The real job of middle management

Matt Darling invented a system called Smart Ward in the most tragic of circumstances.  It puts touchscreens into hospitals which look like the ones in hospitality where staff use wristbands to identify themselves then can enter and access data.  The result is less duplication and more reliable information, allowing nurses to do what they’re good at – nursing, and reducing mistakes due to admin overload.

ABC ran this article the day before Christmas, and a warning that the photo of Matt’s little girl may bring a tear to your eye.

Here’s the point:  the decision to implement a system such as this is why middle management exists. 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…

Pay grades – how to make them work

ASO4, APS2, PSO3…and countless other classifications are all around the world, denoting the different gradings that determine what someone is paid.  Government is a common spot where this is found, but in no way is government alone.

The concept itself is fine.  The original work of organisational scientist Elliott Jaques studied pay levels and the findings were clear that it was believed to be fair that those doing more complex work receive higher levels of pay..

So why is it the case that government departments have the reputation for bureaucracy, frustration and an inability to deliver? 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…

Why Mick Malthouse is having fun

I think Mick Malthouse is having fun.  Mick is the coach of  Carlton, a team in the Australian Football League which is the top competition in the land.  He took on the job this season and I think overall he is having a good time due to two structural reasons that are useful for us to pay attention to.

The first is clarity of accountability.  I doubt Mick has Read more…