“What have you told them about future layoffs?” I asked.

“You know we can’t make any promises. We let two more people go last month, even though we thought we were through with reductions,” Marcus replied.

“So, they may ignore what you say and watch only what you do?”

Marcus grimaced. “Okay, I get that. Everyone is still concerned for their job. But, at the same time, we need to spread the work out to make sure it all gets done. I can’t have one or two people cornering all the projects, or hiding work that needs to be done, just to make sure they can look busy.”

“What has to change to make that happen?”

Just exactly what is a manager accountable for?

This is not a production job, there is no direct output. Production is only accomplished through other people. So, what are the four managerial authorities? And what are the four managerial accountabilities?

On Monday, Working Leadership Online, kicks off its next series.

• Sep 14 – Managerial Authorities – Time Span and Accountability
• Oct 5 – Managerial Authorities – Time Span and Hiring Talent
• Oct 26 – Time Span and the Performance Effectiveness Appraisal

If you would like a free login to this series, we are opening (10) scholarships. If you would like to participate, please respond to Ask Tom.

“I am still uncomfortable with confrontation,” Lauren explained. “There is a knot in the middle of my stomach.”

“How long have you felt this way?”

“About a week,” she said. “He is not doing his best. I saw that. I only started to feel uncomfortable when I knew I had to say something to him.”

“So, your stomach is your guidepost?”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Your stomach is a valuable detector. Here is one thing for certain. If your stomach is upside down, it is likely you are dealing with a real issue. If your stomach feels fine, you can be assured you are avoiding the real issue.”

Lauren felt fine until the point of confrontation. While she observed underperformance, she was fine as long as she avoided the issue. Your stomach is a valuable detector. What issues are you avoiding?

Managers contribute to underperformance by avoiding the issue. Managers hope. I am here to tell you there is no hope. There is only the conversation.

In our Working Leadership Online program, I asked a participant to describe the benefit of the Field Work related to accountability.

“Getting over the fear of having the conversation. I was scared it would spiral out of control. The meeting went nothing like I anticipated.”

We provide a proven model to deal with underperformance, but the biggest obstacle is still the fear of confrontation. Our model not only addresses the underperformance, but also the fear on the part of the manager. Here are the essential steps.

• Describe the behavior (underperformance) you observed, as a manager.
• Describe the impact of the behavior.
• Describe the implications of what will happen if nothing changes.
• Describe your contribution to the underperformance, as a manager. (Yes, as a manager, you are part of the problem.)
• Describe the ideal outcome.
• Ask for an action plan.
• Listen.

Except for the last step, this is a monologue, lasting less than 60 seconds. There are some other ground rules, but this is the core. Now, check your fear at the door.

“Why are you avoiding this conversation with Curtis?” I asked.

“I know I should talk to him, but I just don’t like confrontation. His production is below par. I don’t think he is doing his best. But if I talk to him, he might get upset and his production might get slower,” Lauren explained.

“How do you define confrontation?”

“Curtis screws up and I call him on it.”

“And?”

“And he will try to defend himself with excuses. I will have to argue with his excuses. I will have to force my reasons against his excuses. I just want to avoid it,” she protested.

“What if you changed your definition of confrontation to a search for the truth. Instead of excuses, let’s find out what the real problem is and see if Curtis can fix it?” I suggested.

Sometimes, the way we understand a single word can change the way we see what we do. Many people avoid confrontation because it brings uncomfortable images. If we can see confrontation as a search for the truth, we can have the conversation with a more productive purpose.

From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:
I listened with interest at your last Time Span workshop. How come we never heard of Elliott Jaques before? He makes so much management sense, yet he seems to have been a best kept secret.

Response:
Elliott is seldom included in the management literature, yet everything we know about organizations and organizational structure rests on the shoulders of his research. But if you look hard, you will find outposts, practitioners who continue his legacy.

Michelle Malay Carter writes often about Elliott and the principles contained in his research. Here is an excerpt from Mission Minded Management.

“Managers have double accountability. They, as employees themselves must bring their best to bear and give their managers their best advice, but in addition, they are accountable for the output of their team.” Read more.

“Why does Taylor think he is getting a raise?” I asked. Dana had talked to Taylor about coming in late everyday, but her Positive Sandwich sent a mixed message.

“I didn’t want to upset him by coming down too hard. I need him to change his behavior, but I don’t want him to be angry at me,” Dana replied.

“Why do you think he would be angry?”

“No one likes to be criticized.”

“How can you deliver the message, the direct message, without criticizing?” I challenged.

“I don’t know,” Dana relented. “Everyone is late sometimes, but this is beginning to have an impact on the rest of the team.”

“So, there is some criticism that needs to be stated. Remember, there are only two people in this conversation. How can that criticism be put on the table without you being the critic?” I pressed.

Dana’s face relaxed. “I can describe the behavior and ask Taylor to describe the impact of the behavior.”

“And what if Taylor’s analysis of the impact is weak?”

“Then I will have to ask him a better question,” Dana nodded.

Most managers feel they have to be the critic and often criticism (a judgment about behavior, a judgment about effectiveness) needs to be stated.

Effective managers get to the same place by asking questions.

“You are looking at longer Time Span goals and creating systems,” I said. “What is Curtis’ goal?”

Glenn looked serious. “Curtis doesn’t have to worry about the system. As a supervisor, he just has to make sure production gets done.”

“Is that why he is throwing you under the bus? You are trying to create a system, and he is just trying to make the production goals for the day.”

“But, I explained the reason for the system. I don’t see why he doesn’t buy in. I expect him to be a team player,” Glenn defended.

“Your longer Time Span goals, the ones that drive your system, are your goals, not his. He has his own goals related to getting production done. And those are shorter Time Span goals. If you are going to get any traction on this, you are going to have to speak in terms of his production goals.”

Often a manager speaks out of both sides of the mouth. On one hand, Glenn wants to drive production to meet output goals. On the other hand, he knows that production must be efficient to meet profitability goals. Until Glenn can explain both requirements as necessary, his decisions will remain a mystery to his team. And when his decisions are a mystery, his team, if pressed, will throw those decisions under the bus in an effort to just get the production done.

“How do you explain your role as a manager, and Curtis’ role as a supervisor, so Curtis understands and can, in turn, explain it to his team? Without throwing each other under the bus?” I asked.

Glenn was thinking, but only to his fallback position. “I am the manager, I design the system. Curtis is the supervisor, he drives the system.”

“Sounds a bit authoritarian,” I observed. “What drives your system, why is it necessary to have a system, in the first place?”

“Because things would be a mess, if we didn’t have a system,” Glenn defended. “I mean we could run around all crazy and put band-aids on things, but we would still have problems over and over. I want to prevent problems, for the long haul.”

“You don’t want to fix the problem over and over, so you created a system. What’s your goal?”

“You’re right. I am not worried about losing a tool on Tuesday. I am working on productivity rates over a long period of time.”

“What period of time? When did you start thinking about productivity?”

“We were in a planning meeting and our CFO showed us a report on labor rates and revenue. He wanted to know if we could improve the ratio,” Glenn explained.

“How long did your executive team give you to make the improvements?”

“The CFO gives me a report every month, and we look at it in a planning meeting each quarter.”

“What’s your goal?” I asked again. “How much improvement do you want, and in what period of time?”