Category Archives: Learning

Head Trash

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“Standing in the classroom, it doesn’t matter what the subject is, first I have to deal with headtrash,” I said. We were locked in a discussion about learning.

“So, how do you teach a manager how to hold someone accountable,” Erwin repeated.

“It’s easy to teach someone the method. The difficult part is finding that part of the brain that keeps them from doing it. Most mismanagement comes from the manager sitting on a problem, not making a decision, not taking action.”

Erwin nodded in agreement. “I have seen that over and over.”

“The first step is awareness, identifying the reason for hesitation. Managers can come up with all kinds of excuses to avoid the necessary confrontation. That is where we start.” -TF
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Coming soon is a new design for Management Skills Blog. We have been working hard to develop new programs for managers, both classroom and online. Follow this link to find out about our next management program beginning July 24 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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Tour de France Update

Out of the Pyranees and back into a couple of flat stages. Here the breakaways over the weekend were successful in shaking up the top contenders.

For Team Discovery (USA), they saw Yaroslav Popovych (UKR-DSC) come back from place 23 to place 11 in a stage win that also saw teammate Paolo Salvoldelli abandon the race after a crash.

Popvych is the only hope for Discovery with most forecasting either Floyd Landis (USA-PHO), Denis Menchov (RUS-RAB) or Cadel Evans (AUS-DVL) to take podium honors in Paris.

But we still have the Alps to go.

Overall Standings after Stage 14

1-PEREIRO SIO, Oscar -ESP-CEI -64hrs 05min 4sec

2-LANDIS, Floyd -USA-PHO –+1min 29sec

3-DESSEL, Cyril -FRA-A2R –+1min 37sec

4-MENCHOV, Denis -RUS-RAB –+2min 30sec

5-EVANS, Cadel -AUS-DVL –+2min 46sec

6-SASTRE, Carlos -ESP-CSC –+3min 21sec

7-KLÖDEN, Andréas -GER-TMO –+3min 58sec

8-ROGERS, Michael -AUS-TMO –+4min 51sec

9-MERCADO, Juan Miguel -ESP-AGR –+5min 2sec

10-MOREAU, Christophe -FRA-A2R –+5min 13sec

11-POPOVYCH, Yaroslav -UKR-DSC –+5min 44sec

12-FOTHEN, Marcus -GER-GST –+5min 46sec

13-ZUBELDIA, Haimar -ESP-EUS –+5min 55sec

14-SINKEWITZ, Patrik -GER-TMO –+7min 7sec

15-LEIPHEIMER, Levi -USA-GST –+7min 8sec

16-BOOGERD, Michael -NED-RAB –+7min 23sec

17-TOTSCHNIG, Georg -AUT-GST –+8min 16sec

18-KARPETS, Vladimir -RUS-CEI –+8min 36sec

19-AZEVEDO, José -POR-DSC –+9min 11sec

20-SCHLECK, Frank -LUX-CSC –+10min 6sec

Yes, But How Do You Train It?

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It was a fair question. We were talking about core management skills that companies don’t train.

“How do you teach a supervisor how to hold a team member accountable for performance?” asked Erwin. “I mean, it sounds good. It’s a great buzzword, but come on. I just don’t see how you teach it.”

“I get the impression, you think accountability is a skill that can’t be trained,” I replied. “Tell me, how important is it?”

“Well, it’s important, but I am just not convinced it is something that can be trained.” Erwin’s jaw was set.

“I can see your point,” I said. “That’s why most companies don’t train their managers to do it. They think it’s important, but they don’t teach it.” Erwin was skeptical, but I had his attention.

“There are really two parts to accountability,” I continued. “First, is how to do it, the steps, the method. That’s the easy part. The second part is tougher. It’s all about the head trash swimming in the brain of the manager. In teaching, I spend more time on that part than the method.

“Tell you what, Erwin, meet me here on Monday for coffee and we’ll talk more about both parts.”

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We have been working hard on a new curriculum. Our next management program kicks off July 24, 2006, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Follow this link to find out more.

Tour de France Update

Floyd Landis (USA-PHO) is making his move. It was very deliberate Wednesday, to hang back, conserving energy for Thursday’s stage, minimizing the time loss and waiting to strike. His third place finish in Stage 11 gained him an 8 second time bonus which marks the current lead over Stage 10’s winner, Cyril Dessel (FRA-A2R). If Landis’ team can protect him through the next three stages in the Alps, he may keep the jersey into Paris.

This tough Stage 11 saw Discovery’s team crumble with George Hincapie (USA-DSC) dropping to 40th place gapping down 23:00min. Paolo Salvoldelli (ITA-DSC) is 24:00min behind Landis. Unless there is catastrophic chaos at the top of the heap, this margin puts both riders out of range of the podium. Only Discovery’s Yaroslav Popovych (UKR-DSC) has any chance and he is down 9:00min.

Overall Standings After Stage Eleven

1-LANDIS, Floyd -USA-PHO -49hrs 18min 7sec

2-DESSEL, Cyril -FRA-A2R –+8sec

3-MENCHOV, Denis -RUS-RAB –+1min 1sec

4-EVANS, Cadel -AUS-DVL –+1min 17sec

5-SASTRE, Carlos -ESP-CSC –+1min 52sec

6-KLÖDEN, Andréas -GER-TMO –+2min 29sec

7-ROGERS, Michael -AUS-TMO –+3min 22sec

8-MERCADO, Juan Miguel -ESP-AGR –+3min 33sec

9-MOREAU, Christophe -FRA-A2R –+3min 44sec

10-FOTHEN, Marcus -GER-GST –+4min 17sec

11-ZUBELDIA, Haimar -ESP-EUS –+4min 26sec

12-SINKEWITZ, Patrik -GER-TMO –+5min 38sec

13-LEIPHEIMER, Levi -USA-GST –+5min 39sec

14-BOOGERD, Michael -NED-RAB –+5min 54sec

15-LANDALUZE, Inigo -ESP-EUS –+6min 33sec

Slowly or Quickly

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From the Ask Tom Mailbag.

In response to Wednesday’s post Slow Down to Go Fast.

Question
So, how do you slow down if corporate says you also need to keep the numbers up? They say we need to retrain all these people on the new system, but we catch hell when we don’t meet last year’s numbers for today. It seems like they’re asking the impossible. Do they know they’re asking the impossible, but just don’t care? Morale is really being destroyed because of the stress of needing to train and also keep productivity up. Most of the staff wants to quit now. How do we turn this mess around?

Response
Any change in your system will cause the numbers to drop temporarily. So it really doesn’t matter whether you slow down to train or push people into a new system without training. The numbers will still suffer. No amount of yelling, pushing, manipulation will drive the numbers up. The only thing that will drive competence is PRACTICE. Your staff can practice slowly on a system they do not understand. Or they can practice quickly in a training environment.

You choose.

You will get little understanding from your manager until the numbers improve. They can improve quickly through training, or they can improve slowly while your people beat their heads against the wall. -TF

Training Before, Coaching After

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Crystal was puzzled. I had thrown her for a loop. We had been talking about her training program for inbound phone operators. The training wasn’t working, but she was looking in the wrong place.

The skill was simple. Enter the data into the computer during the phone call, not after the call. They had the software in place, the training program was clear, with exercises, repetition and interaction.

The problem was after the training. Following the training, the operators were literally abandoned. They had been introduced to the skill, even performed the skill two or three times during the training, but afterwards, NOTHING. Only one day later, all the operators had abandoned the new process and were back to taking notes on paper during the call.

“Crystal, I want you to develop some practice sessions following the training. Create some scripts based on the ones used in training. Then have the operators practice, practice, practice.

“And you are going to have to take off your training hat and put on your coaching hat. Your training is only intended to get this process started. Before you let them go, you have to bring them to a level of competence. Competence comes through practice and coaching. Training comes before the behavior. Coaching comes after the behavior. That is where you will find traction.” -TF

Training vs. Coaching

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“Take a look at this training program,” said Crystal. “We have been over it a hundred times, tweaked it here and there, but quite frankly, it’s not working.”

“What happens when you do the training?” I asked.

“Everyone seems upbeat, like they understand. We even do classroom exercises, but it doesn’t seem to stick. Two weeks later, they are back to doing it the old way, with all kinds of excuses.”

“How much coaching do you do after the initial training?”

“Well, anyone who seems to be having trouble, we write them up and they go back to the next training.” Crystal was visibly upset as she described what happened. “Sooner, or later, they all get written up and so they all end up back in the training. We have had this software in place for eight months and they are still writing the orders on paper and putting the information into the computer later. Sometimes the paper gets lost or it takes them a day or two to catch up. We wanted real-time order entry, but we are nowhere close.”

“But there is no real coaching except for sending people back to the beginning?”

“Yes, and every time we go round, the push-back gets stronger. They seem to hate the training,” Crystal said, shaking her head.

“By golly, I think you have found your difficulty,” I replied.

“What do you mean?” Crystal was puzzled.

“I don’t think there is anything wrong with your training. We need to focus on the time following the training. Let’s spend some time looking at the behaviors that follow the training. I think that is where you will find your answers.” -TF

The Purpose Behind the Purpose

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“There is another benefit,” I continued. Bob and I had been talking about rotating his team members, having them take turns leading the weekly team meeting.

“This small responsibility tests their leadership skills in a safe environment. It builds the management skill of running a meeting. It prepares them for those occasions when you are traveling and unable to attend. But as they lead the meeting, what else does it do?”

“I am not sure what you mean?” Bob replied.

“At the same time you are training them to become better leaders; you are also training them to become better…?” I stopped. Bob was thinking hard, but it finally came to him.

“Once they are in the hot seat as the leader of the meeting, they get a better understanding of how they can be better participants in the meeting.”

“So, you are using these weekly meetings for two purposes. The first purpose is to communicate the important content of the meeting. The second purpose is to build better leaders and better participants. And that is what I expect out of you, as the manager.” -TF

Test Their Leadership

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“I called back into my office to see how the meeting went, and found out that, just because I was out of town, they decided not to have the meeting. There were important items on the agenda, but they cancelled the meeting.” Bob had just returned from three days on the West Coast.

“What if you never came back?” I asked.

“What do you mean, if I never came back?” Bob replied.

“What if you decided to move to Montana and manufacture dental floss? What would your team do without you? How would they have their meeting?”

“Well, I guess, they would have to pick someone to lead the meeting and carry on.”

“Look, this is a regular meeting, right? Happens every week? Agenda very similar from one week to the next? It’s an important meeting, but the structure doesn’t change much.”

“You are right,” confirmed Bob.

“Pick your next strongest person, tell them to prepare the agenda for next week. Tell them they are going to lead the next meeting.”

“But, I will be at the next meeting.”

“Exactly, but you will become a participant. If you want your meetings to occur while you are out of town, you have to start identifying the leadership while you are in town. Each week, pick a new person to lead. Publish a rotation schedule. You will still be there to prompt and assist, but you will begin to test their leadership in a safe environment.” -TF

Play Ball

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I was going through the archives this morning. You can do that, too by visiting the Management Skills Blog website. So far, we have more than 300 articles posted, indexed and categorized. You can search the postings by category or phrase to find exactly what you are looking for.

I noticed this comment by Trudy in response to a post about positive reinforcement.

In other words, plan organize and catch employees doing things right.

Trudy’s comment is so accurate, it is easy to miss the point. Catching people doing things right requires planning and organization. I don’t want to simply catch them as if it were an accident.

I want to catch them as if I am “playing catch.” I want to be at the ready, glove in hand, waiting, anticipating AND even if the ball is off target, make every effort to field the throw. Yes, I want to catch them doing things right. I have my uniform on, hands on my knees. I am poised to move right or left. As a manager, I am ready. Play ball. -TF

Stick Around and Watch

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“But then, as the manager, I have to stick around to see if they actually complete the task,” moaned Shirley. “Why can’t they just do it the way I showed them?”

“Let me get this straight,” I said. “If you tell them about the new procedure, show them the new procedure. Get them to try the new procedure. Then leave. How long will they continue to perform in the new way?”

Shirley shook her head. “60 seconds! That’s it. As soon as I leave, they go back to the way they did it before.”

“Shirley, you are focused on what you do before the new behavior. What could you do differently after the behavior to get a different result?”

“You mean, stick around and watch longer?” she said. It sounded like a question, but it was more of a statement.

“And if you stuck around longer, what else could you do to get a different result?”

“I guess I could correct them if they did it wrong.”

“And if they did it right?” I prompted.

“I could tell them they did it right?” Now, it was a question.

“Yes, and what else?” I asked.

“Ask them to do it again?” The picture began to come into focus for Shirley.

“Yes, ask to see it again. Smile. Ask other people to watch how well it was done. Smile again. Tell her you want her to practice and that you will be back in ten minutes to watch again.

“If you want someone to acquire a new behavior, telling and demonstrating only gets it started. If you want the behavior to be repeated, you have to design rapid fire frequent positive reinforcement after the behavior. Watching, smiling, paying attention, encouraging. What gets reinforced gets repeated.” -TF

Blue Shirts

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“But the game goes deeper.” Travis and I continued to discuss the colored t-shirt program on the loading dock.

“For this program to really be effective, we have to think upline. We have to get the supervisor involved as well. Think about the colored shirts. For a supervisor, what’s the goal?”

It didn’t take Travis long. “To get all of his guys into blue shirts. That’s five levels of certifications for the guys on the dock.”

“And what is life like for the supervisor who has an entire crew in blue shirts?” I asked.

“Life must be great. They are all experienced, cross trained, able to handle complicated truck loads and tie downs, without a lot of supervision.”

“Take it one step further,” I prompted.

“Now, the supervisor has to figure out a way to keep the crew together.”

“And, we call that retention.” -TF