When I was in business school, I thought management was
easy. Organizational behavior, business statistics, finance, HR policies – no problem.
When I took my first real job as a
manager at a fast food restaurant, my perspective changed quickly.
Management tasks
are indeed easy. What makes a traditional manager’s job difficult, IMHO, is
dealing with uncertainty, irrational behavior and carrying the responsibility to press
forward.
I suspect these are common challenges for people anywhere,
regardless of job status or position. But I bet managers and supervisors encounter
these challenges more often.
Uncertainty
I think dealing with uncertainty becomes easier with
experience, but it remains difficult and uncomfortable. A manager’s
job is to eat uncertainty. I’ve came
across three tips I like for dealing with uncertainty; they all require a
little introspection. 1. Accept the Impact Bias: We tend to think future outcomes (good
or bad) will have a greater effect than they actually have. 2. Accept the
Risk/Reward Bias: We see all the things that could go wrong instead of focusing
on the long-term. 3. Stay grounded.
Irrational Behavior
One tip for dealing with irrational behavior is to
remember that the person who is exhibiting the behavior may not be aware of
doing so. It helps you, the manager, to think more clearly and be consistent. If the
employee’s behavior is unwanted, make a note in your performance log. You can also coach the employee and communicate/clarify your
expectations. Keep in mind that it's possible you are the one acting irrationally.
Responsibility To Press Forward
Productivity consultants, time management courses, willpower
and determination – I’m not sure what makes a person press forward, but it’s
part of the job. You can’t just quit. Even in the midst of adversity; equipment
failure, layoffs, personal drama, red ink – the show must go on. And forward, with focus on the future. Dan
Pink has identified three elements of true motivation: autonomy, mastery, and
purpose. I suppose that the ability
to press forward comes natural as you become more connected to your
organization, its values and people.
What do you think? What makes your job challenging? How do you overcome those challenges?
The bar in the middle of this image seems
to blend from light gray to dark gray.
In reality, the horizontal bar is solid gray and only the
background is a color gradient.
Our brains are quite susceptible to deceit. Just
hold a pencil up to one eye and look out the window – the pencil will appear see-through
because your brain fills in missing information to complete the view. Magicians and illusionists have taken advantage of these
shortcomings of our minds for centuries.
If you think you are generally less deluded than other
people, think again. A delusion is similar to a stealth computer virus – it operates
unconsciously. Our brain’s quest to eliminate cognitive dissonance is one such
phenomenon.
What is cognitive
dissonance?
Cognitive relates to mental processes such as thinking,
reasoning, forming opinions, and remembering.
The word dissonance describes a lack of harmony, a discord,
clash or tension.
Cognitive dissonance is a 'bad feeling' that arises from holding two conflicting beliefs,
attitudes, etc. at one time.
For example, a manager’s belief that he/she is a "well-liked,
reputable and respected manager who inspires employees to do their best” is
dissonant with information that suggests a dramatic increase in employee theft.
How does my mind
respond to cognitive dissonance?
If cognitive dissonance exists, we are programmed to reduce
it.
The manager in the example is
motivated to reduce the psychological tension by
Changing thoughts or behavior
Adding thoughts
For example, the manager might think, "The data suggests employee theft, but it must be something else. Is it possible that one
of our suppliers is ripping us off?"
Our motivation to minimize cognitive dissonance can cause us
to behave irrationally, justify a behavior or attitude, or experience other delusions
in the form of cognitive biases.
How can I use this
information?
Next time you catch yourself rationalizing (or feeling guilty,
embarrassed, angry) [1], try to identify the two underlying, clashing cognitions.
Understanding and accepting our natural responses to
cognitive dissonance can help you
think more clearly when dealing with irrational
employee behavior
increase self-awareness and make better
decisions faster
Heard on the radio this weekend: "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by The Rolling Stones. I thought it was a great example of an opportunity-based narrative - uplifting and comforting.
You can't always get what you want You can't always get what you want You can't always get what you want But if you try sometimes you just might find You get what you need
Management processes may be broken,
our economy is struggling and long-term value creation has taken a backseat,
but we can turn these pressures into
opportunities.
John Hagel, co-chairman of the Deloitte Center for the Edge, shares incredible insights on his blog about the world we live in
and our natural responses to facing times of high uncertainty.
He has painted a picture of hope and collaboration, and I
would like to share it with you here, in form of an actual picture.
You can use the ideas below to expand the long-term mindset in your organization. Short-termism can be overcome by understanding its triggers and by bringing together three elements: opportunity based narratives, platforms and people.
This past weekend I took my 2007 Kia Spectra to Tire Kingdom
to get my rear brake pads replaced. I also asked the friendly attendant if they could repair the wire connections that caused my air conditioning system to not
work.
I had already taken off the glove compartment and unscrewed
the damaged part so it was visible to the attendant. It was obvious that the
part needed repair:
The friendly attendant said: "We would have to run an a/c
system diagnostics test first.”
Excuse me? The wires are NOT connected. No diagnostics test
necessary!
"Ma’am, I know, I could fix this for you on the side, but
Tire Kingdom’s policy is that we have to run a systems check before we do any
work there.”
REALLY?!
What a horrible policy. Just in time for Halloween, I
suppose.
Still frustrated about idiotic policies, I walked over to
IHOP (International House of Pancakes) to get breakfast.
"Hello, my name is Katrina and I will be your server today. One
of our specials is….” [blah blah]
Whatever happened to real customer service? Not the kind of service that
leaves you feeling sorry for the waiter/waitress who acts like a servant and seems
afraid of … afraid of what or whom?
Maybe the ghastly ghosts of Halloween. Or maybe the company that considers human resources just that… resources, mind- and emotionless…
expendable zombies.
Where do you draw the line for you and your team?
● critical thinking and employee autonomy vs. policies and rules
● authenticity vs. scripted service
By the way, I fixed the part myself by stripping the wires and buying new wire connectors from Advance Auto Parts for about $6.
If you have gone to business school, I am sure at least one professor stressed to you the importance of self development. I graduated in 2006 and remember that personal growth tools were a popular topic at the Langdale College of Business. My sales management teacher had me hooked on John Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership video tape series and Dale Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends and Influence People.
I learned to ask many questions, listen to people, give compliments, and to theoretically make people think that my idea was their idea... Five years later, my concept of self development is quite different. It is now a concept of developing one’s awareness and understanding of the self and others.
Awareness of Self
Self-Awareness means ‘catching yourself in the act’. As in: "At this present moment I am angry and not thinking straight.” It also means learning how you come across to other people. Imagine you were part of a reality TV series – which ‘character’ would you be?
It helps to ask other people how they perceive you. When I was an exchange student in eleventh grade (from Germany,) I was surprised to learn that my new American friends described me as rude, manipulative, selfish and arrogant. Self-awareness 101.
With more experience comes more self-awareness. My first few resumes included phrases like Fast learner and Excellent time management skills. For me, that is and was never true.
Understanding of Self
Here are the four preferences that make up a person’s personality type, according to the theories of Carl Jung and the personality assessment tool developed by the mother-daughter team Myers and Briggs. Can you determine what your four-letter personality is?
Where does your energy lie? Extraversion/Introversion
Extraverts seek breadth of knowledge and influence, while introverts seek depth of knowledge and influence.
Extraverts recharge and get their energy from spending time with people, while introverts recharge and get their energy from spending time alone.
How do you gather information? Sensing/Intuition (Function 1)
Individuals who prefer sensing are more likely to trust information that is in the present, tangible and can be understood by the five senses, while those who prefer intuition tend to trust information that is more abstract or theoretical and can be associated with other information by seeking a wider context or pattern.
Sensing individuals prefer to look for details and facts. For them, the meaning is in the data. On the other hand, individuals who prefer intuition may be more interested in future possibilities. For them, the meaning is in how the data relates to the pattern or theory.
How do you make decisions? Thinking/Feeling (Function 2)
Those who prefer thinking tend to decide things from a more detached standpoint, measuring the decision by what seems reasonable, logical, causal, consistent, and matching a given set of rules.
Those who prefer feeling tend to come to decisions by associating or empathizing with the situation, looking at it 'from the inside' and weighing the situation to achieve, on balance, the greatest harmony, consensus and fit, considering the needs of the people involved.
How do you prefer to interact in the outside world? Judging/Perceiving (judging here does not mean being judgmental)
Some people interact with the outside world when they are taking in information (function 1), using the Sensing preference or the Intuitive preference. Other people do their interacting when they are making decisions (function 2), using a Thinking preference or a Feeling preference.
People who prefer the judging function seem to favor a planned or orderly way of life, like to have things settled and organized, feel more comfortable when decisions are made, and like to bring life under control as much as possible.
People who prefer the perceiving function seem to favor a flexible and spontaneous way of life, and like to understand and adapt to the world rather than organize it.
There are sixteen ‘possible’ personality types. They each have different preferences. Not one type is right or wrong.
As a manager, it is your job to decrease drama and increase profits. Don’t create an army of introverted salespeople or offer Lady Gaga a job as an accountant.
Most importantly, learn to understand other people’s language without passing judgment.
"XYZ is a great idea,” can mean two different things coming from two different people:
Person 1: Let’s do this. Where do I start?
Person 2: I like that possibility. Let’s make a plan.
If you want to become good at managing all (psychological) types of people, start with knowing and understanding yourself and your weaknesses, then learn to acknowledge, accept and appreciate other people’s differences and strengths.
PS: A personality type does not have to define you indefinitely. Interesting video on Ted.com: What makes you, you?
When I visit a restaurant and pick up a dirty, sticky menu, I
can’t help but think, "Does nobody care around here?!!”
Then I remember that these little things are often influenced by culture, not rulebooks. And culture
is a tricky animal.
About as tricky as this one:
How can you communicate to your team that
[fill-in-the-blank] is important without creating tons of new
rules, performance logs and performance metrics (that can take up a
lot of your time…)?
Here are nine ideas to getting things done without
ordering or otherwise using up leverage. Some might not fit your style – that’s
cool.
Build
Pride.
● Provide training, show how
different parts of the business are interconnected, offer career development
opportunities.
● Give employees a
chance to show that they are autonomous and accountable, strive to balance job
skills and challenges.
● Verbally (and specifically) recognize what a difference an employee makes.
Build
Goodwill.
● Respect
other people’s time and contributions, don’t pretend to be listening when you
are not.
● Establish credibility by honoring
your word, being yourself, and admitting when you’re wrong or don’t know
something.
● Communicate expectations, be
consistent.
Build
Commitment.
● Put team goals first and support
your team to succeed.
● Encourage time
to reflect and to build a life away from work.
● Connect employees and customers (and
yourself) to a higher purpose.
What else can a manager do to communicate importance? What
fits your style?
Fresh out of college or professional certification school
in your chosen field you've got a shiny new piece of paper that says you're
qualified - that is until you have 20 employees staring you in the face looking
for direction and one who barely shows up at all. What to do? There must be a
manual for this part of life, right? Well, not exactly right, until now.
Introducing the Management Training Directory, a service of WhatDoYouWantFromThem.com - The informal network for managers.
Scenario #2 might see you as a senior manager in a
position you understand but with staff training needs that you have never
encountered before. Where to go? What to do? Again, the Management Training
Directory is for you. Chock full of helpful blogs, references and listings, managers or company representatives can search by industry, training need and location and
it's all absolutely free.
Let's
say you're looking for mentoring services, degrees and accredited
certifications, onsite workshops, free resources, or online training? And on
what topics? Negotiation, handling data, self-awarenesss, meetings,
recruitment, managing teams, diversity, finance, strategic planning? That's all
been pre-sorted for you and so much more at the Management
Training Directory. And it's all free
for both managers and service providers.
If
you or your company provides a professional training service for management,
make sure to register at http://www.managementtrainingdirectory.com/listing.
And if you're a manager looking for that little extra career boost, make sure
to check out the listings. It just might be that personal career manual the
company forgot to give you on orientation day.
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Where does your energy lie? 
