Juggling and Pacing

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In response to Monday’s post about Nicole and her new supervisory role, we received this comment from Gail.

Just because you place an individual in a leadership or supervisory role does not necessary mean that they are fully prepared. This is especially true for individuals that have moved up the ranks to leadership. They are still working as a worker and not a supervisor or manager. I believe it is important to give leadership and management training to all managers no matter what level they are on for reinforcement. Nicole just needed some leadership training and she could have been more successful a lot sooner.

I find the preparation for most supervisors is non-existent. Most companies don’t have the first clue what they truly expect from their supervisors much less how to train for it. Supervision is a coordinator’s role, juggling materials and schedules, pacing production to meet targets, keeping bottlenecks loaded up front so they’re never idle. Supervision is knowing your team, who is not feeling well today, who busted up with their girlfriend, whose car broke down on the way to work. It is a totally different role than running a machine or doing finish work on a cabinet. Training is more than important. It is essential. More on Nicole tomorrow. -TF

Stop Doing That Work

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Nicole was complaining. Her department was behind. She was working 10-12 hours per day and could never seem to get ahead. She thought her boss should appreciate her efforts and hard work, but instead, she got quite the opposite. He was disappointed in her performance and intended to follow-up on her numbers every two weeks instead of once a month.

“What am I supposed to do?” she said. “I get here an hour early and leave an hour after my team has gone home. It seems, they are always pulling me into the weeds. I just can’t get anything done.”

“Tell me about the weeds part. How does your team drag you into the weeds?”

“They always need help. I try to work alongside them for most of the day, but then I cannot get my stuff done.”

“Then, stop!” I said. “You are the supervisor. You are there to make sure the work gets done, NOT to work alongside your team. If they have a problem, help them through it, but then get back to your responsibilities. You are supposed to do production counts three times during your shift so you can know if you are ahead or behind. That’s your job. Your team is not meeting its daily production and they don’t even know it.”

I continued, “I will be back tomorrow. I want to see the 10 o’clock count and the 2:30 count posted on the white board. We will work from there.” -TF

Is it a Challenge?

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Jeremy was having difficulty with one of his best team members. Louis had always been Jeremy’s “go to” guy, but lately, things were different.

“Jeremy, when you decide on a project to delegate, how do you decide who to give it to?”

“Well, that used to be easy. Louis was always my guy. He could handle almost anything. My dad used to say, if you need something done, give it to someone who is busy because they will get it done faster than anyone else.”

“How is that working for you?”

“Not so good. Lately, Louis has been, well, not slipping, but, he just isn’t hopping like he was, even six months ago. I am beginning to wonder if he even likes working here anymore.”

“Think about the last delegation you gave to Louis. How much of a challenge was it for him?”

“Well, for Louis it was piece of cake. He should have been able to do it in his sleep with one hand tied behind his back.”

“Jeremy, I want you to think about something. Is it possible that you should have given that delegation to someone else and considered something more challenging for Louis? For delegation to be successful, the team member must see the task as a challenge.” -TF

A Different Skill Set

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In response to Wednesday’s post, Sean writes:

How does someone make this leap from technician to manager? I see it all the time in IT, and I think it’s why there are so many bad managers out there. Isn’t this the Peter Principle, where people are promoted to their level of incompetence?

It’s more than a leap. It is a completely different skill set. The technician is an expert in a technical skill. The technician does the work.

One stratum above is the supervisor. The supervisor does NOT do the work. The supervisor makes sure the work is done; completely, accurately, no missing segments and on time. The tools of the supervisor are checklists and schedules. This is not a subtle concept and most companies don’t get it.

The role of the supervisor is coordination. It is not that people are promoted to their level of incompetence. Brilliant technicians are promoted to a role where they are expected to use a skill set they have not developed and the company is not prepared to train. There are so many bad managers out there because companies do not know how to train managers. -TF

Welcome to Management

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“What is the hardest part about delegation?” I asked. Matthew winced. The more we talked about delegation, the more he hated it.

“Giving it up,” he said. “I was the best technician in the field. I could handle two more stops than any of the other service trucks. At the end of the day, I put my numbers on the wall, and they were almost always at the top.”

After a moment, he continued, “Now, I have to wait. It is really tough to know whether or not what I do, as a Manager, is really having an impact. Numbers will be down for a service tech and I wonder if it is my fault or is he just having a bad day.”

“You are pretty results-oriented, aren’t you?” I asked.

“I guess so,” Matthew replied.

“It’s more than a guess, Matthew. That is why you really liked being a technician. You got results on a daily basis. You could stick them on the wall and look at them. If you wanted, you could even pull your results off the wall, take them home to show your wife. You are in a different game now. The results are not so tangible. The results have to do with growth and development of your team. Welcome to management.” -TF

You Have to Stay Off the Field

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Howard didn’t like the list. The top three tasks I was asking him to delegate were three that he enjoyed the most. He defended, saying these tasks kept his technical skills sharp, kept him in the game.

“Look, Howard, you are a Manager. You are now the coach who cannot step on to the field without getting a penalty flag. Five years ago, it was important for you to keep your skills sharp, to be the expert, to be faster. Your role has changed. The most important thing you can do now is to develop your team, make them faster, sharper. They are your new technical experts. Five years ago, it was important for you to be successful. Now, it is important for you to make your team members successful. If you fail at that, you fail as a Manager.” -TF

P.S. I got an email from a reader who could not find a specific blog that he remembered saving to one of his mail folders. BlogTip. Management Blog is actually a website that you can visit. We have almost 200 postings saved by category and you can even search for a word or phrase. So, if you want to read all the postings on Delegation, just click on the category Delegation Skills and all the related postings will be displayed. Let me know if you have questions. -TF

It’s a Trap

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It’s a trap that can cripple your effectiveness as a Manager.

On Friday, I was talking about Kenneth and identifying things that need to be delegated. I introduced three criteria.

  • Tasks that are done on a repetitive basis.
  • Tasks which are important to the company (aligned with a goal or solving a problem).
  • Tasks that you like to do.

David posted a question in response to last Friday’s blog.

So, if it’s a task that you don’t like to do then you shouldn’t delegate it? Am I just confused or does that make no sense? I’d rather have people doing the things that I don’t want to do. That way I can enjoy my job more.

It is not a matter of delegating what you like or don’t like. It’s a trap. Most managers fail because they continue to do the things they like to do rather than do the things connected with management. When I look at your list of things you like to do, often 80 percent will be inappropriate work that should be done by someone else.

Why don’t you delegate it? Because you like to do it. And if you continue doing it, you will become less and less effective as a Manager. -TF

Tasks You Like to Do

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Delegation skills were a hot topic for Kenneth. Intellectually he knew he needed to do it. Intellectually he even thought he was doing it.

Most of the time, Kenneth wasn’t delegating, he was dumping. As we sat down, I wanted to see his list. “Kenneth, let me see the list of the stuff you are not delegating.”

“Not delegating?” he replied. “I thought we were going to talk about what I was delegating?”

“Oh, the not delegating list will be a lot more fun,” I replied. As we slogged through the list, we looked for three elements:
1. Tasks that are done on a repetitive basis.
2. Tasks which are important to the company (aligned with a goal or solving a problem).
3. Tasks that Kenneth liked to do.

Those items that met all three criteria became candidates for delegation. Take a look at your list. What are you not delegating? Which of those tasks meets the three criteria? -TF

Breathe on the Idea

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Janet was not satisfied. For the past two weeks, we had been working to get her team to participate more in problem solving meetings. Janet was warming up to the idea that the difficulty wasn’t with her team. Improvement was in Janet’s court. “Why can’t I get more participation?” she asked.

“Some say that it is the fear of disagreeing with the boss, but I find it is a more universal fear. It is the fear of floating an idea that carries the possibility of rejection.”

I let that sink in a moment. “As a Manager, if you want to promote deeper, richer, more truthful conversations in your team, try this. As ideas are contributed, create a follow-up comment that expands the idea, creates an insight to that idea or connects the idea to a higher purpose, goal or solution. Breathe life into every contribution.”

Two weeks later, I overheard one of Janet’s team members talking at the water cooler. “Our meetings have really gotten better. Janet makes all of our ideas sound so smart.”

Ideas really are smart when you can connect them to a purpose, a goal or a solution. -TF

P.S. We are beginning to receive a number of comments posted to the blog. I know many of you are get the blog via email or by a forwarded email. If you would like to read some of the comments, you can follow the link to Blog Home. Management Skills Blog is actually a website where you can respond to any posting that jams your jelly.

No Whining

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Last week, I posed a question. “What are the elements of a high performing team?” Reader John D. posted a comment that got him a copy of Attitude by Mac Anderson. John suggested that the critical element is approaching problems with solutions rather than whining or complaining. It’s a noble idea, but few teams can pull it off.

As the Manager, you can promote this critical element by providing a structure in your meetings that not only promotes, but requires solutions. As the problem is discussed, stop the conversation and ask team members to write down one or two solutions. When you resume the conversation (one minute later) allow only one idea per person until you have made the entire round at the table.

This accomplishes two things:
1. It points everyone in the direction of a solution before the conversation has a chance to get derailed.
2. It communicates that it is the responsibility of every team member to contribute in the solving of a problem.

Congratulations again to John D. -TF