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Management Resolutions for the New Year

  1. I recognize that I am responsible for achieving results through others and that I need them more than they need me.
  2. I will strive to produce products and/or deliver services for less than they cost to produce or deliver, thus making a profit.
  3. I will be profitable and productive by improving utilization of personnel, material and other assets.
  4. I will develop our team based on personal accountability, i.e. each team member will deliver value greater than his or her total cost of employment.
  5. I will concentrate on excellence rather than perfection.
  6. I will become credible by earning my authority, not demanding it.
  7. I will use more influence and persuasion and less authority and control.
  8. I will ask better questions to get better answers and results.
  9. I will identify and stay in high payoff activities; and, get my team members to do the same.
  10. I will improve my ability to delegate and delegate more effectively.
  11. I will include people in the decision making process to increase their commitment, ownership, and results.
  12. I will use positive confronting to correct inappropriate behavior and I will resist the temptation to use sarcasm, criticism, or any other form of mental abuse.
  13. I will invest at least as much time on preventing problems as I spend solving them.
  14. I will hire for talent, train for skills, teach for knowledge, and motivate for growth and profit.
  15. I will focus on strengths and manage around weaknesses.
  16. Being a manager or supervisor can be very rewarding and very challenging at the same time. I will develop a high sense of urgency for outcomes; and, at the same time, I will also be patient with people.

 

Happy Productive & Profitable New Year!

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HOW TO ENERGIZE PEOPLE

Energy, not time, is the fundamental currency of high performance. Performance, health and happiness are grounded in the skillful management of energy. The number of hours in a day is fixed, but the quantity and quality of energy available to us is not. It is our most precious resource. Excerpts from “The Power of Full Engagement” by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz.

As a leader, you are the steward of your team members’ energy. Here are ten things you can do to keep energy at a high level on your team:

  1. Say what you will do and do what you say. When people know you are a person of integrity and they can count on you, their trust level goes up and they can use their energy in productive pursuits.
  1. Help people remember their past successes. People have a tendency to vividly remember their past mistakes and failures and forget or diminish their past successes. By helping them remember their past successes, you help them boost their energy.
  1. Help people set short-term goals and break more complex goals into “bite-sized,” chunks. When people enjoy frequent successes, they become energized. The saying that “success breeds success” is absolutely true. Small successes lead to big successes.
  1. Look for opportunities to recognize and praise people. Praise is a great elixir. It builds self-esteem, bolsters self-image, and creates an adrenalin rush that generates an abundance of energy. Praise is the catalyst for energy.
  1. Help people focus on the next step. When people realize the power of progressive realization and develop an “I can do that (next step)” attitude, improved performance and success are inevitable which, in turn, helps create more energy.
  1. Help people identify their passion. Passion creates energy. When people know what their passion is and take steps to pursue and fulfill it, they are going to be energized.
  1. Inspect what you expect. People respect you more when you inspect what you expect. This helps people become more accountable, and being accountable produces energy.
  1. Keep score. Keeping score helps people know whether they are winning or losing and stamps out uncertainty. Certainty creates energy. Uncertainty drains energy. As a leader, one of your most important jobs is to help stamp out uncertainty.
  1. Encourage people. When people feel encouraged, they can overcome incredible adversity. Overcoming adversity builds self-esteem and generates more energy.
  2. Help people bring out their enthusiasm. Enthusiasm gives people energy. It creates a positive aura and helps people relax and feel confident.

Being fully engaged in work you enjoy generates energy. A high energy level will help you feel invigorated, confident, challenged, joyful, and connected. All of these characteristics will help you be the “generator” for the members of your team.

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THE PROPER USE OF AUTHORITY

The proper use of authority will help you influence the people whose cooperation is needed to accomplish the tasks to be completed for the achievement of your organizational goals. The following ten points will help you use authority properly:

  1. Develop trust. It’s not automatically given; it must be earned. Be a person of integrity. Say what you are going to do and do what you say. Treat people fairly and with dignity and respect.
  1. Openly communicate more than you have to or need to. Make it your top priority. Communication, like nature, abhors a vacuum. In the absence of communication, people will create their own messages, typically in the form of rumor, innuendo, and gossip.
  1. Be as specific as possible in the words and phrases you use. Most conflicts and controversies are caused by people not understanding one another. When you use specific, easy to understand words and phrases, you increase the likelihood of being understood.
  1. Supply whatever background information and reasons people need to understand changes. General George S. Patton is quoted as saying, “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and why, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.” When you introduce change, make sure people understand why the changes are being made.
  1. Be absolutely honest with all employees. If you lie, or sugar-coat the truth, your credibility will be destroyed and, remember, the truth will always find you out.
  1. Actively share information. One of the strongest motivators for people is to be “in on things.” Hording information doesn’t give you power, sharing it does.
  1. Talk to an employee as one adult to another (the way you would like your boss to talk with you). Even if employees act like children, resist the temptation to treat them like children. People will live up or down to your expectations. When you treat people like adults, they are more likely to act in a mature way. When you are condescending toward people or treat them with disdain, they will feel it and resent you for it.
  1. Always solicit employee ideas, suggestions, and reactions. Everybody wants to feel important. Everybody can feel important when somebody understands and believes in them. It doesn’t take much effort to make people feel important. Little things, done deliberately, at the right time, can make a big difference. Soliciting ideas, suggestions, and reactions will not only make people feel important, you might be surprised at what you learn.
  1. Follow through, always – no exceptions. As a manager or supervisor, you are on stage all the time. If you don’t follow through, or if you drop the ball, you can expect your employees to do the same thing.
  1. Recognize the job of a manager is to remove roadblocks, irritants, and frustrations – not put them there. You need your employees more than they need you. When you remove roadblocks, irritants, and frustrations, you help your employees become successful and you will be successful also.

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MANAGE YOUR TIME EFFECTIVELY

  1. Spend a lot of time in your primary areas of responsibility – Resist the temptation to get distracted or drawn into low-payoff activities.
  2. Focus on improving in the areas that you spend a lot of time – If you are currently spending four hours per week in a given activity, improving your effectiveness by 10 percent will give you an extra 20 hours per year that can be invested in other high-payoff areas.
  3. Invest as much time as possible in areas where you have the greatest strengths – In addition to optimizing productivity, working in areas of your greatest strengths is more pleasurable and boosts your energy rather than drains it.
  4. Stay in the moment – Focus on where you are. The mind can only focus on one thing at a time. When you jump back and forth between multiple tasks or thoughts, you do not give either task or thought your full attention. When you do not give something your full attention, you will be less effective.
  5. Use synergy. – Combine several objectives into one activity.
  6. Cut larger tasks into bite-sized chunks – Large tasks can be daunting or overwhelming. When you break these tasks into bite-sized chunks – something you can do immediately, within the hour, or this week – you break inertia, overcome procrastination, and create momentum.
  7. Start and finish strong – Ninety percent of failure can be attributed to not starting or quitting too soon. Likewise, getting off to a fast start gives you momentum, motivation, and the confidence to continue. Finishing strong increases the likelihood of a successful conclusion.
  8. Divide and conquer – Isolate tasks that need your undivided attention. Set up separate folders, electronic files, or notebooks as needed.
  9. Keep “Could Do” lists – These are tasks or projects that you could do when you are blocked on your high-priority tasks or in downtime when you are away from your normal work area.
  10. Organize and categorize – Keep things you use on a regular basis in close proximity to your desk or work area. Set up and use a filing system that insures quick retrieval when you need them. Effective use of categories allows you to group similar tasks.
  11. Simplify – Look for ways to cut out steps, group similar activities, or otherwise streamline processes. Set up systems that will optimize flow and pave the way for accomplishment.
  12. Manage distractions – Clear the clutter, both physical and mental. Close your door. Change location. Turn your computer monitor or close your laptop. Turn your phone to silent mode. Some additional techniques for managing distractions include having written goals, setting deadlines and target dates, making and keeping commitments, and maintaining your energy level.

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Increasing Personal Motivation

MOTIVATION can be defined as a desire held in expectation with the belief that it will be realized. In other words, motivation is a “motive for action,” i.e. reason, purpose, or goal for doing something. Keep in mind that action, or behavior, includes both cause and effect. Motivation involves both the actions and the motive or cause behind the actions. Within reasonable limits, the needs, desires and drives of all people are fairly universal.
Our behavior is the action we take to satisfy desire, but different people take different paths to reach their goals. Two people may adopt identical behavior to reach opposite goals, or they may behave in diametrically opposite ways to achieve a similar goal.
Observe the behavior patterns of your employees as well as your own. Each person has his or her own set of conscious or unconscious goals, and these needs or goals motivate the chosen pattern of behavior. Therefore, all motivation is personal. To understand what it takes to motivate a person, we must know and understand the person as an individual. Each person has needs that must be satisfied.
An effective business leader identifies these personal needs and helps the employee translate them into personal goals. Then, you can help the employee see how these personal goals will help the organization achieve its goals. Since motivation is personal, you might ask: “How can I personally motivate an entire organization?” The answer, of course, is “one at a time.” There is no easier or simpler way. People are the medium through which all systems must pass. Without people, you will get nothing done.

Because all employees are people, and therefore reflect different heritages, environments and training, there is no single method or idea that will successfully motivate all of them all the time. Effective motivation can be accomplished only on a personal basis. However, business leaders can maintain an atmosphere that is conducive to personal motivation and individual growth. The leader can, by combining motivational management with desire for personal success, weld together a new and powerful force for improved performance and results.
Both of these vital elements are interdependent; individual managers and employees rarely strive to increase their personal motivation unless they are stimulated and led by enlightened and self-motivated leaders. As a leader, it is your responsibility to create a climate for growth and learn to deal with each of your employee’s motivation on an individual basis.
To do this, you need to be observant, spend one-on-one time with each person, ask questions, listen and take a genuine interest in each person.

 

All people have one thing in common – they are all different!

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GETTING PEOPLE TO FOLLOW YOUR LEAD

Members of your team will not necessarily follow your lead just because you’ve been given the title manager or supervisor. Unless you earn their respect, you might get insincere agreement, passive resistance, or a minimum effort. With their respect, you can have motivated team members who go the extra mile, initiate work, follow through, and contribute creative ideas for improvement.

Listed below are actions you can take to earn the respect of your team members, co-workers, and bosses:

  • Be Credible – say what you will do and do what you say.
  • Be Trustworthy – tell the truth, even if it is painful (to you).
  • Be Respectful – treat others the way you would like to be treated; or, better yet, treat others the way they want to be treated.
  • Be Consistent – most people have a strong fear of the unknown. When team members aren’t sure how you will respond in a given situation, it causes a degree of fear and they do not do their best work in an aura of fear. Conversely, when you are consistent and team members can predict your reaction, they will feel safe and be more likely to perform at an optimum level.
  • Be Supportive – you are a resource for your team members. Your job is to help them perform at a high level and being productive so they will be successful for the organization. Being supportive by providing resources and removing obstacles is a big part of your responsibility.
  • Be Appreciative – your team members trade their performance for your appreciation, approval, and applause. It doesn’t take much time or effort to say “thank you” or to comment on someone’s work. This attentiveness will pay big dividends in team member loyalty, motivation, and performance.
  • Be Humble – encourage team members to feel that you can identify with them by using some form of self-disclosure. For example, “I felt the same way when that happened to me;” or “A similar thing happened to me;” or “I ran into a similar problem on one of my projects.”

Managers tend to overestimate the control they have by position authority and underestimate the influence they have by treating people with dignity and respect, being supportive, showing appreciation, and by being credible, trustworthy, consistent, and humble.

Rate yourself in the areas listed above and set goals to improve in those areas that you wish you could have rated higher. Then, enjoy the benefits of having people follow your lead because they want to, not because they think they have to.

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TRUST – THE GREAT ELIXIR

Trust is the single most important factor in personal relationships. Trust is the feeling that we can depend on another person. Management, or coaching, is about personal relationships and personal relationships are about trust.

Lack of trust is one of the main reasons players “fire” their coach. Players “fire” their coach in one of two ways: 1) by quitting and leaving or 2) by not performing (quitting and staying). If turnover, or low performance, is evident on your team, look for ways to establish more appropriate levels of trust.

Trust is built one encounter at a time and can be damaged or destroyed in one encounter. Listed below are several factors for establishing appropriate levels of trust:

  • Make and keep commitments. Say what you will do and do what you say. When people know  you are a person of integrity and they can count on you, their trust level goes up.
  • Take responsibility for your actions. Admit mistakes and fix them.
  • Meet deadlines. Give plenty of notice if you are going to miss one.
  • Be a good communicator. Your ability to communicate can make or break relationships and your relationships can make or break your performance and results. Relationships are built on trust and trust is developed over time and based on feedback.
  • Eliminate fear of the unknown in your relationships by being consistent. Consistency enables predictability, predictability enables trust, and trust enables performance improvement. Consistency gives people comfort and inconsistency causes them discomfort. If you say one thing and do another, people will feel unsettled.
  • Avoid misunderstandings. Fix them quickly if they do occur.
  • Do not have hidden agendas. Most people can see right through them.
  • Minimize confusion. Confusion causes uncertainty; uncertainty causes confusion; and confusion contributes to a reduction in trust.
  • Inspect what you expect. People respect you more when you inspect what you expect.

Mutual respect and trust go hand in hand. When team members do not trust and respect each other, they are unwilling and unable to have a meaningful dialogue, which limits their ability to handle conflict constructively. The fear of letting down respected teammates can be a great motivator for people to improve their performance. In an atmosphere of mutual trust, teams can make timely decisions and move forward with complete buy-in from every team member – even those who spoke against the decision during the dialogue.

When there is a high level of trust and mutual respect on a team, it is much easier and safer to speak with candor. Others are more likely to believe your message when they trust you and they are confident you have their best interest in mind.

Trust is the key to getting team members to maximize their energy. When there is tension in a relationship because of lack of trust, most, if not all, of a person’s energy is spent on reducing the tension. When there is a relationship of mutual trust, tension is at a minimum and all energy can be used to complete tasks and accomplish goals.

Taking the time to establish and maintain trust in all your relationships will pay big dividends in every area of your life.

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TEAM EFFECTIVENESS TIPS

  • Identify what is needed to accomplish your goals and express them in terms of the daily activities necessary for achieving them.
  • Identify individual and team priorities, put them in writing, and coach from them.
  • Define what scoring and winning is for your team. When a team works together to accomplish a common goal, synergy is created and a winning tradition is more likely to take place.
  • Make certain the best individual is in each position. Sometimes, the right people are on the team, but not necessarily in the right positions.
  • Improve communication by keeping the appropriate people informed. Give early warning if a deadline is going to be missed or if a problem is occurring.
  • Be on time.
  • Be willing to be cross-trained and learn new jobs.
  • Recognize opportunities where you can help, even if it is not in your job description.
  • Look beyond your job and see the big picture.
  • Offer input and ideas for improving processes and systems.
  • Avoid unnecessary interruptions by making lists of what you need to discuss.
  • Be willing to ask for and offer help.
  • Have a positive attitude toward customers and team members.
  • Clearly defined goals and expectations are essential for effective teamwork and optimum results. For goals and expectations to be meaningful, they need to be written, specific, and measurable. Specific goals and expectations deliver specific results. Unclear, vague goals and expectations typically produce no results. In order to assure acceptance of responsibility and consistency, people must understand what is expected of them.
  • Stop listening to gossip, rumors, and complaints that you cannot do anything about. A commitment to stop listening to things you cannot do anything about can have several positive effects:
    • People learn to stop “dumping” on you.
    • Time is not wasted worrying about things you have no control over.
    • Reputations are not destroyed.

When someone wants to engage in gossip, rumors, or complaints with you, suggest that they talk with someone who can do something about their concerns. By encouraging co-workers to be proactive about their concerns, you can reduce incidences of gossip, rumors, or complaints. As a result, you and your team members can enjoy greater productivity and a more positive work environment.

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Comments Off on PRINCIPLES FOR DEALING WITH PEOPLE PROBLEMS

PRINCIPLES FOR DEALING WITH PEOPLE PROBLEMS

Let people know the impact of their actions. Make sure the impact is relative to them, not you.

Avoid E-mail when dealing with people problems. You will lose the effectiveness of tone, inflection, facial expression, and body language; plus, your message or intent might be misinterpreted without the advantage of a dialogue. Try to deal with the issue face to face. If that isn’t practical, do it by phone.

The severity of the problem might dictate the time needed, but in most cases be direct and keep it brief.

Avoid showing anger. It is okay to show or express disappointment; or, to explain the gravity of the situation with intensity; but, getting angry will create unnecessary tension that could shut down communication and cause resistance to change.

Get the team member to set a goal to correct the problem behavior. Set a follow-up date to review progress on the goal.

Resist the temptation to raise your voice. Keep it at a normal level or slightly lower. This will help keep emotions in check and encourage the team member to listen.

Describe your expectations for acceptable performance, behavior, or results in specific terms. Do not “sugar coat” or “beat around the bush.” Get agreement or acknowledgement that the team member understands your expectations. Get the team member to tell you, in his or her own words, what your expectations are. A nod or passive approval is not enough when you are dealing with a serious problem.

Get agreement that the current behavior is not meeting expectations and is unacceptable.

Planning:   

  • Get the facts. Do not rely on rumor or innuendo.
  • Know enough about the person to predict his or her responses.
  • Write bullet points about what you will say in what order.
  • Choose an appropriate location that is private.

ASAP – when you become aware of a problem and have the facts, the best time to act is as soon as possible. Waiting will not make the situation better and it probably won’t go away. If the temperature gauge in your car enters the danger zone and a hissing noise is coming from under the hood, delaying attention will not be very pleasant. Likewise, delaying attention to problem behavior can be damaging to you and your entire team.

When challenged, the best strategy is to avoid over-reacting. Listen carefully and let the person vent. Venting to a good listener will usually make the other person more receptive to changing and taking corrective action.

Avoid offering your personal opinion; keep the discussion business-based.

When there are multiple issues, focus on one at a time to prevent overwhelming or confusing the team member.

Document the conversation. This will make it easier to follow up and reduce the possibility that something was misconstrued.

Be open to the possibility that this problem employee’s behavior is a symptom of a larger problem within your team. Perhaps this person is in the wrong role; there are poor working conditions or a hostile working environment; or, there is a personality conflict with another team member.

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DEALING WITH PEOPLE PROBLEMS

One of a manager’s most difficult jobs is dealing with people problems. Most managers have the tendency to ignore these problems and hope they will go away, or spend so much time dealing with them that they neglect those team members who are doing a good job. The ideas that follow will help you overcome these natural tendencies.

People problems fall into a lot of categories, e.g. tardiness, absenteeism, sloppiness, poor interpersonal relations, low performance, lack of cooperation, poor teamwork, insubordination, disruptive behavior, or breaking company rules, just to name a few.

Most minor issues or infractions can be corrected by simply addressing them in a gentle, straight-forward manner. This can often be done in a relaxed, casual setting. The better your relationship with the team member, the easier it will be to get an improvement in behavior.

However, if the problem persists and is having a negative impact on your team and productivity, you will need to let the employee know that some sort of resolution is imperative. This usually requires a more formal setting.

Virtually all employees want to be successful. They do not want to be viewed or considered as “high maintenance” or a problem. Sometimes the underlying problem is a feeling of being under-appreciated, or not being thought of as important to the team or organization.

Perhaps they have personal problems away from the job. Be careful that you don’t think of someone as “high maintenance” or a problem. It is important to focus on difficult or problem behaviors rather than difficult or problem people. This minor distinction can be a major factor in helping you maintain an objective, problem-solving attitude.

The costs of keeping poor performing employees are significant. The direct costs include increased labor, waste, rework, lost sales, poor customer relations, and damage to your reputation, to name a few. Team members who pick up the slack feel resentful and can lose their motivation. It will also be difficult for the manager to get other team members to perform at the desired level. The poorest performing employee usually sets the standards.

At the same time, the costs of replacing an employee can be substantial. The direct costs could include ad cost, placement fees, personnel testing, costs related to interviewing, and training costs. Other, harder to measure, costs could include: the cost of mistakes or errors, customer dissatisfaction or loss of confidence, and low team morale.

The Bottom Line – fixing an existing problem is usually less expensive than recruiting, hiring, and training a replacement employee.

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