Category Archives: Teams

Complain to Upper Management?

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

How do you handle Managers who take credit for your work (my immediate manager and his boss)? My immediate manager does not know the job well and depends on everyone for support. The operation has downfalls due to his shortcomings. Only a few immediate individuals know the truth and feel uncomfortable going to upper management.

Response:

The Manager and the Manager-Once-Removed are both absolutely responsible for the output of their teams. I hold them both accountable for the team’s successes and the team’s failure. So, they DO get the credit when times are good and they shoulder the blame when things go bad.

And often, it is not necessary that a Manager have in-depth technical knowledge. That’s what the team is for. I often lead teams where I have zero knowledge of their internal processes or technology.

So, my concern is for the downfalls in operations. Why are they happening? And how can we get better in the future? I use the following questions to debrief. You might be able to share these with your boss so your team can make some progress.

  • What did we expect?
  • What did we do well?
  • What went wrong?
  • What can we do next time, to prevent that from going wrong?
  • When will we meet again?

When the team focuses on these questions, things begin to change. Complaining to upper management accomplishes little. -TF

Bad Decision?

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

Need advice on recovering from a bad decision I made that has caused my boss and several other to be disappointed in me. I apologized to my boss for my actions and he says I didn’t do anything wrong, but the look on his face and others indicates that that is not his true feelings. I didn’t support my boss and several other is a plan that they worked on for months, I didn’t do it intentionally, just got caught up in the momentum of a new idea. I made a quick decision that was wrong. Really don’t know how to recover and feel better. These people are important to me and I’m personally and professionally upset with myself.

Response:

I am going to agree with your boss and take it on face value that you did NOT do anything wrong. So, quit beating yourself up.

Disagreements and enthusiastic other positions are healthy on any management team. If there are no disagreements, then you don’t need those people on the management team. By the way, this would not be the first time a CEO and a management team worked for six months on the wrong thing.

On the other hand, I don’t need unsubstantiated opinion without evidence to support it. I also need an attitude of cooperation and support in the midst of the disagreement. It sounds like this.

“Thank you for inviting me to this meeting. I know this project is very important to the company.

“This may be difficult to hear, because I know you have all worked very hard on this project, and I am in possession of some information and supporting data that may put this project in jeopardy. We may be working on the wrong thing.

“The reason I am presenting this information today is so that, at the end of the meeting, we can agree on a plan of action. We still may not agree with the facts or the data, but we need to agree on a plan of action that we can all support.

“If you had information that was adverse to one of my projects, I would expect you to challenge me in the same way.

“I have the data organized into a handout and I can present these ideas in approximately five minutes. Do I have the team’s permission to proceed?”

Not Sam’s Problem

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“What has to happen in the next two hours that will indicate time well spent,” Sam asked. Each person looked around at each of the other members of this management team, then looked down and began to write.

It was not Sam’s intention to figure out the solution to this problem. It was Sam’s intention to have the group figure out the solution to this problem.

The responses from the team were positive.

  • We have to agree on the purpose. We have to agree on what we are trying to achieve. We have to agree on the goal.
  • We have to agree on what actions we will take. We have to agree on the coordination and interdependencies of those actions. This has to be a period of cooperation.
  • We have to agree on what results we are looking for. We have to agree on what measures we will collect and analyze. We have to agree to raise the flag when something doesn’t look right, not to bury our statistics in a warehouse.

Most importantly, this was no longer Sam’s problem. This problem now belonged to the group. -TF

A System Problem

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The conference room was comfortable. New leather chairs and a marble top. Nothing like success to create a little overhead.

Sam had assembled a cast of the brightest minds in the company. Marketing was represented, sales, customer service, production and accounting. Everyone looked armed with official looking reports, charts and graphs, ready to defend the slightest attack.

Sam was good. He wasn’t looking for a scapegoat. He knew the problem wasn’t from someone being lazy, or even a wrong decision. He knew it was more likely that the organization’s system needed some attention.

He began by explaining what he had observed, and asked each member to accurately report the real figures behind the events. Unfortunately, four weeks worth of excess finished goods had translated into an eight-week inventory turn. Something had put the brakes on the market.

“So, take a piece of paper,” Sam began, “and write down your condition of satisfaction for this meeting? What has to happen in the next two hours that will indicate time well spent?”

Ability to Engage

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Gretchen’s face displayed confusion. “What do managers do to their teams that systematically, over time, disables them from being able to solve even the simplest of problems?” I repeated.

“You’re not thinking this is my fault, are you?” she finally spoke.

I turned my head to the side, still staring at her.

“No way,” she protested.

“Every time a manager provides the solution to a problem, it robs the team of its ability to engage the problem. Over time, the team’s ability to solve problems begins to atrophy. Before long, even the simplest of problems will be brought to the manager for solution finding.

“The team begins to enjoy this new arrangement. With the responsibility for the decision now firmly resting on the manager, so goes the responsibility for the outcome. If the outcome is poor, it’s the manager’s fault. If the outcome creates more problems, it’s the manager’s fault. Your team likes this arrangement.” -TF
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Thanks for those who responded to our survey. It only takes about a minute. We will keep the survey open until October 19. The results will help us finalize an online program we are set to release in the next three weeks. -TF

http://www.managementblog.org/survey-oct2007/

Systematically, Over Time

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“You know, you are right,” I told Gretchen. “Your team, over time, has systematically become incapable of solving problems.”

Gretchen didn’t speak, but began to slowly nod her head.

“How did they get that way? What happened to them?” I asked.

“What do you mean, what happened to them?” Gretchen’s nodding stopped.

“When the people on your team started working here, they were full of questions. They were curious. They experimented. They made mistakes. They learned.”

Gretchen began to nod again.

“But, now, you tell me they act more like zombies. So what happened to them?” I was looking directly at Gretchen, not blinking. Her nod stopped again, so I continued.

“Gretchen, what do managers do to their teams that systematically, over time, disables them from being able to solve even the simplest of problems?” -TF
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Thanks for those who responded to our survey. It only takes about a minute. We will keep the survey open until October 19. The results will help us finalize an online program we are set to release in the next three weeks. -TF

http://www.managementblog.org/survey-oct2007/

They Don’t Care

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“I know you think your solution is better than anything your team might come up,” I agreed. “Do you think that is really the point?”

Gretchen was resisting. “But, I don’t have time to have a meeting, and besides, I don’t think my team wants to be creative. Sometimes they act like dolts.”

“They act like dolts when you solve a problem like this for them?”

“Well, yeah. I can solve problems like this pretty easy. I have been in the business for six years. I have the experience. But when I tell them what to do, they’re like zombies from the Night of the Living Dead. Some of them walk around like they still don’t know what to do, even though I gave them the solution.”

“Why do you think that is?” I asked.

“Like I said, I just don’t think they care,” Gretchen insisted.

“You are right. They don’t care about your solution.”

This caught Gretchen off-guard. She didn’t expect me to agree so easily. “They don’t care about your solution,” I repeated. “So, who’s solution do they care about?”

“Well, I’m the only one who can solve the problem,” Gretchen tersely replied.

“Indeed?” -TF

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Thanks for those who responded to the survey yesterday. It only takes about a minute. We will keep the survey open until October 19. The results will help us finalize an online program we are set to release in the next three weeks. -TF

http://www.managementblog.org/survey-oct2007/

Whose Fault Was That?

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Curtis was very uncomfortable. “You make it sound like I am in big trouble. But isn’t this what management is all about? I mean, aren’t I the one who is supposed to make all the decisions? Aren’t I the one responsible for all the results?”

“You are accountable to your boss for the performance of your team,” I replied. “But between you and your team, it sounds like you are responsible for making up all the plays, calling the plays, taking the snap, throwing the football, catching the football, running for the touchdown. Did you forget to block?”

“Yes, but it’s not that bad.”

“It’s not?” I asked. “Who was here all day last Saturday? How many hours a week have you been putting in?”

“Well, when you put it like that, I was here, 58 hours last week,” Curtis reported.

“And whose fault was that?”

“Well, there was just stuff I couldn’t get done during the week. I have a lot of responsibility.”

“And how much responsibility does your team have?” -TF

No One Follows Your Lead

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

I have been a manager for several years, but have just been reassigned to a new division. I feel like a fish out of water. Their processes are slightly different and all of the people are new to me. And I am new to them. In the past, things were easy, no sweat, very routine, no problem. At every turn, I am getting push-back. No one seems to follow my lead or direction. Everything I say is questioned. And I have some very aggressive goals that I have to achieve.

Response:

Are you getting push-back, or are you getting tested to see where you stand as a manager? Either way, you have some work to do, individual work and group work.

Individually, you need to get to know each team member. This sounds simple, but it’s not.

In our classroom training, we call this the Mineral Rights conversation, digging little wells, looking for interests, influences and values. This is a highly structured conversation with a definite purpose. (Tomorrow, I will cover the Mineral Rights conversation in more detail.)

As a team, you need to leverage the dynamic of the group to establish the lead or direction. You are correct in your observation that no one seems to follow your lead. People only follow the lead that is in their best interest. This is a critical topic for discussion with your team.

What is the work that needs to be done? How can we best help each other to do it? What do you need from me? What do we need from each other?

Notice that the questions come from you as the manager. The responses come from the team. -TF

Positive in Public

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From yesterday’s mailbag:

Question:

How do you bring in a new team member to an existing team?

Response:

Kurt pointed out (in a comment to yesterday’s post) that the job of bringing on a new team member begins long before the arrival date.

That being said, I believe the new team member is already on site. Now what?

This rite of passage for the new team member is a group issue. It needs to be dealt with by the group. It is up to the manager to create the environment for a positive discussion. The initial topic will be to introduce the new member. And I mean a proper introduction, at a regular team meeting.

What is the previous work experience, what positive qualities were identified during the recruiting process, what role this new person will play? These are all great questions to answer in the introduction.

Subsequent team meetings should provide discussion on Getting Things Done and focus on skills and talents that each team member brings to the table. Part of the discussion should be on the diversity of skill, talent, attitude and energy that will be required from the team as a whole.

I want to create these positive conversations in public with the team rather than allow private pairing conversations to occur at the water cooler. -TF