Management Craft

Your Management Questions #4

Every Friday, I‘ll answer two or three management questions submitted through the “Ask Lisa” link found on my blog and on my website. This week I have picked two great questions submitted by Grace and Christopher. If you would like to submit a management question for future Friday posts, click here.

QUESTION: The employees in different parts of my company are like cats and dogs. How can I get them to bridge the gap between species and work together towards common goals?

ANSWER: This is a fun one, thanks. Here is my David Letterman style Top 10 list of how to get corporate dogs and cats to work together!

10. You can’t. The dogs will eventually eat the cats.
9. You can’t. The cats will outwit and evict the dogs.
8. What you don’t realize is that they do have a common goal called, “get the human.” It’s just a matter of time.
7. Bring in the pet psychic to try hypnosis. Repeat after me, “Cats are wonderful and are my friends.”
6. Take a stick to them when they don’t behave. (Oh wait, that sounds familiar)
5. Creatures need their own space to live together in harmony - departmentalize! (That’s familiar, too.)
4. Hire a consultant to provide species sensitivity training.
3. The workplace is a zoo, let the animals be animals - it’s natures way.
2. Give them a common enemy - try a guinea pig.

And the number 1 way to get corporate dogs and cats to work together is:

1. Treats!

QUESTION: My boss consistently provides me feedback on issues that I deem to be insignificant when compared to the entire scope of my position. When it comes to crucial projects/issues she seems unaware or disinterested in getting involved. How can I best manage this type of a boss?

ANSWER: Ah, the “help, my boss is a dufus!” problem - many of us have worked for a boss that just didn’t get it. Since this is your question, I am going to assume that you are focused on the right priorities and your boss is not. Of course, it is entirely possible that your boss is writing into some other blogger asking how she can get her managers to focus on the right work!

A funny thing happens as we move up the corporate ladder. Some of us get dumber. It’s true! As we remove ourselves from being in the thick of things (where we are at our sharpest) we forget what the workday is really like. If you are a middle manager reporting to either another middle manager or a senior manager, you will need to do a lot of managing up. It’s just the way it is, and those of us who can manage up well and not get hung up on our bosses being “oblivious to the obvious“ will fare the best.

I have two different answers to your question depending on the impact this behavior is having on your ability to produce results:

1. If your boss’s behavior is largely a nuisance, meaning that it’s irritating but does not get in the way of your doing great work and contributing to the company, then try this:

A. Chill out - all bosses are neurotic. The next one might be worse. Let the goofiness be quirky, not irksome.

B. Take the initiative to share your priorities with your boss and ask for her input. Say things like, “I’m assuming that you want me to focus on improving the timeliness and reliability of our financial reports and that this is a top priority, is this right?” After going over your top priorities, be upfront about what is not on the top of your list. “I also want to be clear about what is NOT on the top of my to-do list and may not get done at all....in the scheme of things, this is not very important, do you agree?” I once had a boss that I routinely sent emails to that essentially said, “I’m not gonna do that because it’s dumb/not important,” in a nice way. He was always fine with my choice and just wanted to be kept informed. A couple times he responded in agreement.

C. You own your job, so do the best work possible. Just because your boss‘s ideas of what’s important are a bit off target, this does not give you license to be similarly misaligned.

1. If your boss’s behavior is preventing you from doing great work, then try this:

A.-C. From the above list.
D. Are you sure that you cannot have a positive impact? I have observed more examples of managers not having the courage to take the initiative and have seen very few legitimate examples of where a boss (even a really bad one) is an absolute obstruction. Try an intervention. Lay your cards on the table in a direct and constructive manner.
E. If all else fails? I have always said, “Managers change, or managers change.“ In your case this means that you may want to find another position reporting to a different manager or change companies.

Your Management Questions #3

Every Friday, I‘ll answer two or three management questions submitted through the “Ask Lisa” link found on my blog and on my website. This week I have picked two great questions submitted by Barbara and Hudson (Only two because I got a bit long winded!). If you would like to submit a management question for future Friday posts, click here.

QUESTION: What happened to the "management by walking around" concept?

ANSWER: Interesting question. Nothing happened to the concept or benefits of MBWA, but I think that management jobs have changed in ways that is impacting the number of managers who MBWA. First, and most notably, managers are more time deprived than ever and often the first thing to go is time spent on informal communication and building relationships. Although common, this is a counterproductive choice because taking the time to build relationships saves time in the long run. According to Stephen Covey, managers are spending nearly 50% of their time on urgent but not important tasks. I know some managers that spend all their time on work that does not make a difference - very sad, isn’t it? Anyway, my answer is that the perception of NO TIME is what has happened to MBWA. I encourage managers to MBWA even when they think they don’t have time. You can also MBWA virtually, so don’t let the fact that your team is dispersed get in the way.

QUESTION: I find that the management incentive program at my company is completely ineffective at influencing the behavior of participants. What are your thoughts on management incentive programs in general? Do you have any examples of how these programs can be used as an effective management tool?

ANSWER:This is an important question but I’m biting my tongue on this one..Oh, why bother, here it goes.. Your incentive program is completely ineffective because management incentive programs are useless for affecting performance - period. Do I have any examples of how they can be used as an effective management tool? NO. Peak performance and incentive programs (and performance appraisals, for that matter) are like oil and water - they do not go together. I’ve heard all the rationalizations and they are all hooey.

1. “Our people are motivated by incentives.“ No they are not. We all love money and if given the choice, we would opt for the opportunity for a bonus versus no opportunity for bonus. Do not confuse our interest in greenbacks with a drive to do great work.

2. “Incentives allow us to pay for performance.“ No they do not. Incentives are costing you performance, so, in effect you are paying to reduce the potential of your organization.

3. “Our people expect a bonus and if we take it away, we will have a morale problem.“ In other words, you think continuing to pay to reduce performance is a good management decision? Have the courage to do the right things. Having said this, make sure you pay people a good salary - not for motivation - as a minimum requirement to attract and keep great people.

4. “It is different for sales people.” Hooey! Sales people will say they are motivated by money, and they may even believe it, but it is hooey. They want money, we all want money. It is not the incentive program that will drive them to do their best work.

Don’t even suggest that juicy executive bonuses drive peak performance - do you watch the news?

I have worked for several very large companies who SWORE by their incentive and appraisal processes. The funny thing is that these elaborate and analytical processes failed liked all others AND cost much more in resources and time.

Here’s the fatal flaw - both incentives and appraisals are based on a model of control. Carrot > Stick, Bell > Salivate > Food, Sell > Money. Why is this a problem? Are you like one of Pavlov’s dogs, ready to salivate at the sound of a bell? Of course not! To do our BEST work we need to be internally driven to excel. When we try to control people (try as we might, we never do) we wreck their inner fire to do great work.

A control based management paradigm does not work.

I could go on forever but will spare you. There are volumes of research that say incentives and performance appraisals are worthless and reduce performance - not just worthless, but damaging. If you want to hear more on this topic, leave me a comment and I will share more in future posts.

Have a different point of view? Please share it!

Your Management Questions #2

Every Friday, I‘ll answer two or three management questions submitted through the “Ask Lisa” link found on my blog and on my website. This week I have picked three interesting questions submitted by Mark, Tina, and William. If you would like to submit a management question for future Friday posts, click here.

QUESTION: So everyone says "benchmarking" is critical to business analysis - but in the small-and-private marketplace, how do you move beyond a simple historical model? I don't want to compare my company with the public-but-huge industry leaders, do I?

ANSWER: Some of your most interesting and helpful benchmarking information will come from businesses dissimilar to your own. Here’s how I would approach the problem of deciding who to benchmark:

1. Decide on the competency or practice that you want to benchmark. For example, website marketing techniques, preventative maintenance tracking, or customer loyalty programs.

2. Determine who does it well – who defines the state of the art? They could be companies from your or industry or others. I encourage you to look outside your industry, as great ideas often come from unexpected places. Select 3-5 companies to contact.

3. Call your counterparts directly and ask them to share their approaches and ideas. Cooperation will be easier to come by when talking to companies that are not competitors. It does not hurt to ask your competitors, though.

I prefer this targeted type of benchmarking to general comparisons across many competencies. The information will be more in-depth and more actionable. I also prefer benchmarking current and planned practices versus historical stuff.

QUESTION: I currently have an employee who is in a role that requires her to be reliably available for work. The employee is one of several fulfilling the same role, and when she is at work, she is one of my better performers. However, this employee has a number of health issues that cause her to consistently miss work.

Because this employee is one of my better performers I do not want to get rid of her and, even if I did, she is protected under a number of federal and state protection laws.

What would you do?

ANSWER: This is certainly a difficult situation, and I assume you have been working with your Human Resources Department to understand your options. I also assume that these illnesses are believed to be legitimate. That being said, this is a problem that employers will have to deal with more as the workforce ages and continues to work later in life.

Are there positions that she can transfer into that allow more flexibility? Since this person is a valued contributor, perhaps she can add value in another position.

If you have several people doing the same work, are you able to make up for her absences? If yes, is it really a big problem? I understand it is an undesirable situation, but is it manageable?

I assume you have spoken to her about her absences. Does she have any ideas for how to improve her attendance? Be open to creative ideas even if they are not your first choice for how to resolve the problem. Telecommuting? Reduced hours?

If you think her absences seriously disrupt your operation, talk to your HR person about how to resolve the situation. While she may have protection under the ADA, FMLA, or other laws, there are limits to what you must accommodate if she continues to miss work time.

I would guess that you are also worried about how this person’s poor attendance impacts your ability to manage the attendance of others in your team. If this is true, you will want to seriously consider work adjustments or a role change to distinguish this employee’s chronic problems from the average person’s health issues.

Your other employees are watching to see how you handle this. They want to know that you are both caring and fair while managing the situation so that workplace disruptions are minimized. There is no perfect or obvious solution, and you will want to be flexible and open to creative ideas.

QUESTION (I‘m not making this up): I'm stuck in a dead end job but receive lots of offers to earn college degrees based on life experience. Will a college degree help me get a management job? Which would be better, a PhD or an MBA? Does it matter if the college doesn't have a football team?

ANSWER: If you are going to “buy” a college credential from one of those Internet based degree mills, I say go for the PhD! Hang it on your wall as a conversation piece.

Of course, that is all it would be.

Going back to school (and taking real classes) is a great idea if you can swing it. Attending a school with a football team has its advantages, too, including a larger selection of cool school jerseys and a greater likelihood that you will not end up on the bottom of the GPA ranking (I’m kidding).

In my experience, the best way to get a management job is to demonstrate business acumen and show an interest in improving results. In general, you should act in a manner consistent with the position you seek. A college degree and other professional credentials are also important, but they must be earned.

If you really are in a dead end job, do whatever it takes to get out. Life is too short!

Your Management Questions #1

Every Friday, I will address 2-4 management questions received from blog readers and website visitors. I welcome questions about any general management topic including:

How to deal with difficult managers or peers.
Frustrations about work planning and prioritization.
Improving employee morale and productivity.
Problem solving.
Idea generation.
Process inprovement.
Organization structures.
Stress management.
Communication.
Coaching.
Personal development and career planning.
Or anything else!

Periodically, I may invite guest experts to address questions. If you would like to sumbit a question, click on this link or the link on the left column of this blog.

I look forward to reading and responding to your questions each Friday!