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5 Minute Management Breakthroughs

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Exactly how much can you as a manager achieve in 5 minutes? The truth is that for many managers, 5 minutes is more than enough time to create a management breakthrough – to transform (at least temporarily) the nature of their relationship with the people that they manage.

So here are some ideas:

Find Out What Matters

Spend 5 minutes with each member of your team, and ask them about the things that matter most in their life. When you know what really matters to people and provide management that reflects these priorities the working relationship is transformed.

Try this: “I’d like to know a bit more about you. Can you take a few minutes to tell me about the things that are most important to you at the moment?”

The response might be initially work oriented or not. If it is work oriented try a follow up question such as “And what about outside of work? What things are important to you there?”

A small minority of people will not be happy talking to you about non work related stuff. Most will be thrilled that you want to spend a bit of time finding out about them as people rather than employees.  If you are using weekly 121s this is a great theme to explore on a regular basis.

Recognise the Good Stuff

The vast majority of things that happen in the vast majority of organisations are overwhelmingly good.  However as managers we learn to focus on what is not good, what is not expected, what is not under control.  This can make us seem hyper-critical.  Take a minute to think about all the GREAT things that your team has done this week.   Take opportunities to focus on the good stuff, acknowledge it and thank people for their contributions to it.  But mainly just be aware of it.  As you build your awareness of the achievements of your team you will build a more constructive relationship with team members.

Move Into Service Mode

Take 5 minutes to fill up everyone on your team’s coffee (or water) cup. Buy them an ice cream on a hot day.  Serving is a great way to show your team that you care. Especially if you know who drinks coffee and who drinks water before you get started.

Serving people is a great way to strengthen the relationship.

Thank You

Write as many thank you notes as you can to your team in 5 minutes. Be specific, and let them know just how much you appreciate them and their work.  You can send choose to send a quick e-mail,  but a hand written Thank You note works much better.

Most of these things work well if you do them just once.  Most work far better when they are repeated – perhaps daily, weekly or monthly.  We are great at spotting patterns and making meaning.

Set up patterns that show that you care.

Then people will begin to believe that they really are your ‘greatest asset’.

Choosing a Strategy – The Big Leap Forward or Tiny Steps?

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Choose Your Way Forward

Every organisation is looking to improve the effectiveness and the efficiency of its operations. We are all looking for ways to make progress.

The Big Leap

Most of the time organisations go for a ‘big leap’ strategy. They choose a framework or mental model to hang their change efforts on (swot, lean thinking, systems thinking, balanced scorecard, 6 sigma, quality models etc) and then go through a process of ‘strategic planning’ followed by an implementation phase when employees are ‘engaged’ to make change happen.

They plan the jump, build the ramp and then open the throttle. This is by far the preferred choice of most organisations and some of them manage to make the leap.

The Tiny Steps

This is a much more unusual strategy for making progress. The first step in making this work is getting every one in the organisation crystal clear on what the organisation exists to do and how they can contribute. This is where third sector/social change organisations have a real advantage over the profit chasers because of the potential that lies in giving people the chance to make a real difference in society.

The second step is about talking to employees one-on-one every week – about what they have done, what they are going to do and how they can build their contribution in the future. Working with simple management tools including feedback, coaching and delegation these one to ones provide the vehicle for continually keeping everyone ‘aligned’ and contributing to the organisation. Every week it provides an opportunity to coach, improve and delegate. And these processes generate progress and change through a series of tiny steps. Every employee growing their contribution – every week. Week by week, person by person progress is made.

This ‘Tiny Steps’ strategy is a pretty rare choice for organisations to take. It does not rely on gurus or consultants to make it work. It does not need to be underpinned by advanced training – it requires time, commitment and discipline. It requires great management – not great theory.

So choose your way forward with care.

Thoughts, Feelings and Actions – A Lesson from Wimbledon for Managers?

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The Power of Self Talk?

Much has been made in the press about Serena Williams referring to a notebook containing a half dozen or so ‘motivational’ tips. This helps her to perform at her best. So how does it work? And if it works for tennis players can it work for managers too?

First of all – yes it works. And yes it works for managers too. But it is not about motivation. It is about what we choose to believe and think. It is about how these beliefs and thoughts then drive our feelings which in turn drive action. It is about inspiration. If we can change our thoughts, then this will certainly change our feelings and our actions.

Think → Feel → Act

Good managers are obsessed by actions and behaviours – by what people do in work time. They know that their job is to get the right actions and behaviours consistently from their team. They also know that actions are driven by feelings and feelings in turn are driven by thoughts. Sometimes the best way to get the desired action is to influence the feelings and thoughts.

If Serena thinks ‘I will win Wimbledon’ this will influence feelings of ambition and drive – especially when she has just served another double fault. The feelings of ambition and drive will cause her to lift her head up, put her shoulders back and fight even harder for the next point.

If she entertained an alternative thought, even subconsciously, such as ‘This could be the person that knocks me out of Wimbledon’ it would influence different feelings (such as frustration and anger at the same double fault) leading to different behaviours. The shoulder might tighten, the head might drop and the service deteriorate further. So what she thinks, feels and does are pretty tightly linked. And conveniently enough the thoughts of the brain can be controlled quite easily. Tell it something enough times and it will start to believe it!

So how does this work for managers?

Well imagine that you woke up with the next great idea to take your organisation forward. A new product or service or a new management tool for example. You can’t wait to get into work to share it with your boss. You knock on her door, invite yourself in and tell her all about it. She barely lifts her head from her e-mails, makes a few nods and grunts and tells you she will think about it. No enthusiasm, no praise, no thanks – nada! You leave her office feeling deflated, frustrated, disappointed and cross at her inability to see a great idea. You pick up the jobs section of the paper on the way back to your desk and wonder whether your talents might be better recognised elsewhere.

But what thoughts and beliefs triggered these feelings and the job-searching behaviour? They are probably along the lines of:

  1. the idea is a great one that will really help to move the organisation forward
  2. your boss is uncaring and not open to new ideas and enthusiastic employees
  3. your talents would flourish in a more caring environment

Supposing you substituted an alternative set of thoughts:

  1. the idea has some potential and deserves to be properly considered
  2. your boss is busy and might react better to the idea when it has been more thought through and if it is tabled at a scheduled meeting
  3. your talents will flourish right here

If you choose to think these things then it will trigger a different set of feelings and actions. Instead of walking out feeling bad you might say:

‘I can see that this is not a great time for you to think about this. I will do a bit more work on the idea and perhaps we can find 15 minutes later in the day to run it by you?’.

Different thoughts will trigger different feelings which trigger different actions. This is powerful stuff especially because the way we are wired up means that our first thoughts are always to place the problem being ‘out there’. The ‘bad boss’ or the ‘lazy team’ member.

Identifying ‘thoughts and beliefs’ that cause us to ‘feel’ and ‘act’ in ways that are less than optimal and changing them is a very powerful way of improving performance. Serena’s notes serve to do exactly that – they reinforce the thoughts and beliefs that are most likely to trigger the feelings and the actions that will help her to win the game.

There is a very good chance that Wimbledon will be won by the player who has the strongest mental game. This is what gives them the edge. Mental preparation and self awareness matter for managers as much as they do for tennis players.

“Twas Ever Thus”

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“First organise the near at hand, then organise the far removed.
First organise the inner, then organise the outer.
First organise the basic, then organise the derivative
First organise the strong, then organise the weak.
First organise the great, then organise the small.
First organise yourself, then organise others”.

General Zhuge Liang

Zhuge Liang (181 – 234) was one of the greatest Chinese strategists, as well as a statesman, engineer, scholar, and inventor. His name has become synonymous with intelligence and tactics in Chinese culture.

Key Issues for Progressive Managers

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In a great post Jonathon Farrington reminds us that management:

Takes time – you cannot get so bound up in your own workload that you skimp on time you should spend with others – are you spending enough time on helping others to do great work?

Takes effort – it is challenge, there are no magic formulae or quick fixes that will do the job for you – you need to influence frequently, consistently and with a strong working relationship with your team members of you are to manage a team to high performance.

Needs thought – the obvious or immediate answer may not be best, things may well need research, analysis and thinking through – the short term answer dealing with the immediate presenting problem is rarely enough.

Is not a solo effort – seek and take advice from where you can, including your own staff

Is a process of helping others to be self-sufficient – this implies trust and that management works best when you take a positive view of what people can do

Is based on good, regular and open communication

Becomes self-sustaining when it works –  if people find your management helpful (to the job, the organisation and to them) then they will support it and support you

At its best management is not what you do to people but the process of how you influence them to improve their performance.

Management success comes down to a considered approach. It is about routine, consistency and patience.