The Work is Not Work

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From the Ask Tom mailbag, Kurt writes:

Question:

Job protection is often a reason not to delegate. Lot’s of managers use job protection as a means to make themselves needed by the company. Knowing things, that others don’t, equals some power in their position. But in the long term, they loose flexibility and get frustrated. How should we manage those employees?

Response:

It is critical that we understand the elements we hold managers accountable for. Often, we hold managers accountable for getting work done, when we should hold managers accountable for the performance of their team. It is this nuance that most don’t get.

The work of management is not “doing work.” The work of management is building the performance level of their team. And delegation is the most powerful tool the manager has. -TF

Failing to Follow-up

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Glen was working late. “What’s happening?” I asked.

He was staring at a project book. I realized he was not in a jovial mood. He took in a long breath and a measured exhale. I could see the blood boiling 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 it is only half finished. My team let me down.”

“Who was the project leader?”

“Andre,” he replied.

“And what did Andre say?”

“It’s the 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, so he didn’t start on it.”

“So, where is he now?”

“He is actually finishing a different project from another Project Manager, in Kansas City. So it 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 had set some 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.”

Flawless Execution

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“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 is where the real learning is.” -TF

Fixing Accountability

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“Who creates the Action Plan?” I asked.

“Well, I do! I’m the Manager. I know what needs to be done. I create the Action Plan,” Ellen shouted from the back of the room.

We were talking about delegation.

“So, you are working with Brian. You describe the Vision, the Goals for the project and the Guidelines?” Now I was looking straight at Ellen.

“Yes!” she replied.

“Then, you tell Brian, here are the steps, 1-2-3-4-5?”

“Yes!” she repeated.

“And Brian goes out and he completes steps 1-2-3-4-5. And the project fails.” I stopped and peered over at Ellen. She was a little surprised. She didn’t like the idea that her project could fail.

“So, Brian completes steps 1-2-3-4-5, the project fails. Who is accountable for the failure? After all, he followed your Action Plan step by step.”

All eyes turned to Ellen. “Yeah, but.” Then she stopped. “I guess if it was my plan, Brian is going to say it was my fault.”

“Yes, he will. The accountability will fall to you. And where do you want the accountability?”

“Well, I want Brian to be accountable.”

“So, who creates the Action Plan? You describe the Vision, the Goals and the Guidelines, but who creates the Action Plan?”

“I guess, Brian,” Ellen said quietly.

“Exactly, if you want to fix accountability on Brian, then Brian has to create the Action Plan.” -TF

Can’t Be Promoted Until

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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 training 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.”

How Big Is the Job?

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

I have been reading the section of your website on Time Span and I am curious. How do you measure objectives in terms of Time Span?

Response:

Time Span is a concept I have been working with since 2001. It is based on the research of Elliott Jaques (1917-2003). Time Span is most useful as a measuring stick to determine the complexity of any task. The longer the Time Span of the task, the more complex the task is likely to be.

Attaching a Time Span to an objective is extremely helpful in understanding the breadth and scope of the objective. For example:

Objective – As the department manager, hire a person to fill the vacant position on the team.

In the short term, if the Time Span is described as two weeks, then you can imagine that the tasks involved would include posting an ad, reviewing resumes, conducting some interviews and making a selection.

However, if the Time Span is described as six months, you might imagine a much broader scope for this project. The tasks would extend to bringing that person on board, moving them through the training process and evaluating their initial skill level. This might be followed by supervising additional training and re-evaluating their skill level. Once on the production floor, the manager would select appropriate assignments for this new recruit, then advance them to more complex tasks as time passes. After six months, it might be expected that this new person now possesses the skills and competence to fill the position as a productive member of the team.

Taking this one step further, if the Time Span is described as 12 months, you would imagine an even broader scope. The tasks would extend to evaluating proper staffing levels to determine, if indeed, this vacant position needs filling in the first place.

Time Span, as a unit of measure, helps us understand the breadth and scope of the task, and ultimately the scope of the role. -TF

Necessity

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Ted was biting his lower lip. “I am ready,” he proclaimed. “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 said. “You have to make it necessary.”

Ted got a quizzical look on his face. “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 all 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 a necessity, you will ultimately fail. But if there is no alternative, if becoming a better manager is a necessity, then you cannot fail.

“It must become a necessity.” -TF

What Price?

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“There is a price to pay,” I responded. Ted and I were talking about his team. Ted clearly identified that changes were necessary and that the first change had to do with Ted.

“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 responded.

“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?” -TF

Where to Start

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Ted was still perplexed. He had selected his talent well, but his team still wasn’t up to par.

“Ted, your team is functioning exactly as it was designed to function,” I started.

“What do you mean? You make it sound like it’s my fault,” he defended.

“Exactly, as the manager, the team you have is the team you deserve.”

I could tell Ted was getting agitated. It’s easy to look at someone else to blame. It’s tough when the responsibility is ours.

“The team you have is the team you deserve,” I repeated. “As time goes by, you will find that your team will be no better than you are. The speed of the pack is the speed of the leader.

“If you find that your team is not what you want it to be, if you find that you are not able to bring out the best in that team, to bring them to higher levels of performance, then, as the manager, you are not the leader who deserves better. At least not yet.”

Ted was quiet.

After a minute, I broke the silence. “So, what do you think we need to work on? Where should we start?”

Ted took a breath. “I guess we have to start with me.”

How Well You Connect

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Ted was beside himself. “Look, I have the best engineer, I have the best mechanic, I have the best designer, I have the best installer. Then why do we get such mediocre production?”

“I don’t know, what do you think?” I asked.

“We just can’t seem to make our numbers,” Ted started. “It’s like we have all the best talent, but just can’t put it all together.”

“So, it’s the putting together part?”

“Well, yeah.” Ted stopped. “You’re right, it’s not the talent part, it’s the putting together part. They don’t sync up, they are all running in a different gear. They don’t relate.”

“So, you just found your constraint? How well you connect is how well you do as a team. Your production will never be as good as your star player. It doesn’t matter how well your star plays. It only matters how well your team plays together.” -TF