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.

Leading From the Front

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Last week, we talked about Stripping Away those behaviors which do not serve us well as leaders.

Sameer posted the following comment:

Leading from Front – Weird? OK so the reason I say that it doesn’t serve me well is that my nature wants me to be involved. Inquisitive is the right word. I want to be there for my colleagues, peers or anyone who is facing the problem. I am not an expert in that area, I have a habit to sit beside and pair with the developer to fix the issue. Not often, I stay late or work weekends with them.

I think this is causing a lot of dependency on me which probably is not allowing the growth of the person. I also think this imposes my thoughts and his power to think is chopped.

Sameer, you are on the right track. It is easy, fun and rewarding to work through the problem side by side. Sitting side by side, though, removes the struggle, removes the crucible for learning. Sure, the problem gets solved, but learning suffers. More important, as a manager, you lose your time leverage.

Tomorrow, I will share a secret formula to use instead. -TF

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January 22 kicks off our next management program. Visit www.workingleadership.com.
Our next Sales Program is slated for January 31. Visit www.workingsales.com.

Necessary to Continue

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Ernesto introduced himself to the class. “Hello, my name is Ernesto, and I have been in management for ten years. I have one person reporting to me. My biggest challenge is making sure they do the job right. I have so much experience that I seldom make mistakes and I think that is why I was promoted. It’s important we don’t make mistakes because mistakes cost the company.”

I smiled. Ernesto was everything his boss had described. True he had been a “manager” for the past ten years, but it was just last week that he was assigned his only direct report. His company had tried that several years ago, but three people quit on his team in one month.

Time had passed. Ernesto had grown. He had matured and his company was willing to risk it again. His company needed Ernesto to step up to the plate. In fact, it was necessary, if Ernesto was going to continue to contribute.

It was time for Ernesto to move to the next level. -TF

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Our next management program begins January 22. Visit www.workingleadership.com.
Our next sales program begins January 31. Visit www.workingsales.com.

Make Sure It’s Not Fatal

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Ernesto was going to be a fun student. He had fifteen years experience with his company. He was an expert. Starting last week, he now had one person reporting to him. He was now a manager. And there were already complaints.

“How could a person so valuable, with so much technical knowledge alienate his direct report so quickly?” asked Ernesto’s boss.

“How long did it take?” I followed up.

He shook his head. “A nanosecond.”

“How does it happen?”

“I think he is afraid. He is afraid that his direct report is going to do something wrong, it will be done incorrectly and it will come back on his shoulders.”

“Welcome to management. Of course those things will happen. People learn the most from their mistakes. In fact Ernesto will have to learn from his mistakes. Let’s just make sure they are not fatal.”

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Our next management program begins January 22. Visit www.workingleadership.com.
Our next sales program begins January 31. Visit www.workingsales.com.

Stripping Away

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Until recently I have avoided this inevitable discussion about leadership. The reason is that there is so much crap out there in the marketplace, like 10,000 books on leadership. So, the only way I am going to talk about it is to frame the things that make sense. That make sense to me.

If leadership is who you are, then how do you become a better leader? This does not mean changing who you are. This means becoming a better you.

In his book Beneath the Armor, Ole Carlson talks about how we come into the world perfectly equipped to be a leader. We are:

  • Curious (about all possibilities)
  • Enthusiastic (unbridled)
  • Energetic (from within)
  • Inquisitive (searching)
  • Explorer (turning over every rock, just to see)
  • Learner (always getting better)

But through our lives, sometimes to be better managers, we learn behaviors that do not serve us well.

  • Instead of Curious (we have a textbook answer)
  • Instead of Enthusiasm (we become reserved)
  • Instead of Energetic (we measure our excitement, look for outside stimulation, alcohol and drugs)
  • Instead of Inquisitive (we know the answer)
  • Instead of Explorer (we know the right and only way)
  • Instead of Learner (we get good, we become learned, we become an expert)

How many options does an expert have to solve a particularly troubling problem?

Becoming a better you is a process of stripping away those behaviors that do not serve you well. Make a list. Post a comment. What behaviors and habits do you have that do not serve you well?

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Our next management program kicks off January 22 in Fort Lauderdale. Send me an email if you are interested. -TF

Not Something You Do

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Our email from Exhausted stirred quite a ruckus. Even more comments were posted over the weekend and Monday.

So what could Exhausted have done differently to gain a remarkably different result? I suggested wearing a leadership hat instead of a management hat. But what does that really mean?

Unfortunately, wearing the leadership hat is not a technique. It is not something you do. It is who you are. So, what could Exhausted change about himself, to get a different result? What could you change about yourself, to get a different result?

This is an intriguing change. It is not about being someone different. It is about being more of who you are. And stripping away the behaviors that do not serve you well. If these are things that you have trouble identifying and changing in yourself, how can you expect to change them in others? -TF

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Our next management program kicks off January 22, in Fort Lauderdale Florida. Send me an email if you have a question. -TF

All Crumbs Lead Back to the Manager

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I am a bit overwhelmed with the quality of responses to the dilemma posted by Exhausted this past Friday. If you are an email subscriber, you should visit the site to read the comments. There are some very thoughtful suggestions at both ends of the spectrum.

Recap:
Exhausted is faced with a decision about a direct report who is resistant to his management of her work behavior. Last Friday’s post has the details.

My response:
As I listened to your description of events, I only heard about your efforts and your failure to manage this person to your way of thinking and behavior.

People don’t want to be managed. You can manage a process, you can manage a machine, but you cannot manage a person. Which is kind of weird, because we think that is what managers are supposed to do.

People don’t want to be managed, but they will follow a leader. If you take your manager hat off for a bit and replace it with your leader hat, what would you do differently?

You see, the only way to manage people is with pressure tactics, control systems, threats of punishment, job descriptions, verbal and written warnings. You have tried all of these and you are left with a poor attitude and a resistant direct report.

But with your leader hat on, what are the new tools you have to build trust and gain commitment. People will sign-on to a world that they help to construct.

Here is the bad news. For the past four months, you have managed this person into a state of resistance. You may have ruined her. And you may not have the patience or the time to repair the damage. And the damage may not be repairable.

By all appearances, this person may be headed for an inevitable separation. And separations happen. You will then get a chance with a new person. As a manager (leader), you will get a second chance. Take a look at your hat, make sure you are wearing the right one. Whenever I hear about this kind of situation, all crumbs lead back to the manager. That would be you. -TF

Exhausted, Need Help!

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

I am a new manager in this company, but I have 6 years experience in my field, so, technically, I am qualified and have the drive to be good at anything I do. I have 2 employees that work directly under me and consistent problems with one. I feel like she resents me because she was overlooked for my position several times because she is a female. I sympathized at first, but after 4 months, it is very clear that her attitude and lack of drive to go the extra has been her problem. After one month in my new position without making any significant changes, I sat down with each of them and created in writing what I expect from them. They both signed, agreeing that the terms were fair.

Yet, even after our talk, she has been resistant to anything I have asked her to do and continues to argue with me about the way we do things.

I have verbally warned her that this behavior is unacceptable, but I feel like I need to write her up so it is on record that she has been warned. She wants more money (not the opportunity to make more, but to be GIVEN more) but I am ready to get rid of her. I am a very tolerant guy, but I feel that her resentment is causing her to not be able to change her attitude. I want to give her the benefit of the doubt, but I am exhausted. I want to praise her for doing a great job, but I can hardly get her to just do what I expect, much less exceed expectations…I NEED HELP!!!

Response:

I will hold my response until Monday. I am curious what my readers think. Has anyone ever had this person work for you? What were the symptoms? How did you handle it?

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Our next Leadership program begins January 22, 2007. Visit www.workingmanagement.com.

Had By A Cause

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So, I left Shannon to ponder why. Why was she drawn to be a manager? Late in the day, I got this email. I asked her if I could share it.

Thought about what you said. I guess being promoted to manager was just the next thing. This is different than I thought it would be.

You asked me why? I think I just wanted to be more important. I think I wanted more responsibility. And now I have it.

But you were right. It wasn’t really for the money. It wasn’t so I could order people around. I just want to make a difference. A difference for the company, a difference for the people on my team and to make a difference for me.

I think Shannon is on the right track. It seems that she has a cause. But having a cause is not enough. To be a truly effective leader, Shannon has to be had by the cause. And right now, I don’t think she understands the cause enough to be had by it.

What do you think? -TF

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Download our 2007 Business Plan template from our website www.managementblog.org.
Our next Sales program begins January 8. Visit www.workingsales.com.
Our next Leadership program begins January 22. Visit www.workingmanagement.com.

Drawn to Leadership

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Shannon was staring at her desk. She didn’t look depressed, but certainly not happy.

“What’s up?” I asked, trying not to sound like a Budweiser commercial.

“Not much,” she replied. “I was really ready to come back to work from the holidays, but yesterday was a barn burner. Ever since I was promoted to manager, things have been different around here. It was so much simpler when I just came to work and punched a clock. Most of the time, it’s great, but there are times when things are just so frustrating.”

“So, why did you want to become a manager?”

Shannon furrowed her brow. “I don’t know. I just got promoted.”

“Why didn’t you turn it down?”

“I never thought about. It was a promotion, I got a raise.” I could see in her face that she had never explored this question before.

“That’s the reason most people become managers,” I said, “for the money. But if that’s the case it never lasts. The second reason is ego, you know, all the authority to push people around. But that doesn’t last very long either. Management is hard work, times get tough and if you are going to survive, you have to discover why you are drawn to be a leader.

“Think about it. I will check with you tomorrow, to see what you have discovered.”

And so I left Shannon to struggle with the same question I am asking you. Why are you drawn to be a leader? -TF

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Download our 2007 Business Plan template from our website www.managementblog.org.
Our next Sales program begins January 8. Visit www.workingsales.com.
Our next Leadership program begins January 22. Visit www.workingmanagement.com.

Merry Christmas

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Originally published December 23, 2005.

As Matthew looked across the manufacturing floor, the machines stood silent, the shipping dock was clear. Outside, the service vans were neatly parked in a row. Though he was the solitary figure, Matthew shouted across the empty space.

“Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night.”

He reached for the switch and the mercury vapors went dark. He slid out the door and locked it behind.
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We hope you all have a wonderful holiday. Management Skills Blog will return on January 3, 2007. We will be checking email over the holidays, so if you need us, you know how to get us.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. -TF