We had an interesting question this week on our management course that opened up a good discussion on leadership.

The question came from a new manager who had been promoted from among his peers and was now managing people who were much more knowledgeable and experienced than he was. His question was how should he manage such people.

My reply was…”Don’t!”

By that, I meant don’t try to manage them. Managing someone who has more ability, experience or knowledge than you do has its pitfalls and its benefits. By managing them, you stifle their creativity and innovation. I asked the manager why he felt it necessary to actually manage the knowledgeable ex-peer. That opened up a new topic as to how much autonomy and responsibility the person should have, and if he should be managed at all.

The group suggested that he should lead the other person, allowing him to show leadership qualities himself. Trying to ‘manage’ wouldn’t work.

Instead, the leader should:

* Discuss what roles and responsibilities the person should have, and agree on how those should be carried out

* Agree any targets that should be set for the subordinate

* Give them the freedom and authority to achieve those targets themselves, with the manager holding the resource purse strings and the accountability

* Set parameters for the ex-peer to work to, but allow them to control it

* Concentrate on results rather than methods

* Use the experience of the ex-peer to drive things forward, supporting their decisions and allowing them to create further opportunities

* Encourage them to share their experiences and learn from them

* Ensure you, as manager, take full responsibility for their results, and help them achieve higher goals if possible

What you’re trying to do is create the environment for the ex-peer to still contribute to the success of the department without feeling that he has been overlooked or that his experience is of no value. On the contrary, it is of great value and should be seen to be that way by all team members.

So, don’t try and manage this kind of employee…keep their motivation and creativity going by showing excellence in leadership.

Thanks again

Mark

Mark Williams

Head of Training

MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

 (Images by Renjith Krishnan)

What is your vision for your company, your department or yourself? Now, before you think this is going to be missive full of woo-woo and incantations, I’m talking about those common goals and compelling views of the future that help others, as well as yourself, relate to personal goals and those of the business as a whole. Such visions connect people to a common aspiration and purpose.

Many companies we visit to consult with have their visions on display, often in the reception or boardroom. But, whenever we ask how they are being applied within everyday interactions, we are often disappointed by the replies. The visions and missions are lofty aspirations, but the quality of the integration into the workplace leaves a lot to be desired.

So how can you turn the vision into reality, so it isn’t just left as a set of platitudes, dreamed up in some long-forgotten directors’ away-day?

To establish an effective strategy to make the vision work for your people, ask yourself these questions:

* What does the vision mean for what we do and the ways we behave in our part of the company?

* If it’s a centrally-located or international vision, how can we give ourselves a local sense of mission and commitment?

* What can we do on a daily basis that contributes toward achieving the vision?

* What do we do in our daily work that impedes us in achieving the vision?

* What feedback can we as a team give to management about how we can improve the application of the vision?

* How can I personally set the example to others about how to live up to the vision?

The answers to these questions require you to be prepared to commit in practical and behavioural terms to the applications of the vision. You must share the elements of the vision to all team members to make sure it really means something, and isn’t lost in the ether. You must put it across in an inspiring and motivational way, so your people want to commit to it. And you must constantly re-inforce the vision.

Make sure you involve the team in these discussions. Resist the temptation simply to tell them what they should do. To get buy-in, they must be involved in all the discussions so they really feel involved in the way forward.

The vision is the forward-looking direction the company wants to go. If it’s inspiring to others, it drives momentum and motivation. So if it’s a good vision, it’s worth investing your time into making it become reality.

Thanks again

Mark 

Mark Williams

Head of Training

MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

Today’s economy has far-reaching effects on businesses, and we recognise that one of the key areas that are neglected because of cost implications is that of people-development.

Many managers consider the only way they can develop their staff is by sending them on courses, which can prove costly if they are not followed up and not integrated into the current work environment. So how can you ensure that any training your staff carry out is proved valuable by being instilled in every-day work?

On-The-Job Training, or OJT, can be linked to classroom and other types of formal learning. The basics consist of:

• Showing trainees what to do
• Watching them do the job
• Talking through what they did, and how they might do it better
• Repeating these processes until they get it right
• Frequently linking the instructions with written procedures like training manuals

So, is OTJ the right approach? Well, it depends. You can identify the following points that will give you an idea:

• People are going through off-the-job training that might be done better by OTJ
• Informal OTJ activities are already going on that could be made more formal
• There are new initiatives or changes that might be facilitated by OTJ
• There are staff who could make good OTJ trainers

If you decide that OTJ may help your staff develop their skills quicker and give them more confidence, then remember the importance of:

• Getting higher-management support
• Starting on a small scale, building on success and learning from failures
• Getting the basics correct

Then you can determine how to operate and develop an effective OTJ system. Make sure:

• It operates consistently between different areas of the business
• Assessment and verification processes function properly
• The opportunities for expanding OTJ go to all areas of the business
• You see the benefits of combining it with other forms of training

Many of your staff will enjoy the benefits of e-learning and will request opportunities to enhance their learning through OTJ and mentoring. Give them the chance to expand their knowledge through different forms of training and development. That way, you will see improvements in their performance and highlight how everyone can benefit from developing their skills in many areas.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Course

(Image by SixNine Pixels)

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You’ll have heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy, Hertzberg’s Dual-Factor theory and McClelland’s Achievement theory when it comes to motivation, but one new idea stands out among the rest because it epitomises the very real concept of intrinsic motivation within all of us.

Daniel Pink argues that there are three main elements of internal motivation, which he calls ‘Autonomy’, ‘Mastery’ and ‘Purpose’. These may seem pretty much common sense, but many managers forget how internal drive to motivation may be. Pink’s ideas may well identify why external motivators don’t work effectively all the time. Let’s take a look at the three ideas and see if we can marry up why they are so important:

Firstly, Autonomy

Our default-setting, say, Pink, is to be autonomous and self-directed. Most management today conspires to change this setting from intrinsic to extrinsic motivation. To encourage intrinsic motivation, autonomy is the first requirement.

People need autonomy over task (what they do), time (when they do it), team (who they do it with), and technique (how they do it).

Then, there’s Mastery

While external motivation techniques require compliance, Pink says that the latest motivation requires engagement. Only engagement can produce mastery, becoming better at something that matters. Mastery isn’t just the ability to be able to do things well; it revolves around being able to carry out optimal experiences where the challenges we face help us to grow and stretch our capabilities.

Smart organisations supplement day-to-day tasks with stretching tasks, not too hard but not too easy. There are three elements to this drive to Mastery:

It is a ‘mind-set’ – it requires the capacity to see the abilities you possess as infinitely improvable.
It is a ‘stretch’ – it demands effort and deliberate practice.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             And it’s ‘progressive’ – it’s impossible to fully realise, which makes it frustrating, challenging and attractive, all at the same time.

Purpose

Human-beings seek purpose – a cause greater and more attractive than just themselves – and businesses are starting to realise this. Purpose-maximisation is taking its place alongside profit- maximisation, expressing itself in three ways:

Goals that use profit to reach purpose,

words that emphasise more than self-interest,

and policies that allow people to match their work with their passion.

These three ideas may well prove why many businesses can’t get the most out of their people, because they are relying too heavily on the extrinsic forces to get people to be driven. But more force is always exerted when the person wants something they themselves have decided go for. So Pink’s ideas add value to the motivation debate and allow us to se what is really driving peeople’s performance.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

I had an interesting email from a reader recently, asking if there was something wrong with her!

She said she worked in a positive environment, where she was often getting positive reinforcement for what she was doing. Her boss was continuously praising her for being on time with her attendance or project inputs or meeting minutes. Yet, this lady didn’t feel as great as she thought she should. Something she said in her email hit home to me: “I feel that I am being manipulated, as if my manager had been on a course that told him to keep on praising people and this would motivate everyone. But I don’t feel good when he does it all the time. Am I wrong to feel this way, Sean?”

Interesting, eh? This lady was in a positive environment, but not feeling positive. Why?

Well, it may have something to do with our third myth of management; the fact that positive reinforcement practices often fail because they are dealing with behaviours, not performance optimisation.

Behaviour modification was popularised by psychologist B.F. Skinner in the 1930′s. His basic ideas revolved around the facts that when employees received positive reinforcement, they are more likely to repeat the behaviour that gained the praise in the first place. And negative reinforcement would force the employee to engage in that particular behaviour less often.

However, this often feels fake and manipulative. The lady quoted above could subconsciously see that the praise wasn’t really genuine. If it was, she would have accepted it for what it was. Positive reinforcement often affects the employee’s extrinsic motivation, but rarely their intrinsic motivation.

Coming to work on time because you know that if you don’t you will be reprimanded is an example of extrinsic motivation – you are motivated to do something because of what will result at the end of it.

Intrinsic motivation comes from within and is based on a personally-held belief.

Extrinsic motivation is compliance-based; intrinsic motivation is interest-based. Positive reinforcement systems encourage and improve extrinsic motivation, but not intrinsic.

As a manager, you need to find ways to create environments that improve people’s intrinsic motivation, things that will drive them from the inside, so their passion, drive, ingenuity, creativity and energy are tapped into. Manipulating by continuous praise won’t accomplish this.

Remember to mix the two, and you should get better results.

Thanks again

Sean