“It’s not your fault that your most valuable team member is out sick, but I will still hold you accountable for the results from your team. What has to change?” I repeated.

Vicki was still stumped.

“Vicki, let’s look at all the variables that could have an impact on production. You are focusing on the team’s manual assembly. Do they work at different rates on different days?”

“Well, yes, sometimes, they work better when there is loud music playing, awful loud music,” she replied.

“So, some days are up and some days are down. I call that a statistical fluctuation. What other elements could cause a statistical fluctuation?”

“Oh, well, there are a number of things. Sometimes our tooling or tools get worn and they just can’t do the job at the same rate, until we change them out. Sometimes our raw materials aren’t quite the same and we have to stop and make small adjustments to accommodate. Heck, sometimes, too much humidity can affect the setup time.”

“So, all of those things, including the manual assembly can create statistical fluctuations in production?” I noted, making a small list on a sheet of paper.

Vicki nodded her head. A smile crept across her face. “You are right. Those are the things that create havoc in my day.”

“And who is responsible for solving those problems and making decisions, making adjustments to build 30 units a day?” I was looking straight at Vicki. “What has to change?”

“It’s amazing,” Megan explained. “I gave them the camera and a list of the 13 steps of the process and walked away. I didn’t supervise the picture taking. Forty five minutes later, they called me back. Think about that. My team has never called me over to their work area.

“They were talking about the best sequence for the steps, the proper way to perform some of the tasks and even one step that they thought was unnecessary. They have never talk about stuff like this, never ever.”

Now it was my turn to smile. “So, as their manager, what are you going to do next?”

“Well, they are re-shooting some of the pictures, but then I am going to print them all out and post them in this photo album I bought. I am also sending the photos over to the training department so they can put them into a PowerPoint.

“But the best picture,” Megan grinned, “was the picture of the team that goes on the front of the photo album. With the look on their faces, I think they actually like working here.”

“When you evaluate his effectiveness, given his resources and his challenges, how does he stack up?” I asked.

Audrey was quick to reply. “No way. That’s the problem. We have a results based performance review system. He is obviously not getting the results we want, but there is always something, some circumstance that prevents him or his team from delivering the goal. And that something, that circumstance always seems to make sense.”

“You mean the excuse that gets him off the hook is the excuse that you believe.”

“We call him, Teflon,” Audrey said. “Nothing sticks. Things go wrong in his department all the time, but he always has an explanation why one thing or another caused the problem. Always something out of his control. Not his fault.”

“Has he ever taken responsibility for any problem in his area?” I asked.

“No, he has never had to. You would think there is a worldwide conspiracy out to get him and foil all his plans. Even when I don’t buy his excuse, he has a backup excuse to replace it. Do you think he is just unlucky?”

“Audrey, sometimes the explanation for the problem tells you more about the explainer than it does about the problem.”

“I work because I have to work,” Vicki finally stammered.

“I will accept that,” I replied, “but not for the reasons you think.” A few seconds passed. “Are you happy with your work?”

“Well, yes. I mean, there are days when it’s frustrating, but mostly, I like the work.”

“And your team, do they like the work?”

Vicki winced. “Oh, I don’t know. It’s okay, I guess, but it’s hard work and if it were me, I don’t think I would like it.”

“Then why do they come to work every day?”

“Because they have to.”

“So, your team doesn’t like the work and the only reason they show up is because they have to? And do you think, if you left them alone all day, that instead of working, your team would sit around, play cards and take naps?”

From the Ask Tom mailbag: Kurt writes,

Question:
I think we all agree that employees should do their very best all day. But how do we measure/align this according towards our company’s deliverables? How do we translate doing your best towards real life results?

Response:
I can do my best and due to circumstances, the desired result may still not be achieved. I can also do less than my best, and due to circumstances, the desired result may nevertheless occur.

Real life results come from the decisions of the manager. It is the manager who decides appropriate resources and adjusts those resources according to circumstances. It is the manager who decides which tasks will be completed and given priority. If a team member’s best performance fails to net the result, it is the manager who should be held accountable for mis-estimating the effort required for success.

It has been my experience that most team members will always give their best.

When a team member fails to give it their best, due to a personal situation affecting the working behavior, I hold the manager accountable. Every manager should know every team member. They should know every team member’s spouse, and whether they play softball or go fishing on the weekends.

When a team member fails to give it their best, due to a poor working environment, I hold the manager accountable for the systems that created that environment.

When a team member fails to give it their best, because they are attempting to take advantage of the organization, violating their contract to do their best, I hold the manager accountable for identifying that behavior and taking steps to either correct it or remove the person from the team.

“So, it’s not me, but, Joe, who is supposed to motivate his team?” Alicia asked.

“No, that is not Joe’s role, as a supervisor,” I replied.

“Okay, so if he is NOT supposed to motivate his team, how IS Joe supposed to get the work done?”

“Alicia, when you hired Joe to be the supervisor, how did he put his team together?”

“Well, Joe had never really hired anyone before, so I helped him screen candidates and I made recommendations.”

“And what if Joe didn’t like your recommendation?”

“Well, Joe is an adult, and he had the final say. If there was someone he didn’t want on his team, I didn’t force him,” she explained.

“So, that’s the first answer to your question of how Joe is supposed to get the work done. While you (as the Manager Once Removed) may help and qualify candidates for his team, he has the authority to veto any appointment?”

“Yes,” Alicia nodded.

“And if, in his judgment, as a Supervisor, he feels that a team member is either not doing their best or that their best is not good enough to complete assignments, does Joe have the authority to deselect that person from his team?”

“Well, yes, I mean he can’t just fire someone, we have a process for that and it requires some approvals from HR and such.”

“But Joe has the authority to deselect someone from his team?”

Alicia continued to nod. “Okay, but there has to be more,” she coaxed.