Erwin wasn’t leaving until I told him. We had been talking about managers and accountability. We had talked about fear and the manager avoiding the accountability conversation. “We have to overcome this fear,” I said. “If we don’t overcome this fear, the manager will stay put, frozen, and nothing will change. The team member will continue to underperform and the manager will remain miserable.

“Look, Erwin, most managers don’t understand the purpose for this accountability conversation. Most managers believe they have to perform some psychological magic on the team member, put them in a trance and return them to work as a perfect performer. By the way, that never happens.

“While the manager has the authority to put the team member into a trance (by virtue of being the boss) they have no power to do so. The manager has no magic. The only person who can make the change is the team member.

“You asked how my accountability model works. That’s how it works. It transfers the responsibility for change from the manager to the team member. As soon as the manager understands there is no magic and understands the weight of this conversation is on the shoulders of the team member, the fear begins to go away.” -TF

From the Ask Tom mailbag.

Question

I’m in a situation where I manage three different groups; however, I am not really the manager but actually in the same job category as the people I “supposedly” manage. The problem is my boss has given me the responsibility of all of these jobs, however, I do not have the authority to delegate to any of the people I manage. They all go crying to my boss. My tendency then is to try to “do it all”. I’ve spoken to my boss about the way I feel, “responsibility but no authority” and he does not know what I mean. He says just give it to him and he’ll find someone to do it. I feel unrespected, overworked and my self-respect is rapidly diminishing. What approach would be my effective for me to take?

Response

There are a number of dynamics going on here that are working against you. First there is the resistance from your co-workers to “assignments” for which they feel no accountability. Second is your boss, who wants to get things done, but is not willing to spend the time you need to work through this resistance. The third dynamic is you.

We could spend all kinds of time working on some technique or trick to subtly coerce your fellow team members into compliance or we could beat our head against the wall whining about how your boss just doesn’t understand. Or…

Or we can start with you. The biggest change that has to occur is not an approach. The biggest change that has to occur is with you.

I am going to throw this open to our readers for response. Here is the question.

What has to change in the mindset and the self-talk that will begin the slow development process of what being a manager is all about?

I have a fresh out-of-the-box copy of Jaynie Smith’s new book, Creating Competitive Advantage for the most insightful comment. -TF

“What’s the major benefit of a huddle meeting first thing in the morning?” I asked. The team looked around at each other to see who might jump in first.

“To share the plan for the day,” said Shirley.

“To make certain assignments,” chimed in Fernando.

“To schedule lunch,” smiled Paul. Everybody stifled a brief laugh.

“Lunch is important,” I said. “Now, most of you are too young to remember Woody Allen, but he said that 80 per cent of success is just showing up. One of the major benefits of a huddle meeting first thing in the morning is to firmly establish the starting point for the team.

“Lots of time can get wasted as people trickle in, fritter around, sharpen pencils (who uses pencils anymore?). But, if you have eight people on your team and you lose fifteen minutes, that’s two hours of production.

“A huddle meeting can start the day. Sharp and crisp. Five minutes. Let’s go. Hit it hard.” -TF

“I was one of the guys, now I am their manager,” said Jeremy. “I mean, I know what to do, it just feels weird.”

“Tell me about it.” I ask.

“Well, on Friday, we used to always go out for happy hour. Now, I am holding back. Maybe I will show up once a month after work, but I will usually only stay for one beer, then I beg off and hit the road.”

“What’s changed about the relationships?”

Jeremy took his time to respond. “I guess, instead of a friend, the relationship is one of accountability. I mean, it’s okay to be friendly, but sometimes you have to hold the line, sometimes you have to confront, sometimes the conversation is difficult.” He stopped. “And sometimes you feel by yourself.”

“So, who can you hang out with now?”

“Well, now, it’s the other managers in the company. They have all been supportive. It is a different perspective. I’m the new kid on the block.”

“And what about your old team, from when you were a supervisor?”

“They are still under me, but now I work through their new supervisor. That relationship, it’s not accountability anymore, not with me. Now, it’s more like a mentor relationship. It’s a longer view. Instead of me, telling them what to do, I do more observing. Their new supervisor is more concerned with their day to day productivity. I am actually looking for the one that will emerge as the next supervisor in another year.”

“Why do you think all this feels weird?” I ask.

“It’s new,” said Jeremy. “My role is different. I never thought there was this much difference between being a supervisor and being a manager.” -TF