Five signs your planning is going well

Tigers have outstanding plans

Here are five signs that show if your organisation or division’s planning is going well:

1) The CEO picks up the whiteboard marker

The reason they were chosen for the job is because they were deemed to have the capability to create, communicate then deliver a future by focusing the efforts of hundreds or thousands of people.  While they need input from all the minds around the table, the final plan is theirs, and theirs alone, and this starts from articulating their initial thoughts.

2) The word ‘develop’ is not seen 

The purpose of a planning day isn’t to agree to develop a plan, it’s to actually come up with a plan. Read more…

Good enough is good enough

Since November I’m now a father of two, and for me being a parent is a pendulum between trying to do it 100% right at one end then at the other getting tired and frustrated at the unrelenting inexorable workload that seems like it will never end.

I was discussing this with someone who gave me a great lesson in the old principle that you teach best what you need to know yourself.  He simply said “what’s wrong with good enough“?

A light bulb went on.  Not of the ‘I’ve had a great idea’ variety, but the illumination that says ‘wake up you idiot.’ Read more…

Do you actually rate employees on whether you like them?

Do you hire people and rate their effectiveness on whether they can do the work, or on whether you like them?

Before you answer, ask yourself who you rate as having the better playing career in tennis – Pat Rafter or Lleyton Hewitt?

Let me give you some information on actual performance on our two candidates: Read more…

The question for managers to answer

“What do you want your people to do?”.

That’s the question I often ask when I’m helping managers with their accountability to lead their people (not optional by the way):

I usually get pretty good answers of the activity variety – the various things that solid employees would be seen doing as they go about their work.  Things like “liaise with customers, build relationships, deliver sales, plan projects”, and the old chestnuts of “deliver a framework” or “develop a strategy”.  Which is why I then ask this question:

“And if they do a fantastic job, what does the company get?”. Read more…

Not enough to just start them driving

“Start driving.  I’ll let you know if you’re going in the wrong way at the wrong speed“.

I see this a lot.  It might not look like this at first, but it’s exactly the same.  I see it in position descriptions:

• “This role exists to produce frameworks and strategies…”
• “The role includes analysis of reports and producing of recommendations….”
• “The incumbent will demonstrate their skill in influencing and negotiation…”

And I see it when people are given work:

• “Could you have a look at that article….”
• “Draft up a paper which looks at the options….”
• “Put together a policy on how recruitment will work…”

What’s missing from all of the above is what we are actually trying to achieve here, and why. Read more…

The Frontline Manager

Last week we discussed the specific role of the Team Leader, and how this is not a level of management.  This time we will look specifically at the first level of management, the Frontline Manager.

This role is often known simply as ‘Manager’, as in ‘Sales Manager’ or ‘Call Centre Manager’.  Some organisations, however, add to the fun by giving this role the title of Team Leader, Supervisor or Coordinator.  I have seen this done for a range of reasons, with the most insidious being due to having too may layers of management in the first place, so we simply run out of titles.

Whatever we call it, the Frontline Manager Read more…

The Team Leader

The role of the Team Leader can be crucial to making the day run well and keeping the show on the road.  It’s also a potential source of confusion, frustration and can actually be an inhibitor to delivery if it’s not understood.

Team Leaders can also be known as Supervisors, Seniors and Coordinators.  Some organisations use this title for their first layer of management also, which can add to the fun.  So here’s how we distinguish between the Team Leader and the Manager: Read more…

The right spot for personality tests

When personality tests and cultural surveys come up with clients, they often say a little apologetically “I know you don’t think much of these, but…”. I feel bad when I hear this, because I don’t automatically think they are bad.

Far from it.

I rate things such as Myers-Briggs, the various LSI, OCI, CSI permutations, Facet 5 and all various  letters, spiderwebs and colours as great tools for  raising the performance of teams that already know what they’re doing. Read more…

Hard feedback? Time to care

Managing can be a schizophrenic job  – you need to set clear expectations for your people, and if they are unable to reach these expectations after due attempts to help them, you need to remove them from the role.  But at the same time, if you need to remove someone from the role, the person who has failed in helping them reach those same expectations is….you!

In other words, if you do your job right, you might have to sack someone.  And if you do your job right, you might not have to sack someone. Read more…

Connect what to who (not how)

Tom Foster writes Management Skills Blog, one of the best going around on organisations and management.  I always urge my clients to sign up, please do yourself a favour and do the same.

One of my favourite points of Tom’s is  “it’s not about how, it’s about who“.    This simple phrase goes to the heart of a change in thinking managers at all levels can apply if they want to provide better value-adding leadership to their people.

A manager who is spending their time thinking about how their people need to do something is not actually doing their full job.   This is for a simple reason – managers are paid to exercise their judgement on what needs to be done in their area to fulfill the needs of the organisation, then decide who is going to do it.

An example Read more…