We are all managers. Some of us have a formal charter to manage, but even those who don’t have multiple opportunities every day to effect changes around them in ways that optimize their outcomes and the outcomes of others in positive ways. The classic example of this is the traditional role of the housewife (or in some cases house husband). The activities of overseeing the development of children, preparing meals, identifying and purchasing all of the needed services and materials for the family, tracking schedules, resolving disputes, financial planning and budgeting, just to name a few, are all similar to the duties of a corporate manager. They require a very similar skillset. So, it makes sense to embrace your role as a manager and put some thought and effort into getting better at it, because in one way or another you are already doing it. I could write a book on my experiences as a manager, and maybe I will. But right now, I thought it might be useful and entertaining to provide a little bit of insight into a few of the things I found to be the most important. So here is my very incomplete list of rules for managers:
1. Focus on managing people: I used to think I was managing production targets, product quality, sales, costs, projections, inventory, accounts receivable and a long list of other “important” things. And these things really are important. But the key to successfully managing them is always in the people and teams that work on each individual area. Once I realized that the primary thing I was managing was people, it changed how I approached everything, and in a very positive way. Instill a culture of improving people’s skills and understanding, and then give them as much freedom as possible to bring their own style and creativity to executing their responsibilities. You will be amazed at how competent your people (or family or friends or church associates) will become.
2. Focus on people’s strengths: In general, managers spend far too much effort on correcting the deficiencies of the people they manage. This is usually not an efficient use of a manager’s time. The return is much higher on identifying people’s strengths and working on getting them into situations that play to those strengths and minimize the impact of their weaknesses. Of course, there are times when you must provide negative feedback and take corrective action. An assembly line worker who is often late can cost much more than their pay in lost production. When one operation in a production line is down, it almost always impacts the overall flow through the line. But that’s the exception, not the rule.
3. Take care of your top performers: When it is time to review and reward your employees, don’t take the coward’s way out and spread the raises and bonuses evenly to avoid hurting someone’s feelings. A good rule of thumb for many situations is the 80/20 rule. In this case, 80 precent of a group’s productivity is contributed by the top 20 percent of performers. Lose any of these key people and you will immediately notice the difference in a negative way. Likewise, lose any of the least productive 20 percent and you won’t notice any negative impact at all. Keep that in mind when you do performance reviews. You must develop the courage to look marginally productive people in the eye and tell them their output is mediocre and that their review score is likewise mediocre. Why? Because HR won’t let you give a lot more money to one person over another if their review scores are nearly the same. How do you identify the top performers? That’s not always completely evident in the brief interactions you have during a workday. But I have learned to look for a couple of key traits that top performers tend to have. These are Urgency and Ownership. Look for people who work their tasks with urgency. An old saw states that if you need something done quickly and well, give the work to the busiest person in the room. Surprisingly speed and efficiency often go together in human performance. The other trait I love to see is Ownership. Some people just do their jobs and seldom venture outside the lines of their formal responsibilities. Others see themselves as agents and representatives of the organization they work for. When they see a problem that needs a solution or an opportunity to advance the goals of the organization, they don’t hesitate. They take on the task and they take personal responsibility for seeing it through.
4. Forget about being well-liked: This is really a general life principle that applies to everyone; manager, parent or whoever. If you are overly concerned with how much your subordinates (or children) like you, you can’t be an effective manager (or parent). This doesn’t mean you should treat people poorly by any stretch! Treat everyone with courtesy and respect. But to be effective, you will have to tell people things they don’t want to hear from time to time. You must have the courage to do that. At the end of the day, people will likely respect you, which is more important than being liked. And ironically, they may end up liking you better than they otherwise would have anyway.
5. Expect excellence: I have always approached my employees with the genuine expectation that they would be conscientious, responsible and competent. I have seldom been disappointed. I have found that the vast majority of people will respond positively to that expectation and fulfill it. If you build a team that is used to being micromanaged and second-guessed, there won’t be enough hours in the day to fill the gaps in the organization’s capabilities. You must instill a can-do attitude of initiative and confidence in your team or you will be toast!
6. Never compromise your integrity: I saved the most important one for last. Seafarers have a concept called water-tight integrity. One of the key duties of the Boatswain’s Mates is to patrol the compartments of the vessel to ensure that the hatches that are supposed to be closed while underway are never left open. Otherwise, any breach to the hull might sink the ship (think Titanic). Your personal integrity is just as important. Once compromised, it can become a slippery slope into stressful distraction and mediocrity. If you are, on the other hand, one of those rare people with no conscience, you might experience a meteoric rise followed by a massive implosion. Either way, I advise everyone to think in advance about what they will do when faced with an ethical dilemma. If you wait until the situation is upon you, you might make a very poor choice. The bottom line is this: you must be willing to do the right thing even if it costs you your position. It is better to mentally prepare yourself now than to wait until you are in a big mess.
And there you have it. My best advice after thirty years of management duties. I hope you found it thought-provoking. I look forward to your comments.
J D Harper
Cogitation Stew 