“Don’t be a smart-ass,” Rafael replied. “I guess you are right. We train on our procedures manual when they are first hired, but it’s not like they spend much time with their nose in the book after that. But still, you would think-”

“Stop,” I said. “Stop with the whining. Look, Rafael. Your guys run into a customer problem they can’t solve and they run to you. There are two things going on here. They bring you the problem and what do you do?”

“I give them the answer,” Rafael shot back.

“That’s the first misstep,” I replied.

Wheels up to Milwaukee today. I am working with Jim Heller and his two Vistage groups on the research of Elliott Jaques.
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“So, you feel like your team lines up outside your door, pitching the same problem, over and over at you?” I asked.

“It’s not the same problem,” Rafael replied, “but you would think that if I told them the answer to one problem, they should be able to take the answer and figure out the next one.”

“Is that how you do it?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, most times, our customer’s problems are not that different. You figure out one, and you should be able to figure out the next. And we have the solutions to most of our customer problems written down in our procedures manual.”

“And your team reads the manual a lot?” I smiled.

I would like to thank Karen King and her three Vistage groups in Albuquerque for their kind hospitality last week. Elliott Jaques – Part II, is now available.
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Rafael looked glum. “I’m tired,” he said.

“Physically tired, burned out tired or bummed out tired?” I asked. (This is known as a diagnostic question).

He cracked a smile. “Cross between burned out and bummed out. Seems like I am always solving the same problems, over and over.”

“Like what?”

“It’s my team. It doesn’t seem like they can solve any of the problems they run into. They are always running to me. And it’s the same kind of problem over and over. You would think they would figure it out.”

“What do you think you are going to do?” I pushed.

Rafael leaned back, and joked, “I think I am going to have to get one of those take-a-number machines.”

“Do you bring value in this manager-team member relationship by issuing directives and orders, calling meetings (that she doesn’t show up to), getting angry when she doesn’t do what you tell her to do?” I challenged.

“I would think that she would have some respect,” Joan finally fought back.

I shook my head and stared. “As a manager, you will never get respect, you can only earn respect. And you can only earn respect by bringing value to her problem solving and decision making. Can you bring value by issuing directives and orders?”

“Based on the response I am getting from her, obviously not,” Joan replied.

“Can you bring value to the relationship, value to her problem solving and decision making by asking questions?”

Joan tilted her head back. The tension in her face turned calm. “I can ask questions,” she repeated.

“Can you push her thinking by asking questions? Can you broaden the scope of her solutions? Can you bring in other perspectives by asking questions? Can you challenge her assumptions, bring in alternatives, anticipate contingencies, bottlenecks, all by asking questions?”

Joan smiled, and nodded. “I think I know what to do.”

Headed into Day Two with Karen King’s Vistage group in Albuquerque, NM on the research of Elliott Jaques.
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“You have a tenuous relationship with your most valuable team member,” I stated flatly. “It is your job, as a manager, to bring value to that relationship.”

Joan nodded, but did not speak.

“It is your job, as a manager to bring value to her thinking and her work.” I stopped and changed direction. “What is work?” I asked.

“Well, for my team, it is contacting customers, following up on orders that fall through the cracks, talking about our products,” Joan floated.

“Those are things that you, as a manager, can see, things you can observe. But what is the work?”

I was fishing and Joan wasn’t taking the hook.

“You can watch and observe physical actions, but the work is more difficult to see. The work is making decisions and solving problems. How can you bring value to her decision making and problem solving?”

Greetings from Albuquerque, NM. I am here through Friday with Karen King, a Vistage Chair, working with her groups on the research of Elliott Jaques.
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“It’s not industry experience,” Joan shook her head. ” I’ve been here only eight months, a newcomer to this industry. My problem team member has twelve years experience on me.”

“So, what was it the prompted the company to bring you in, as her manager?” I asked.

“I suppose they didn’t want to lose a valuable producer, moving her into management,” Joan guessed.

“Let me ask you, after twelve years, as a producer for this company, do you think there are any techniques she doesn’t know?”

Joan was looking for the trick in the question. “No, she knows the process cold, great relationships with our customers.”

“Then what value do you bring to her work?” I prodded. “Because that is why this company brought you in from the outside. And it is this value that will earn the respect.”

“Why did the company bring you in from the outside, instead of promoting a 12 year veteran?” I asked. “The two of you are about the same age. And she has more years of specific experience.”

Joan thought for a minute. “You are right. She has more experience, in doing the work, but I don’t think they brought me in to do more work.”

“So, why do you think they brought you into the company? What do you bring to the table, that is different? And what is so different about your role, that they would pass over someone on the inside?”

“I don’t know,” Joan shook her head. “And this was never discussed during the interview process. But it was definitely an intentional decision.”

“Easy to say, difficult to do. Bringing value,” I repeated.

“Not sure what you mean. I think it is a respect issue,” Joan replied. “You think I can gain respect by bringing value. What does that mean?”

“Look, you are new here. You have been with the company since November and her manager for only two months, she has been here for twelve years. She knows her job, what does she need you for? Why would she go to one of your silly meetings, anyway?”

“My meetings are not silly, they’re important,” she protested.

“The meetings are silly to her, until you prove otherwise. Even acknowledging you in the hallway is silly to her, until you prove otherwise, until you earn her respect.”

“But, I was hired in to be her manager, some respect should come with the territory. I know she wanted my job, but the company hired me instead.”

“She ignores me, like I am not even there,” Joan complained, “and I am her boss.” Joan joined the company as a manager nine months ago. One of her direct reports was a 12 year veteran with the company.

“What is going on?” I asked.

“I call a meeting of my staff, she doesn’t show. I walk past her in the hallway and she doesn’t acknowledge me. She is focus forward. I have seen personality conflicts before, but this one takes the cake.”

“How do you think you will gain her respect?”

Joan shook her head. “I just want her to be nice. At this point, I have about given up on respect.”

I waited for the pity party to settle.

“It is really very simple,” I replied. “All you have to do is bring value to her thinking and her work. Stimulate her thinking. Help her improve to the next level. You cannot gain respect by giving directives or demanding that she be a nice person. You can only gain respect by bringing value.”

Easy to say, difficult to do. On July 6, we will begin our Coaching Series in Working Leadership Online. Here are the topics.

• Jul 6 – Coaching – Bringing Value as a Manager
• Jul 27 – Coaching Underperformance – Time Span and the Employment Contract
• Aug 17 – Coaching High Performance – Time Span and Highest Capability

Stay tuned next week for a special offer for this series.

From last week:
Is it appropriate for a Manager-Once-Removed to conduct performance appraisals, or should the direct Manager do this review?

We had this insightful comment posted by Gary Markle, author of Catalytic Coaching.

Tom…
This is a trick question. The real answer is that it is not appropriate for either manager to give the once-removed employee a performance evaluation because the ritual is tired and ineffective performed by anyone. It’s like asking who should spank the child, the parent or grandparent? How about neither? They should substitute coaching, more specifically Catalytic Coaching.
Cheers, Gary

Indeed, my response was “if the conversation is about Performance (shorter Time Span goals), it should be conducted by the direct Manager.”

I have never been a fan of traditional performance reviews. In some cases they are a waste of time, in most cases they can be destructive. That said, conversations about performance are important for a number of reasons.

• Quality standards (product or service)
• Safety standards
• Efficiency, consistency and predictability of performance
• Competence
• New skills, growth and direction

These conversations are so important that they should be held on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Catalytic coaching describes an effective process to do just that.

For those of you tracking our Working Leadership program, you will note on the schedule below, we have three sessions on coaching (a critical managerial role) beginning July 6, 2009. You can now register for a single session, a group of three sessions or an annual subscription.

Apr 27 – Control Systems and Feedback Loops
May 18 – Managing Time – Managing Yourself
Jun 8 – Team Problem Solving – Power of Team
Jun 29 – Summer Break
Jul 6 – Coaching – Two Powerful Models
Jul 27 – Coaching – Underperformance and Misbehavior
Aug 17 – Coaching – People to Their Maximum Level
Sep 7 – Fall Break
Sep 14 – Managerial Authorities – Managerial Accountability
Oct 5 – Employee Entitlement – Yes, there is one.
Oct 26 – Performance Effectiveness Appraisal
Nov 23 – Break (Thanksgiving – USA)
Nov 30 – Bringing Out the Best in People
Dec 21 – Jan 10, 2010 – Winter Break