Recently I had a conversation with John, a key senior level business leader, who pointed out that one of the most common mistakes employees make today is not managing up properly. John emphasized the importance of managing up saying, “It’s everything. It’s not talked about often, however if you don’t do it well, you simply don’t rise through the ranks. That may sound a little harsh, but it’s true.”
Managing up is an art and a skill that is rarely discussed. Consider some of the most common mistakes that affect managing up and how you can remedy them:
1) I know my boss and consider him/her a friend. Therefore, I know what kind of support my boss needs.
Truth: Most people don’t know how to manage up and can only make assumptions about their bosses’ needs. Eradicate speculation and start communicating.
Word from the coach: Ask your boss how he/she wants you to communicate with him/her. What materials does he/she need to see from you? Schedule meaningful one-on-ones with clear agendas and expectations. Ensure your meetings handle core issues clearly and honestly. Meeting just to meet is never beneficial for anyone. Make sure you create agreements that outline how you will communicate in times of bliss and crisis (know that the crisis times are the ones that will test your relationship).
2) Not managing your boss’s perceptions
Truth: All bosses have inherent perceptions about how work should be done. Some of these perceptions may be from their own past work experience and even performance reviews. Examples include things such as: getting your work done quickly shows you can work well under stress; coming in early and staying late shows commitment; coming in on the weekend to finish a project demonstrates diligence.
Word from the coach: Most of these perceptions are not spoken but rather implied. Managing these perceptions is critical to your success, so get them out in the open, talk about them and negotiate them. Supervisors would rather you get a project done well rather than finish it in two minutes. Sharing with your boss the process and progress of your work product helps to eradicate unspoken of perceptions.
3) Avoiding conflict
Truth: Experiencing conflict is not a sin. Conflict brings growth, fosters development and airs misperceptions. Yet, I found in a group session that I facilitated with advertising executives, most saw conflict as negative and something that should be avoided as much as possible. There’s a difference between confrontation and conflict. Confrontation involves hostility, whereas conflict merely arises from a difference of opinions.
Word from the coach: Before you say something that may be in opposition to what your boss thinks, set your intention. If your intention is to provide maximum value to the organization at all times, then the words you speak will echo this sentiment. If your intention is to “set your boss straight”, then be prepared for a harsh exchange of words. It’s up to you to determine the starting point…
Managing up is one of the greatest skills a manager or leader can possess. Dedicate yourself to excelling at this skill and your reputation and value to the company will be recognized -- guaranteed.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Golden Rule Takes Flight
When recently reading an article in Business Week entitled, "The Ten Management Practices to Axe," I was struck by the soundness of most of author Liz Ryan's top ten management practices companies should be rid of:
1) Forced employee ranking - when you evaluate your employees against one another, to see who's most critical on the team and who's most expendable
2) Front-loaded recruiting systems - when you are forced to undergo background checks, assessments, perhaps even giving your over your first born before you are considered for the position
3) Overdone policy manuals - the ones that are 500 pages too long:)
4) Social media thought police - not allowing employees to engage in sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn during office hours
5) Rules that force employees to lie - such as withholding medical information for fear of not being covered
6) Theft of airline miles
7) Jack-booted layoffs - when firing someone they are given an immediate boot out the door
8)360-degree feedback programs - teaching good management practices instead
9) Mandatory performance-review bell curves - scale rating of employees, instead of setting high standards for employee reviews and raising them annually
10) Timekeeping - obsession around arrival and departure times, "using fractions of sick and personal days to attend to pressing life situations"
It's true, there are so many management and leadership books on the market, some ill conceived "best practices" have taken root and booted some good solid behaviors. What's missing from this list is the most critical element, people come first - period, end of sentence. In all of our creating of systems and processes we've forgotten the basic tenant, the "golden rule." Remember that one...the one that states every person has a right to fair and just treatment, and each of us have a responsibility to ensure this justice for each other.
Where did the golden rule go in the mix? Organizations can't be run like street side lemonade stands, however as long as organizations take the eye off the golden rule, the rest is just a shifting of the chairs. In fact, working at a lemonade stand may sound really great if your organization is scoring you like cattle and throwing you out the door after 15 years of service.
Let me save you some time from reading the countless numbers of leadership books...live by the golden rule or the old "love thy neighbor as thyself." Unless we learn how to care for the people side of the business, our businesses won't function very well for very long. You won't hear experts talk of it in these terms. Schmanzy language such as "third quarter earnings were down" is how they will cite it. If you took a microscope to the people side of the business, how would the organization fare in the long run?
This suggestion is to you my dear leader...when deciding what new business book to read, remember the golden rule, the rest is just commentary.
1) Forced employee ranking - when you evaluate your employees against one another, to see who's most critical on the team and who's most expendable
2) Front-loaded recruiting systems - when you are forced to undergo background checks, assessments, perhaps even giving your over your first born before you are considered for the position
3) Overdone policy manuals - the ones that are 500 pages too long:)
4) Social media thought police - not allowing employees to engage in sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn during office hours
5) Rules that force employees to lie - such as withholding medical information for fear of not being covered
6) Theft of airline miles
7) Jack-booted layoffs - when firing someone they are given an immediate boot out the door
8)360-degree feedback programs - teaching good management practices instead
9) Mandatory performance-review bell curves - scale rating of employees, instead of setting high standards for employee reviews and raising them annually
10) Timekeeping - obsession around arrival and departure times, "using fractions of sick and personal days to attend to pressing life situations"
It's true, there are so many management and leadership books on the market, some ill conceived "best practices" have taken root and booted some good solid behaviors. What's missing from this list is the most critical element, people come first - period, end of sentence. In all of our creating of systems and processes we've forgotten the basic tenant, the "golden rule." Remember that one...the one that states every person has a right to fair and just treatment, and each of us have a responsibility to ensure this justice for each other.
Where did the golden rule go in the mix? Organizations can't be run like street side lemonade stands, however as long as organizations take the eye off the golden rule, the rest is just a shifting of the chairs. In fact, working at a lemonade stand may sound really great if your organization is scoring you like cattle and throwing you out the door after 15 years of service.
Let me save you some time from reading the countless numbers of leadership books...live by the golden rule or the old "love thy neighbor as thyself." Unless we learn how to care for the people side of the business, our businesses won't function very well for very long. You won't hear experts talk of it in these terms. Schmanzy language such as "third quarter earnings were down" is how they will cite it. If you took a microscope to the people side of the business, how would the organization fare in the long run?
This suggestion is to you my dear leader...when deciding what new business book to read, remember the golden rule, the rest is just commentary.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Permission to Hide
I love electronics. Ever since I was a kid I had the latest and greatest gadget on the market. Remember when Sharp came out with one of the first electronic organizer? I had to have it! Drove my mom nuts until I had that rectangular electronic mega system in my hands. Of course I needed it to input all necessary information such as the next party, dates, outings with friends, etc. You know, life necessities.
Today electronic communication has been elevated to a new art. Blogging, texting, video blogging, emailing, instant messaging…the list could go on and on and surely will over the next decade and beyond. I miss though the simple things. Getting into an elevator and saying a simple “hello” and smiling. Oftentimes the person standing next to you in the elevator is so busy on their BlackBerry you wonder how they don’t miss their floor. I am equally guilty of it. Although, my favorite electronic moment was watching two friends text each other as they are sitting right next to each other. Perhaps we need to introduce the concept of “live dialogue?”
Electronic communication has given us the gift of reconnecting with old friends, old flames and even allows us to peer into our past as a voyeur – “I wonder what Jonathan Lewin really does look like 25 years later?”
In the workplace electronics can help speed up the transmission of information and it can also cause a huge backlash of miscommunication. A recent Wall Street Journal article (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704259304575043491348109012.html?mod=dist_smartbrief) cited a top list of email misuses, ala email mistakes. Included were vague subject lines; burying the news; hiding behind the “BCC” field, failing to clean up the mess of earlier replies/forwards; ignoring grammar; avoiding necessarily long emails; mashing everything together into bulky, imposing, inaccessible paragraphs; neglecting human beings at the other end; thinking email works best; and forgetting that email last forever are egregious mistakes. Bottom line…electronic communication gives us permission to put our heads in the sand and not have real and meaningful dialogue.
Email, texting, instant messaging, etc. gives us the comfort of a computer screen and a keyboard, aka a buffer to being physically present with another person. Statistics show that over 93% of all communication is non-verbal so what are we giving each other? 7%. That’s right – 7%. With all of this communication we miss out on the subtleties of eye contact, shifting in chairs, folded arms, grimaces and grins, shifting body posture to either say, “yes, I’m excited” or “nope, I could care less”. Even telephone calls are better. Picking up a phone and hearing the tone in someone’s voice allows you to peer into what is really going on. If Sam is reluctant to take on a project you may not see it in an email, you may pick it up strongly in his voice.
One on one in-person or telephone conversations creates relationships, unity and enhances teamwork. Today, make another choice. Pick up the phone, walk down the hall, smile and speak to the person you were going to email. You never know how this small step will create huge dividends.
Today electronic communication has been elevated to a new art. Blogging, texting, video blogging, emailing, instant messaging…the list could go on and on and surely will over the next decade and beyond. I miss though the simple things. Getting into an elevator and saying a simple “hello” and smiling. Oftentimes the person standing next to you in the elevator is so busy on their BlackBerry you wonder how they don’t miss their floor. I am equally guilty of it. Although, my favorite electronic moment was watching two friends text each other as they are sitting right next to each other. Perhaps we need to introduce the concept of “live dialogue?”
Electronic communication has given us the gift of reconnecting with old friends, old flames and even allows us to peer into our past as a voyeur – “I wonder what Jonathan Lewin really does look like 25 years later?”
In the workplace electronics can help speed up the transmission of information and it can also cause a huge backlash of miscommunication. A recent Wall Street Journal article (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704259304575043491348109012.html?mod=dist_smartbrief) cited a top list of email misuses, ala email mistakes. Included were vague subject lines; burying the news; hiding behind the “BCC” field, failing to clean up the mess of earlier replies/forwards; ignoring grammar; avoiding necessarily long emails; mashing everything together into bulky, imposing, inaccessible paragraphs; neglecting human beings at the other end; thinking email works best; and forgetting that email last forever are egregious mistakes. Bottom line…electronic communication gives us permission to put our heads in the sand and not have real and meaningful dialogue.
Email, texting, instant messaging, etc. gives us the comfort of a computer screen and a keyboard, aka a buffer to being physically present with another person. Statistics show that over 93% of all communication is non-verbal so what are we giving each other? 7%. That’s right – 7%. With all of this communication we miss out on the subtleties of eye contact, shifting in chairs, folded arms, grimaces and grins, shifting body posture to either say, “yes, I’m excited” or “nope, I could care less”. Even telephone calls are better. Picking up a phone and hearing the tone in someone’s voice allows you to peer into what is really going on. If Sam is reluctant to take on a project you may not see it in an email, you may pick it up strongly in his voice.
One on one in-person or telephone conversations creates relationships, unity and enhances teamwork. Today, make another choice. Pick up the phone, walk down the hall, smile and speak to the person you were going to email. You never know how this small step will create huge dividends.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Secrets of No Layoffs in Tough Economic Times
A recent Fortune Magazine featured six companies that avoided the pinch of layoffs during the economic downturn. As of mid-January 2010, they have never had a layoff. SAS, Wegmans Food Markets, Mercedes Benz, S.C Johnson & Sons, EOG Resources and Baptist Health South Florida were among the companies highlighted.
All companies had a mix of attributes. According to Fortune Magazine, "S.C. Johnson & Sons, a family-owned and operated household cleansing products manufacturer, has been able to avoid layoffs for 124 years. Even in the worst of times, management has stuck to the belief that company employees are its most valuable asset." And Mercedes Benz ‘s management looked inward to take a decisive step in this economic climate. – “When management discovered that further cost reductions were unavoidable, the CEO and executive team (28 people total) accepted pay cuts. The tough choices paid off, resulting in a 10% total reduction of labor costs from mid-2009 to year-end. “
All companies made tough choices in these rough economic times and still they put their people first, and by doing so were able to maintain their employee base while growing loyalty.
Let's take a deeper look at what was their "secret sauce" to no layoffs:
-Instituting hiring freezes in all areas except R&D and sales
-Cut back on travel and expenses and rely more on conference calls and video conferencing (almost all)
-Engage company support by communicating early and often
-Give developmental opportunities to advance career
-Cross train staff for different jobs making them flexible to the changing needs of the business
-Reducing temporary staff, placing controls on overtime
-CEO and executive team take pay cuts
-Take a long-term perspective on hiring, e.g. delayed merit increases for six months
-Run the organization on low cost and low debt
-Adhere to compensation plans and continued to pay bonuses, award merit increases, promote from within and issue stock grants.
If you have not heard of the companies cited above, maybe it's time to take a page out of their playbook. And keep in mind as one employee at Wegmans said, "Our thought process is that we'll never have a layoff. Everything is planned on the basis that our people come first."
By putting people first, companies can be innovative, creative and ahead of the competition and not only survive, hopefully thrive in these economic times.
All companies had a mix of attributes. According to Fortune Magazine, "S.C. Johnson & Sons, a family-owned and operated household cleansing products manufacturer, has been able to avoid layoffs for 124 years. Even in the worst of times, management has stuck to the belief that company employees are its most valuable asset." And Mercedes Benz ‘s management looked inward to take a decisive step in this economic climate. – “When management discovered that further cost reductions were unavoidable, the CEO and executive team (28 people total) accepted pay cuts. The tough choices paid off, resulting in a 10% total reduction of labor costs from mid-2009 to year-end. “
All companies made tough choices in these rough economic times and still they put their people first, and by doing so were able to maintain their employee base while growing loyalty.
Let's take a deeper look at what was their "secret sauce" to no layoffs:
-Instituting hiring freezes in all areas except R&D and sales
-Cut back on travel and expenses and rely more on conference calls and video conferencing (almost all)
-Engage company support by communicating early and often
-Give developmental opportunities to advance career
-Cross train staff for different jobs making them flexible to the changing needs of the business
-Reducing temporary staff, placing controls on overtime
-CEO and executive team take pay cuts
-Take a long-term perspective on hiring, e.g. delayed merit increases for six months
-Run the organization on low cost and low debt
-Adhere to compensation plans and continued to pay bonuses, award merit increases, promote from within and issue stock grants.
If you have not heard of the companies cited above, maybe it's time to take a page out of their playbook. And keep in mind as one employee at Wegmans said, "Our thought process is that we'll never have a layoff. Everything is planned on the basis that our people come first."
By putting people first, companies can be innovative, creative and ahead of the competition and not only survive, hopefully thrive in these economic times.
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