In the past fifteen years, I’ve been in and out of dozens of organizations, all of which had some process for conducting Performance Reviews.  Of all of them, only one organization did them consistently, and did them well.  The rest of them conducted performance reviews that ranged between ineffective, and highly offensive.

This got me to thinking what all these organizations have in common when it comes to Performance Reviews, so here are the top five (of several dozen) reasons why Performance Reviews usually suck:

1)   Everybody wants more feedback – as long as it’s good. Yep… as much as your Gen Y types tell you they crave feedback, they really only want it if it confirms their worldview that they are beyond fantastic.  Any suggestions for improvement are usually met with a thud.  It is only the most elite of corporate cultures that have overcome this aspect of human nature.  These organizations train and encourage people to constantly seek out feedback that will make them better – which sometimes requires facing up to the fact you don’t do some things well.

2)   Performance Reviews are non-specific. They often contain broad sweeping statements about someone being “good with customers”, or “needing improvement on follow through”.  These observations are about as useful as a chocolate teapot.  If it’s not specific, don’t bother.  Bring data or specific behavioral observations.

3)   People are too polite.  Most supervisors hate performance reviews more than the employees.  So they try to get through them as quickly as possible, without hurting anyone’s feelings.  Great organizations, and great leaders use performance appraisals as catalyst for improvement.  This actually requires giving people feedback on how they can improve – rather than just trying to keep the peace.

4)   Performance reviews are structured too much like report cards. If the performance review is simply “the year in review” without any mention of the future, or developmental opportunities, then it is a waste of time.  Even more of a waste of time is a 4 or 5 point rating system that employees are graded on with little thought or explanation.  No wonder people hate them.

5)   They are disconnected with what people do every day. The big problem with performance reviews is that they are designed by HR people, or external consultants who have absolutely no idea what people in a particular role do everyday.  Hence people are assessed on things they rarely or never do, and the bulk of their efforts are not captured by the criteria or format used.

Employees don’t have any accountability for the Performance Review process.  OK… I said five reasons, so this one is a bonus.  In most organizations, the employee merely shows up for a performance review meeting, having lent no thought or effort to outcome.  Great organizations and great managers insist that employees complete some form of self-assessment in advance of the meeting so that the success of the process is shared.

Become a Wily Manager member and get instant access to even more information about Conducting a Mid Year Performance Review.  And don’t forget to sign up for our FREE Management Cheat Sheet Collection.

Become a Wily Manager member and get instant access to even more information about Conducting a Mid Year Performance Review.  And don’t forget to sign up for our FREE Management Cheat Sheet Collection

Join Jed and Bob as they discuss why you’d bother with a Mid-Year review, and how it’s different than a regular Performance Review.  Also learn how to manage the mid-year performance review discussion to ensure it’s effective.

Watch ‘The Mid Year Performance Review’ Video (15 mins 17 sec):

Organizations with highly engaged people outperform merely ordinary organizations on every axis: production, cost, & safety.  So how can individual managers who may not have the authority to hire a concierge for every employee capture their people’s discretionary effort?  Join Jed & Bob to find out.

Watch the ‘Capturing Discretionary Effort’ Video (15 mins 29 sec):

Become a Wily Manager member and get instant access to even more information about Capturing Discretionary Effort.  And don’t forget to sign up for our FREE Management Cheat Sheet Collection.

Become a Wily Manager member and get instant access to even more information about Capturing Discretionary Effort.  And don’t forget to sign up for our FREE Management Cheat Sheet Collection

The current silliness around the US Government’s debt ceiling is a classic case of individual members of government completely failing to take any responsibility.  For those observers convinced that it’s one party’s fault or the other, you are blinded by partisanship, and not seeing the whole situation clearly.

Perhaps the idea of political parties has passed its “best-before” date.

Originally, the British Parliament (of which many other systems of government have been based upon including the American one), was set up so that a local riding would elect a member to represent it, and then the elected members would all get together, and deal with the business at hand – such as selecting the Prime Minister and other key ministers.

This devolved into parties as people became more apathetic about the political process.  Political parties gave all elected official cover from any personal responsibility to their constituents.  The current silliness in the United States over the debt ceiling is a prime example.  Does any thinking person really believe this has anything to do with anything BUT politics?  Any American, regardless of his political stripe, should be deeply offended by what is happening in Washington right now.

There is a whole lot of politicking, and not any responsibility being taken.  American society has been living beyond its means since the end of the Second World War, and its like nobody got the memo on this until May.  Now it’s a crisis, and no one wants to act

Bad news folks – if you take two or three minutes to add up the numbers, it is indisputable that there are substantial spending cuts required, and significant tax increases needed to fix the problem.  Unfortunately, no one in Washington will take the responsibility of telling people a truth they don’t want to hear.

This is what we expect from politicians – as a society, we have completely abandon the idea of personal accountability.

By the way, this situation is not unique to the United States.  Because I have lived in a few different countries, I seek out news from my former adopted homes, and am quite aware similar silliness is occurring in Australia, Canada, and the UK.

Only when people re-engage in the political process, will anything change.  People lament it is the absence of the voter on election-day, but this is simplistic way of looking at the problem.  The Australians have mandatory voting, and still get caught in political silliness.  Only when we demand responsibility from our locally elected Members of Parliament, or Congress Members will anything change.

That is, unless the current political problem in the US doesn’t completely destroy the global economy, in which case you should look for a nice plot of land with a long growing season.

In 1974 Bill Oncken asked the question of “Who’s got the Monkey” to lament the fact that managers seem to buy more and more problems back from their people, when really they should challenge and develop their people to solve their own problems.  Join Jed and Bob as they discuss how managers can put Oncken’s advice to work.

Watch the ‘Who’s Got the Monkey? Delegating Responsibility’ Video (13 mins 34 sec):

Become a Wily Manager member and get instant access to even more information about Delegating Responsibility.  And don’t forget to sign up for our FREE Management Cheat Sheet Collection.

Become a Wily Manager member and get instant access to even more information about Delegating Responsibility.  And don’t forget to sign up for our FREE Management Cheat Sheet Collection

What the hell is a mentor anyway?  I hear the word, and I always think of Captain Marvel’s alter ego, Billy Batson, and his nameless Mentor.  As best I can tell, Mentor’s job was to drive a Winnebago around the United States with no particular destination in mind, and to give clichéd advice to Billy, all while giving any casual observers the creepy feeling they might be witnesses some form of pedophilia in progress.

The Management Gurus will tell you that when mentoring works well, it is a relationship of high trust, where the Mentor knows and understands the technical, political and social ramifications of a particular organization, but does not have organizational power or control over a person.  Some organizations even assign two people to each other for a mentor-mentee arrangement.

I don’t think this type of relationship is really possible in most organizations, and here’s why:

• We fired most of the middle-managers that could have served in such a role several years ago.  Now, outside of the occasional peer, there is no one to act in this capacity.
• Mentoring relationships take time – years in some cases.  Most people don’t stay in one job, or at one location that long anymore.
• Workplaces are generally lower trust environments than they were a decade or two ago.  Employees don’t trust the employer to act in their individual best interests, and employers see their people as disloyal.

Many organizations start these well-intentioned, but misguided attempts at mentorship programs.  Mentoring relationships, by definition, must occur organically, so drawing up a schedule to pair one person with another is a waste of paper.  Not to mention the awkward situation this puts the participants in:

“I’d like to introduce you to your new mentor!  Now run along and share your deepest fears and aspirations with this person.”

So here’s my alternative:  a personal Board of Directors.  Don’t be put-off by how badly publically traded companies have bastardized this good idea.  It is their implementation that is suspect, not the idea.  There are a variety of aspects of your professional life (and maybe your personal life, too) that could benefit from the external feedback of a Board of Directors.

If you’ve found a great mentor, then that person, may provide adequate direction for all axes of your professional life.  If you don’t have a mentoring relationship in place, you may want to consider a different person for each of the following areas:

• Technical – how can you better execute the core skills of your job?
• Political – how do you negotiate the politics?
• Organizational/Social  — who are the true leaders of the organization, and who defers to whom?
• Networking – Who do you need to know?  Who knows them?
• Community involvement — What causes or initiatives should you be involved in.
• Self-promotion – How do you raise your profile, without coming across as a bootlicker?

There are undoubtedly other categories unique to your situation too.  Perhaps you have people who can serve in more than one role, or maybe you have someone for each different aspect.

Just make sure you use their real name, and don’t address them as “Political Director”, otherwise you may leave people with that creepy impression like Billy Batson and Mentor did.

Become a Wily Manager member and get instant access to even more information about How to Mentor Someone.  And don’t forget to sign up for our FREE Management Cheat Sheet Collection.

Become a Wily Manager member and get instant access to even more information about How to Mentor Someone.  And don’t forget to sign up for our FREE Management Cheat Sheet Collection

Join Jed & Bob as they discuss why you would want to be a mentor, and what the roles of mentor and mentee entail.  Also learn about the Mentoring Agreement.

Watch the ‘Now I’m a Mentor: Being Yoda’ Video (13 mins 26 sec):

Download the  ”How to Mentor Someone” Cheat Sheet, Video, Audio, and Slides

If you’re from a different generation, how do you lead and motivate Millennials?

Watch the ‘Generation Gap: Millennials in the Workplace’ Video (14 mins 22 sec):

Download the ‘Millennials in the Workplace’ Cheat Sheet, Video, Audio, and Slides

Become a Wily Manager member and get instant access to even more information about Millennials in the Workplace.  And don’t forget to sign up for our FREE Management Cheat Sheet Collection.

Become a Wily Manager member and get instant access to even more information about Millennials in the Workplace.  And don’t forget to sign up for our FREE Management Cheat Sheet Collection

OK… maybe they are created equal, but after their first day of work, they are no longer on an equal footing.

So before the letters start, let me be clear that I would never suggest inequality due to gender, race, sexual orientation or any of the other usual culprits.  I am a firm believer that once you take the time to get to know a person, there are so many other reasons to dislike them, that normally defined prejudices need not apply.

But I read in the business press that I need to install a hot tub in every other office at work to make sure that no one quits.  Here’s the thing:  I desperately want a few of them to quit.  I don’t exactly have grounds to fire them, but I know that if a vacancy comes up, I can do better.  So the last thing I want to do is make it too comfortable for them… then they’ll never quit.

The HR people hate this part: some people are simply more valuable to organizations than others.  It doesn’t mean that we don’t value all people, nor does it mean that we don’t treat all people with respect.  It does mean that we will work harder to keep some people on board than others.

Many of the employee retention programs out there are horribly misguided in this regard.  They are well intentioned in so far as wanting to create a positive working environment, but these programs miss the mark by not identifying and targeting those employees that we especially want to keep.

Yes, I know it’s problematic to only put the hot tubs in some offices, but not others.  However, the very best employee retention tactic is investing in, and developing high quality leadership within an organization.  Most people that leave a company actually “quit their boss”, rather than resign from the organization.

Interestingly, a high quality leader can also raise the performance of that employee I talked about earlier that I would rather part company with.  If the employee can’t be saved, then a high quality leader will steward the employee’s departure out of the organization in a professional and respectful manner.

The bottom line is that if organizations are serious about retaining high quality employees, they should save the investment in air-hockey tables, hot tubs, and concierge services, and funnel those resources into the attraction and development of high quality leadership throughout the organization.

You’ll get better returns, retain more high quality employees, and won’t have water damage from the steam of the hot tub.

The first day on a new job is a harrowing experience.  It creates impressions on all those you work with, and sets the stage for your success (or failure) with that employer.

Probably my most memorable first day on the job was literally my first day on the job – any job.  I was fifteen years old, and I got a job bagging groceries at the local supermarket.  Ron Grant was the manager on duty, and he met me at the door.  Ron was never one to smile much, but he was a good guy, and he knew his job very well.

What he didn’t do as well, was to remember people’s names.  From my first day onwards, my name was always “Brad” – the curse of having a last name that is many others’ first name.  In the months to come, I’d hear him paging Brad time after time, and then wonder why Brad (whoever that was) never answered.

Ron toured me through the whole store, stopping along the way to introduce me to everyone on staff that we met, and to point out the things I might need to know for my new career wrapping groceries.  He also doled out advice that was very useful and well intentioned, but easily could have been included in the best-seller, “Sh*t My Dad Says.”  Needless to say, I learned some new words and expressions that day, that came in very handy when I recycled them back at high school.

I learned in the months and years to come, that Ron oriented me to my new workplace completely of his own initiative.  The organization really had no process for bringing people on besides the requisite signing of the official paperwork.

At the end of this orientation, he returned me to the front of the store, where I’d spend the next several years bagging groceries.

“Any questions?” asked Ron.

“Nope… I’m ready to go.” I replied.

“Great”, he said, as I turned to get started.  “Hey Brad,”

“Yep?”

“Your fly’s open”, he said without cracking a smile.

Presumably, he’d noticed this before he’d toured me through the whole place, but had waited until now to share this news with me.  It’s been a while since I’ve been teenage boy, but I’m assuming at the time I would have had checklist of basic hygiene items – such as making sure one’s zipper was properly secured.  Apparently, first day job jitters successfully eclipsed basic personal maintenance items.

Walking around in a public place with your fly open — I suppose that’s one way to make a first impression on when starting a new job.

“Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses”

If that is the opening line at an employment interview, you may want to run away so fast that there is a “you-shaped” hole in the door.  If you hear those words come out of your own mouth as a hiring manager, you need to do some work to up your game for this important managerial function.

Let’s examine why this is a useless question that shows a startling lack of imagination:

• First of all, this is a question that invites insincere answers.  You might as well ask, “could you dust off some lies and embellishments, and trot them out now?”

• Second, you are not really testing the validity of the match between the competencies required for a position, and the profile of a candidate.  Your questions need to be far more specific than this.

• Third, this question invites the most rehearsed, least spontaneous answers.  It is possible as the hiring manager, you hear something in the syndicated response that you can follow up on, but that would be pure good luck.

I know that many managers and recruiters will disagree with my viewpoint on this, so to encourage you to abandon this useless question, here are some typical responses, and the literal translation.  You can cut and paste these ones into your interview notes, and spare the candidate the pain of the question:

What are your strengths?

• I’m a hard worker. I don’t have any other interests or hobbies, and like to spend upwards to 80 hours a week at the office.
• I’m a people person. I really like people, and even the few I don’t like I will treat with mock civility.
• I’m detail oriented. I’d much rather lose myself in a spreadsheet than deal with people.

What are your weaknesses?

• I’m a perfectionist. Not only am I perfect, but I demand the same of everyone around me.  I’m a delight at the water-cooler.
• I’m impatient. If my paycheque is an hour late, I will launch a class-action suit on behalf of everyone who works here.
• I work too hard. I’m not quite sure what I’m doing, so I’ll compensate by being in the office at 6am, and not leave until 9pm.  I’ll probably be on stress leave before the end of my first month.

In an interview, either as the hiring manager, or the candidate, you want some indication that the person you are dealing with is semi-intelligent.  You also hope that you are portraying yourself similarly.  Otherwise, you might as well audition for a reality-based TV show with the other mentally impaired contestants.

I had trouble choosing just one video clip this week, so I gave up, and embedded both of them.

You already know what SMART goals are – find out about HARD goals and how they can help you achieve more.

Listen to the ‘SMART Goals are Dumb’ podcast:

: Download Podcast (MP3)

SMART Goals Podcast Slides

Take a look at the ‘SMART Goals and HARD Goals’ Cheat Sheet

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• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time-bound

• It forces people to focus on specific things
• It is very clear when goals are achieved
• They are connected with the overall objectives of the organization

What are HARD Goals?

• Heartfelt – My goals will enrich the lives of somebody besides me
• Animated – I can vividly picture how great it will feel when I achieve my goals
• Required – My goals are absolutely necessary to help this organization
• Difficult – I will have to learn new skills and leave my comfort zone to achieve my goals

Why We Like HARD Goals

• It takes people beyond normal performance
• Encourages discretionary effort
• The only way to create a “game-changer”

Learn Even More About ‘SMART Goals and HARD Goals’

Wily Manager members, click here to access the members-only area for this topic (you must be logged in).  In the members-only area, you can:

• Listen to the ‘SMART Goals and HARD Goals’ Podcast
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• Print or save the ‘SMART Goals and HARD Goals’ Cheat Sheet (pdf)
• Click through to Related Topics:
  • Time and Priority Management
  • Tools to Lead Change
  • The von Manstein Matrix
  • ABC’s of Performance Management
  • Aligning Mission, Vision & Goals

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Become a Wily Manager member and get instant access to even more information about SMART Goals and HARD Goals.  And don’t forget to sign up for our FREE Management Cheat Sheet Collection

In many organizations, Annual Performance Reviews are about as popular as Ike at the Tina Turner Fan Club meeting.  They are done sporadically, if at all, and they typically have very little impact on organizational performance.

The last big multi-national corporate organization I worked for as an employee had a fascinating “system” for the annual performance review.  I would suggest it’s very typical to what is seen in other companies, so in the interests of demystifying the whole process, here is a list of definitions and translations to sort out some of the vernacular that accompanies the annual performance review:

Annual: In the case of the annual performance review, “annual” means maybe once every 18 to 24 months, or maybe never at all.

Performance Review Meeting: This is where both manager and employee avoid eye contact and share some awkward small talk before the boss launches into his/her diatribe of the last year in review.  Similar to a bad sitcom in format.

Coaching: This is the organizational equivalent of Batman.  You might see it late at night after a signal (usually a corporate memo) has been flashed, but if you see it at all, it will be in a poor light, and you’ll never be sure if it happened or not.

Developmental Opportunities: These are the things you will get fired for, if you don’t fix them.  If there were no employment laws, they would revert to what they used to be called: threats.

Pay for Performance: Managers who get along well with people, take the amount of discretionary salary dollars they have, and divide by the number of direct reports they have.  Managers who don’t care how well they get along with people give it to the people they like the most.  In the rarest of cases, there is a good measurement system in place that everyone understands, and it truly is pay for performance.  It is about as common as spotting a unicorn at the fall carnival.

Performance Appraisal Documents: This is a template that bears little resemblance to your actual job, written by someone in HR who has never worked in the core business.

Performance Review Meeting Preparation: This describes the immediate 30 seconds prior to the meeting starting

The Sandwich Method of Feedback: This is where poorly trained managers slip some “constructive” feedback in between two compliments.  For example, “Nice shoes; you’ve got some significant improvement to make on your analytical skills, but I like your socks.  Also known as the “Sh*t Filled Twinkie” method.

Performance Management Philosophy: This is the same affliction that causes writers of annual reports to declare, “Employees are our most important asset” without the implied disclaimer, “unless they cost us money, or otherwise inconvenience us.”

Seek the Employees View: This is the final 30 seconds of the meeting where the employee is expected to thank the supervisor for the constructive feedback, and declare his/her intentions to act on it.  Only trouble-makers would disagree with the feedback.  Under no circumstances should an employee ever speak his mind here.

I hope this translation helps.  For ideas on how to cope with, and ultimately succeed at your Annual Performance Review, download this week’s podcast.

Find out all about the Wily Manager Leadership Boot Camp:

• Why bother?
• What it’s about
• Who should participate
• How it works
• What’s covered

Listen to the ‘Leadership Boot Camp’ Podcast:

: Download Podcast (MP3)

Leadership Boot Camp Podcast Slides

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Wily Manager Leadership Boot Camp Brochure

It all starts off with noble intentions and great expectations.  Organizations invest thousands to send a manager off to some Leadership Development Training, with high hopes of getting a return on their investment, and of seeing some measurable change in managerial performance.

The normal result is a large invoice for the training and related costs, and a new PowerPoint slide hung on the wall, with some convoluted model or diagram that’s supposed to change our lives, and solve all organizational ills.

How do managers and organizations get is so wrong?

They have the right idea, but they make the same mistake that any of us that has ever been on a diet before has made.  We think that some temporary action, and new package on an old bit of knowledge will make a difference.  Here’s a blinding flash of the obvious:  if you want to lose weight, eat more veggies, eat less of everything else, and try to exercise more.  Most importantly, make these changes habits rather than a temporary intervention.

Organizational and Leadership Development is no different.  Figure out what behaviours you want your managers to display, and take action to make those behaviours into habits.  This is incredibly easy conceptually, but much harder in practice.  You need to look at your reward systems, development systems and processes.  Part of your answer may include training, but only then as part of the solution.

We did some work with PepsiCo, who are generally well recognized as very competent at Leadership Development Activity.  Their development model calls for 10% Leadership Training, with the balance of development activities taking other forms such as coaching, job-shadowing, special assignments, and secondments.

Don’t get me wrong – I absolutely believe that quality leadership is the stargate to better production, increased quality, improved safety, and better cost control.  I just think that organizations that attempt to bridge their leadership quality gaps via training are taking the easy way out, and burning shareholder money to boot.

Just like most of us don’t need another diet book, but rather the discipline to use one of the 44 we already own, leaders don’t need another day in a classroom – they need help making habits out of the things they learned last time.

Because I am a freak of nature, I can’t remember what happened yesterday afternoon, but I do remember the name of Marsha Brady’s first boyfriend (Harvey).  For the uninitiated, Marsha Brady was the stuck-up, know-it-all character from the early 70s sitcom, The Brady Bunch.

This, along with Gilligan’s Island, Mr. Rogers, The Electric Company (incredibly starring Morgan Freeman, and Rita Moreno), The Partridge Family and Sesame Street, formed the basis of some fundamental lessons that guide me in business and in life to this day.

Here’s what I know:

Gilligan’s Island: In a survival situation, where life and death are at stake, people will still revert back to comfortable roles.  Gilligan was always an idiot, Mary-Ann bakes Coconut Cream Pies (when she wasn’t busy getting baked herself – google Dawn Wells), and Ginger could easily manipulate anyone with a Y chromosome to get her own way.

Mr. Rogers: Most importantly, he liked me just the way I am, but also, interestingly the only civil servant (the mail man) had a two-decade old problem balancing his meds.

The Electric Company: Who knew reading could be so much fun?  And… always treat those around you with respect.  You never know when one of your co-workers is going to win an Oscar, Grammy, or Tony award (see the stars listed above).

The Partridge Family: Sometimes you can fake it till you make it.  For evidence ask Susan Dey to sing, or watch Danny Bonaduce strum a bass guitar.  For those who don’t know – The Partridge Family managed to knock the Beatles off the number 1 Billboard Chart, even though they were lip-syncing to the work of studio musicians.

Sesame Street: I’m not sure about this one – even as a five-year-old, I had a hard time accepting life-advice from a six-foot tall, ambiguously gay canary.  Perhaps the lesson from Sesame Street is that it is always, all about marketing.

Enjoy

Every now and then Jed or I will be sitting across the table from someone who will confide in us that he really wants to be promoted into the next job.  Sometimes, he may not know what that next job is, but he really wants it.  “How do I get ahead?”, he may ask of us.  This got me to thinking:

Boot-licking – Constant, shameless, thorough and quality bootlicking.

Eliminate the competition by quietly and carefully sabotaging their every move.  If you think they might be higher in the standings than you for the next role — take them out.

Sewering Your Boss –  Maybe if you make her look stupid enough, they’ll fire her, and put you in her role.

Constantly Champion Your Own Virtues – If people don’t know how wonderful you are, it’s about time you told them.  Don’t be afraid to repeat, ad nauseam.

Sorry – I seem to have lost my inner-monologue.

It’s frightening how many people think that one or more of the above will work.  We see it time and time again, even if people don’t fully admit to employing some or all of these techniques.

There is no doubt that occasionally a boot-licker will slip between the cracks and have some success for a limited period of time.  Maybe even a year or two.  However, there is always a reckoning.  This is not to say that the most qualified person always gets the job – organizational politics are a fact of life that people need to accept.  I don’t know of any organizations that are pure meritocracies.

But people who attempt to prosper by insincere means most often meet their demise with the same level of intensity as they played the game.  What comes around goes around – even though it may take longer than many of us might like.

So how do you get ahead in your career?  Start by not being an idiot.  If you can’t manage that, you’re not going to get ahead anyway, so you might as well cut your losses now.  (Oops – there’s my inner-monologue again).

If you want some other ideas, download our latest podcast on How to Get Ahead – Wily Manager Style.

In the meantime… let’s be careful out there.

OK – we’ve all done it.  Decided to do something ourselves because its easier and faster than holding the appropriate person to account.  Maybe you’ve even done it with your children.  Micro-managing – the gift that keeps on destroying.

Every manager has been warned against this, so let’s look at why it happens, given the most common excuses most managers give for doing so:

It’s faster to do it myself.  It probably is faster… the first time.  But if you look at the amount of time it will take you to teach or correct someone else in the execution of a task, versus the amount of time it will take you to do it on an ongoing basis, the answer is clear.

I can do it better. You probably can… for a while.  However, if you insist on doing every individual task yourself, you will become quickly overwhelmed, and will end up doing some (high) proportion of those tasks poorly.

My people aren’t capable. If this is the case for any amount of time, you are clearly not doing your job as a manager.  It is your job to develop people.  Occasionally you truly don’t have the right talent, in which case you have to make changes to your talent bench.

I need to keep close to the details. Actually, you probably don’t.  As a manager, it is not your job to be expert at everything.  It’s your job to create experts, and be able to ask some semi-intelligent questions of them.

If I don’t do all these tasks, I won’t be useful anymore. Listen to yourself.  If you’re that insecure in your role as a leader, you need to examine whether you should be in a management role at all.

The bottom line is that micro-managers sap the productivity out of organizations by failing to capture the discretionary effort of their employees.  They don’t develop people, which is a primary function of a leader.  They also limit their own career mobility by trying to make themselves indispensible in the role they are in.

Micro-management is a self-destructive behaviour, and a great way to get fired.  Then you’ll have lot’s of time.

Become a Wily Manager member and get instant access to even more information about Help! I’m a Micro-Manager.  And don’t forget to sign up for our FREE Management Cheat Sheet Collection.

What’s Wrong With Being a Micro-Manager?

• You are creating unnecessary work for yourself and others, and therefore wasting resources
• You could be negatively affecting turnover
• You are destroying discretionary effort and thereby reducing productivity
• You will burn yourself and others out

How People Become Micro-Managers

• They were great individual contributors, but never transitioned to being a leader
• They have perfectionist tendencies
• They are insecure in their role as a leader
• They are control-freaks

How do I Address This?

1. Clearly Define Expectations

• Put written performance agreements in place
• Define the boundaries of people’s jobs and determine what level of authority they can have

2. Experiment With Giving People More Authority

• Define outcomes; allow people to determine methods
• Start small if necessary
• Ask for progress reports

3. Leadership Development

• Find ways to improve your ability as a leader.
• Dedicate time to focus on leadership issues as opposed to the detail or the work

Learn Even More About ‘Help! I’m a Micro-Manager’

Wily Manager members, click here to access the members-only area for this topic (you must be logged in).  In the members-only area, you can:

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• Print or save the ‘Help! I’m a Micro-Manager’ Cheat Sheet (pdf)
• Click through to Related Topics:
  • Time and Priority Management
  • Delegation
  • My Boss is a Micro Manager
  • Getting Ahead
  • Good Boss, Bad Boss, Be a Better Boss

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Think you might be a micro-manager?  Listen to this podcast and find out:

• Why you should care
• How people get to be micro-managers
• What you can do to address your problem

Listen to the ‘Help! I’m a Micro-Manager’ podcast:

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'Help! I'm a Micro-Manager' Podcast Slides

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I found this clip on YouTube that is a hilarious/sad commentary on many workplaces.  Happy Viewing.

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Before You Fire

• Have you done everything reasonably possible to have the employee succeed?
• Has the employee been warned that their poor behavior or performance will lead to termination if not corrected?  Are these warnings in writing?
• Consult with your legal council and HR to determine whether the termination is ‘with just cause’ or ‘without just cause’
• In cases of ‘with cause’ have you completed an investigation and got the employees side of the story?
• With the help of Legal or HR prepare the letter or ‘separation agreement’

Be Respectful

• Have the conversation as soon as possible after making the decision to terminate
• Select neutral territory, preferably where you can be as discreet as possible
• Plan to allow the employee to depart with as much dignity as possible
• Provide appropriate transitional support

Doing the Deed

• Have someone with you to witness the conversation, preferably HR or another manager
• Keep the discussion quick and to the point
• Don’t defend or debate the decision

Learn Even More About ‘You’re Fired! How to Fire an Employee’

Wily Manager members, click here to access the members-only area for this topic (you must be logged in).  In the members-only area, you can:

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• Click through to Related Topics:
  • Dealing With Difficult Employees
  • Difficult Conversations: You Smell and People Don’t Like You
  • ABC’s of Performance Management
  • Handling Emotional Behavior
  • Top 10 Manager Challenges: Part A (Managing Conflict)
  • How to Manage Conflict

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Learn how to fire an employee in a way that preserves the dignity of everyone involved.  Find out what to do to get ready, and exactly how to do the deed.

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Other than questioning someone’s parentage, is there a faster way to insult someone than calling him an introvert?  Isn’t introversion something that we need to cure people of by sending them to the Dale Carnegie Course?

Many organizations have invested in some form of psychometric instrument that indicates whether people have a preference for introverted or extroverted behaviour, but that hasn’t stopped the vast majority of people from throwing around these terms without actually having a clue as to what they mean.

People hear “extrovert”, and they think: outgoing, friendly, social, capable, productive, normal.

People hear “introvert”, and they think: shy, withdrawn, anti-social, illusive, dysfunctional, wall-flower.

The problem with these descriptions is that neither is particularly accurate, and it infers that people are capable of only one set of behaviours exclusively.  There is also a connotation that Extroverts will excel in business to a much higher degree than Introverts.

In Good to Great, Jim Collins reveals the qualities that his research has shown as effective in running great organizations.  Interestingly, many of the qualities of “Level Five Leadership”, are found more naturally in people with Introverted preferences.

You might also be surprised who may be a closet-introvert:  High-profile leaders, television personalities, sports stars, maybe even one of your friends, neighbours, or family are introverted.  They’re everywhere, so beware – you never know when they’ll want to slink into the back corner of a meeting room, and silently wish everyone would stop talking at once.  Or perhaps pray that someone will listen to them for 20 seconds before interrupting them.  Worse yet, they may think about something before responding to a question creating that awkward few seconds silence.

So you may be wondering where I fit on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Grid.

As someone who spends a lot of time talking to groups of people, and a person who worked in television (for a short and spectacularly unsuccessful period of time), I am rarely accused of being an Introvert.

I prefer to label myself as a Recovering-Extrovert.  We might need to create a new scale for measurement.

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The most significant development for managers and executives takes place ON THE JOB (i.e. not through training or coaching/mentoring).  However training is what is most commonly offered.

Why most training is useless:

• 86% of people who attend training do nothing to apply what they have learned
• Typically only 10% of non-customized course content is relevant to an organization

Don’t default to training activities for yourself or your directs when building development plans!  If you do use training, think about what you are going to do to ensure that what is taught is actually applied.

High impact development activities include:

• Special project/Task force: Discrete project assignment aimed at a specific outcome.
• Fix-it: Turn around, restructure and stabilize a failed operation, project, or organization, or customer relationships.
• Start-up: Building something from nothing or almost nothing.
• Small strategic assignment: Examples include doing a competitive analysis; writing a proposal for a new product, system, etc.; writing a speech for someone higher up; writing a policy statement or summarizing a new trend/technique and presenting it to others.
• Deepening functional skills: Changing from a generalist type assignment to a more specialized job/role that requires/builds very deep functional expertise.
• Stretch job beyond ‘hip pocket’ functional skills: Changing job/role/career to a functional discipline fundamentally different from previous work experiences; may include a cross-functional assignment.
• Significant change leadership: Leading the efforts to design and implement major change to the company’s key business processes and core capabilities.
• Mentoring: Receiving personal coaching, counsel and perspective from a valued/trusted and influential leader.  Being a mentor for someone else.
• Build a team: Assembling & aligning a team of unique talent and skill sets to achieve a stated vision and strategy.  Maybe a project team.
• Coaching assignments: Teach someone how to do something they are not expert in; design a training course.

Learn Even More About ‘High Impact Development’

Wily Manager members, click here to access the members-only area for this topic (you must be logged in).  In the members-only area, you can:

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• Click through to Related Topics:
  • How to Coach When You’re Not the Expert
  • Good Boss, Bad Boss: Be a Better Boss
  • The Situational Leadership Model
  • Retention of Employees

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Learn the 5 steps to delivering quality feedback.

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Why should you give feedback?

• To confirm a course of action, performance or behavior
• To correct specific behavior or performance
• To have a behavior or performance carry on
• Use as a performance management tool to enhance performance

There are 5 steps for giving quality feedback:

Step 1: Context Tell them what you’re going to tell them

• Tell them what’s coming – don’t leave them guessing
• Don’t just start talking, and leave them to figure it out on their own
• “I’d like to offer some feedback on…”

Step 2: Clarify Describe in specific, measurable and observable terms and tell them why it’s important

• Generalities don’t work
• Have your facts straight
• Describe observable behaviors
• Use measures wherever possible
• Tell them why this is important
• What is the impact on you and on others?
• How does it relate to high level goals and objectives

Step 3: Create Ask for feedback on the feedback and brainstorm actions to improve or do better

• Ask lots of questions
• Guide them through the feedback
• Give an opportunity to respond
• Brainstorm actions to improve or do better

Step 4: Confirm Agree on action steps forward, and determine exactly what will happen next

• Make sure you agree on what will happen next, even if it is to maintain the status quo
• Reinforce continued good performance
• Describe what future outcomes you’d like to see

Step 5: Close Express confidence and support

• Everyone should leave the meeting with a clear idea of what they need to do next
• Reinforce your confidence in the recipients ability to be successful
• Describe how you will support them in their efforts to improve

Learn Even More About ‘Giving Quality Feedback’

Wily Manager members, click here to access the members-only area for this topic (you must be logged in).  In the members-only area, you can:

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• Click through to Related Topics:
  • How to Coach When You’re Not the Expert
  • Dealing With Difficult Employees
  • Difficult Conversations: You Smell and People Don’t Like You
  • ABC’s of Performance Management
  • Good Boss, Bad Boss: Be a Better Boss
  • Effective Interpersonal Communication

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Some kids grow up wanting to be a fire-fighter, a police officer, teacher or doctor.  I wanted to be Mr. Rogers.  No eight-year-old will tell you she wants to be a manager when she grows up (and if she does, get her into therapy top speed).  Yet there are more managers than there are fire-fighters, police officers, teachers and doctors combined by a factor of ten or more.

So how does this happen?

If management were a profession like others, someone would go to school to study the vocation of management, apprentice for some period of time, and then be deemed fully capable of executing as a manager.  MBA schools have failed to do this effectively, and the vast majority of companies develop their managers in a haphazard fashion.

Most people end up as managers by going into to some line of work for which they show some aptitude, and then are promoted to oversee others doing similar work.  Somewhere along the line, they might take a course or two, and some companies may even send their high potential new managers to business school.

Most organizations make the critical mistake of assuming that because someone is a proficient practitioner of a certain trade that she will be a good manager.  Organizations need to change their focus away from the technical aspects of a particular function (or group of functions), and instead focus on what skills a manager will need to be successful in that environment.

If more than half that list of competencies is focused on technical aspects of the industry or job, then it has been done wrong.

Don’t get me wrong:  I’m not a big fan of pulling people with no industry experience, and placing them in key management positions.  I don’t think this approach has worked very often.  If organizations are serious about having great management, then they need to select people for management positions with the core competencies required to manage in that environment, and then continually develop them.

Either that, or select tall guys with brown hair, who wear blue shirts.  That works too.

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As a manager, you should delegate because:

• It helps develop other people’s skills and abilities
• It frees you up to do the work that only you can/should do
• It makes good business sense

Why do many managers not delegate?

• Delegating takes some up-front work so it seems easier to just do it yourself
• Some managers are control freaks
• Some managers see it as asking for help which they perceive as weak
• Some managers feel badly about passing on their work to others

What managers should delegate:

• Tasks that someone else could do
• Tasks that would contribute to building your team
• Tasks that are organizationally appropriate to delegate

Use the Wily Manager Delegation Worksheet to list and plan potential tasks and duties that you could delegate.

How to delegate:

Consider the Context

• What is the work you are delegating?
• Why are you delegating this work?
• How is this work important to the bigger picture?

Clarify

• Clarify the desired outcomes and expectations
• Clarify constraints, boundaries, and resources

Create

• Where possible, empower the individual to contribute their ideas as to how the work will get done
• Create the plan together

Commit

• Get commitment and alignment to specific timelines, due dates, reviews, follow up meetings, measures of success etc.

Close

• Wrap it up and express support and confidence in the individual

Learn Even More About ‘Delegation’

Wily Manager members, click here to access the members-only area for this topic (you must be logged in).  In the members-only area, you can:

• Listen to the ‘Delegation’ Podcast (15 minutes)
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• Click through to Related Topics:
  • Good Boss, Bad Boss: Be a Better Boss
  • Top 10 Manager Challenges: Part B (Managing Stress)
  • How to Coach When You’re Not the Expert
  • Time and Priority Management
  • High Impact Development
  • Help! I’m a Micro Manager
  • The von Manstein Matrix
  • The Situational Leadership Model

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As a manager, you SHOULD delegate!  In this podcast you will learn:

• Why managers don’t delegate
• Why you should delegate
• What you should delegate
• How to delegate

Listen to the ‘Delegation’ Podcast:

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Delegation Podcast Slides

Take a look at the ‘Delegation’ Cheat Sheet

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What is the Performance Pie?

The Performance Pie is a diagnostic tool that can help you analyze why a performance problem may exist. It does not offer specific solutions to performance problems but it does help you zero in on some of the more common reasons as to why performance may be suffering on a particular task, duty or responsibility.  Then you can target your solutions in the areas most likely to impact performance.

How Does it Work?

The performance analysis design primarily emphasized the individual, the job or process, the work environment and incentives or consequences. In other words, the design of the Performance Pie focuses on the following seven factors of performance:

• Knowledge and Skill
• Capacity
• Standards
• Measurement
• Feedback
• Conditions
• Incentives

The Seven Factors of Performance

1. Knowledge and Skill

This means that the individuals performing the task must have the knowledge and skills necessary

2. Capacity

The right persons are to be selected for the right jobs and tasks. This means, for example, that the individuals are capable—physically, intellectually, socially, and emotionally.

3. Standards

Individuals must be clearly informed about what is expected of them. Supervisors, job descriptions, and performance appraisal objectives should clearly dictate the standards of performance, and these standards ought to be congruent with the expectations of the, supervisors, department and organization.

4. Measurement

Measurement clarifies standards, initiates goal orientation, provides data or information with which to give feedback and signals opportunities for rewards and recognition.  What gets measured gets done is not only a cliché but a truism as well.

5. Feedback

Individuals need to know how well they are doing in accordance with the standards and measures and how they can improve their performance. They must receive regular feedback on their performance from supervisors.

6. Conditions

Individuals need the resources necessary to perform their jobs according to expectation, standard, and measure.  They require the right facilities, equipment, tools, materials, supplies, time, and organizational climate—unhindered by conflicting goals or obstacles in work procedures—to perform effectively and efficiently.

7. Incentives/Consequences

Individuals do the things they are rewarded for doing and avoid negative consequences. Also, they must value the rewards and incentives.

Learn Even More About ‘The Performance Pie’

Wily Manager members, click here to access the members-only area for this topic (you must be logged in).  In the members-only area, you can:

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• Click through to Related Topics:
  • How to Coach When You’re Not the Expert
  • Dealing With Difficult Employees
  • High Impact Development
  • ABC’s of Performance Management
  • The Situational Leadership Model
  • Millennials in the Workplace: How to Lead and Motivate Generation Y

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Why do people act the way they do?  What are the consequences that drive performance?

Listen to the ‘ABC’s of Performance Management’ Podcast:

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What is a performance pie? Learn how to analyze and diagnose performance issues.

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Performance Pie Podcast Slides

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What are high impact development activities? Find out the most effective ways to develop employees…or yourself.

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Learn our 5-step model that allows you to be an effective coach…even if you’re not the expert.

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Get our Management Cheat Sheet Collection. Of course, it’s FREE.

Coaching has become a very popular business trend in the past several years. As organizations get flatter and as you progress in your career to take on roles of increasing responsibility you will more often find yourself in a leadership or coaching role where you are not the ‘expert’.

How Coaching Conversations are Different:

• There is an articulated focus and purpose for coaching conversations
• Accountability mechanisms are built in to the coaching conversation
• Feedback and reinforcement are part of the conversation structure

A Brief Introduction to the Wily Manager Five Step Coaching Model:

Step 1 – Context: Decide what is to be worked on, and why it is important. Also identify the conditions and constraints.

Step 2 – Clarify: Articulate the desired outcomes and goals of the coaching. Contrast these against the current reality.

Step 3 – Create: The coach and a team member now explore potential avenues forward, taking into account what has been learned in the first two steps. Decide upon a preferred path.

Step 4 – Commit: Agree upon specific action plans to reach the desired destination. Write down and agree upon ‘who does what by when’. Where possible, include measures of success as well.

Step 5 – Close: Ensure all commitments are understood and the desired behaviours are reinforced. Periodically, debrief the coaching session at this point.

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  • In-Depth Topic Overview
  • Benefits of Coaching
  • How Coaching Conversations are Different
  • The Coaching Process
  • Wily Manager’s 5-Step Coaching Model
  • Recommended Resources – where to find out even more about Coaching

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