How do most managers manage?
Most managers manage the way they were managed, even if they hated it. Especially under pressure, most of us return to routine grooved behaviors, even if the behavior was not effective back then, even if the behavior failed back then.
Learning something new is only half the battle. The other half is changing your habits to integrate something new. It takes conscious thought and a bit of persistence. -Tom
From the Ask Tom mailbag –
Question:
In the Four Absolutes, under Required Behaviors, you talk about habits. How do you interview for habits?
Response:
Habits are routine grooved behaviors kicked in by the brain in an approach to problem solving or decision making. To set the context, here are the Four Absolutes (required for success in any role).
Under Required Behaviors, there are three strings attached.
To be successful in any role, there are some required behaviors. When I interview a candidate, I examine the role description, in each key result area (KRA), I identify the critical role requirements (required behaviors) and identify the habits that support and the habits that detract.
We all have habits that support our success, we also have habits that work against us.
Reading the resume
Habits are patterns. Read the resume from the back page to the front page. Most resumes are written in reverse chronological order, very tough to see a pattern going backward.
Identify the habit, then look for it
When I hire for a project manager, one habit I look for is planning vs improvisation. Improvisation is fun, but creates chaos. Improvisation may get the job done (once), customer may be very happy, but the cost is organizational body bags and friction, negatively impacting project profitability.
Effective project managers possess the habit of planning. Planning is a behavior that I can interview for. I will look for patterns of planning behavior as I move through the resume from past to present. Then I specifically look for planning behavior with specific questions.
Habits are those routine grooved behaviors automatically initiated by the brain in response to a problem that must be solved or a decision that must be made. -Tom
“So, how do we measure Hector?” Eduardo asked. “I’m all ears. I understand how to measure the time span of the tasks that Hector is responsible for. And, the longest task is three months. But, how do we measure Hector?”
“It is really very simple. You now know the time span of the longest task in the role that Hector plays. Here is the question.
“Does Hector, in your judgment as his manager, have the capability to perform the tasks in his role as freight supervisor? Or does he fall short in his capability to perform those tasks? Or does he have the capability to perform tasks with a longer time span?
“It’s like Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Is the porridge too hot? Too cold? Or is it just right?”
Eduardo squinted, “That’s it? Too hot, too cold or just right?”
I nodded, “Which is it?”
“Well, Hector does most of the job okay, but when it comes to the more complicated stuff, he falls short.”
“So, to recap your judgment, as his manager, Hector falls short?” I repeated.
“But, I knew that already,” Eduardo complained.
“Yes, you did, but you did not have a way to measure what you already knew. Now, you know that Hector falls short in capability at three months. If you define the time span of the shorter tasks he completes, you will have a very precise measure of his capability.”
Eduardo was quiet, then spoke. “Hector handles the one month stuff well. But falls short on the three month stuff. Hector’s time span is on the up side of one month, but the short side of three months.”
“So, now, is the question. How is this helpful to you as his manager?”
“Where do we start?” Eduardo asked.
“Where do you think we should start?” I replied.
“We are trying to measure Hector’s capability. Is he big enough for the role. That’s the goal of this session,” Eduardo established.
“So, what unit of measure have we talked about when it comes to defining the tasks involved in his job?”
“We talked about time span,” he said.
“And, what was the measure of the longest task in Hector’s job?”
“We said, one month. Hector is in charge of shipping, but it’s more than just getting freight out the door. He is responsible for proper crating, working with vendors to select the proper crating materials, collecting information about product damage in transit. It is really a big job. Some of the problems that have to be solved involve testing in-house, you know, crash testing and then field testing.
“So, I don’t think one month is accurate. I think, to be successful, the longest task is three months. It takes that long to solve some of the material damage issues in that department,” Eduardo concluded.
“Okay, three months is the longest task required. To be successful running the shipping area requires the ability to work three months into the future, without direction, using his own discretionary judgment?”
Eduardo nodded, “Yes, I need Hector to carry the ball the whole way. I may check up on him more frequently to see if he still has the ball, but I need him to supervise the resolution to some of these issues without me. If I really have to get involved, then Hector is not doing the necessary work.”
“So, success in the job requires a time span of three months?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“That is step one. Firmly establishing the time span of the longest task, establishing the required time span for the role.
“Are you ready for step two? The next part is to measure Hector.”
Glen was working late. “What’s up?” I asked.
He stared at a project book on his desk. Not in a jovial mood, he took in a long breath and a measured exhale. Blood boiled behind his eyes, betraying his exterior composure.
Finally he spoke, “I thought this project would be done by now, but it’s not. It is due at the client tomorrow morning at 8:00, and is only half finished. My team let me down.”
“Who was the project leader?”
“Andre,” he replied.
“And what did Andre say?”
“Funniest thing. He said he knew the deadline was tomorrow, but since I never came around to check on the project, he didn’t think it was important anymore, he didn’t start on it.”
“So, where is he now?”
“Finishing a different project from another project manager, in Kansas City. Looks like I will be here until midnight.”
“So, tell me, Glen. What happens to the importance of any project when the manager fails to follow its progress?”
“I know. At first I was mad at Andre, but it’s my own fault. I set follow-up meetings and just blew them off. Now I have to pay.”
“And next time?”
“Next time, I will make the follow-up meetings, instead of having to finish the project on my own.”
“And that concludes my report. A well-thought out plan, perfectly executed.” Martin smiled. I knew he was lying. His plan may have been well-thought out, but life is never that perfect.
Carla was next up. She was nervous. Her plan was solid, but her team had hit some rocky patches. “I guess things didn’t go the way we thought,” she reported. “We had to make several adjustments as we went along. Our project required three additional meetings. In the end, we made the deadline and came in under budget, but it was tough. I will try to do better next time.”
Carla got a quiet golf clap from the room for her efforts. I moved up to confront the class.
“Carla thinks her project didn’t go so well. Carla thinks she should have had a better report for class tonight, but here is why her report is so important.
“You read these management magazines out there, about CEOs with well-thought out plans, perfectly executed. Some reporter shows up to write about every target flawlessly achieved. No pimples, no bumps, no bruises. Whenever I hear that, I know I have to get the guy drunk to get the truth.
“But, look at Carla’s report. Her team started out toward their first objective, they got off course.” I drew a line across the page with an abrupt turn. “It took an extra meeting to figure out where they went wrong, to get back on track.
“They met their first target, but immediately things went south again. Another meeting, another adjustment.” My line on the flipchart meandered across the page with another hard turn back to target number two.
“And it happened again, before the project was finished.” The flipchart now showed huge jagged lines criss-crossing the page. “And this is where the real story is. Not the neatly wrapped perfect execution. The real story is out here, where the team cobbled together a solution to an unanticipated event to get back on track. And over here where the client threw them a curve ball.
“And that’s why Carla’s story is so important. And that’s where real learning exists.”
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“But I was here until 10:00 last night. I am working myself to the bone and my company seems to want more. I can’t work any harder.” Victoria was tired. I could see it in her eyes, the hint of a glaze.
“What is it that your company wants more of?” I asked.
“I just don’t know. I have all the stuff I was doing before I was promoted and now I have new stuff.”
“Why are you still doing the old stuff?”
“Well, who is going to do it?” she snapped.
I paused, “As you left your old position, weren’t you supposed to train someone to take over those tasks?”
“Well, yes, I was supposed to, but there was just never any time to do that,” she said, calming down a bit.
“So, now you are in double trouble. You didn’t take the time to train someone else to do the work, so now you have even more work and less time.”
Victoria silently nodded.
“You have proved me wrong,” I said. “I always tell managers that they can never be promoted until they train someone else to take over their old job. But here, you have managed to do exactly what I said could not be done.”
Victoria started laughing. “No, I did not prove you wrong. You are still right. I have not managed this very well at all.”
“So, when should you have started to train someone to take over?” I inquired.
“The very first day on the job, of my old job. In fact, I should already be looking at my new tasks to figure out who I should be training right now.”
Ted bit his lower lip. “I am ready,” he said. “Right now, being a manager is not much fun. If I was better at this, if I knew what to do, things would be easier. I want to make this happen.”
“Wanting is not enough,” I replied. “You have to make it necessary.”
Ted looked sideways. “What do you mean, make it necessary?”
“You may think that high levels of performance are driven out of desire, team spirit and rah, rah. But that sputters out eventually. When you don’t feel well, your desire gets weak. When your team has an off day, the rah, rah disappears. All of that will impact your performance.
“The only way that high performance can be sustained is if that high performance becomes a necessity. It will only be sustained if there is no other way. Necessity. Necessity drives high performance.”
“I am still not sure I understand,” Ted said. “What makes something necessary?”
“Something is necessary only when there is no other way. Look, Ted, you think you want to be a better manager. That will only sustain you when you feel like it. Unless becoming a better manager is necessary, you will ultimately fail. But if there is no alternative, if becoming a better manager is a necessity, then you cannot fail.”
“If you want to change the team, first you have to change yourself,” I responded. “But, there is a price to pay.”
“Oh, I am willing to pay,” replied Ted. “And my company is willing to support me, to pay for training, whatever it takes.”
“Ted, the price you pay has nothing to do with the price of a seminar or a book on management. The price you pay has to do with you. The price you pay is in your commitment, your passion, your focus, your discipline. It is a high price. It is a price not many people are willing to pay. Most will pay for a seminar or a book, but few are willing to pay the real price.”
Ted took a deep breath. It was not a sigh, but an attempt to get some extra oxygen to his brain.
“You are telling me this is not going to be easy,” he finally replied.
“Oh, it’s easy to be a manager, and only slightly more difficult to be a mediocre manager. But, what I am talking about is more than being a good manager, it is a question of being a great manager. What price are you willing to pay?”