Manager Tools Forums

Re: How To Create Goals/Motivation For Directs When They Have No Goals And/No Motivation

mattpalmer — Sat, 25 May 2013 23:40:52 +0000

Human beings are goal-driven creatures, and we only get out of bed in the morning because we're motivated to do so. However, I've found it incredibly ineffective to just come out with "so, what's your five year plan?" in a one-on-one. Very few people are that meticulous in their life planning. Simple example: what's your life plan? Could you (and are you willing to) state it clearly and with detail to your direct?

I honestly think you're going about this the wrong way. Rather than trying to deal with attitude problems by digging into life goals, just keep it simple. Every time your direct distracts someone else, or exhibits a behaviour that isn't what you want, give adjusting feedback. When he exhibits behaviours that you do want to encourage, give affirming feedback. If one or more negative behaviours continues after you've given adjusting feedback (in the manager tools model -- so that includes asking the question "can you change that for me?" and getting a clear and affirmative "yes") on one particular behaviour at least a half dozen times, consider some systemic feedback:

Bob, can I share something with you? When I point out that talking to and distracting the salespeople while they're on the floor reduces their ability to sell our products to customers, and you agree not to do that any more, and you still do it, I start to worry. I worry that you don't stick to things you commit to, and I worry about what else you might be agreeing to do and not following through on. What can you do differently?

If Bob says, "well, I can stop talking to the salespeople", you say "that'd be great, but I'm not talking about that any more. I'm talking about your unwillingness to follow through on your commitments. What can you do differently about that?" The answer you're looking for is along the lines of, "I can ensure that whenever I agree to do something, I'll do it". To which you respond, "Thank you. That will be really appreciated." (Note: not "would be appreciated" -- that implies it might not happen.

Now, if Bob doesn't want to change -- if he argues during your systemic feedback that it's all unfair or anything like that -- you need to make it clear to him what the consequences are:

Bob, I need to make it clear to you what the bottom line is here. This is something that I am willing to fire you over. I don't want to do that, but your behaviour may leave me no choice. I need someone in this job who does great work -- which you do -- and who also doesn't distract other people from doing their own great work. Do you understand that you are putting your job at risk by continuing to distract other people?

You'd only say that if it really was something you'd fire someone over, but by the sound of it the sum total of his negative behaviours is causing your boss to think in that direction.

Let me address that point in a little more detail, actually. You said "it is tough telling my boss that we need him". It should be tough to tell your boss that you need him, specifically, because it isn't true. You (or, more specifically, your company) doesn't (at least shouldn't) need that particular individual. You may lose his services for any number of reasons (illness, injury, gets a better job offer, gets abducted by aliens), and you need to have a plan in place for dealing with that happening. I'll bet a not-insignificant sum that this person knows (or at least thinks) that he's indispensible, and so feels he has carte blanche to act like he is. Make it clear to him that he isn't indispensible, and be willing to follow through on that, and you may be surprised at the degree and speed of change in his behaviour.

Start *now* on the process of planning for his departure, if you haven't already. Know what sort of job ad you'd put out for his replacement, where you'd go looking to source suitable people (internally, perhaps, and the list of places you'd advertise), what you'd assess for in the hiring process (and how you'd do it), what you will need to train them on, and what sort of salary you'd offer. Be ready to pull that trigger if and when you need to replace this person (for whatever reason). This isn't "getting ready to fire him", it's the basic succession planning work that you really should be doing for all the positions in your team.

Just knowing that you're not being held hostage to the poor behaviour of this direct may be enough to change things for the better, as you'll have more confidence to give honest and sincere adjusting feedback in a tone that isn't "it'd be nice if you could change this, but don't put yourself out", but is instead "this behaviour here needs to change".

Re: Measuring meeting effectiveness

mattpalmer — Sat, 25 May 2013 23:05:14 +0000

What you measure should depend on what it is you want to change. You should measure whatever it is that you actually want to change. Do you want the number of meetings to change (either up or down)? Then measure that. Do you want all meetings to finish on time? Then measure that. Do you want the length of meetings to be longer or shorter? Then... well, you get the idea.

Be careful with what you measure, though -- very often people measure what they think they want to change, when in actual fact their measurement is just a symptom of the real problem. For example, take agendas. I'm quite sure that many poorly-managed meetings have written agendas. People may even stick to them. But the meeting is still an ineffective waste of everyone's time. Thus, simply measuring the percentage of meetings that have written agendas is unlikely to really fix anything. You'll almost certainly have a very high rate of compliance with "does this meeting have a written agenda?", but you won't necessarily see any great improvement in meeting effectiveness.

You're certainly starting from a good place, though. Providing training to everyone on how to run effective meetings and then measuring that is far better than the usual standard of "we're going to measure how well you do X... but you get to work out to do X better". So you're certainly ahead of the curve there.

The big risk with any measurement is people "gaming" the metric. Basically, there are thousands of ways you could satisfy a metric. People will very quickly work out the easiest way (for them) to make the metric look better. For example, if you measured the percentage of meetings that end on time, people will just say "time's up" and finish the meeting at the appropriate time (which is a good thing), but people won't necessarily have changed their behaviour in the meeting to make sure the meeting's purpose is satisfied. Or, if you measured number of meetings, and you wanted less meetings, people will stop having "meetings" but will just talk amongst themselves to make decisions (which may be a good outcome, or it may be bad...)

To try and account for people gaming the system, I'm a fan of compensating metrics. You try and work out ways that people could game your measurement, and you measure things to make sure that isn't happening. It can turn into a game of whack-a-mole (people game the system, you add another metric), but with some judicious planning in advance and then some feedback, it doesn't go too badly. Primarily you just need to make sure the culture doesn't devolve into one of "managing by numbers" -- your metrics should always be a guide, never a goal.

If it were my meeting-mangling organisation, I'd probably setup a few metrics:

Purpose/Agenda: Count the number of meetings which have a written purpose and agenda published prior to the meeting.
Start/end on time: Count the number of meetings which start and end on time.
Purpose achieved: In the opinion of the participants of the meeting, was the initial purpose of the meeting achieved?

The first two there are relatively easy to count. The third one requires a survey or similar meeting participants, which can get a little time intensive. If you can, having someone go up to each meeting participant sometime the same day and asking, "Hey, Charlene, that 2pm meeting you just had with Alice and Bob, do you think it achieved its purpose?" and calling it "purpose achieved" if (say) two-thirds of participants (rounded up) said "yes".

If it isn't practical to ask people directly (for either logistical or political reasons), you could create adjust the measurement to be a proxy for "purpose achieved". I might suggest, "How many meetings are covering issues that were on a previous agenda?". That's a lot messier, prone to misinterpretation, and time intensive (you've got to go through a lot of past meetings to see if there's duplication), but it might be the least worst way of doing it if you can't measure things more directly.

When/How to follow up with Job Contact who took me to Dinner 2.5 weeks ago.

artsmith222 — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:50:52 +0000

I am now exploring opportunities and looking for the best way to follow up with a VP (#3 at company) who took me to dinner 2 weeks ago, and who I've known for 2 years,

Two years ago (Apr 2011) I posted about interviewing with this VP. After the 2nd interview, my wife told me she was pregnant and folks here suggested I pull out before an offer was made. The recruiter called me for months afterward ssying they could not find anyone, but I was hesitant to leave my big company with good benefits, and because my project was going well. Here was that post:

http://www.manager-tools.com/forums-5786

In Jan 2012 I was contacted by a different recruiter representing a different company about a job. My resume never made it to the hiring manager, but it turns out the hiring manager was the above VP's daughter.

I still kept in touch with this VP and in May 2012 he and I went out dinner. We met up at a conference in June 2012 several times and also had dinner. While he did confirm about his daughter, we didn't really talk about jobs. I E-mailed him a few times last fall but didn't hear back.

Of recent at my company, my project is not going forward, and I have decided it is time to leave. I sent him an E-mail about 4 weeks ago telling him I was thinking of leaving. He wrote that we needed to get together for dinner. We met 2.5 weeks ago. When I arrived at his company, he invited me inside and told me he was going to talk to #2 about bringing me in because next year they want to develop products around my area of specialization. He gave me a tour of their new facilities. We had dinner and talked about lots of things. How he started a business a long time ago, his technical struggles with trying to copy the product at my company that I support (I didn't say anything). I mentioned that it sounds like he has a lot of staff now and questioned if they had opportunities. He said opportunities could always be created because he wants to take the company from 400 million to 1 billion by the end of 2015. When we ended close to 10 PM he said he'd check if there were opportunities.

A few days later, I sent him information he requested, and a week later, sent him info on an event he had asked me about that was just scheduled. I have not heard anything since. I do know these folks are extremely busy and travel to India a lot. When I interviewed 2 years ago, I remember that #2 wanted to call me and the only time he was available were on Sunday nights. I think not hearing anything is making me wonder if I "said the wrong thing," but I have known him for so long, or regret I didn't go over to them 2 years ago, but the timing just wasn't right.

Any suggestions on what/if I should do anything would be appreciated. This Thursday I leave for vacation and won't be back until Jun 7, so I guess I could forget everything during then.

Meanwhile, I am continuing to tap my network: I talk to about two recruiters or contacts a week about jobs. People think I have a great resume, and have no doubt I'll find something good, but it is still discouraging that often the employers want the exact experience which I may not have. The main reason I am looking is there is no advancement in my job, and no recognition for results delivered. Many people have left since 2011, and I stuck it out because I had faith in my project, but now it is not going forward. I'm on my 7th boss in 7 years too.

How To Create Goals/Motivation For Directs When They Have No Goals And/No Motivation

pperesada — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:22:16 +0000

Greetings everyone!

I need some advice for a situation that I have with two directs here is my dilemma:

One of my directs is amazing at his job. He works in my warehouse, dealing with receiving and logistics. However, because he is good at his job, he tends to slack off and distracts other employees, whether in the warehouse or sale associates on the floor. Lately though, his attitude has really been an issue. I sat down with him during his o^3 and asked him what his goals were for his career and for life. His simple answer: "I don't have any." When I asked him about what motivates him, he does not know. He is 25, does not have an education, and only works because it's his paycheck. He likes his job, but he is not motivated to move on and does not respond to coaching. He has been like this for 7 years, and has advanced in his career.

Any suggestions as to how to motivate him and to change his attitude? He just does not care, and it is tough telling my boss that we need him.

- Phil

Measuring meeting effectiveness

dmb41carter36 — Sat, 25 May 2013 14:51:06 +0000

How do I measure meetings effectiveness?

I am implementing a standard way to run meetings. This is based in part on the awesome MT advice. Our meetings are currently awful, no agenda, don't stick to schedule etc Management is getting on board. We have 800 employees out our site and multiple departments.

I am wondering how I can measure the effectiveness of our training initiative. I created the standard and am going to do the training classes. At the end I would like to show some type of measurable progress. How have others shown this?

Do I measure # of meetings? Meeting duration? % that finished on time?

I am also interested in how far to go with the site standard? Do we create one set of ground rules for all? Do we force people to use the same agenda template?

I am a big proponent of standards but I don't want to be so rigid that it becomes suffocating.

Re: The poison

dmb41carter36 — Sat, 25 May 2013 14:45:19 +0000

Thanks for giving me the inspiration for a future article

We have found some success in managing the ever-growing project list. We do project selection 1-2 times per year. We create a 1 year plan with selected projects. We attach owners and dates. We then set a monthly SSC meeting (stop start continue) where we "authorize" the actual projects in the one year plan in a progressive manner.

We post the projects which were not selected, for all to see. We give the suggestor feedback as to why their project was not selected. I emphasize a face to face, one on one type of approach. During this "Rejection" meeting, we explain how the suggested project does not fit into this year's plan. We often place their idea in a benefit/effort matrix so they can see, graphically, what they asked for. While the suggestor is not happy, at least they leave with a sense of understanding. We place the "Rejected" project on the "Hold" list. We let the suggestor know that when we do project selection again, their idea will be considered. This way the ideas are not lost, they are simply on a hold que.

Also, we have interns that often need filler projects. As long as we have this public list, there are when we grab and knock off one of the "hold" projects.

Lastly, you could also consider blocking some of your capacity for "Rush requests". I agree with the other posts on creating a master plan, but consider blocking out some amount of time to work on those "Emergency" projects. This allows you some flexibility and avoids the crushing sense of "Here we go again" in your team.

Re: How to Handle People Who Don't Respond to Coaching

mattpalmer — Fri, 24 May 2013 22:44:06 +0000

I'd like to highlight and expand one thing that ktatley touched on in his reply: you need to know what is important to your people, and then use that to explain how coaching gets them what they want. If they want promotions or raises, then that's easy. But perhaps they just want to be really good at their current job. Hell, perhaps they hate this job, and want to find a completely different one. You can match up what you coach them on with what they want.

Even in the case where someone wants a completely different job, I'm *sure* there is some overlap between what you need them to do well, and what they'd need to do well in their desired job. Coach them on that. Sure, it might hasten their departure, but that's probably a good thing overall -- you've now got an open spot you can fill with someone who *really* wants the job you've got on offer. Until they leave, you've got a direct who is better at their job than they were before.

To broaden this out into a quick "Motivation 101", the only way you can get anyone to do *anything* is by making them *want* to do it. You can build a relationship with a person, so there is mutual respect, and so they'll want to do what you ask them because they want to maintain the relationship (hey look, one-on-ones!) Or, you can make someone do something by making the consequences of not doing it worse than the consequences of doing it (use your role power to not give them a raise, or to fire them). At the moment, you're relying on your role power, and that's a quick way to produce a group of people who live their work lives in fear and distrust -- not where you want to be.

Making people do things out of fear only generates the bare minimum of *compliance* with your instructions. Instead, work out what makes each *individual* on your team tick, and then make sure that wherever possible you align what you need them to do with what they want to achieve. This will create *commitment* from them, as their innate desires will be part of the energy that drives them to completion.

Given the range of drudge work that we all have to do that nobody in their right mind would *want* to do, it isn't always possible to come up with a strict alignment of someone's fundamental motivations with the work to be done. You can, however, always rely on one factor of human motivation -- the need to be appreciated. Think about the times you've really put yourself out for a good friend -- working for 16 hours straight to help them move house, for instance. Why would you do that -- for *free*, what's more? Because you like them, they like you, and you feel appreciated when you've done it. In the same way, if you can build a friendly, open relationship with your directs, and show appreciation for their efforts (in the form of affirming feedback) they will do things simply because it is you asking for them. Scary powerful stuff.

So, to bring this back around to the topic at hand: if you *know* that raises are someone's motivation, then sure, use those. But for the vast majority of people, they aren't. To get people to *want* to be coached, you're going to have to build a relationship and then align your coaching to match their desires (wherever possible) and fall back on their desire to be appreciated for a job well done otherwise.

Re: Merger is complete - how can I overcome current leadership bias?

RoMaJo — Fri, 24 May 2013 21:46:10 +0000

Whenever you are asked to write down everything you've touched, then you can be sure that they are looking for work overlap so that they can consolidate, as well as for work they can get rid of entirely.

When you tell them what you've touched, you are confirming what they already know as well as telling them what they had no clue about.

For sure, they are reviewing your work, but not necessarily to find a reason to give you a bad review. In fact, they might use it to offer you a better severance than you might otherwise receive.

In the past month, this very situation happened to two of my siblings. Both were laid off.

In the first case, her position was eliminated. In the second case, they added her work to that of two other people. It wasn't personal. It was business.

So, yeah, be dignified, be graceful, and have Plan B in case they let let you go.

RoMaJo

Re: The poison

jamie_p — Fri, 24 May 2013 18:53:13 +0000

You need to learn your customers' business needs and priorities, prioritze the priorities and create a master priority list*, relay this list to your directs, and you and your directs should priortize their work based on the list. This allows you and your staff to communicate your accomplishments based on the greatest needs and priorities of your company and customers. If a staff member is spending too much time in a week on "poison", you can provide feedback in your 1:1.

* I recommend doing this on your own and relaying it to your manager for his/her feedback. You and your manager should agree on the master priority list.

Re: The poison

jay2k — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:54:57 +0000

Laurentmorel,

I'm curious, do you work in an IT Development department that focuses more on projects and a little on support operations or do you work on the Service Desk/Desktop Support side where your main goal is to provide quick operational support?

Re: The poison

mspeas — Fri, 24 May 2013 13:54:41 +0000

I run an IT Ops team and we use a Kanban board to track all of the request that come in. We have a daily stand up meeting for 15 minutes in the morning to review and then do a formal weekly review during our team meeting. This help discuss priorities as a team and I can broker situations where a priority call needs to be made.

Here's an article on how Spotify used this methodology. Down the road I plan to write a post on how we actually did this in our organization. Good luck as this is a difficult challenge. Especially for support organizations with shrinking staff counts.

Re: London Meet Up 7pm Wednesday 17 April 2013

mark_odell — Fri, 24 May 2013 07:42:59 +0000

Me too

Re: How to Handle People Who Don't Respond to Coaching

KTatley — Fri, 24 May 2013 06:33:17 +0000

And it's probably one of the worst.

In my opinion I think you need to find what else is important to your staff. Perhaps look at their DISC profiles.

But what is also effective is part of the feedback model - the part where you explain the consequences of what they do. If you can explain why their roles are important because of how they impact customers, people in company, society etc. then I think this is part of the key to show why they should get better at this.

The example is a receptionist job - many might feel like this position is not important in the way a CEO role is important but if you were to give feedback including words such as "I'm glad when I see you at the reception desk because you are the first thing that our customers and employees see and it is really important to put a friendly face on our organisation"

Then you will be showing your staff how they and their jobs are important and I think you can use this as the key to unlock better performance.

Re: A little levity

mattpalmer — Fri, 24 May 2013 05:52:33 +0000

My DiSC profile (7114) very accurately describes the way I behave when I'm not thinking about behaving, and just "reacting". When I need to, though, I can be very people-oriented (OK, "sorta people-oriented" might be more accurate), and I *can* see a complex thing through to completion rather than always getting distracted by the new shiny -- but it takes conscious effort and "mind hacks" to make it happen.

You're describing much the same thing in your post, Don. You describe "willing" yourself to complete something before trying something new (although that's an S, or perhaps C, trait, not a D trait -- trust me on that one). Similarly, you recognise the need to act differently when giving your subordinates directions in a safety-critical environment, and are capable of doing so. The difference is that you need to think about it and consciously act that way to achieve the right outcome, whereas someone whose DiSC profile was different would naturally behave that way.

To take another personal example: I'll bet that when you're at a gathering of people (like a party, or an industry gathering), you're automatically smiling at people, shaking hands, and making smalltalk. You don't think about it, you just naturally behave like that. I, on the other hand, do not -- but I still participate in those sorts of events. I have to recognise I'm not being effective and consciously change my behaviour, whereas it's completely natural and unplanned behaviour for others.

Re: A little levity

donm — Fri, 24 May 2013 04:32:50 +0000

Thanks for the comment, Matt. You do realize that it is futile to attempt to deflate an I's ego, don't you? Even the Borg gave up on assimilating me.

I actually have a serious follow-up, though, as the subject states: What does the DiSC evaluate?

I have listened to the related podcasts; the "simple failures" podcasts several times. I am very uncertain how to use DiSC beyond simple communications interactions. Perhaps that is all that DiSC is meant to be: a tool for easing communications.

When I took the profile assessment, my "C" was nearly zero. Now, in my line of work, I have to be completely C-conscious. I work with power electronics, and if one misses even the smallest detail, things can go very wrong, very quickly. Electrical explosions are not known for giving a lot of prior warning, and the area of impact around an uncontrolled fault resembles the aftermath of a chemical explosion (think "hand grenade"). The podcasts relate C to engineers, and I agree wholeheartedly that C-behavior is demanded of engineers and researchers.

So, what does the profile actually examine? It is certainly not behavior, as illustrated above. M&M make it very clear in their podcasts that DiSC is not about personality. The questions on the profile examination asked about communication style, so that's how I answered them. As a side note, had it been about personality, my results would have been 1711; I sometimes wonder why narcissism was named after Narcissus and not me.

When the podcasts discuss DiSC, they often use examples where DiSC relates to behavior, not merely communications. For example, they state that a High-I tends to start things and not finish them. I will freely admit that not finishing is my personal tendency, but I have overcome this by always setting myself deadlines for task completion. I always make my deadlines. I relate my penchant for not-finishing to my "new toy" fascination; once the "new" wears off, I want to go find the newest, latest and greatest toy. I counter this by forcing myself to complete the old-toy task before I allow myself the new toy. I "D" myself into it.

Lastly, I have a large percentage of my directs and other juniors who have nearly zero real-world experience when they start with our company. Note again our field of power electronics. Were I not to be D-like in many of my one-on-one encounters (not MT-type O3's; personal interactions on the job site), it is quite possible my junior members would make dangerous and deadly mistakes. I cannot allow for unclear instructions or directives to imperil the person or the eqiupment. Therefore, when assigning on-site tasks, I'm very direct and very clear. I also force my direct to repeat back to me his understanding of the instructions just given so that I can be certain he understands exactly what he is to do and that he is aware of the risks and hazards involved. This is completely D-like behavior and communications.

I have taken other DiSC style assessments, and always score mid-range or higher on the S-type characteristic. In fact, on the M-T, my S is lower than it has ever been evaluated. I'm not even certain what the S is, even after the podcasts. Maybe it is empathy, as that's the closest I can come to realizing its meaning in my head.

So, again, what is the DiSC profile actually measuring? To me, this is like having a metric that is not understood by one who needs to meet a certain milestone. "Your fraclent quotient is below expectations. You're going to have to recamfeltate to bring it into alignment."

Re: A little levity

mattpalmer — Fri, 24 May 2013 02:34:54 +0000

The 'i' in DiSC is lowercase just to remind all the high-Is of the world that it isn't *all* about them.

Re: How to tell a low performing direct it's time to move on?

alanroper — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:58:13 +0000

By chance, is the person leaving a member of the reserve forces of the military? If so, be careful how you approach this subject. You still have the responsibility to ensure the person meets performance objectives. However, don't put yourself in a position where your actions could be construed as discriminating against a service member. This situation is another reason why it's so important to have HR in your network.

Re: When to draw a staff members attention to mistakes

mjpete — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:43:17 +0000

This reminds me a something I saw at the driving range a couple of weeks ago. Next to me was a father and son. The father was trying to coach his son on improving his swing. So what did he do? As some of you many know there are 100 different ways to screw up a golf swing. It appeared that the father was trying to get through the whole list. After each swing the son made, his father would tell him a new way to improve his swing. After 20 minutes, he was trying to remember 20 different things he should do as he swung the club. I doubt he made any improvements that day.

I'll contrast this with the feedback and coaching I get on golf. Cal, my coach, tells me just one or two things to focus while I practice between lessons. I am sure there are 20 other things he would also like me to work on. However, he knows that I cannot focus on all those things. He decides what are the one or two things I most need to change to improve and then gives me feedback on those things. And...It works! Slowly I am getting better.

It also makes practice easier. I don't worry about the other things I could work on, but can focus on just the most important.

A suggestion. Instead of asking them not to identify the mistakes ask if they can tell you what is the most critical mistake that needs fixing. Another approach is to assume the reason for all the errors and mistakes is systemic and ask is there something about the system that can be changed to reduce the opportunity for errors and mistakes.

Re: Presenting Awards

techrep1 — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:47:42 +0000

In this case the employee was sharper than the manager, probably because he was so proud of his achievement and the manager appeared half-hearted at best. The manager held the award low, not level, and with the handshake above the award. On top of that the smile just wasn't there. If the manager can't muster a smile for such an event even if he would rather be somewhere else watching paint dry, he really shouldn't be participating in such events. This includes everyone else than lines up for the picture.

A lot of this wasn't evident to me until after when I was posting the pictures on a drive for all to see.

Re: Presenting Awards

GlennR — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:31:32 +0000

Photojournalists call these photos "Grip and Grins." Here are a couple of tips.

First, if the awardee is having a picture taken with a senior manager, the awardee may be nervous, especially if the award was a surprise. Whenever, possible, take at least two shots, possibly more depending on how fast the camera can set for the next shot. This reduces the risk of closed eyes, glare from the award or glasses, etc.

Use the highest quality digital camera you can find. Avoid using a cellphone if at all possible. It's just not that stable.

Shoot from the chest up so that you can see the faces and the award.

If you must shoot the entire body, be sure that men avoid the "fig leaf" posture where their hands are clasped in front of their crotches.

To give the photographer more time, suggest that posed shots be taken after the ceremony with the awardee and the senior manager holding the award.

For anyone accepting an award, chances are, you worked your tail off for many months if not a year to earn that award. Don't walk fast up to the podium. Slow down and enjoy the moment. It might be the only recognition you get. But don't get cocky. Once a co-worker was surprised to learn that he had earned a prestigious award. As he walked up to the podium, he said loudly, 'Well, you know, cream rises to the top!" And from the back of the room came, ".....And so do dead fish!"

It was some time before everyone stopped laughing, including the awardee who thought it was just as funny as everyone else.

Presenting Awards

techrep1 — Thu, 23 May 2013 13:32:41 +0000

I was taking some photos today of an employee of the month presentation and I realized how poorly it can be done. Does anyone have any pointers or guidance on how to present properly, how to stand while having pictures taken, the whole thing.

I've created a feedback app for Android.

jd_abramson — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:03:56 +0000

Hello all,

I created a feedback app that was inspired by Marks challenge to to, roughly, measure feedback and to overweight top performers. I am not a developer. This was created with an app called Tasker. The feedback app allows you to edit the names of up to 8 directs and view the number of FB, +FB, -FB, and FB for individuals. Every week it will email you a copy and reset the stats. A cumulative feedback list is maintained as a csv file that you can open in Excel.

Here's a video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJkzMn5A-N0

Here's what you'll need.

Tasker
Email Me Pro (if you want emailed updates)
Ipack / Glossy Silver HD (for the icons)
The project file to import into Tasker is attached. You'll need to change the extension back to xlm. The forums will not allow a xlm upload so I changed it to txt.

Note: Projects are not visible by default when you install tasker. Your need to pull the project tab down to see it. Here's a picture to show you the project tab. Long press an existing project tab to import the Feedback.prj.xml file. There's a great series on Tasker at Pocketables.

Enjoy!!! and a big thank you to the Manager Tools team for a great resource.

Re: Changing Career path retail to Web development

WarrenReilly — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:31:09 +0000

Hi Donm and Lindge,

Thanks for taking the time to reply guys. I'll check out the book. i've listened to that cast and yes it was really helpful.

All the best,

Warren

How to transfer videos like camcorder avchd mts/m2ts to mp4 for iphone 6?

daisy520 — Thu, 23 May 2013 08:12:10 +0000

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Re: Postive PR for IT department

hamiltonriyon — Thu, 23 May 2013 07:27:41 +0000

I suggest getting an IT audit. Not only will this help you create a better IT system, but if the rest of the company knows, they will be more inclined to have confidence in your department. Corsis is a great IT management company in NYC that does an incredible service that can really help your company out.

Brittany Jones

Re: Poor Performer First 90 Days

timrutter — Thu, 23 May 2013 04:31:10 +0000

You aren't making any changes. The situation is there and your boss has made a decision.

I have inherited the same situation before and I'm two losses and one win. All three were on Performance Management Plans when I inherited the team. No changes in 90 days does not mean that you cannot manage as normal, just don't go tinkering until you fully appraise the situation

Re: Need recommendation: my directs have day jobs/feedback rollout

timrutter — Thu, 23 May 2013 04:26:39 +0000

Well one explanation is 'That's what I do for my top guys and girls'.

Rather than worry about what's missing, stick with the benefit that you are getting. It cannot all be done at once, so in parts is fine. The 6-8 weeks is about you learning how to give feedback just as much as it is about them learning to receive it, and they are a lot more forgiving audience.

When you start delivering feedback to your other 40 people, you will be much more skilled and confident in your delivery, so they get more from the experience.

Slower is faster with people?

Re: Merger is complete - how can I overcome current leadership bias?

timrutter — Thu, 23 May 2013 04:20:28 +0000

Continue to do great work, solicit as much feedback as you can from your boss, strengthen your professional network and get your feelers out into wider the industry.

Tim

Re: Sales resources?

Dani Martin — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:46:39 +0000

Hi Rasmustq -- Prior to joining the Manager Tools team, I was a professional fundraiser for nearly 15 years so I might be able to help. Question #1 -- How do you close effectively? By specifically making the ask: "Would you make a gift today of $25?" Question #2 -- How do you negotiate effectively (and ethically)? What exactly is being negotiated? The amount of the gift? Question #3 -- How do you deal with objections? (feel, felt, found for example) I suggest getting your team together to identify the top 5 or 10 objections they hear. Then brainstorm possible responses and ask them to identify the top 2 or 3. Have them try those out for a couple of weeks to see if their close rate improves. I always enjoy helping fellow fundraising professionals, so if you'd like to contact me directly, my email address is dani(at)manager-tools(dot)com. Cheers, Dani

Re: my bosses anger at my directs views

Dani Martin — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:02:10 +0000

MisterKinixys -- We have a podcast about how to handle input about your team from other people in the organization. You can find it here: http://www.manager-tools.com/2006/05/receiving-feedback-about-your-directs Thanks, Dani Dani Martin Manager Tools

Re: Getting Along with Others

jay2k — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:41:34 +0000

Joseph and DonM,

Thank you for taking the time yesterday to provide some great insight on this issue. I talked with my peer about the issue to try and work it out at our level. I'm glad I did.

While my direct is a top-performer, I've seen him respond to his peers with short and terse e-mails when he does not believe they are doing their job. Yesterday I had blinders on to this fact, until I talked with my peer and he gave some examples. I entered a danger area, where I overlooked a negative behavior due to all of the other positives coming from my direct.

I then met with my direct and talked with him about this behavior and illustrated that it was not so different than the behavior he was upset about with the person on the other team. I coached him towards coming to me before responding to someone when he was upset, to come talk with me and we could put reality on the situation and/or come up with a game plan to properly respond.

Do you think this was handled correctly? Would you have handled it differently? Thanks again for your feedback, I greatly appreciate it!

Need recommendation: my directs have day jobs/feedback rollout

drenn18 — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:18:46 +0000

Does anyone have experience using the trinity when their directs all have a career outside of your work? When rolling out feedback, how do you explain why you're neglecting a bottom performer for the first 6-8 weeks?

I've managed 50 directs in a restaurant for 4 months. Most of my directs have a 40-hour career outside of the restaurant, whether it's another job or school. O3s cannot be scheduled weekly for this reason. My directs sign up for O3s whenever they want, so I don't meet with each direct on a consistent basis. Also, my staff is begging for consistent feedback. I'm part of a 4 manager team, and will be the only manager to give consistent feedback once I introduce it to my staff. I've assessed that I'm close enough with my staff to effectively roll out the feedback model as described (positive to top performers then positive to all, etc.). My concern with feedback is that I'll introduce it to 50 people, then neglect about 40 of them (middle/bottom peformers) for 6-8 weeks. That's a big group of people who will wonder why they haven't been getting feedback. So do I tell them they're not top performers AND decline telling them how to become top performers for 6-8 weeks?

David

Re: Advice for a high S direct with a high D manager

miketickle — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:43:13 +0000

Advice dispensed and I gave her some manager tools info on the DISC model. She explained to her boss that sometimes when they are in meetings he can appear to not consider the people aspects. He admitted to being blunt. So now they are both explicitly aware of the difference in style. I have suggested see try to be "less S" rather then "more d". Hopefully MT will get a new listener out of it :-)

Cheers for the guidance.

-----
D I S C
6 3 4 2

Re: Merger is complete - how can I overcome current leadership bias?

jrosenau — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:43:44 +0000

I think you need to wait it out and see what your review is like. Maybe you've gotten more indications but from what you wrote, you may be making some assumptions that have yet to be proved out. The review will prove them out.

Having said that, I've been through a merger and know it can be very stressful. It is good you stuck it out as that looks good from an experience standpoint. You should continue to build your network and reach out to your contacts to ensure that if you realize that you are not on the same page as the company, you can make a graceful exit if you decide that is the best route to take.

Good Luck.

John

Trial period in new company

pm778 — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:30:04 +0000

Hello everybody,

Hope you are fine!

Do you meet situations like this?

I am an accountant. I began working for the new company. And to do my work properly - I need some additional information.

A colleague who did this work before - doesn't share any information and on the contrary trying misleading me.

Boss tells me - there is no problem - ask that colleague for help and information. She tells you all.

But she doesn't. Without this information - I can't properly perform the work.

What would you recommend?

A little levity

donm — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:18:15 +0000

I took my DiSC profile yesterday. The only thing that surprised me was that my D was higher than my S. What did NOT surprise me was that my I was maximum.

So, that leads me to the obvious question: Why is the "i" in DiSC not capitalized? After all, for us High-I types, "I" is not only our favorite letter, it is also our favorite subject?

I hereby propose that the new spelling be "dIsc"

Donm

4 7 3 1 (the I is only a 7 because they don't let it go to 10)

Re: MeetUp Group - Seattle?

Smacquarrie — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:20:13 +0000

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/6801865563 Please join myself and other Manager-Tools minded professionals at the Tap House Grill in Bellevue to discuss issues and experiences with the Manager-Tools philosophies. For those who need it: 550 106th Avenue NE Bellevue, WA 98004 This will be a regular event. We will meet on the 3rd Tuesday of all EVEN months and the 3rd Wednesday of ODD months. Reservation will be under "Manager-Tools". Mac

Poor Performer First 90 Days

ajhoffman1021 — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:53:54 +0000

I will be starting a new position as a manager (not new to being a manager) in the beginning of June. In talking with my future boss to do some pre-planning, he mentioned as an aside that there is someone on the team who is a poor performer that he will most likely let go.

Assuming that this hasn't happened before I arrive, I would like to make an attempt to save this individual by using the methodologies outlined in the inheriting a poor performer podcast...but of course this is somewhat contrary to not making changes and fitting in within the first 90 days. Any thoughts as to the balance between the two?

Re: Feedback Without Lurking About

GlennR — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:10:53 +0000

First let me echo what Brian and DTiller posted above. I am a huge believer in Management By Walking Around (MBWA). To be successful at it, you must take pains not to look solely for faults. Instead, make it a point to MBWA and greet everyone each morning (there's a 'cast for that). Do a little socializing. As you make your rounds later, make it a point to ask their advice and to seek feedback from them on their projects. (This could also be impromptu brainstorming with them to seek solutions.) Make it a point to find things to complement them on, even if you have to let a few negatives go unremarked. Therefore, the majority of your comments will be positive, followed, by "social," last by negative feedback, which should be given in private, if possible.

Now, zoom out to the strategic level. How can you seamlessly incorporate this into your management process in a way that doesn't impede other processes? Linge's comment above could be helpful. For example, some of the conversations may lead to you sharing their ideas or providing them with recognition to your supervisor or other departments. How will you do this? (And imagine the impact once you do.)

Let me revisit Brian's point about appropriateness. I totally agree. If someone attempts to cast this in a negative light, stop them in their tracks immediately and let them know you are not only doing your job as a manager, you are helping them be more successful.

BLATB (Bottom Line At The Bottom) You want to be perceived as positive support, not a cringe-inducing spy when you walk into the room. That requires trust. Before they will trust you, you must demonstrate that you can trust them. To do that you must focus on the positives.

Glenn

PS: One last thing. You may walk up to one who is hung on a problem. You might see the solution immediately. Rather than just give it, see if that person can figure it out by responding to a series of questions you ask. As Dale Carnegie says, "Let the other person feel the idea is his or hers."

Re: Advice for a high S direct with a high D manager

MarkMT — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:24:32 +0000

Because she's an S (or a C) "she wants to explain". Your best advice would be to tell her that a High D will be bored with that conversation pretty quickly. And you're right - asking the boss to change is the exact wrong course of action.

Just tell her that she needs to get over her need to explain. Tell her to make recommendations up front and if the boss wants more detail he'll ask for it.

Tell her he's not being rude by being brief, and she can now get away with being equally concise with him. He won't mind at all. Think of all the time she'll have now that she doesn't need to spend time explaining stuff to him!

I'm a high S. In one of my first management meetings with my High D exec, I started to explain the reason why I was doing something. He turned to me and said "When are you going to stop making excuses?" I wasn't making excuses at all, just providing detail and rationale. He didn't interpret it that way. Thankfully I learned the lesson right then and changed my approach. And I'm positive he wouldn't have remembered saying that 2 days later. But as I high S I admit it hurt my feelings, and your friend will probably feel the same way. She just needs to understand that she'll get better results if she doesn't take it personally and frames things in the way that will get the High D boss on side.

Re: Feedback Without Lurking About

dtiller — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:14:03 +0000

As their manager, get out and check in with them. I like to stop by each person's desks and ask how they are doing, what they have planned today and see how things are going. It needs to be natural and authentic. If you are relaxed about it then they are likely to reveal themselves as to whether they need your assistance, are struggling with something or have a personal issue, i.e. cat is sick, etc. In some jobs where there was a large number of directs I would actually do this twice a day as sometimes I missed people on the morning go around. Be approachable and get a feeling of how things are going in the workplace.

The idea is not to go looking for things to give feedback in but to check with them if they need anything from you or the organization. Naturally, some feedback may be an outcome but hopefully it is primarily good feedback!

Let us know how it goes!

Re: Is Obama a High-S?

MarkMT — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:09:16 +0000

I doubt it. He's High I if anything. And I seriously doubt he gets to be President without a heck of a lot of D.

Read the book "Game Change" which gives you a real insight into his first campaign for President. There's nothing introverted about him.

Also, if you look at how he manages it doesn't seem like he's too focused on getting every specific detail done his way. He appears to be quite a hands off guy on the small stuff, which is D/I behaviour.

The president that confuses me is Clinton. He appears to be off the charts High I, but he's a known policy wonk which is C behaviour. High I and HIgh C are opposites and not usually found in the same person. Maybe he's really a High D/High C and has just learned the tools to come across as High I. I read somewhere that when he was 16 years old and decided he wanted to be President, he started keeping a Journal where he'd write down Personal details about people he met. This was to make sure when he met them later that they felt like the most important person in the room when he spoke to them. That strikes me as High C/High D stuff.

Ain't DISC fun?!

Re: Merger is complete - how can I overcome current leadership bias?

dtiller — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:02:49 +0000

I say chin up, do your job exceptionally well and be professional at all times. That is all you can do. If you position is being eliminated or you are not being valued, well then at least you can leave knowing you tried your best.

If you receive negative feedback, take it gratiously and ask how you can do better and then do what is recommended.

Good luck!!

Dawne

Re: Feedback Without Lurking About

brian_t_watkins — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:42:08 +0000

BLUF: As a manager, you are responsible for the work that comes out of your group and in developing your team - if observing is an effective way to be successful in both areas, then explain to your directs you are sorry they feel that way, but it is a reasonable request with which they will have to live.

This is an example of something that has been a sore spot with me for years - putting a negative word on something that is totally appropriate. Do your directs actually think that having a manager observe them to provide feedback is a negative thing? The fact is that as a manager, you have every right to observe them on the job. As long as you provide both positive and negative feedback and do not use it as a way to "hammer them".

I hear the same things from some directs on reporting. I have a high profile project that I am on with one of my directs and the VP asked for daily 15 minute meetings to provide status updates and address issues quickly. My direct said "I feel like I'm being micromanaged". I quickly pointed out that providing a report on our progress is certainly a reasonable request. Plus, it isn't as if he is setting the task list for us and then checking every minute. I hear examples of this all the time - someone finds something inconvenient and throws a negative word out there to describe it.

Don't even get me started on being "fair".

Re: Trying vs Doing

mattpalmer — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:45:09 +0000

It's lovely not having to give negative feedback very often, isn't it... (grin)

It is important to set the ground rules for yes-or-no questions, definitely -- as you say, you don't want a story, you want an answer (welcome, my fellow high-D!) However, not any ol' yes-or-no question will do -- imagine if the question asked was "Can you try to do that differently?". Boy howdy would the problem direct say yes to that one. It *has* to be a question which absolutely requires, with no wiggle room, the direct's clear commitment to change their behaviour.

The purpose of this isn't to "catch them out", either. It is a self-motivation tactic. When someone looks another person in the eye and says "yes, I can do that differently next time", they've made a promise. Some small corner of their brain is going to be watching them, and saying "nuh uh, remember what you promised..." if they falter. It's not a guarantee they'll actually listen to that corner of their brain, but it's about a million times more likely than if they never said it. *That's* why the fourth step exists, in my opinion.

Merger is complete - how can I overcome current leadership bias?

stenya — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:40:34 +0000

BLUF: I need ideas about how to fend off a bad review and/or rehabilitate my image... or, alternatively, encouragement to just get the heck out. My org was recently acquired by a bigger and better company, and I don't know if I'll last long enough to move into one of "their" departments.

For background, I've had 5 really solid years with this organization - promoted twice, now managing the largest team in support of the biggest IT project. My boss resigned in January, and the team that replaced him has now sidelined me without saying what I've done wrong. Reassigned key responsibilities to others, cut my year-end bonus, etc. I still don't understand it.

I thought that if I supported the transition and kept on delivering results, things would eventually smooth out... but no. My latest boss (third one since January) told me that the senior leadership team now wants a list of "everything I've touched" since mid-last year, to be included with my upcoming review. I did it, and told him that I would rather hear now about concerns with my performance - not blindsided with a not-successful rating when I haven't had any opportunity to address the concerns. Especially with the acquisition, I think a below-par review NOW would effectively erase my last 5 outstanding reviews, and prevent me from applying to transfer into a different department.

I've re-listened to "My Boss Finds Fault With Me" and "Getting A Bad Review" to figure out what to do - and partly to get myself used to the idea of being an underperformer (!!). I'm just kind of baffled and angry over the whole thing, and would love to hear how you guys would handle it, in my shoes.

Thanks.

Re: Trying vs Doing

donm — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:35:12 +0000

'"Do you think you can stop doing this?" is a *terrible* one to ask (sorry DonM).'

You're right. That should have been worded differently, but my main thrust was to insure the question was "yes or no." Doris is letting the direct off without a yes-or-no answer to a yes-or-no question. I actually tell my directs "The first word in answer to a yes-or-no question has to be 'yes' or 'no.' After that, you can expand if you like." I would never let my direct answer, "I'll try" without a follow up of "What do you plan to try to do differently?"

The first-word rule was not given in a feedback situation. It was given when the question was similar to "Did you complete the assigned task yesterday?" The last thing I need at that point is a long, rambling discourse of the trials and tribulations that were encountered along the way to finally, by the skin of their teeth, finish the task just in time to meet the schedule.

In my defense, I give negative feedback very rarely. I'll have to ask forgiveness for being bad at it.

Re: Trying vs Doing

mattpalmer — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:50:30 +0000

I think the question, "Do you think you can stop doing this?" is a *terrible* one to ask (sorry DonM). Answering "yes" to that question isn't committing to changing behaviour, it's asking for a prediction. The question to ask is, "Can you do that differently next time?"

The first time, you could be generous and interpret "I'll try" as a "yes" -- it's certainly committing to trying to change a behaviour. The second time you give feedback on the same behaviour, though, if the answer isn't "yes", you can gently correct and ask the question again, like so:

You: "Can you do that differently next time?"

Direct: "I'll try"

Y: "I didn't ask if you can *try* to do it differently, I asked if you *can* do it differently?"

Be very careful not to come off as harsh, sarcastic, or anything like that (I find it really hard not to put a sarcastic spin on things), but you definitely need to avoid letting your direct off the hook. The next phase might look like this:

D: "I don't know if I can definitely do it, but I'll try my best"

Y: "I never doubt that you always do your best, but I feel that this behaviour is entirely within your control, and I'd like to know that next time you definitely will do this differently. Can you commit to that (for me)?"

(I put "for me" in parentheses because if this is a high S, adding that in there will help; otherwise, probably not so much)

You could really get meta on this direct, and start giving feedback on their need to say "I'll try" instead of a straightforward "yes". That might sound something like, "When you say you'll try to change, it doesn't reassure me that things *will* change, and what I'm looking for is for things to change".

When handling the "What can you do differently?" response, simply ask them to commit to thinking about it and letting you know in 15 minutes what they can do differently, like this:

Y: "What could you do differently?"

D: "I tried my best. I'm not sure what I could do differently."

Y: "Can you think about the situation, and come back to me at (fifteen minutes from now) with some ideas?"

D: "Yes" (hopefully...)

If they don't come back to you, feedback time!

As far as your statement that "I see a 50% improvement, whereas this direct only sees failure", I wonder if you're not giving enough affirming feedback on (partial) successes. Also, it might be worth having a talk, completely separate from feedback, about what you said about "I don't see that as failure" -- it's possible your direct worries that you're judging their results harshly, and they've been conditioned by previous bosses that 'tis better to not try than to try and fail.

Re: Managing former peers after a 6 year break

mattpalmer — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:45:00 +0000

I've been where you are -- I left a company as an individual contributor, and came back 18 months later as a manager. I was somewhat cautious about whether I'd be resented for taking a job that someone who had stayed there might have wanted.

Turned out to be a complete non-issue. Nobody who was still there even *wanted* the job I took (they're geeks; managing people is about as attractive as a cat's bum to them), and I actually had an easier time of it than I would have had at a new company, as all my former colleagues said nice things about me to the new guys, so I didn't have to prove myself nearly as much as I might have had to otherwise.

Being open about your reasons for leaving -- and coming back -- will certainly help to build mutual trust with your new directs, so I'd definitely encourage that. Just make sure you keep it positive; no bad-mouthing what the company was back then. As Senegoid said, one-on-ones are a great medium for allowing people to express any concerns, so make sure to make those a high priority.

Re: Trying vs Doing

Doris_O — Wed, 22 May 2013 05:44:59 +0000

Thanks DonM. When the model is applied as directed, the response is not "yes" or "sure", it's "I'll try, but I can't promise." The behavior can be just about anything: checking email throughout a meeting, missing a deadline, sending out the wrong information, and so on. My question is not about a specific behavior, as the response is pretty much the same. In terms of your generalized model above:

Me: Do you think you can stop doing this?
DR: "I'll try"

Me: What do you think you can do differently??
DR: "I tried my best. I'm not sure what I could do differently."

I’m having difficulty concisely articulating what actually was said, but it boils down to the direct trying to shift accountability for any failure to me, while retaining only the successes. The direct’s commitment to "try" is intended to avoid their (perceived) failure if they don’t achieve 100%. If a direct commits to improving and only achieves 50%, I don’t see that as failure. I see a 50% improvement, whereas this direct only sees failure.

My perspective is that trying should be the result of the commitment to improve, not the commitment itself (maybe I'm wrong about this). The direct will commit only to trying out of a fear of failure. When I can get them past the fear and stop "trying", they are just brilliant.

Re: MeetUp Group - Seattle?

davith — Wed, 22 May 2013 03:12:20 +0000

Enjoyed meeting some of you guys tonight. Thanks for being open to share some of your experiences. Looking forward to next month's meetup.

Re: Advice in a Reorganisation

jrb3 — Wed, 22 May 2013 03:01:35 +0000

Wait. Maybe talk with your boss and work out what additional skills you should work on before the roll-out.

While you might be given advance insight into what's going down, you still don't have anything truly concrete to work with. Not even the full parameters of the role you'd be slotted into. Nothing to negotiate there, and nothing you could consider rejecting. With your boss thinking this will be a step-up for you, I presume that means they're expecting you'll get out of your comfort zone, but not expecting the new role will be beyond you.

With reorgs, there's always going to be adjustments. If your new role includes (new) management duties, you're at the right forum and website to learn what you need to fulfill the role with more than mere competence, and thus justify talking (later) about adjusting compensation for extra value (already) delivered. Anything too much for you, or for you right then, can shuffle off somewhere else, or be set to the side for a while. Or, better, delegated to any directs. (You think the CEO does everything in the company? Neither does any other manager do everything in the parts of the organization he's responsible for. That includes you, if it's a manager's role.)

-- Joseph

Re: Advice for a high S direct with a high D manager

donm — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:53:54 +0000

I'm a high I. I have a colleague who is a high D. He is actually the prototype model for all D's in existence. I want to tell stories (like this one). He wants me to get to the point and let him work.

Recently, we had an interaction. He warned me about a problem. My entire answer, going totally against my nature, was "Got it." The DISC model is about how one interacts/communicates to eliminate friction. Your high-S friend wants to avoid conflict (by definition), so it is up to her to change her way of interacting. Go for short, direct answers, and follow through with what she says. That should avoid 90% of most problems.

Re: Getting Along with Others

donm — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:48:02 +0000

You need evidence. Record the calls. Right now, the situation is still "He said. She said." I see nothing to prove your direct is not the actual problem or merely a whiner.

I did not say your direct is a problem or whiner. I said there is no evidence to support that the problem is your peer's direct and not your direct's misinterpretation of the situation. Since the interaction is on the telephone, recording the calls should make the cause of the problem clear to any objective listener if the problem is as severe as your direct is maintaining.

Re: Advice for a high S direct with a high D manager

jrb3 — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:43:03 +0000

Point her to the podcasts explaining the DiSC model, as part of peer-coaching on being more effective in dealing with how her boss operates. I think they're available in full in the "free membership" here. The links were given in another thread around here somewhere, going back into early 2008 I think. Search-box here "the D in disc" might do it.

If you find him "refreshingly direct", she could start by working out how she interacts well with you even when you're task-focused.

A direct suggesting a boss he needs to act differently is going to be even less successful than a spouse suggesting the other spouse act differently. Not only won't it work, quite often the direct won't work either. :-|

-- Joseph

Re: Getting Along with Others

jrb3 — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:32:53 +0000

I'd say you, your peer, and your boss need to resolve this, immediately. One of your best directs is ready to quit, despite his and your repeated attempts to resolve with this other (your peer's direct) and the other's boss (your peer). The organization needs to respond at a level above both you and your peer.

If you have first-hand experience of the other's behaviors, and come across it during interactions with this peer's direct, you might consider the "peer feedback" to this other of how his behavior affects others' willingness to work with him. I'm not sure it's wise to give him feedback as if he were your own direct (honor thy chain of command), but your peer certainly needs some peer feedback on how you're about to lose someone because he's not resolving an ongoing issue he's been escalated to on.

-- Joseph

Re: Connecting with directs on LinkedIn

jrb3 — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:16:55 +0000

My opinion: you're over-thinking, and misunderstanding the purpose of social media in general (and LinkedIn in particular).

LinkedIn is for professional connections. Just because you're not in the office, doesn't mean you're disconnected from professional context. What you post there, in professional context, is meant to be seen in professional context.

I'm pretty private outside the office, and relatively close with personal affairs. (Some openness where relevant, but nothing uncomfortable for me or my household or friends.) I see LinkedIn as professional context; I ask for and accept links rather freely. If I want some contacts to see something, but not others, well, that's what email is for. It's fine for my professional network to know that my wife has returned to the workforce; I'm not comfortable sharing with the same set of people her opinion of the commute or concerns about how it might affect our children. That's for a different set of people, contacted by other means.

Should you really need two disjunct sets of professional contacts online in LinkedIn, set up and use two accounts. You lose some of the benefit of the network that way, though -- people can't stumble across others as easily through you.

-- Joseph

Re: How to tell a low performing direct it's time to move on?

jrb3 — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:01:56 +0000

You're responsible for his performance at this workplace, not what happens outside it. The job search happens outside it. Let it go: it's his (not your) choice what's next in his professional life after this. Enforce the transition. "Leave by June" means this past Friday would have been the "two-week notice" for leaving effective Saturday 1 June.

Next time, you might consider something I've used with some success. Go ahead and assign the "outgoing" guy a project or two. His role is to train his replacement on those projects, whom you assign at the same time to the same role. The out-bounder (yay, I get to invent a word :-) gets to ease out gracefully, someone else gets to learn the role, and you're not left with a slow-mover drawing against your direct-labor budget.

-- Joseph

Re: Can I Negotiage Salary During A Promotion?

jrb3 — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:45:36 +0000

Also consider where you are, and what standards you're comparing against. If you work very close to where your profile says, you're in a low-cost section of Georgia as I understand it. (About an hour out from Atlanta relative to me, and I'm on the edge of the current metro area.) You can nurse that healthy bump a LONG way.

Be very careful if you (or your relatives) compare salary against positions in higher-cost living areas (downtown Atlanta, Southern California, certain parts of South Dakota, ...). I moved from Silicon Valley to Los Angeles then here, with each move taking 10% pay cuts but reducing expenses by 15% or more. I'm pretty low by my industry standard on salary/benefits. I'm also well ahead on my finances and quality-of-life by shifting my two-kid three-generation household from "two-mortgage two-income" to "no-debts-at-all one-income". Yes, I'm banking and investing the effective delta; hope you get to do the same with the extra US$ 7-10k/year.

And I'm with Senegoid and the others. Work out the development plan with your higher-ups specifically shaping what you need to be solid "raise" material. Do the salary research too so you can at the same time work out what's reasonable for the value you provide. I presume "plant manager" here is operations, not profit-and-loss -- my impression is P&L-responsible would be "general manager", with at least a half-dozen more non-ops folks, requiring experience as a true manager since some of the directs would be true managers as well. Compensation for P&L-responsibles also has factors outside your control which would influence compensation.

Re: When to draw a staff members attention to mistakes

donm — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:54:40 +0000

The whole purpose of feedback, positive or negative, is to take a small action nearly every time something is noticed to prevent the incorrect results or to continue the good results. Remember the driving-a-car analogy about feedback: If you don't give constant small corrections, you either end up doing a large, violent correction or going off the road.

So, you and your supervisors should be seeing the behavior that is causing the mistake and providing feedback about the behavior. Don't forget that it is more important to laud the correct behavior than to nitpick the faulty behavior.

"CIOSF?" Sure.

"When you do this, the results are correct. Keep it up."

Re: Can I Negotiage Salary During A Promotion?

RoMaJo — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:50:07 +0000

Many companies have bands (ranges) for their different positions. And, if asked, they will tell what the band is for your position so that you will know how well you are being paid within that band.

Maybe you know that and already investigated. But you didn't state as much, and so I offer it.

Also, re: Apple ... an associate of mine works at an Apple iPhone store part time. He says that, indeed, the pay is dreadful ... but his health insurance is "platinum" and Apple pays for most of it. My point being that when we look at our total compensation, we may be doing better (or worse) than we originally thought.

RoMaJo

Re: Trying vs Doing

donm — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:40:58 +0000

I don't think you've defined the problem well enough for us, and probably not well enough for you, yourself, to have an effective feedback drive by.

What is the direct doing that is causing "the right thing" not to be done? Feedback is about behavior, not results or intentions.

You have not given us enough information to offer advice on your situation. I think if you can define the faulty behavior more adequately, you can tailor the feedback appropriately. Remember the negative feedback model:

"Hey, can I give you some feedback?" Sure.

"When you do this behavior, it causes this problem. Do you think you can stop doing this? (Or, what do you think you can do differently?)"

Yes. (Or, Maybe if I did it this way, instead, it would work better.")

Is this how you're applying it? The direct's actual faulty behavior must be the subject of negative feedback. Conversely, have you cited the direct's correct behavior for positive feedback? When the "right thing" is done, or is more closely approached, pick out the behavioral difference that caused the better result, and give the positive feedback.

... Sure. "When you do it this way, this result is better. Thanks."

A faulty behavior is diametrically opposed to the correct behavior, and either the direct can deliver 100% or not on changing the faulty behavior, fitting his style of "all or none" appropriately.

Trying vs Doing

Doris_O — Tue, 21 May 2013 23:13:11 +0000

BLUF: What is an appropriate response to a direct who says that they will "try to do better next time" when given feedback?

I have a direct who is trying so hard to do the right thing, that they are often oblivious to what they are actually responsible for. They've told me that they don't want to agree that they "will change that or do better next time", because they think any change is outside of their control. If they can't be 100% sure they can do something they will only commit to trying.

The direct has very high standards. To them saying "they will do better next time" is very black and white. You either "deliver 100% on a promise" or you are a failure. There is no middle ground. Therefore, they are not willing to make a commitment to improve. However, saying you will try and then failing repeatedly with no improvement is perfectly OK.

I'm well aware of the logical fallacies inherent in the above. Systemic feedback may be the answer in time. The question is: Until then, what do I say to the direct when I'm giving them feedback? How do I get them to commit to doing rather than trying?

The general situation reminds me of a situation from years ago. A friend, in a sincere effort to be gentlemanly, would hold an umbrella for me as we walked in the rain. From his point of view the best position for the umbrella meant that it poked me in the eye repeatedly. He was trying so hard to do the right thing, that despite anything I said he did not understand that he was inadvertently hurting me. If I just simply shifted my position to avoid getting poked, he would reposition the umbrella to poke me in the eye again. Unlike Mark's umbrella story, I never got mad, but it hurt like heck. I never did find a good way to help the friend see things (literally) from my point of view because in his mind he was just trying to do the right thing.

-Doris

Re: Conference Preparation

Dani Martin — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:46:30 +0000

Sorry for my delay in responding. Thank you, Matt, for putting the links up.

Re: Can I Negotiage Salary During A Promotion?

Doris_O — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:23:57 +0000

Relatives will always tell you that you selling yourself short, it's what they do. A 15% increase is significant as others have stated above. If you feel good about the position, appreciated by the people who count and can live on that salary -- take it and be happy. If you don't have at least 2 out of the 3, then think about looking for a new job.

For what it is worth: I once went from a part-time position (with benefits) to a full-time position, with the salary increased proportionally. The organization counted that as a "raise" of 100%, although what I was paid for my actual time was the same (or less). Some people said I was being taken advantage of. I choose to ignore that it was not a "real raise". I knew they appreciated me/my work and had made a significant effort to secure the funds to make my position full time. I also got to work with some brilliant people on really interesting projects -- and the value of that can be greater than money.

Re: How to tell a low performing direct it's time to move on?

Doris_O — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:22:21 +0000

You're welcome Alconaris. In my earlier post, I failed to mention how much I appreciated you sharing your situation. My response to my direct was somewhat instinctual -- all I could think was if she wasn't happy at that point, she would be miserable if hung around for a few more months. It seemed like the kindest thing to do, even if it did not appear as such. Some colleagues thought that I was being too severe. Your message was helpful to me, to exemplify the path I did not choose and affirm that I did the right thing at the time.

I hope it all works out well for you and your direct.

P.S. In the post above "My direct told me she was very happy" should have been "My direct told me she was very UNhappy"

Re: Can I Negotiage Salary During A Promotion?

Jenninmi — Tue, 21 May 2013 19:41:17 +0000

First of all congratulations.

You should be proud and grateful.You just got an exciting opportunity with a 15% boost in pay. Life seems pretty sweet. So tune out the naysayers.

The time to discuss the salary issue was when you were offered the promotion. That opportunity has past. raising it now runs the risks of seeming rude and ungrateful.

As others suggested, I would recommend you gather the relevant salary data and be prepared to present it next year, when your company discusses raises and after you have shown you can handle your new responsibilities.

In the meantime, listen to the voice in your head and not the relative. Why let your new, 15% higher, salary be a reason for dissatisfaction. Seize the opportunity, do a great a job and you'll set yourself up for bigger rewards.

I have had a similar experience and learned from it. Now I have the salary data in hand when the promotion offer comes, so I am ready to discuss it. You may not get a bigger raise immediately, still you lay the groundwork set the stage for later discussions.

Good luck with your new responsibilities.

Advice in a Reorganisation

mjspin — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:58:57 +0000

Hi All,

I've been listening to the MT podcasts for a while now and have finally signed up on the website as I have a question I would love to hear everyone's views on.

The department I am in is about to undergo a reorganisation in which staff have been 'slotted' into new roles and the role out is going to be very carefully choreographed to minimise opportunities for disagreement etc. I'm in a fortunate position in that my line manager has kept me up to speed with plans for me even though no-one was meant to have any knowledge or be consulted and she believes I will view the change as a significant career progression. I generally trust them (they have helped me significantly with promotion etc. in the past and so I have no experiential reason not too), I am aware that it will be in their favour if I accept without question the new role.

Given the fact I have the opportunity to prepare for the time I am formally told and in light of the fact it may or may not be a good outcome, I wondered what your advice would be in terms of both preparation and also how to responde generally in an internal reorganisation.

Should I be prepared to challenge role content, grade, salary etc. and how can I do this effectively when I do not know the details of the role I am going to be offered. Given I will be on the back foot (I believe that is part of the plan) should I ask for time to consider the offer that is made, even though I may not really have much option other than to accept or look elsewhere internally or externally? From what I can gather, my biggest concern at the moment is that the role content is going to be too much volume to be able to cover on my own. In that case is it a good idea to raise those concerns up front or wait and see how it pans out?

Any and all advice gratefully received.

Advice for a high S direct with a high D manager

miketickle — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:49:24 +0000

BLUF: A colleague who strikes me as a high S has asked for some advice on how to improve her relationship with her boss who is clearly a high D. Any tips I can pass on?

A colleague has got a new boss who is a high D. She is finding it difficult adjusting to working with him as she says she feels he does not listen to her. She wants to explain to her new boss that she finds it difficult working with him. Some of her stakeholders have also commented to her that he is brusque, impatient and forceful. This instantly sounds to me like a D-S conflict. I know her boss - he's D through and through and I find him refreshingly focused.

I plan to sit down with her and explain the DISC model as a way of thinking about interactions so she can start to think about modifying her behaviour to engage more successfully with him. She would like to explain to him how his style makes her feel. Using the DISC model I can help her think about how better to explain that (a high D might not care about how she feels if she gets the job done) but I'm not convinced a direct suggesting to a boss that he needs to act differently is a good course of action. Thoughts?

Re: Feedback Without Lurking About

lindge — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:47:15 +0000

Some examples to illustrate observing directs' behaviors first-hand. I'm sure folks this forum can help build out the list even further...

- I'm assuming you must be in some meetings with your directs and others, or phone calls? You could provide feedback based upon what you observe or hear

- Alternatively, they must deliver a work product of some sort to you or clients - you could provide feedback on that

- Do you do any coaching of your directs week in week out? If yes, feedback opportunities exist all the time

- Do you ask your directs to complete actions at any point - if yes, you can provide feedback on what they complete and how

- if one of your directs covers for or helps another, you can provide feedback on their teamwork

- If you delegate stuff, then you can provide feedback on how the delegated item is completed

Re: Getting Along with Others

jay2k — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:09:56 +0000

This afternoon my employee e-mailed me and my peer asking to sitdown with HR to discuss. There have been a few e-mail interactions between him and my peer, as my peer continues to question what the issue is. I'm going to schedule time to sitdown with my peer and my direct to discuss.

Re: Connecting with directs on LinkedIn

Condor — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:22:18 +0000

Do not recall having listened to the Podcast a while back it touched on connecting with Directs however, I could wrong

Thanks for your input, worth consideration

Re: Connecting with directs on LinkedIn

Condor — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:21:31 +0000

Do not recall having listened to the Podcast a while back it touched on connecting with Directs however, I could wrong

Thanks for your input, worth consideration

Getting Along with Others

jay2k — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:42:11 +0000

I am currently a Manager on our IT Operations team, which is broken down into two departments (Service Desk and Server Support). Many times a day the two teams need to interact as we escalate requests over to Server Support and they provide the Service Desk with guidance on various issues.

I currently have a high-performer on my team that is not well liked by one individual on our Server Support team. Typically they now only interact when dealing with a support request, and responses from the Server Support person are typically terse and at times unhelpful. The Server Support person has a reputation for acting in this manner, not only to his own team members, but to others he does not like around the company.

My employee told me this morning that he was fed up and was ready to walk. My employee and I have had this discussion before about the same person, and the action I took at that time was to provide feedback to my peer about his directs actions and how they are cutting down the relationship between our teams. For a time, things improved, but with time things have digressed back to "normal".

I see the person on the Server Support team as a person that regularly initiates ill will and feelings towards my team. In public forum he will talk negatively about my team instead of coming to see me or his Manager with complaints. On the positive side, he is a very bright individual and produces results.

I'm now trying to figure out a better way to improve this situation, and so far I've come up with the following:

Discuss the situation with my peer again and see if we can come up with a solution.
Talk directly to the Server Support person and ask why he does not like the person on my team. Find out the root of the anomosity and attempt to address.
Sit my direct and the Server Support person down in a room and talk it out. (My least favorable idea).

Before I take action, I wanted to get the Communities input and see if anyone else has successfully dealt with this and what path did they take. Thanks in advance for your responses!

Jay2k

Re: Agenda Killers

GlennR — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:52:20 +0000

Short answer: No.

I strongly believe that one of the core competencies of a successful manager, especially one who rises through the ranks is flexibility. On an organizational or territorial level a senior manager or sales manager must be able to respond to changes brought about by the competition, the economy, market changes, and technology, just to name a few.

On a micro-level, managers must be flexible in addressing everything from personnel changes to weather interruptions, to a senior walking into a meeting with no notice.

Adapt to the change or die as the dinosaurs did.

BTW, what do you think the reaction of the senior exec would be if you walked out of your meeting as he was about to speak? How promotable would you be after that?

Now, let's just say that the senior exec came in and his remarks were wildly inappropriate. After he left, repair the damage as much as possible and move on. Be flexible.

Re: Sending Follow up notes from a 1:1

bradp — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:26:02 +0000

Well done. You've got it!!

Regards

Brad Parker

Re: Connecting with directs on LinkedIn

Condor — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:24:54 +0000

Do not recall having listened to the Podcast a while back it touched on connecting with Directs however, I could wrong

Thanks for your input, worth consideration

Re: my bosses anger at my directs views

dtiller — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:08:17 +0000

Here's what I would do. Announce at your next staff meeting that there were interesting summary findings of the survey. Pick a few topics as I am sure there is more to talk about. Then in each of the O3s, ask if they have any concerns on each of the topics. With this direct you can focus a little more on training to see what the underlying issue is. They may be concerned about a colleague. A little probing may reveal the true concern.

Let us know how it goes.

Re: Connecting with directs on LinkedIn

dtiller — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:04:25 +0000

I don't quite understand your concern with connecting up with your directs. I use LinkedIn as my roladex (anyone remember those?). As stated above, you are in the public domain and so anyone can see your profile, unless you have it steathly locked down and what's the point of that.

In fact, I think as a manager you should extend an invitation your directs on LinkedIn to connect with you. There shouldn't be anything secret and would demonstrate openness and professionalism.

Go for it!

Feedback Without Lurking About

dubya75 — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:28:52 +0000

I'm the manager for 25 technician level folks. I am having trouble observing my folks in their working environment (control room and out in the process area) without being perceived as lurking about or following them around looking over their shoulder. My intention is to be able to make direct observations so that I can provide feedback, but my approach isn't working. I've retreated to my office and relying on others who work closely with my directs to give me 2nd hand feedback on their performance. Any suggestions on how I can improve so that I can observe my directs first hand?

Re: my bosses anger at my directs views

MarkMT — Tue, 21 May 2013 06:59:33 +0000

All I will say is this - if your direct gets any hint that his "anonymous" answers have been traced back to him.... Well, you can forget about your organisation ever getting honest answers to a staff survey ever again. Your boss isn't the only one who talks...

First, Let boss cool off and, in confidence, outline the risks of doing this. As a manager, you should at least say your piece.

If your boss is giving you a direct order- and you've got no way out, and nobody who can talk her out of it? Then use your O3s to bring up the notion of staff development and training (without referencing his answers in the survey) and see what you can learn. Not easy.

Re: Connecting with directs on LinkedIn

MarkMT — Tue, 21 May 2013 06:46:58 +0000

There's no such thing as private if you post it online. Anyone who wants to do some research on you could find that stuff in 10 minutes anyway. The words confidential and internet do not go together.

With all social networks - if you are on them, people have an expectation of accessibility. As in, if you are putting yourself out there they expect you to interact with them. Not saying it is right, but it is true. What I'm saying is that knocking back work colleagues creates relationship risk - especially on a "professional" arena such as Linkedin.

(Don't get me wrong, I knock back people all the time on Linkedin - but I accept the risks to our relationship)

My advice would be to keep Linkedin for professional purposes only. Use another social network for your non-work stuff.

Re: Can I Negotiage Salary During A Promotion?

MarkMT — Tue, 21 May 2013 06:27:45 +0000

First - ignore your family. They don't know what they're talking about. Or more accurately - they don't know what you know and don't know your industry. This is true in 99% of cases.

Senegoid is on to something - if you believe you're being underpaid go collect as much data as you can and then unemotionally present it. See what happens. If the margin between your salary and market rate is wide, you could close it up a bit if you build a case.

However, most companies would underpay (slightly) in this situation. Think of it this way - you're an untested product that could easily fail (and a big percentage of first time managers fail). The company has taken a calculated risk by promoting you. Part of that equation means you may not get what an experienced person gets on the free market. But they are willing to invest in you - you'll get training, practice, experience... and eventually more money.

Also, if you work for a sexy company you probably get paid less across the board. I've heard Apple, for example, aren't necessarily the best payers in the business. They don't need to be because people are falling overthemselves to go work there.

So my suggestion would be to get some real data and see what kind of numbers you're dealing with. If the margin is small, then invest the 18+ months in becomming experienced and great. After that you'll have more ability to write your own ticket.

Congratulations BTW, I'm sure you'll be great.

Re: Connecting with directs on LinkedIn

tlhausmann — Tue, 21 May 2013 02:03:25 +0000

http://www.manager-tools.com/2010/04/getting-started-with-linkedin-part-1

http://www.manager-tools.com/2009/06/rule-50

http://www.manager-tools.com/2006/05/building-a-network

] I do not want to have to filter my posts

By virtue of you posting on-line, at all, it is safe to assume at a point in the future your directs will see your posts through other channels.

Relationships create opportunities.

Re: How to tell a low performing direct it's time to move on?

aclonaris — Tue, 21 May 2013 01:43:12 +0000

Thanks to all of you for your replies, it's great to hear your advice. Doris, thank you for sharing your similar experience and how you dealt with the situation, it gives me something to go on and action now before it affects anyone else in the team.

Thanks again!

Is Obama a High-S?

djtakeshi — Tue, 21 May 2013 01:32:23 +0000

What is Barack Obama's DiSC profile?

Sorry if this has been already mentioned somewhere else, but I could not find the information.

Re: Can I Negotiage Salary During A Promotion?

leanne — Tue, 21 May 2013 00:50:01 +0000

You say this is the first time you've ever been a true manager.

I'd leave the salary question alone until you've been at it for a few months. 6 maybe. This will allow you to prove that the company made a good decision in promoting you.

Once you've proved you truly are right for the job, you can sit down with your supervisor and your salary data and your record and talk about it. And, there's a Career Tools cast to help guide you through the conversation: http://www.manager-tools.com/2012/10/im-underpaid

Re: Can I Negotiage Salary During A Promotion?

naraa — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:57:30 +0000

I think what matters is if you are excited about the position and are willing to do the job for the money they are offering. It sounds like you are, very much so, so I would close my ears to the advice of your close family member.

One can really only negotiate when one is willing to take an alternative, basically when what they are offering is not good enough for you. Are you considering not taking the promotion if they don´t agree on an increase? You may also have other things you like about the company you are at which can not be "seen" by your close relative through the pay figure they give you. I find that jobs cannot be compared by the salary figure alone.

Congratulations on your promotion!

Nara

Re: Sending Follow up notes from a 1:1

pamona22 — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:08:00 +0000

Brilliant- thanks so much everyone.

I'm a brand new manager and I was thinking it was helpful to send the notes- but I can see now they are really just for me.

Re: Can I Negotiage Salary During A Promotion?

senegoid — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:35:14 +0000

The easy way as always is to update your resume with your new position and jump ship, which I wouldn't do as I was beginning with a joke (.

John is right, for 15% I wouldn't ask for more; what I would do is maximize the goals, expectations and metrics they have for the job by doing a really hard work to obtain a raise in the future.

If you KNOW you're in the farthest left of the salary curve I'll show the research to my boss, no threats, no bad feelings; with more evidence than "a close family member" I would suggest salary.com or other site that accurately measure your industry averages per position, age and experience. I would expect a short term negative and ask for a long term development plan.

Re: Can I Negotiage Salary During A Promotion?

jrosenau — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:45:12 +0000

A 15% raise seems large to me in any position. The organization is probably giving you as much as they can in one swoop. If they really think highly of you, you may continue to see those; but you can only take raises one at a time. Given the size of this one, listen to the Mark and Mike in your head.

John

Re: How to tell a low performing direct it's time to move on?

senegoid — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:32:10 +0000

When I started working one piece of advise from my father gave me was to "Remember your paycheck is for Performance, not to show up" people (normally B or C) tend to forget this and expect a raise when new goals or responsibilities are set in place or have been there for a while. As I think was Doris's case.

Manager Tools serve to remember everyone; I know there's another wording in the podcast. And as Matt Palmer states "You've done yourself, your team, and this direct a disservice" I would include the Company in the list.

Re: Seeking book recommendations on Organizational Design

rsamuels — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:47:02 +0000

I found myself in the unfortunate position of managing a matrix pool last year. My directs were all dispatched on various project teams. I did a lengthy study on how to handle the situation. I am happy to share my resulting deck with you, pm me with your email addy and I'm happy to send it.

Things that really helped me:

- the 3 casts on matrix management (I believe 2 are in manager and 1 in career casts)

- the cast of the licensee conference call from I believe it was Q3 or Q4 of 2012, where Mark answered a question about effectively managing directs who are in a scrum team

- Matrix Management Success, Method Not Magic, by Ronald A. Gunn.

- Ronald Gunn's deck entitled "Unleashing the Power of Horizontal Teams at NOAA", which I found on the web

Re: Managing former peers after a 6 year break

senegoid — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:39:19 +0000

Yes, there's a podcast for that http://www.manager-tools.com/2012/01/i-am-a-former-peer, even if you left the company I think it applies since they might certainly remember you a one of those who left.

Think what would you feel in their position? Would you really care for the reasons your new boss/former peer left the company? My main concern would be to know why is this man returning as a boss? It might not be the best idea to address this concern directly but to proving them the reasons be an Effective Manager (Apply the MT Trinity); If you come as sincere The One On Ones will be a medium to "encourage them to express any concerns they might have about working for me" in a private/safe environment.

This is a great opportunity for you full of risk and excitement working and relating with former peers; you might find out is not as bad as you expect.

Regards,

Senegoid

Re: How to tell a low performing direct it's time to move on?

mattpalmer — Mon, 20 May 2013 09:58:42 +0000

Doris, sounds like you handled it perfectly, and got the "right" result, as a bonus.

Re: OPINION: the speech explaining why you have been fired

naraa — Mon, 20 May 2013 05:38:31 +0000

Hi Thais,

I agree with the above comments.

I agree one should always act professionally and give ones best regardless of the circumstances or take the decision to leave if not in agreement with the conditions. I can also understand sometimes that is easier said than done.

I am Brazilian, and I lived in Australia for 6 years. First time I heard in Australia a friend was fired, other friends comments were: "That is good, he can get something better." I was so impressed by that comment I never forgot. That was a completely different perspective from what I had grown up with and experienced in Brazil which was the fear of being fired or even the fear of giving up a "good" job for the uncertainty of the market. That uncertainty, that fear, makes us believe we are much less in control than we really are. Then there is blame and resentment. On the other hand there are companies that exploit the employees just because they can, because of that fear.

Although I can understand the circumstances that lead to the situation you were in, I do agree with the above comments that you need to reflect on what happened and get out of the victim position of having been exploited. Because the managers from the company you will be interviewing are the company and most will take the position of the company not yours (and the truth is employers and employees should be on the same, not opposite sides) and what they will see is exactly what MattPalmer said: somebody that don't give his/her best, or doesn't have enough patience.

On your answer though I wouldn't start with "I messed up." The truth is probably both you and the company have messed it up. I don't know but think most interviewers may hear that "I messed up" and then not hear the whole story and what you learned from it. I would say something like: "The company was going through an restructuring process. Managers were laid off, and the coordinators, which I was one of them, assumed the managerial tasks.

I was expecting and increase in salary due to the increase in responsibilities and that never came. I became frustrated, the work environment was not good (if that is true and it usually is when there is restructuring and significant lay offs), and eventually my performance was affected. I wasn't performing as well as I should have been performing. There wasnt a good match anymore after all the restructuring, between me and the company, and I my boss realized that before I did, I was fired. What I learn from this situation is: - say what you have learned and how you would handle the same situation different next time.

Some things you may add and which may make a difference in the eyes of the interviewer.

How long were you at the leading coordinator role acting as a manager? Did you actually perform well at that role for a while, before your performance worsen? When the managers were laid off, who became your boss? Did you have someone available you could discuss yours vs their expectations? How you tell about what has happened also depend on what role you are applying for. Are you applying for a managerial position? Also, it is not easy to shift from a individual contributor or coordinator to a manager position, much less when it is non-official. Were you purposely not giving your best or perhaps you were not fully prepared for that role? I would actually accept better someone accepting and recognizing their difficulties and weakness in becoming a manager than I would of someone not giving their best. My guess is there was probably a bit of both? Really, there is no problem in it as long as you can learn from it and show that you have learn. Good luck! And someday you will look back and say to yourself: "Good thing I was fired so I was forced to look for something better."

Managing former peers after a 6 year break

robin_s — Mon, 20 May 2013 01:38:21 +0000

BLUF: I'm starting a new job tomorrow. I'm returning to a company I worked for for many years, but left 6 years ago. My new job is in a higher position, and the people who were my former peers will now be my directs. They have been with the company since before I started my previous job there.

I am likely making assumptions about how they will feel and react to me. My concern is that there may be some resentment that I was given this job after having left the company, when they have been loyally working there for many years. (Kind of like the older brother's reaction to the prodigal son's return).

I want to establish a good working relationship with each of them. In my first interactions, should I address my reasons for leaving 6 years ago, or encourage them to express any concerns they might have about working for me?

Is there a good cast for this situation?

Re: OPINION: the speech explaining why you have been fired

Jenninmi — Mon, 20 May 2013 00:30:51 +0000

Saying "I got fired because I wasn't giving my best effort ," is going demotivate hiring managers.

It sounds like you got a bad deal, but maybe that was the best company could offer given the circumstances. Regardless, you need to taking responsibility for how you handled it. You are trying to deflect the blame for your dismissal to your prior employer to justify your reaction. It is unlikely a prospective employer will see it that way.

You can bet why you left last job will be asked and a lot of attention paid to the answer. Your best bet is complete candor, own it completely. Something like -- I messed up, I was in a difficult situation and handled it poorly. Took me a bit to put things in proper perspective, but here is what I learned ...

Interviews are sales situation, being upfront would show you have confidence in the product you are selling (yourself) and provides you an opportunity to look forward positively.

Can I Negotiage Salary During A Promotion?

antbug1978 — Mon, 20 May 2013 00:11:34 +0000

I've been a listener for 7+ years. Last week I was promoted from a Project Manager to Plant Manager. The promotion came with a 15% raise putting me about 75k. It's below industry standards and a close family member said I'm selling myself short and should ask for more. What do you think?

Details: The company is a specialty chemical manufacturing plant. I will be managing 21 people over 24/7 schedule and the typical logistics that go into manufacturing. This will be the first time I've been a true manager. I feel I'm well prepared due to years of MT and I can't wait to start rolling out my trinity!

What I hear Mark and Mike saying in my head: You don't negotiate salary. If you prove yourself valuable by getting results, then you will reap the benefits. Be patient....at 34 years old you are killing it.

I don't want to be greedy here but I'm taking on a huge new responsibility.

Please write a response. I'm interested in what the forums have to say!

Anthony

Re: Sending Follow up notes from a 1:1

Jenninmi — Mon, 20 May 2013 00:01:49 +0000

I only see downsides to taking minutes during O3s and then sending following up notes.

I consider O3s to be the bedrock of my being an effective manager. The relationship is the priority, it's a time I am obliged to be more people focused than task focused. Copious note-taking would get in the way of my participation in the conversation. I would be too distracted recording what was said to notice the subtleties about how it was said or what wasn't being said. That is one reason to designate someone to act as the recorder at larger meetings, I can be free to monitor and engage in the discussion.

I use the MT form -- have personalized it a bit -- and write down a phrase, may be two or a due date about the topics I raise or that they bring up. Right after the meeting, I add other details while they are still fresh in my mind and schedule the actions I promised. People come to the meetings prepared for the discussion and to take notes, some have a notebook just for our O3s. Nevertheless follow through isn't perfect. Sometimes other priorities have won out and occasionally they dropped the ball. Which prompts a "When you ..." moment.

Mike