BROKEN LINK APOLOGIES

So sorry that the "FIRE ALL THE MANAGERS" link was broken in my message yesterday.

Here is the Harvard Business Review [HBR] short story:

How essential is it to have

layers of executives supervising
workers?

Managers are expensive, increase the risk of bad judgment, slow decision making, and often disenfranchise employees.

et most business activities require greater coordination than markets can provide. Is there a way to combine the freedom and flexibility of markets with the control of a management hierarchy? Economists will tell you it's impossible, but the Morning Star Company proves otherwise.

It has been managing without managers for more than two decades. At Morning Star, whose revenues were over $700 million in 2010, no one has a boss, employees negotiate responsibilities with their peers, everyone can spend the company's money, and each individual is responsible for procuring the tools needed to do his or her work. By making the mission the boss and truly empowering people, the company creates an environment where people can manage themselves.

 

Are you interested in not firing all managers but how the manager's role should change?

FIRE ALL THE MANAGERS

This is the title Gary Hamel used is this HBR article.  He says that there are four reasons why management as we know it needs to dramatically change.

One is that with greater levels of management, the greater the risk of bad judgment.

"In the case of G.M., the crucial insight was that a faulty ignition switch could cause vehicles to lose power and deactivate the air bags. The link between the ignition and the air bags was not a secret; it was an intentional goal of the design, to protect people in parked cars from being injured by air bags that were deployed mistakenly. " NY Times June 8, 2014

“Senior decision makers are basically isolated from safety information,” If companies did not have a culture in which individuals took responsibility for problems and alerted superiors to them, then big failures would follow.

Virtually all of my clients exhibit Hamel's four reasons why we need to relook at the role of managers.

Fire all the Managers: http://whispersandshouts.typepad.com/r1112b-pdf-eng.pdf

 

G.M. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/09/business/gm-report-illustrates-managers-disconnect.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3As

THE PEOPLE WHO DO NOT LISTEN TO YOU

OK, the people I am referring to HEAR you as you speak, but are they really listening?

Case in point

A business acquaintance I have met several times before today's breakfast, is a great story teller with lots of experience in our trade.  He might be a good person to introduce me to clients.

After 20 minutes of talking about how good he is in listening, he said to me, "I don't know what you really do."

I could not believe he meant that.  But he did.

One year and four meetings later, I am at a quandary to know how to be heard better by people who have a need to speak but really not to "engage".  In fact, I would tend not to introduce him to my clients for that reason alone.

Reminds me of some of the executives I advise.

Any suggestions?

I DO NOT THINK YOU ARE HEARING ME!

After interviewing 8 managers yesterday about their most difficult people, virtually everyone was found expert in describing expectations..."I need these reports on time -or- isn't it logical we move forward on the sale of your business[?]."

But these managers were not having their expectations met...for a long time.

Why?

They may feel they are listening, but not to the extent the other person feels understood.  Without that you will be perceived as pushing your agenda as more important than their view.

How can we better get in someone else's shoes?  By asking questions...which will get us to the real problem[s] of why there is non-compliance.  Try "what" and "how" questions.

Sounds like, "what is going on to prevent you from meeting these deadlines?" Then really listen to the point where the other person feels heard!

Or..."help me better understand..."

SUCCESS - MOTIVATION

Donna, a client's manager, has experienced high levels of stress on the job and is burnt out and thinking of resigning.

Bob, her President, surprisingly reached out to Donna that totally changed her perspective of her job.

Donna:

 

"Bob, the results for the 12 Lake audit came out yesterday and I am so sorry it was such a complicated audit.  I tried my best to supervise Mary when I had both businesses, but found it so difficult to supervise the finances for 13 people when I managed both branches. "

Bob:

"You could never let me down in a million years. Your abilities shine through in everything you do and we are so lucky to have you here. Sometimes, we are all faced with difficult situations and I am sure you provided a lot of support to Mary. I am glad you don’t have to manage all those finances anymore!

With gratitude and respect, Bob"

An investment of one minute to write the reply to Donna, resulting in a 180 degree shift in motivation.  POWERFUL!

EXECUTIVE STRESS?

OK! If you never feel stress on the job or at home about the job, please delete this message.

Whenever one of my clients are stressed, I quickly find out if it has to do with things and people they have no control over.

Yes, focus on what you do have control over and that source of stress diminishes.

As important: getting control where you have avoided difficult conversations, including avoiding what you perceive as conflict.

Oh!  Who do you  trust to talk to about stress? Talk is important to relieving stress.

YOUR INFLUENCE

THE GREATEST OPPORTUNITY FOR THOSE PEOPLE NEEDING TO INFLUENCE OTHERS:

1.    Catch yourself making assumptions about the other person, be it a peer, manager, internal and external customers.

2.    Engage to the point THEY think you know them, their strengths and challenges. Reframe your relationship based on directly obtained facts.

A CEO client described his growth strategy to me, little of which was based on what his current customers thought of his company, or how he could be better than his competitors that his customers were happy to share.

People supporting trading desks:  They think they know how to work best to bring traders into compliance on a deal.  But how do they know?  Assumptions, not feedback.

 

Get your brain totally turned off so you can listen to others...they will then tell you what they need and why; and you can then better influence them on their terms, not what you thought [your terms] would work.