September 3rd, 2010
Steve
Been managing a very long time, some 28 years. I taught my first of 3 or 4 more sessions on “New to Management” for my employer. So, I started thinking more about being a manager. When I think about my career and what is it to be a manager – a number of things came to my mind. So, I thought I would write them down and share.
We all have to start with a baseline , managers are the vehicle that turn intentions (mission, strategies and expectations) into results. I have been doing this for a lot of years, many of my peers have as well – we are getting ready to finish up our careers and pass the baton to others. So, what are my thoughts?
- Management is probably the best and most challenging job around. If you really want maximum impact – sign up now.
- Great managers really do what many will not try or do. It all starts with the choices that you make everyday. Those managers approach and blast away barriers. Don’t shy away from the difficult task of stopping busy work for the really important work.
- Management is a social act. Sitting in your office is not very social. You have to get out, have conversations and develop relationships. Simply put: erode relationships, erode results. Get out there and bring out the best in others.
- You are in the middle and much is expected of you. Too many times I have heard, “that is why you make the big bucks.” Completely understanding the expectation (from your manager and the needs of your team) will help you chart your path.
- Time is critical. Look at your inbox (unread), calendar, to do list and count the instant messages during the day. Each and everyone of those are opportunities to engage and excite. How are you spending your time? Would you change anything? Great conversations are worth lots. Remember, relationships = results.
There has been much written on management over the years. There has never been any new silver bullet to being completely successful. What I learned over the years, is nothing new. Remember to spend time on yourself (learning, developing and listening). The true important part is – How you apply the learning’s and experiences.
September 1st, 2010
Steve
Today, I was reviewing some of the tweets and found one from TheLeaderLab -
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My first impression was this is a great way to explain the person that is truly a nightmare of a boss. The one’s that go beyond the normal of making a few mistakes. You know, the one’s that just plain do it wrong all the time. The term really is easy to use. For me, I did not have to spend too much time thinking about all of the boss’s I have had or have worked in their organization before I could visualize the true bosshole’s. When I am teaching “New to Management Classes” – I stress this key phrase, “We all have had “good” boss’s – copy what they did well. We all have had “bad” boss’s – use their bad examples as what not to do!”
This got me thinking – why have I not heard this term before? Seems simple and perfect. So, off I go to do a little research. Nothing in wikipedia – yet.. Simple Google search found a few things.. First was a MP3 of a song, Bosshole – from the album An Introduction to the New Boss - released January 1, 2004. Next up was a book, The Sweet Potato Queens’ First Big-Ass Novel: Stuff We Didn’t Actually Do, But Could Have, And May Yet; by Jill Connor Browne. This was published April 15th 2008. There was also a blog post by Bob Sutton - that he talks about his term, Hassholes – and a friend shares the Bosshole term with him (January 13, 2009). So, the term has been around awhile, but is gaining in popularity..
I bet there are more than a few stories that can be shared on the Bosshole front. I would love to hear a few… Please share.
August 31st, 2010
Steve
This past Saturday, my smartphone needed a software update that for some reason failed with a critical error. Simple solution for the service people was to say it needed a warranty replacement. Since it was late Saturday night, I would get one shipped out Monday for overnight delivery to me on Tuesday. My first thought was no big deal… Well, it is a frickin big deal. It plain sucked not having my smartphone.
Here is the laundry list of stuff I missed…
- I have more phone numbers stored on my smartphone from my personal directory. That when I needed to make a couple of calls (unlisted numbers) during the day at work, I did not have the numbers. Getting them after hours only meant I will have to wait 24 hours.
- Using unplanned time (or stealing time) for many things.. You know those times you are stuck in traffic, the supermarket, shopping or sitting at home and don’t want to fire up the PC.
- Emails – this is a great way to get the inbox under some control. Filling empty time with answering email. Or giving someone the answer to their question.
- Facebook – nothing like keeping family and friends up on your doings. Or finding out what is happening with them.
- Twitter – those random thoughts that pop into your head. Or those weird things that are happening out in the world that need to be shared. There is much that happens that is not planned.
- LinkedIn- since I am busy looking for employment after my retirement, I had 3 days without any instant contact. I don’t plan time to sit down and review LinkedIn and the groups I follow.
- Foursquare- No checkin’s over the past 3 days. I was already ousted from one mayor-ship. Oh no, I may lose a few more… Maybe some of my “friends” may think I am stuck at the last checked in place for 3 days. Well, maybe not, no one came to rescue me…
- No way to take down or record notes on potential blog posts. Missed opportunities!
- Ran into an old friend while eating lunch on Monday. I did not have a way to just point and click – he has my contact information (and I get his). I felt pretty alone asking for a pen and paper…
- Trying to locate a restaurant that you know the name, but just not the location. Search the web – get the directions or phone number to get directions.
It has been a rough couple of days… I missed my smartphone…
August 30th, 2010
Steve
Remember the Do Not Call Improvement Act in 2007, that later became law in Feb. 2008? How can we get some more of those annoying calls that we do not want added to that list?
The annoying calls that I am writing about at the wonderful political calls that are robo called to us around election time. The cheap and easy way to reach out to voters. When do they normally happen? Around dinner time or slightly after.. You know the time that you are supposed to be spending family time together. Interrupt family time! The topic of discussion switches over to the call and the purpose of the call, but not in a good way (usually a simple no way am I voting for “that” person!). How can we get those added to that law? Wait, that would probably mean that those exact folks that approved the list for those sales calls – would have to put their own campaigns on the list. Let’s not hold our breathe waiting for that to happen.
For our household, we are a house divided. So, we get to get both parties lovely phone calls. After keeping track of who called, who called for whom and which party called.. The loser party with the most calls were the Republicans. Senate John McCain topped the overall list – his voice was on my answering machine three times. Since this is computerized – did you really have to call me three times? I have to seriously revisit the party that I follow. In an earlier post, I commented that I was not going to vote for anyone that called or had some call with their support on a candidate. I lived up to my promise. I did not vote for any of those folks.
When will some of our law-makers step up and put an end to that behavior?
August 27th, 2010
Steve
We all know that communication needs to be two ways. We have the sender that says something (“What was said“) and a receiver that hopefully heard the message (“What was heard“). They do get mixed up from time to time. Over the past, weeks I have been communicating, listening and adding some of my peers to this discussion. Below you will find a list of some of the more humorous “What was said, what was heard”.
| What Was Said |
What Was Heard |
| Be More Assertive. |
Make them agree with you. |
| Scope is not clear. |
That’s not what I meant. |
| Your data is misleading. |
That data makes everything look bad. |
| You’re a bit too aggressive. |
Being a “B” (male or female version) |
| Think out of the box. |
Heard all your ideas before, get some new material. |
| Emerging Market Strategy. |
Moving jobs offshore. |
| You always offer ideas on how to improve. |
Too opinionated. |
| Viewed as a SME by peers. |
Total Know It All. |
| Keeping it real for me, thanks. |
Better use a “filter” (don’t say that) for others. |
| You’re doing great! |
Probably has no clue how I am doing. |
| Fly under the radar. |
Don’t tell anyone – what they don’t know will not hurt them. |
| That is not what I meant. |
Bring me a rock exercises are fun, not! |
| Disagree and Commit. |
Just agree with me, it is much easier. |
| You are too valuable to the organization. |
No transfer for me. |
| Need to be more open-minded. |
Have to get alone with everyone. |
| That will not work. |
Not invented here, so of course it will not work. |
| Site strategy. |
More compressed office time. |
| That should be Zbb |
Nights and weekend work. |
| Only the best and brightest work here. |
Someone is full of themselves. |
| It’s confidential. |
It’s a test… Will I or won’t I tell someone? |
| Put your corporate hat on. |
Suck it up… |
| Let’s bin that. |
Ok, now that one is dead. |
| Take it off line. |
Done listening or Shut the hell up! |
| That’s Steve being Steve. |
Ignore him; he will eventually go away. |
| Not a good idea in this environment. |
Didn’t think of it, so we are not going to do it. |
| You’re a solid team player. |
You are not a leader. |
| Too foster better work/life balance involve teammates. |
You’re too slow at this task. |
| You take a very direct approach. |
You sometimes leave a trail of dead bodies. |
| You need to find a new outlet to support your career passion. |
Your career desires don’t fit within this group. |
| One-way rotational |
What the heck? (Trying to rotate me out?) |
| Is it done yet? |
Moving a bit slow. |
| Sorry, I was on mute, what you say? |
Not paying attention (mute your ears?) |
| Your Program or project is not strategic. |
Time to update the resume. |
We all know there are more.. Please share…
August 20th, 2010
Steve
The other day a bunch of us were sitting at our café table discussion just about anything and everything. So, when I was asked this question in a cafe discussion on leadership and managing a team, “what actions do you notice that makes a team miserable?” To say that we had a very lively discussion would be an understatement. I posted this on my internal blog post to see what people felt and got a couple more to add.
Here are the behaviors or actions (or non-action) that will easily make the team miserable.
- Ignoring bad employees. We all get that dealing with problem employees is not an easy task. That most of the “dealings” should be behind closed doors. When actions don’t change for a very long time the team suffers. The doubts start coming into the better employees. Is the manager really doing anything? Why don’t they just get rid of this person? Actions need to be noticed by the team or they believe that the manager is ignoring the situation.
- Blanket changes rather than dealing with the problem. This one is pretty much like the ignoring the bad employee.. Let’s take the situation about working from home. Over the years, we have had policies that have swung to both sides. WFH can happen with your managers approval, no day limits – to – only one day defined and agreed upon by your manager. What is the “real” problem? Are we losing our culture? Or was it hard to account of office space and trying to manage WFH employees? We all have opinions on this matter… Go ahead and discuss.
- Hold back your good employees. Everyone needs good people around them. They help the manager look good! They make the team look good. If you hold them back within your organization – you will lose them. Not today, but at the first chance that they can. For me as a manager, I truly enjoy seeing some of the people that I have managed do well. I only hope that I had some help in their success.
- Think only of the customers and not the employees. This one definitely is a sticky one.. The customer should come first. There are situations that when doing the best for your organization and the company, does not always sit well with your customers. Most of us at the table have internal customers – so, it is something of a balancing act. But, to stand up and push your organization many different directions due to the customers, well – one thing you can count on is the teams themselves will suffer. Look at 4 customers, with different priorities and needs. Your small team to deliver to all 4 customers on all of the different priorities and needs. Words like “suck it up”, “we need to be flexible at all costs”, “you guys have pulled rabbits out of your hat before why not now” – are good once and awhile, but as a habit – not so much.
- Everyone loves the new manager that waltzes in. Change is not a bad thing, if done right. Many of us have experienced the “newbie” that comes in like the bull in the china shop. “You all have not been doing good work in the past, and I am here to fix that immediately.” They usually come in with the best intentions, but forget to really provide the back drop to their statements and the explanations to their changes. First impressions, go both ways.
- Be extremely ineffective at escalations or pushing back on new projects. When a person or two (or all of them) come with an escalation that needs your help and you do nothing. The first thing that pops into most team members minds are “what do I need you for?” When that happens – the leader can just feel the footsteps on their backs are the escalation is being given to someone else. Pushing back is not easy sometimes, but when you know you team is completely booked up. Saying No is a good thing.
- Be a dictator and make arbitrary decisions. Always a winner in my book. The self proclaimed “king” (not Lebron James) and what I say goes, don’t ask a question and just do it. The king has his serf’s upset and they are rebelling. Sad part about this one is rarely does the king see that the serf’s are rebelling.
There are probably a bunch more.. We only had about 30 mins (and a few additions from comments) on this topic and a bunch of us had to leave for a 1pm meeting. Maybe you can take this one to a café table near you. Come back with your lively discussion!
August 18th, 2010
Steve
I read awhile back, from where I don’t remember, that one important part of leadership is asking for feedback. Research showed that this was the one that leaders least used. This one peaked my interest enough for me to want to write about it. Is this true? If you are a leader – how often do you really ask for feedback? If you are a director or higher, do you get feedback from the troops in the trenches? After posing those questions over the last month (most of it when I was on sabbatical), I can say that the research is probably spot on. My simple sample size with many different folks – really pointed out to me that many leaders do not gather this information. From my experience, there is plenty of data being gathered for some decisions that are being made.. When it comes to decisions, on the individual basis, the data is somewhat limited.
So, what is being gathered? I got from some folks, that their companies have formal survey’s to gather feedback. Some folks commented that the leader would discuss the results. Action plans were discussed, but little action on the plans were witnessed. Good start, but overall execution needs more work. Another area that folks pointed out needing some improvement, were the questions. They felt like they were way too broad and did not help pinpoint the work that is being done. Too broad a question could have too many concepts rolled into one.. Making scoring a bit tough. Getting to the detail that could help the leader is somewhat lost. Making the questions more focused is not always good either, as the survey becomes a chore (too long). There needs to be a balance. Having the company provide a venue for gathering feedback could be very powerful. Some leaders take the feedback to heart and really work with people to address the items areas needing attention. But, that truly is the exception. Some are words only.. Taking the time to read the feedback, gather some more information, develop plans but actions don’t match plan. Others mostly commented that they get some occasional questions asked of them from the leader in one on one’s or skip level discussions. The respondents pretty much felt like they were put on the spot. Getting a question out of the blue, “How am I doing? Anything that I can do better?” left them caught off guard. You really want to think about that and provide some rich feedback.
So, why not really use feedback to your benefit? Here are a few that came out….
- Don’t know how to interrupt the feedback (if given).
- Feedback is less than actionable.
- Treat feedback as an exercise.
- “Who knows me better than myself?”
- “True feedback comes from the boss.”
- No visible reward (or punishment). The soft skills are normally not recognized.
The challenge is really two fold. First, we all have to be honest and timely with the feedback. This is something that I have had preached to me all of my career. This should not get lost the higher up the ladder a leader goes. Second, reward systems need to really be hard deliverable and soft-skilled based.
August 16th, 2010
Steve
Maybe it is because I just got back from sabbatical or maybe it is just because the office area has more people around me.. But, I feel it is time to bring up a subject near and dear to most of our hearts – cubical etiquette.
Here are my basic simple rules that I would hope that we all can follow:
- All cell phones are put on vibrate. There are a number of you all that think those ring tones are special or cute. Well, for many of us – not so much. Please when entering the building – place the cell phone on vibrate. If you can’t feel vibrate, place on the desk next to you. I bet you will see it moving across the desk..
- Personal phone calls. Hey, we all have them from time to time. There is nothing wrong with them – just when the subject matter gets a little off base. I really don’t think you want to share some of the topics of you personal life with your cube farm mates. We are in a very open area… the walls have ears (and your voice carries).
- Loud talkers (and that goes for me!) we need to remember that there are people in the office area (besides ourselves). If you are going to be the main talker in a meeting or decision – well, try to get a room. If unavailable – well remember your voice carries. Please use you inside voice… For those that forgot or never knew what that is – six inches should be the carry distance. If they can not hear you on the call – more the mic closer to your mouth or change the batteries in the headset.
- Music in the office area to keep you focused is awesome, except when…
- If I can hear you music over the cube wall (and you are using your headset) – you have that volume a bit TOO LOUD. Please take care of your health, turn the volume down and save yourself from some hearing loss later in life.
- Singing along – please stop!
- Whistling, humming and drumming in your cube… Maybe it sounds awesome to you, but the rest of us – not so much (again). If you are ready for American Idol – great, but practice at home.
- Smells – We are in a confined space… We have to be very mindful of (and it is open to interruption):
- Food – smelling burnt popcorn and some leftovers are not good.
- Cologne or perfume – use in moderation.
- Kickin off the shoes… Please don’t.
- If you happen to be off for an extended period of time – SAC your phone, please!
- Be professional and remember to be respectful to your neighbors… We all are working!
For the folks in their cubes – that are having problems getting work done or having their frustration level reaching boiling point. You have every right to – politely ask for people to do the right thing. No need to get angry.. We have one person in our area that comes by and reminds us about the cellphone not being on vibrate – she does this politely. Some of us have labelled her the cellphone police… In a nice way. Only takes one ring and watch us all scramble to turn our phones to vibrate… I am loud, I know that and have warned my fellow cube mates. Told them - if I get too loud they can shhhhh me.. or ask me to take it down…. I am quite okay with that.
Remember to just be respectful in letting your fellow cube mates know – they may not realize it!
August 13th, 2010
Steve
Sorry for the delayed posting – last book on my read 3 books on sabbatical. This book was The Truth About Leadership by James Kouzes and Barry Posner. One question that they get is “What is new in leadership?” Context has changed, but content has not. The fundamental behaviors, actions and practices of leaders pretty much remained the same. I really enjoyed seeing “The NO-FADS Heart-of-the-Matter FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW” – eye catching. From their research over the past 30 years, over a million responses to their assessment – comes the book and the ten truths!
- You Make a Difference. Before you lead you have to believe that you can have a positive impact on others. This is one of the first things I want to hear from anyone that wants to lead. I will be teaching a few New Manager classes over the rest of the year, I wonder how many times I will hear make a difference?
- Credibility Is the Foundation of Leadership. If people don’t believe in you, they won’t willingly follow you. You must do what you say you are going to do. Actions speak much larger than words. Just think for every person that you have in your organization, multiply by 2… That is the number of eyes watching you.
- Values Drive Commitment. You need to know what you believe in because you can only fully commit to the organization or cause when there is a good fit between what you value and the organization values. Many companies have their own set of values that you should follow – that is always a good starting point.
- Focusing on the Future Sets Leaders Apart. You have to be forward looking; it’s the quality that most differentiates leaders from individual contributors. You need to spend time reflecting on the future. Blocking time on your calendar for reflecting is critical. Leaders that just run from meeting to meeting – really are either in the day to day or worse – the past.
- You Can’t Do It Alone. Leadership is a team sport, and you need to engage others in the cause. You need to enable others to be even better than they already are. Insuring that your team is built on many different strengths (and having the weaknesses of others covered) – will make the overall team powerful. Getting that power fully engaged will be something to see.
- Trust Rules. To enlist others, you need trust. Build mutual trust; you must trust others too. I had an experience, during a trust workshop that the orgs leader actually committed on I should not have to worry about this. Wow, that set a tone for me.
- Challenge Is the Crucible of Greatness. Great achievements don’t happen when you keep things the same. Change invariably involves challenge, and challenge tests you. Most people just would rather have their teeth pulled than to change – one way to make change happen is to set challenging goals – make a game out of it.
- You Either Lead by Example or You Don’t Lead at All. You have to go first as a leader. That’s what it takes to get others to follow your lead. All eyes are on the leader – think of it as a mirror – what the leader projects’ will be what others do. Make sure you project the right image you want!
- The Best Leaders Are the Best Learners. Learning is the master skill of leadership. Leaders are constant improvement fanatics. Never stop learning… The content has been around awhile – how you use it will be what is important. It is taking the learning’s and applying to action that counts.
- Leadership Is an Affair of the Heart. Leaders love what they’re doing and those they lead. Leaders make others feel great themselves and are gracious in showing their appreciation.
Looking back at the truths, these should be the motivation behind the right kinds of behaviors that go with good and sustainable leadership.
August 11th, 2010
Steve
Would the 150th post be considered a milestone? Who really cares, besides the author? Here it goes… When I started this back about 1 1/2 years ago, I really did not know how far I would go or for how long. I started with an idea that I wanted to write about a couple of my passions – Leading and Ice Hockey. I have added some book review, observation and travel to my personal space.
Leading and managing still have a huge spot in my heart. The other day, I announced (in my internal company blog) that I was going to retire after the first of the year. In that message, I stressed the importance of the people that I have led, worked with or coached over the years – taught me more than I have to them. They truly have challenged and help me grow! I hope to take those learning’s and apply them to the next chapter of my life.
Ice hockey is still of interest for me. Not like it was before the hip replacement surgery. I can not coach on the ice – so, I help out other coaches from a far. I probably will not be writing much about this in the future.
The new adds of Book Review, Observations and Travel will continue. Observations for sure – I am having some enjoyment from that one. With my recent announcement – I should have a little more time on my hands – hoping to add more travel… With travel comes more reading…
Here is to the next 150 posts! Cheers
