero that appeared. One last time, she floated her excuse, “But how am I responsible for one of my supervisors quitting?”

“That’s a very good question. How are you, as the manager, responsible for one of your supervisors quitting?”

“What, am I supposed to be clairvoyant?” Melanie snapped.

“That would be helpful,” I nodded. “But let’s say you don’t have supernatural powers. How could you, as the manager, know enough about your supervisors, to have predicted this departure?” -TF

I’m Not Accountable

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Ring in the new year. Our next Leadership class in Fort Lauderdale begins January 9, 2008. Registration is open at www.workingleadership.com.
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“I feel let down,” Melanie lamented. “I don’t know how I am going to explain this to the CEO. He has a short temper for this kind of thing. The worst part is, I’m just the messenger, but likely to get the brunt of it.”

Kyle, one of Melanie’s direct reports had just quit, leaving the rest of her team with more work and a tight deadline.

“Why do you feel you are just the messenger?” I asked.

Melanie moved her head back, almost startled. “I am not sure what you mean,” she said. “I’m not the one who quit. I am just the one who has to report it upstairs.”

“You’re Kyle’s manager?” I confirmed.

“Well, yes, but Kyle is the one who quit.”

“I understand Kyle is the one who quit and I am also curious to know who is responsible for the team that is now missing a member with a backlog that is going to crunch an important deadline?”

“But, Kyle is the one who quit,” Melanie protested. “You can’t hold me accountable for the pickle we’re in. I know I am the manager, but what am I supposed to do?”