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.

New Manager?

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

I am currently a sales representative with a prospective position as a sales manager over the next few months. I would be managing a sales force of approximately 10 people with 2-3 products using a fairly new selling process. It is tailored to think about WHY a customer makes a buying decision versus delivering a scripted message. This sales model incorporates detail aids (printed material) along with the use of television ads in the future. I have to begin to think about WHY I am ready for a district sales management position. What do you feel are truly the most effective skills that I need to think about as a new sales manager?

Response:

Being a Sales Manager requires a totally different skill set than being an effective sales rep. Many good sales reps have ruined their sales careers by being promoted to Sales Manager. Let me run my short list by you and then we will open it up for suggestions.

  • Hiring
  • Firing
  • Establishing accountabilities (targets)
  • Training
  • Evaluating performance
  • Coaching performance
  • Building a team
  • Running effective meetings
  • Reviewing and adjusting the sales model

We will spend the next couple of days looking at these skills in more detail. Meanwhile, I know several readers have made that transition and will have some helpful recommendations. Please leave comments. -TF

The Two Pieces of Appreciation

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Kurt, one of our readers from Belgium responded to our post Appreciation Feels Goofy.

In our country, we’re not educated to give positive feedback, not even at school. And it’s so much easier to see faults than to see strengths. Hopefully the next generation of managers gets their people to smile in a more natural embedded way. Out of experience, I know I perform better when people give me positive feedback rather than being a bully.
I don’t believe appreciation is taught in any country, at least not as a subject in school. Yet, positive reinforcement is one of the most powerful management tools.

What gets reinforced, gets repeated.

In my class, I often ask, “Who, here, has been getting too much appreciation from their boss at work.” It draws stifled laughter.

Rule number one. The appreciation must be honest and sincere. Honest and sincere appreciation contains two parts.

The first part is to tell the team member specifically what you observed (as a strength, a desirable behavior, a positive attitude). The second part (the sincere part) is the tell the team member why. Why was your observation remarkable?

That’s it,

A specific what.

A remarkable why.

A team member shows up for work early. It sounds like this:

I see you arrived ten minutes early for work today. It’s important to be on time. I just wanted you to know that I noticed.

What gets reinforced, gets repeated. -TF

The Telltale Sign

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Justin greeted me at the front door. His energy level was up and he had that telltale smile.

“Justin, how can you tell the difference between positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement? In terms of response from the team member?”

Justin was searching for the answer. He was retracing his steps, thinking about interactions he had with his team members. I interrupted his thought.

“Let me ask the question differently,” I said. “How can you immediately tell the difference between positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement? What is the immediate response to positive reinforcement?”

Justin was still thinking way too deeply for the answer.

I continued my interrogation. “Yesterday, you were describing yourself as politically incorrect and I said ‘I appreciate your honesty.’ Do you remember?”

Justin cracked a smile. “Yes, I thought you were going to give me a lecture on negative reinforcement. Instead, you started talking about my honesty.”

“See, you did it.” I observed.

“Did what?” Justin responded.

“You smiled. The immediate response to positive reinforcement is a smiling face. Many managers think they are delivering positive reinforcement to their team members, but I see scowls in return. Positive reinforcement invites a smile. If you don’t get a smile, you didn’t connect.” -TF

Appreciaton Feels Goofy

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“But I am not the kind of person who is all warm and fuzzy,” explained Justin. “If someone does a good job, that is what they get paid for. Why do I have to get all blubbery? It just feels goofy.” We were talking about the difference between positive and negative reinforcement.

“As a manager, when someone makes a mistake, do you have to correct them?” I asked.

“Well, yes. That’s what a manager does.”

“And when you correct them, do they do it right, or do they just do it well enough not to get yelled at?” I prodded.

“It’s strange, in the short run, they do better, but it doesn’t take long for them to backslide, take a short cut on a process, skip a step. It keeps me pretty busy, checking their work.” Justin wasn’t being defensive, just very matter of fact.

“So, it feels funny, giving honest and sincere appreciation, but it feels okay providing a little negative feedback?”

Justin grimaced. He didn’t like the way that sounded. “I suppose you are right,” he agreed. “But that is just the way I am.” In a way, he felt justified, even sat up straighter when he said it.

“I appreciate your honesty, Justin.” I smiled.

Justin couldn’t help it and cracked a smile back. “I thought you were going to tell me I was politically incorrect.”

“I am looking for something much more than political correctness. Being politically correct won’t make you a better manager. That’s why I focused on something more powerful, your honesty. Honesty will make you a better manager. Honest and sincere appreciation. Meet me here tomorrow and we will make that connection.” -TF

It’s a Skill Set

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Timo Söderlund, from Ebit Management, in Sweden, captured an important point in his comment posted last week. It was in response to our series about Cheryl, a technical troubleshooter who was recruited to improve throughput for a manufacturing company.

This is what you see quite often. An excellent salesman is promoted to become sales manager. It may work, but it may also fail. If you, at a certain age, have developed your skills and love the things you are doing – as a specialist or expert, and then start doing something else – like becoming a manager – I question if it can be “trained” into that person to become as successful a manager as he or she was before, in their field of expertise. A manager – in my view – is more concerned in people, their interaction, and the performance of the “team” – and this is quite far away from being an expert in a certain technical or administrative field.

In our classroom program, I have seen a number of technical and engineering people thrust into the role of management. Though they are extremely bright, this new management role requires a completely different skill set.

And it is a skill set of behaviors that can be learned. Interesting, I find that once learned, these skills have a transforming effect on the manager, as a person.

Beginning tomorrow, I will spend a few days exploring the role of positive reinforcement. “What gets measured gets done, but what gets reinforced, gets repeated.” -TF

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Our next management program begins in Fort Lauderdale on September 25. For registration information, please visit www.workingmanagement.com.

Play Hard

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As we enter this holiday weekend here in the United States, my best wishes for a safe return next week to the world of management. For now, stay safe, play hard, recharge. Management Skills Blog will return September 5. -TF

Just Ask Questions

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“So, how did it go?” I asked. Cheryl had just emerged from her team meeting. Her eyes were still wide in partial disbelief.

“I am not sure, but I think we have solved the quality problem with the incoming plastic parts,” she replied.

“How did that happen?”

“Instead of telling the team what to do, I just asked questions and listened. I knew how I wanted this problem solved, but I listened. At first they were going off a cliff, so I asked the question in a different way. It was like magic. They gave me the solution I was looking for. Before I could say anything, they started volunteering to fix the problem.

“It seems that the burrs on the plastic parts were all from the same lot number. Sherman volunteered to run the defective parts over a grinder to remove the burr, but it was Andrew who surprised me.

“He volunteered to call the molding company and find out what was causing the burr. In fact, he left the meeting for five minutes and had the answer. The molder knew there was a problem with that lot, but didn’t think it would matter. They have since fixed the problem and are sending a short run over for us to inspect. Andrew said he would be standing by.”

“So, why does this surprise you?” I asked.

“I didn’t sleep last night worrying about how the meeting would go. I was expecting a big confrontation. Turns out, all I had to do was ask two questions.”

“So, what are you going to do the rest of the day?”

“I was thinking about taking a nap,” Cheryl said with a smile.

The Intersection

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Cheryl was impatient to get to her meeting. She knew how this get-together would be different. Her behavior would be the first to change. Instead of a one-way interaction, Cheryl planned to ask questions and listen.

“I know listening is important,” she said.

“It is the easiest thing to do and also the most difficult,” I prompted. “Tell me, what will you be listening for?”

“I will be listening for good ideas to solve this Quality Control issue,” Cheryl was quick to answer.

“That’s a good start, but the solution isn’t the hard part. Heck, they know the solution. The hard part is getting the solution executed. That’s where you have been getting push-back.”

Cheryl glanced at the ceiling, then at the table. “You’re right. The resistance has been implementing the inspection program. I will just have to try to understand their position better.”

“Cheryl, it’s more than listening for understanding. Understanding only gets you halfway there. You have to listen for discovery. You have to discover where their position intersects with your position. Only when you find that intersection, that common ground, can you begin a conversation to build the best solution. When you find that common ground, you will begin to build the trust necessary to gain the willing cooperation of your team.”

Cheryl lifted her pen to the paper on the table. She drew a line and wrote “the team.” She drew another line crossing and labeled it “me.” Where the lines intersected, she wrote “the starting place.”

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We are hunkered down waiting for Ernesto to pass. Not too serious, but it was a good shake-out of our preparedness plans. We will be better prepared for the next storm. -TF

The Position We Listen From

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My coffee was piping hot, hazelnut with a little cream. Cheryl’s meeting was to start in a few minutes. She was determined to turn things around with her team. She was hired as a troubleshooter in Quality Control, but finding the problem and fixing the problem are two different things.

“So today, you said you were going to listen?” I asked.

Cheryl nodded “Yes.”

“What position will you be listening from?”

The question caught Cheryl off-guard. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“The way we see the world is often influenced by our position. In fact, you have listened to your team before, but you were listening from a position of judgment, so you didn’t hear what they had to say.” I stopped to let that sink in. “What position will you be listening from today?” I repeated.

“I guess I will be trying to understand their point of view.”

“Not bad, but not aggressive enough to be effective. What position do you want to be listening from?”

Cheryl was stumped. “Curiosity?” she finally blurted out.

I nodded. “So, when you sit in your meeting today, you will be listening from the position of a curious child?”

Cheryl smiled.

“And curious children always have a lot more fun than stuffy old Quality Control managers,” I said. “And curious children often invent interesting ways to solve problems.”

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My thanks to Clyde Horner for reminding about the “position we listen from.” -TF

Who Has to Change First?

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“So, what are you going to do differently?” I asked. Cheryl had just received some brutally honest feedback from her team. Rather than become defensive, she was taking it to heart, a really tough move for Cheryl.

“As much as I know that I have things figured out,” she said, “that doesn’t seem to hold water around here.” Cheryl was truly struggling. She knew her team needed to make some changes, but she knew she had to make some changes first.

“So, what are you going to do differently?” I repeated.

“It’s almost like I have to do everything differently. The worst part is, that I can look at a problem and immediately know what to do. But I am going to have to lead my team through the problem solving process to make any headway with them. It just takes so much time.”

“Cheryl, sometimes you have to slow down before you can go fast?”

“I know,” she replied.

“So, what are you going to do differently?”

“First, I am going to have to listen more and talk less.”

“Good. When is your next team meeting?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Let’s meet about a half hour before and talk about how that meeting is going to be different.” -TF