Category Archives: Leadership

The Long Road

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“Where did you learn that?” I asked. Nathan, a new manager, had been sidelined by his team.

“I don’t know. I was giving orders for the day and a couple of the guys wandered off and before you know it, I was in the room by myself.”

“What do you think happened?” I continued.

“Well, Troy had been on my case since I was first made manager. Seems he thought he was in line for the job. But the company picked me.”

“So, now, what do you think your challenge is?”

Nathan was quiet, then finally spoke, “Somehow, I have to get them to trust me.”

“Nathan, it’s a long road, to get your team to trust you, even if they have known you for a long time. Where do you think you will start?”

Nathan was still quiet. I poked my head out the door. His team hadn’t abandoned him. They were all at their workstations, doing their work, but it didn’t seem like Nathan was having his way.

“Nathan, I think your team will work okay for the rest of the day. The schedules that were posted yesterday haven’t changed that much. Let’s take a hike down to the coffee shop and talk about a new strategy. It’s tough being the new boss.” -TF

The First Challenge

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Joel was not shaking, but he was certainly shaken.

“I just don’t know,” he said. “Since I was promoted from being a supervisor to a manager, things are different. It is certainly not as easy as I thought, a bit out of control.”

“Being new to management is tough. No one prepared you for this, they just promoted you and expected you to figure it out,” I replied.

“And what if I don’t figure it out?” Joel asked.

“Oh, you will figure it out. But that is no insurance that you will succeed. There are a number of reasons that managers don’t make the grade. The first reason is commitment. This is harder than you thought it would be. Being a manager requires a passion for being a manager. Being a manager is a lot different than being a supervisor.”

“You are right about that. Being a supervisor was fun, fast paced, things were always changing and I had to respond quickly. Being a manager, things move slower. I have to think about things. And the worst part, most everything I do is accomplished through other people. Other people are hard to control. They don’t always show up the way I want them to.”

“So, you are facing the first challenge of a being a manager. Do you really want to be a manager? Do you have a passion for it? Just saying yes doesn’t make it so. Why do you have a passion for it?” -TF

Change and Job Security

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“Everything seems to change, every day,” Charlotte whispered. In class, we were talking about the frequency of change in her company. She felt the change, but had never said the words.

“Think about this,” I suggested, “if nothing changed in your company, what would your team members be doing at work?”

The anticipated blank stares pierced the silence around the room. “That’s right!” I exclaimed. “If nothing changed, they would never do anything different. They would continue to do the same thing they did the day before. And life would be good.

“But things do change, and that is why you all have jobs as managers. Think of change as your job security. As long as there is change, you will have a job to do.

“As your customers change, as specifications change, as technologies change, as we find better ways to do things, your job, your role as a manager is to modify your systems and processes to accommodate those changes.

“The more things change, the more your company needs competent managers. Lecture over, last one through the door, turn out the lights.” -TF

What Has Changed?

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So, where do we start?

Awareness.

Think of all the things that have changed.

In your industry?

In your company?

With your team?

With yourself?

Leadership is about you. What has changed about you?

Nothing?

Thou shalt not kid thyself. (11th Commandment). -TF

Sustaining Change

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Phillip had assembled his sales team. They had promised to meet to look over their schedules for the following week. One or two had substantial clutter on a spreadsheet looking paper. Others had something tucked away inside a folder, a corner peeking out, but nothing available for casual inspection.

“Phillip tells me, you all decided to make some changes with the way you go to market,” I started. “I am very interested to hear about your plans.”

There was some shuffling of bodies around in chairs, everyone trying to get comfortable with this new accountability.

“I see some schedules for next week,” I continued. “Let’s get the cards out on the table.” Everyone looked to their left and then to their right, some schedules appeared, then more, then all. Some were full of chicken scratch, some were sparse.

I asked Phillip to explain, again, the purpose of the meeting, the purpose of the schedules, the purpose of this change of habit. We went around the circle, each explaining their schedule.

“Here is the secret,” I observed. “This is what will make this work. And if you don’t do this, the likelihood for success is slim.

“Many people think that making this kind of change is noble and the nobility will sustain it. Others think that if they don’t make this change, they will feel guilty and the guilt will sustain the change. Neither of those thoughts work.

“The only thing that will sustain this change will be to gather those people around you who will not let you off the hook, who will hold you accountable for what you promise to each other. It is the only thing that will sustain you through those time when you want to quit, or when you feel lazy.

“So, look around the table, my friends. This is the group that will help you to the next level. You just have to give them permission to hold you accountable.” -TF

Not a Psychologist

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“So, your bully has to change?” I continued.

“Yes. You have talked about necessity in the workplace,” Miriam replied. “This change is necessary for her to continue to be a member of my team.”

“But, can people really change?” I challenged. “You know, we are not psychologists or social workers.” I was testing Miriam’s resolve.

“You are right, I am not a psychologist. I am a manager. It is not my job to make her change. I can make her aware of the problem. I can create an environment where she can make the change. I can check-in with her about her progress, but you are right, the responsibility for change is hers.

“In the end, I am the manager. It is up to me to determine what behavior is necessary for a person to be a member of my team.”

___
Our next Leadership Program in Fort Lauderdale begins February 26, 2007. Visit www.workingleadership.com.

You Stand For What You Tolerate

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“You stand for what you tolerate.” The words stung. Miriam’s heart skipped a beat. She thought her team was sympathetic with her plight as a manager. Now, she was not so sure.

She didn’t respond. She didn’t ask any questions. She simply stood up and left the room. Miriam was headed for a conversation she should have had months before.

I headed to the coffee room to wait. This would take either ten minutes or an hour.

This was a ten minute conversation.

When Miriam returned, you could see a sense of relief and calm in her face. The tension was gone. She was the first to speak.

“I asked her if she knew that everyone thought that she was a bully. I said that, as her manager, I had contributed to the problem because I never had the courage to talk to her about it.”

“And how did she respond?” I asked.

“She didn’t believe it, I mean, she accepted that it might be true, but she had no clue that is what people thought.”

“How did you leave it?”

“I told her to think about what I said and that we would talk at the end of the day, that, together, we would figure out what had to change.”

“Change?”

“Yes, I said that, as her manager, I could not tolerate bully behavior. That it had to stop.”

Miriam knew her next steps. The difficult part was over. -TF

___
Our next Leadership Program in Fort Lauderdale begins February 26, 2007. Visit www.workingleadership.com.

What Do You Stand For?

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Miriam looked wide eyed as she explained what had happened. “I know I should have confronted the behavior straight away, but I didn’t. And now, she thinks it’s okay to be snotty and nasty to people when she doesn’t get her way.”

“How long has this been going on?” I asked. Miriam stopped. She didn’t want to tell me.

“Well, it pretty much started the first month she was here.” Silence. “Okay, about a year and a half.”

“And you haven’t spoken to her about her behavior?”

“At first I thought she was just having a bad day, then it turned into a bad week, then a bad month. By then, nobody wanted to go near her for fear she would rip their head off.”

“That bad?”

Miriam pursed her lips, looking sideways. “Well, not that bad, but she is just plain mean to people around her.”

“And what does your team think about the way you have handled it?”

“Oh, they must think I am very frustrated with her,” Miriam explained. “They know I am just afraid to say anything, even though I am the manager.”

“I don’t think so.” I lowered my eyes to look directly at Miriam. “After a while, you begin to stand for what you tolerate.” -TF

We Can’t Talk About It

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

I find myself sometimes in meetings where things are often decided in advance, by politics. And the meeting seems just organized to the appearance of democracy. There is no control in these meetings. They just happen and sometimes it is better to just let it go and walk away. Nevertheless, I step out of those meetings with a bad feeling.

Response:

First, your stomach is an excellent guidepost to the effectiveness of a meeting. When your stomach feels bad, something was not discussed that is actually preventing the organization from making progress.

This often happens counter the intentions of the manager.

Susan was concerned about her team not being creative enough. She called a meeting to come up with some creative ideas to solve a customer problem. When the meeting started, Susan passed around copies of her list of ideas. Then she asked the group to come up with their ideas. She was disappointed that no one else had any. NONE. So she called to complain that her team isn’t creative. She feels so overworked because she has to come up with all the ideas.

Worse, her team comes out of that meeting feeling bad that they had not contributed. It was all they could do to properly support the ideas that Susan came up with.

It was all pretense, all the appearance of participation. So, what is the issue? What is NOT being discussed, that must be discussed for Susan’s team to make progress going forward? -TF

Silly Policy?

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

I work for an insurance company as an IT administrator. I have difficulty getting anything done because the people lack interest. They do not realize how much the business hinges on IT. I have tried introducing standard policies like email, AUP, DRP, a disaster recovery plan, but they just have no interest despite the importance. These are business critical policies that need to be in place in any organization. I have tried all I can and put simply, I am annoyed and tired. What should I do? How can I make them see the importance of IT? How can I make them cooperate? Please advise.

Response:

This is a conundrum about any kind of policy or procedure, whether it is administrative, a manufacturing process or a safety procedure. Some people in the organization just don’t seem to care about your silly policy, when there are a ton of reasons why. I am going to give my readers a chance to respond before I jump on the bandwagon. -TF