|  |  |  | | | | | | SECTION I – The D in L.E.A.D.E.R.S.: DEVELOPMENT | | |
“The Good Get Better, the Best Excel!”
How many of you went in to work this morning hoping that today everything would go perfectly? Your staff will be productive… there will be no errors, no complaints from the customers or the boss, and all work will be done on time on budget… there will not be a single personnel problem because the entire staff will be humming as a team. Such days are rare in any work environment, but they can and do happen. “Perfect days” happen when the team members are all working to achieve mutual goals and they are all excellent performers. Most leaders have never experienced a perfect day. Indeed, many years ago, a cynical but probably all-too accurate friend of mine said that his definition of management was, “…one damn thing after another.” I laughed when I first heard that, but every time I have used that expression with groups over the years, I get this knowing nod that clearly suggests that there is painful truth in the comment. Being “In Charge” means being responsible for a sequence of challenges that need resolution. In short, each day is spent going from one problem to another. What can we do to make the transition from the status quo of endless problems to the productive hum of perfect days? Some would say: nothing. There is no chance to be in the “perfect world” because life is tough and unfair, and every job involves reckoning with reality. Others, and I include myself in that group, believe that (although perfection is probably never achievable) striving for perfection is a rational goal. Unfortunately, most of us do not strive for perfection; instead we settle for goals well short of that. A discussion on “striving to be the best” is a subject for another day, when I address continuous improvement as a core value for all leaders. Today’s focus is on helping your staff constantly strive to be better. Every leader must be committed to helping the associates to grow and improve. This requires a commitment not just to giving your staff the opportunity to achieve, but also to developing their capabilities. As leaders, we must commit a major part of our normal work day to helping our staff grow. We must teach, coach and support the growth of our associates. Anything less would be neglecting our core leadership responsibility. Development, the center word in our L.E.A.D.E.R.S. mnemonic, is the central concept in the journey towards being Leaders. Everything we discussed before builds up to Development; everything after follows on Development. Developing staff is hard work. If you are developing staff, you are not going to go about your own work and enjoy a day of perfection. You are helping your staff to find mistakes, avoid mistakes or recover from mistakes. Your day can only get better, and come closer to that perfect day, if you are working with your staff to grow and improve. If you want a day where you can enjoy the pleasure of no problems, then you must invest in your staff so that they can develop their knowledge, skills and even attitudes that affect performance. Fail to invest in them and you will fail to reap the rewards of peak performance by your unit. | | | SECTION II – Mini Case – “Leave Me Alone ” | | |
Janet was into her third week of work as the supervisor of accounts receivable and she was having a tough time. Fran, her most senior clerk, was simply not responding to some feedback that Janet had given her last week. Janet had watched the error reports coming from the system and had found that Fran had the highest reject rate of any processing clerk in the section. In her feedback session last week, Janet told Fran what she had found and all she heard from Fran was, “Leave me alone, I have been doing this for seven years and I know what I am doing.” Janet did not know what to say, so she just walked away.
This week, the quality reports from the system indicated that Fran’s error and reject rates were even worse. Janet decided that she would talk to her boss about the problem and when she did, her boss told her that Fran has always had high reject rates, but that she always caught up on her backlog. He also added that she was a loyal and reliable employee who had great attendance and had stepped in when he needed help with overtime work. Janet asked her boss if Fran had ever been to the new formal training program on the accounting system and he said no. “In fact,” he said, “Fran was asked to go about ten months ago and she refused, saying that she was too busy at the job to take the time off. I agreed with her that she was busy and told her we would work her into another session, but we never did find the time. You probably need to try to find a convenient time to get her to the training.&rdquo! ; Janet went back to her desk and remained frustrated. Now she knew that she was not going to get much support from her boss, other than his agreement that Fran should go to the training. Question: What should Janet do now? The Czar: This is not an uncommon situation, and unfortunately, the attitude expressed by Janet’s boss is not unusual either. Janet really has only two choices: 1) Leave Fran alone and hope that she does not get any worse or 2) Work with Fran to help her understand and correct her problem. Most leaders will take the first option, and assume that they are taking the lower-risk course of action. It could be the lower-risk choice for Janet, but that is assuming that she expects to be in this job for a short time, and that her current boss remains her boss during that time. I could not recommend that she follow that path, but we all know how tempting it is. Option two is really the only correct scenario. It will be a challenge, and it comes with the risks that Fran will complain to Janet’s boss at a minimum, and possibly even quit. Despite the risks, Janet must commit to helping develop Fran. It is essential for Fran to attend training; and if Janet can arrange it within the budget, she should eliminate the possibility for excuses by having someone take over Fran’s work during the training period. Once she has been through training, it will be much easier for Fran to focus on the process she should be following and to ensure that she is using the system correctly. There is no fast solution to this problem, especially given the position that Janet’s boss has taken. Janet should go slowly, but she must proceed with efforts to help Fran grow. It is as essential for Fran’s long-term development as it is for the well-being of the unit.
| | | SECTION III – Tips From The Czar | | |
There is no easy way to get associates to commit to training unless the leader sets the pattern early. In the preceding case, Janet made the mistake of not acting immediately to get her associate trained. Most leaders have access to training programs for their staff. The smaller organizations may rely on “On the Job Training (OJT)” more than larger companies, but every organization has some process or resources for training new staff members. If you have formal training programs, then you should be firmly committed to sending all of your staff through those programs. You can not allow the pressure of “getting the work out” serve as an excuse to deny them, you and the unit of the knowledge and skills developed by training. When it’s possible, new associates should attend training well before they take on a full work load in the unit. It is much easier to give them up during the time that training req! uires before you have become “addicted” to their output.
| | | SECTION IV – Ask The Czar | | |
Paige: I have been the supervisor of my unit for two years and I have never been trained. What should I do?
The Czar: It is a sad reality that many supervisors have not been trained in the technical aspects of their job; but the more serious problem is the lack of leadership training. I can not tell from your question, but assuming that you have not been trained in either aspect, the following is my suggestion to you: Start by asking your boss if they have any training in the organization that would be helpful to you. My guess is that there is training of some type, but that you were not assigned to participate because your boss had the thought “I can’t have her go to training because I need her here and there’s no one to step in and supervise her section”. If you get a response like that from your boss, then I suggest that you go to HR and ask them what training is available. You can then go back to your boss with a request to go to a specific program, and make it easy on hi! m or her by proposing a plan for covering your work unit while you are gone. If that does not work, then you are going to need to create your own development plan that will enable you to grow on your own. Some activities for you to consider include attending seminars or other courses, finding a mentor, and reading books that will help you to improve and learn. It may not seem fair, but it is essential for you to take responsibility for your own growth. I will talk more about this in an upcoming issue of the newsletter, so stayed tuned!
Ted: I have been working with a really weak associate for more than a year now to try to boost his performance, but he just isn’t responding. I’m wondering what should I do at this point? The Czar: Make certain that you have tried a variety ways to assist his development. Sometimes we continue teaching or coaching somebody precisely the same way, over and over again, even when they do not get it. I have found that as a teacher or coach, it is essential that I try different approaches because not every one learns in the same way. Try using different examples, different times of the day or perhaps having somebody else do the coaching. It is possible that a new approach will be exactly what your associate needs. If you can honestly say that you have tried all of the reasonable approaches, and that there is still no improvement, then it may be time to have a counseling session with your associate. Although it’s difficult, it may be time to say, “I’m sorry, but I do not think this is the right job for you.” You may be very surprised to find that he already knows that, and you are simply voicing his own frustration. If that is the case, then the two of you can work on solving problem. Perhaps he is better suited for another job in your unit, or a different unit in your organization. There are times when you truly can not help somebody improve. That is not defeat or failure on your part, it is simply reality and you owe it to your associate, yourself and your organization to deal with the mismatch. Send your questions to gerry@the-czar.com
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