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The Challenge of Becoming a Better Manager

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Dark Arches
(Image supplied by Deborah Benbrook – a great ‘Leeds’ photographer – click the image to see some more of her work)
I work with managers who are trying to get better at their craft. Much better. They want to be the kind of manager who supports a team to do amazing work. To help others to really deliver to the best of their potential, both individually and as a team.
We use a set of management tools and techniques that could be described as ‘enlightened’. They are certainly based on an assumption that people are intrinsically good and want to perform well and develop their potential. However this means facing a dark truth – especially when talking about managing under-performers. No-one knowingly recruits an under-performer. And very few new recruits start off that way. There is something about the work context, something about what we as managers do that influences some people (sometimes the majority) to settle for less than their best. And it can be easy for managers to collude with them especially if that is the ‘culture’ of the organisation.
There are several reasons why making a transition to being a significantly better manager can be so difficult.
  • Firstly you have to be prepared to be obsessed by high performance, improvement and making the most of potential. Organisational rhetoric will always advocate this. However, in practice the rhetoric of excellence is dropped in favour of more pragmatic and easily achieved compromises.
  • Secondly, enlightened management practices can feel very uncomfortable especially to begin with. They are not our default management style. Our spontaneous management style is an expression of our deeply held, often subconscious, values and beliefs. And sometimes these are driven by more more traditional management concepts of power and control and more of a focus on the task than on developing the potential of the team to deliver excellence. So we wrap ourselves in the tools and techniques of enlightened management but underneath there is always a little voice saying ‘Just give a few orders, crack a few heads and get things done’. Only if we persist will we recognise that relationships are improving, more initiative is being shown, teams are performing better and genuine progress is being made. Only then will the nagging voice encouraging us to revert to the old fashioned ways start to fade away. And this is a process of substantial personal development. It is the process of becoming a different person with different attitudes and beliefs about what ‘excellence in management’ is all about. Now the tools and techniques of ‘enlightened management’ feel much more congruous with who we are as a person.
  • The third difficulty is the response of your team and the wider organisation to your changing management style. You start to use regular 121s, you give and seek feedback – frequently. Furthermore you expect it to be acted upon. You start coaching – everyone in your team – and expecting things to get better on a weekly basis. And you delegate consistently and well – not from a place that says ‘I can get some of my work done by others’ – but from a place that says ‘giving people the opportunity to take on these challenges will help them to develop and keep them interested an fulfilled in their work’. And what response do you get? Often it is a combination of surprise, discomfort, antagonism and disbelief. Usually there is a hope that if we can just keep things quiet for a while you will get over whatever training programme you have been on and things will get back to the mediocrity that passes for normal.
So the challenge of becoming a better manager is not an easy one. However it is not about mastering tools and techniques or acquiring new skillsets (although there maybe a little of this stuff). It is actually about recognising that there is a better way to manage and having the commitment and the discipline to pass through the discomfort of putting it into practice.

Urgency and Influence: The Role of the Manager in Uncertain Times

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The news is full of ‘sub-prime crises’ and ‘credit crunches’.  Whether we are on the edge of a real recession, or just talking ourselves into one, I am not sure – but either way it is sensible to prepare for rougher times ahead.

Heading for the Storm

At these times good managers know how to develop a sense of urgency in the organisation to make sure it is ‘battened down’ when the storm hits. They set deadlines, chase progress and generally tighten up on both effectiveness and efficiency. By making sure that everyone is engaged in ‘doing something’ they manage to keep morale high and opportunities to wallow in self-pity to a minimum. They develop contingency plans, including drastic measures such as redundancies should they be necessary.
The very best managers maintained this sense of urgency when the waters were calm and progress was good.  They truly were making hay while the sun shone.  The focus of the urgency in such times should be more strategic:

  • building high performing teams and cultures – capable of creating more value at lower cost than the competition – through recruitment, development and retention
  • scanning the environment to see where the next storms are brewing and plotting the best course available
  • building customer loyalty and commitment so that the customer base is retained when things get rough

The average and the great manager are also separated, in my book, at least by the way that they handle the whole concept of influence and control. The average manager looks on tough times as ‘just one of those things’ that ‘we will get through somehow’. They become almost passive, certainly defensive, victims of the economic downturn, just trying to keep the wheels in motion until ‘things pick up’.The very best managers have a story to tell and a plan to put in place that will give the organisation every chance of coming through unscathed.  They actively manage the situation and ensure that everyone is engaged in looking for ways to drive up value and reduce costs.  Managers who have been using 121s effectively for a while will find they really come into their own as they can help to dispel rumours and keep everyone focused on the required objectives.

PMN Partners With Doncaster CVS

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Doncaster CVS
The Progressive Managers’ Network is partnering with Doncaster CVS to launch the network in Doncaster. PMN offers bite sized, fiercely practical, management training to help you succeed. The first training event is free of charge so that you can try it without risk.
Would you like to learn a management tool that is guaranteed to:
  • Save you time
  • Increase levels of trust in your team
  • Improve communication
  • Make you a noticeably better manager
  • Get more done – more quickly
  • Accelerate the professional development of your team, and
  • Reduce the pain of performance reviews?

Then come along to a free introductory session of the Progressive Managers’ Network at the Doncaster CVS on March 13th from 13.30 to 16.30.

At the event you will get a free gift to help improve your management worth more than £25.

Places are strictly limited so please book your place online here. Or call for more information on 0113 2167782.

If you know of a manager who might be interested please forward them a link to this page.

Future Dates for PMN in Doncaster:

April 9th – Giving and Getting Great Feedback

May 14th – Practical Coaching for Managers

June 18th – Effective Delegation

July 16th – Effective Time Management

All workshops run from 13.30 – 16.30.

121s and the Return on Investment in Relationships

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Tom Peters encourages managers to obsess on R.O.I.R – the Return on Investment in Relationships.

Usually what has to be invested is not cash – but time. And the challenge is to invest that time effectively.

For me, without doubt, the most effective tool for ROIR with employees is the 121. These are structured, documented 30 minute meetings held with each member of staff, every week. They provide the most effective ROIR with employees that I have ever seen.

ROIR through 121s comes in many forms:

  1. increased staff retention
  2. improved productivity
  3. recognition and acknowledgement of progress
  4. appreciation of those who are performing well
  5. identification of under performance and early resolution
  6. promotion of behaviours that reinforce strategic goals and values
  7. increased tempo of coaching to develop potential and performance
  8. deeper professional relationships
  9. increased trust
  10. increased influence
  11. increased responsiveness
  12. better support of team members in their work
  13. conduit for ideas from the front line to be heard and acted upon
  14. management support for every member of the team – every week
  15. improved communication and focus on what matters
  16. progress made and recognised on a weekly basis
  17. increased sense of urgency in the team
  18. encourage individuals to think through their contribution to team or organisational objectives
  19. increased initiative and enterprise
  20. planning remains flexible and dynamic
  21. documentation makes performance reviews simpler and less contentious
  22. barriers to high performance are removed
  23. factors contributing to poor performance are identified and resolved
  24. formal opportunities for delegation
  25. feedback – both given and received
  26. increased employee engagement
  27. improved knowledge management and knowledge sharing
  28. better talent management and development
  29. increased creativity
  30. more responsibility taken voluntarily by more people
  31. reduced absenteeism
  32. more diversity as 121s recognise that ‘one size fits one’

Perhaps some of these are things that you as a manager need to work on. If you are already using 121s then think how you can use them more effectively for the things that matter most to you and your business.

If you are not already using 121s then you have a tremendous opportunity to improve your management practice.

By the way – additions to the list are very welcome!

Are You Managing the Whole Team?

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In my experience most managers spend much of their management discretionary time working with their stars: those employees who are really up for the job and always willing to take on new assignments as they look to develop their careers. The rewards of working with this group are seductive – but not without risk.

Firstly they are not representative of the majority of your employees. It is easy to believe (or hope) that they are, and that what works with them can be extrapolated successfully to the wider team. For example, crafting an internal communication about the latest management initiative with this group can often result in sending out a message that others find naive.

Secondly this group are unlikely to REALLY challenge you or give you the unvarnished truth. This group are ambitious and want to do well. They will see you as a gatekeeper to career development and are unlikely to risk rocking the boat.

I see managers spending some time managing under performers but usually only when things have become really critical and the issue can no longer be ducked. Instead of actively managing the very first signs of under-performance and getting things back on track quickly, most managers wait until the problem is almost irreparable. When they do act it is usually pretty drastic. Managing under-performance is, in my experience, one of the most poorly executed management tasks and one of the most immediately damaging to both morale and performance.

This leaves a band of employees that get relatively little management attention.

These are the loyal employees, perhaps in their 40s or older who have decided that they don’t want to get to the top. But they do want to do a good job that they feel proud of. They want to work with good people and they want to learn how to do their current job better. Much better in most cases. Yet they often get very little management time.

In part this is because they no longer choose to get involved with every new project that comes along (they are not interested in being ‘seen’ by top management as a promotion candidate). And in part is because they will continue to work well with a minimum of maintenance – for a while. It seems that we can afford to neglect them and no harm is done.

Unfortunately this is not the case. Over time this group can become cynical and jaded as their contribution is rarely recognised or rewarded. They can easily become technically skilled but disengaged – doing just what they need to get by. This is one reason why this group should always get their fair share of management time. But they are also a tremendous resource in at least two areas. Firstly they have experience and technical skills. They are usually pretty good at what they do. This means that they could do a good job working with some of the less experienced team members and passing on what they know. Secondly, if you build the right relationships, and ask them the right questions they are far more likely to tell you the unvarnished truth.

  • How much of your time is spent working with your stars?
  • How much of your time is spent managing under performers? Do you do this effectively? Really?
  • What about with that middle band of loyal employees that can so easily be allowed to retire on the job?

A well established programme of 121s, supported by effective team meetings and good performance management processes including feedback, coaching and delegation can go a very long way to helping you become an effective manager for the whole team.