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.

Training vs. Coaching

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“Take a look at this training program,” said Crystal. “We have been over it a hundred times, tweaked it here and there, but quite frankly, it’s not working.”

“What happens when you do the training?” I asked.

“Everyone seems upbeat, like they understand. We even do classroom exercises, but it doesn’t seem to stick. Two weeks later, they are back to doing it the old way, with all kinds of excuses.”

“How much coaching do you do after the initial training?”

“Well, anyone who seems to be having trouble, we write them up and they go back to the next training.” Crystal was visibly upset as she described what happened. “Sooner, or later, they all get written up and so they all end up back in the training. We have had this software in place for eight months and they are still writing the orders on paper and putting the information into the computer later. Sometimes the paper gets lost or it takes them a day or two to catch up. We wanted real-time order entry, but we are nowhere close.”

“But there is no real coaching except for sending people back to the beginning?”

“Yes, and every time we go round, the push-back gets stronger. They seem to hate the training,” Crystal said, shaking her head.

“By golly, I think you have found your difficulty,” I replied.

“What do you mean?” Crystal was puzzled.

“I don’t think there is anything wrong with your training. We need to focus on the time following the training. Let’s spend some time looking at the behaviors that follow the training. I think that is where you will find your answers.” -TF

How Well Should It Be Done?

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We were kicking around the new job description for a Project Manager. Howard was holding a copy of the current description. Current should be taken with a grain of salt. It was created three years ago and was little more than a starting place.

“Okay,” I started. “It says here that one of the responsibilities is scheduling.

The Project Manager is in charge of scheduling materials, equipment and personnel for the project.

“Remember our two questions? How well should it be done and by when?” I paused. The looks around the table were puzzling. I would have to dig deeper.

“Is part of scheduling actually publishing a written schedule?” I asked, finally getting nods of agreement.

“How far in advance should the schedule go?”

Matthew raised his hand. “At least a week.” He looked around to see if he was right. No one challenged him.

“Okay, by when should this schedule be published?”

Henry jumped in first. “By Friday, the week before, so on Monday, we know what is going on.”

“What time on Friday?”

“By 5:00 o’clock.” Henry replied.

I smiled. “Why not give yourself some time on Friday to review the Project Manager’s schedule to make sure it will fly?” Henry thought a minute, then slowly his head nodded.

By Friday at noon, the Project Manager will publish a written schedule detailing the materials, equipment and personnel requirements for each day of the following week.

“Is that better than the Project Manager is in charge of scheduling?” -TF

What Do We Pay You to Do?

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We were convened. I looked directly across the table at Matthew. “Just exactly, what is it that you think we pay you to do around here?”

“What?” Matthew had a puzzled look on his face. He had been paying attention, but this question caught him off guard. No one had ever asked him that question.

“It’s a fair question,” I repeated, “what do you think we pay you to do around here?” Matthew started to stammer out something, but I stopped him. I looked around the group. “Look, I am picking on Matthew to make a point. We are here today to create a job description for the open position of Project Manager. This is important work. If we fail to clearly set the expectations for this position, it is no wonder the last person fell short.”

Howard looked up. “But we have this old job description. It lists out all the stuff he is supposed to do.”

“That’s why most traditional job descriptions don’t work. They are just a list of tasks. In addition to what is supposed to be done, I want to ask two critical questions.

How well should it be done?

When should it be done?

“I want to create very clear performance standards that we can measure and I want to communicate that up front in the job description. Now, we have a good start because we have a list of tasks and responsibilities. We just have to answer those two questions about each.” -TF

People, Not Our Greatest Asset

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I had a couple of minutes in the lobby, so I was looking at all the teamwork posters on the wall.

Our people are our most important asset!!

For the first time, it struck me as odd. I was working with the management team to find a new Senior Project Manager. The last one didn’t work out so well and by the time they figured it out, they almost lost their biggest customer. I had been having difficulty getting them to spend the right amount of time on the job description, defining the management skills necessary for this position. The last guy had the technical skills, but none of the management skills.

As I entered the conference room, I asked the management team if they agreed with the poster in the lobby. Being politically correct, they were quite enthusiastic in their support.

I reminded them of Collins book Good to Great and asked them again, “Are our people our greatest asset?”

This team has been around me for a while, so they know when I ask a question a second time, their first response may need some rethinking. As I looked around the table, I could see the wheels churning. Finally, someone took a stab at it.

“Our people may not be our greatest asset. The right people are our greatest asset. The wrong person may be our biggest liability.”

“Good,” I replied. “Sometimes it takes a bad hire for us to realize how important this up-front work is. So, let’s get to work. What are the skills, knowledge and behaviors necessary for success in this position?” -TF

Spend Time on the Front End

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“It always seems like I don’t have time to prepare when we are interviewing candidates,” complained Paula. “Even taking the time to write a job description for the open position. I know we are supposed to, I just don’t have the time.”

“Paula, whether you want to or not, you will spend the time,” I replied.

“What do you mean?”

“As the manager, you will either spend the time on the front end creating the job description, defining the necessary skills and behaviors, or you will spend the time on the back end trying to shape the person you hired into a role that you never defined clearly in the first place.

“You get to choose where you want to spend your time, on the front end or the back end.” -TF

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Look Further

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I know this is long, but it is an important question from the Ask Tom mailbag.

Lucinda was impatient. “I have been waiting for a promotion from Project Assistant to Project Manager for some time now. My manager has been putting my promotion off for the past six months. I worked hard, attended workshops, gained the confidence of clients. In my review this past week, my manager again said I needed to wait, that I wasn’t ready. As a Project Assistant, I am already doing all the work of a Project Manager, but get none of the credit.”

“So, what are the reasons that your Manager feels you need to wait?” I asked.

“I don’t know. He just tells me I need to wait, a bit more training, perhaps, but I have been through training.”

“Lucinda, does your company have other Project Managers?”

“Yes.”

“And what kind of projects do they handle?” I was probing. There must be some reason for Lucinda’s manager to hesitate on this promotion.

“Well, they handle larger projects, but they have more experience. But they had to start somewhere when they were young.” Lucinda protested. I smiled as I watched her stand up for herself.

“Lucinda, I want you to do a couple of things. First, I need you to take a longer view of this. I know you want to become a Project Manager in the next three days, but I want you to imagine your career three years from now.” Lucinda nodded. I don’t know if she liked what I had to say, but she nodded. “It is likely that three years from now, you will have been a Project Manager for some time, probably handling larger projects than you handle now. I don’t want you to focus on the next three days. I want you to focus on the next three years and begin to map out a course for the kind of Project Manager you want to be then.

“Next, I want you to spend some time with other Project Managers in your company. You said they all had to start somewhere. Find out how they started. Find out about their first projects. Find out what skills they see as most valuable during their careers. Ask one of them to be your coach.

“Then, go back to your manager and ask his help in mapping out a three year plan to become a Project Manager. Tell him you know you will be promoted, and whenever that is, will be fine, but that you are looking further into the future at what kind of Project Manager you will be in three years. Ask what areas you need to work on, what future skills you need to develop.

“Lucinda, you will get your promotion, maybe in the next three weeks, maybe in the next three months. Look further in the future, that’s where the real payoff is. What kind of Project Manager will you be three years from now?” -TF

The End Around

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Frieda was frustrated. “I sit in a department managers meeting and get called on the carpet for an assignment that I knew nothing about. One of the other managers pulled an end-around and took a project directly to one of my staff members. I am not a mind-reader, how am I supposed to follow-up on a project I know nothing about. I told everyone in the staff meeting that if they want work done in my department, they have to work through me.” Frieda stopped. Calmed a bit. “That didn’t go over real well. Now everyone thinks I am a prima donna.”

“Do you think the other department managers are being malicious?” I asked.

“No, things are just busy. I think they just wanted to get the project done.”

“So, in busy companies, this kind of thing happens. We simply need to get work done and sometimes you may be out of pocket and one of your team members becomes convenient for the project. Don’t take it personally. The question for you is -How can you, as the manager, find out about these projects so you can schedule them appropriately?

“Do you have a weekly staff meeting in your department?”

“Of course, that is when we sit down and take a look at all the projects in-house, get a status and talk about production issues.” Frieda was firm in her response.

“So, I want you to add an agenda item. -What are the projects that have been assigned that we don’t know about? This is actually pretty easy. These would be projects that your team is working on that are not on the project list. The purpose is to capture the project information so your team can respond appropriately. You get back in control and your fellow department managers see you as cooperative and helpful.” -TF

Don’t Set Them Up to Sink

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“I just don’t know if he can do the job,” lamented Morgan. “It always seems to be a throw of the dice.”

“Why should it be a gamble?” I asked. “Why shouldn’t you be absolutely certain if Randy can do the job? He has worked here for two years.”

“Yes, but he has never been a supervisor before. And if we promote him and he can’t do the job, we will be stuck. We will either have to demote him or fire him. And demotion doesn’t work very well.”

“How can you be sure that he can perform all the tasks of a supervisor before you give him a promotion?” I probed. Morgan had a blank stare for a moment, and then he realized it was a leading question.

“You mean I should give him the tasks of a supervisor before I promote him?” Morgan was smiling now.

“Yes, not all at once. If you test him with all the tasks of a supervisor over a six week period and he is successful, you promote him. If he fails, you just stop giving him supervisor stuff.

“A promotion should not be sink or swim in the deep end of the pool. A promotion should be earned during a tightly controlled period of testing.” -TF

Dumb Questions

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“I’m not trying to show off,” defended Alex. “I have the answer, it’s quicker, it solves the problem. I know it looks like I am a just being a glory hog, but I call it a touchdown.”

I waited. Alex was in no mood to listen, not even to himself. So, I waited some more. Finally, I spoke.

“Alex, three months ago, did we expect you to have the answers to the biggest decisions on your projects?”

“Absolutely, that’s why I got the promotion.”

“Yes, three months ago, we expected you to be the best, the smartest person in the room. That’s why we promoted you to manager. Do you think this is a different game now?”

“I suppose it is or I wouldn’t be sitting here.”

“Alex, the game is different. Before, we expected you to have all the answers. Now you are a manager. We expect you to have all the questions. Instead of being the smartest person, you may have to be the dumbest person. I want you to ask,

What if? By when? Why did that happen? When do we expect to finish? How come that happened? What is stopping us?

“Just a few simple, dumb questions. It’s a different role you are playing, now.” -TF

The Purpose Behind the Purpose

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“There is another benefit,” I continued. Bob and I had been talking about rotating his team members, having them take turns leading the weekly team meeting.

“This small responsibility tests their leadership skills in a safe environment. It builds the management skill of running a meeting. It prepares them for those occasions when you are traveling and unable to attend. But as they lead the meeting, what else does it do?”

“I am not sure what you mean?” Bob replied.

“At the same time you are training them to become better leaders; you are also training them to become better…?” I stopped. Bob was thinking hard, but it finally came to him.

“Once they are in the hot seat as the leader of the meeting, they get a better understanding of how they can be better participants in the meeting.”

“So, you are using these weekly meetings for two purposes. The first purpose is to communicate the important content of the meeting. The second purpose is to build better leaders and better participants. And that is what I expect out of you, as the manager.” -TF