Working With Others

A number of years ago, I wrote an article for The Albuquerque Journal titled “How to Set a Bad Manager on a Better Path”. At that time, I remarked that if one did a Google search on the keywords “bad manager” there would be more than 7 million hits.  Now the same search yields more than four times that number.  And what is more striking is that the websites devoted to the topic of “bad managers” have gone from telling stories about them to actually rating them – and naming names!

One such site is http://ebosswatch.com.  The basic premise of this site is that workplace bullying is fast becoming THE critical work place issue and that “nobody should have to work for a jerk”. So this site allows employees to rate their bosses and lists the results by name and organization.  Since I spend a lot of my time teaching new and experienced managers how to be great managers, I did a quick search of my client organizations and fortunately found them missing from the list!

Bad managers have been around for decades. And study after study indicates that employees leave organizations for reasons related to a bad boss. Conversely, more recent research from within major companies shows that great managers help employees feel totally engaged and willing to go that extra mile. So why does the problem persist?

I think there are at least three reasons:

1. Organizations promote outstanding individual contributors into the management role by making the assumption that a great individual contributor will also be a great manager. The reality is that being a successful manager requires an entirely different set of competencies than being a successful individual contributor.
2. Many organizations take a “they’ll figure it out approach” to training new managers.  Unless an organization helps a new manager become self-aware, value style differences, manage performance, and realize that they are now accountable for getting work done through others, the probability of that new manager being successful is left totally to chance.
3. Many organizations are scared to deal with a jerk.  Unlike fine wine, bad managers will not improve with age.  Organizations need to hold managers accountable for not only what business results they achieve, but how they achieve them and deal swiftly with problem managers.

I am interested in hearing your thoughts about the causes and cures for the persistent problem of bad managers.

Sometimes we take things way too seriously.  As winter drags on in some (actually all) parts of of the US, I thought it might be helpful to look on the lighter side.

I have a memory trace from my graduate school days of courses that I took in post-modern philosophy and ethics. I recall the professors developing the argument that that in a perfect world we would not need any laws because people would respect each other and get along just fine without them.  Last week I happened to be listening to Twin Cities talk show host Joe Soucheray on KSTP 1500AM.  The voice over at the beginning of Soucheray’s show talked about “Minnesota – the state where it is not legal to do anything”. There are certainly a lot of laws and local ordinances on the books here in Minnesota.  And as a rule things work pretty well here. However, after I heard that intro piece on the radio, I wondered if there were some laws that were originally intended to promote a civil society and help people safely work and play well with together, that were now unneeded or even absurd.  In my quick and dirty research I came across www.dumblaws.com.  Here is what I found:

In Minnesota…

• It is illegal to stand around any building without a good reason to be there. (I’m in trouble some days.)
• A person may not cross state lines with a duck atop his head. (I can’t imagine why one would want to!)
• It is illegal to sleep naked. (It does get cold here in the winter!)
• All men driving motorcycles must wear shirts. (N.B. This law says nothing about women.)
• Citizens may not enter Wisconsin with a chicken on their head. (I know that my Brazen Careerist friends in Madison will sleep better knowing this!)
• All bathtubs must have feet. (Good to know if you are remodeling your bathroom.)

And there are some amusing Minnesota city laws as well.  For example, in Minnetonka, driving a truck with dirty tires is considered a public nuisance. In St. Cloud, hamburgers may not be eaten on Sundays.  And in Minneapolis, red cars may not drive down Lake Street.  I wonder if my good friend, Laura Goodrich of Seeing Red Cars fame knows this!

At any rate, I got a good laugh out of doing this piece and hope you did, too.  Feel free to share any “dumb laws” in your city or state as well.

Yesterday I saw the most recent Minnesota Film Arts offering -Frederick Wiseman’s documentary, La Danse.  This film is a close-up portrayal of the Paris Opera Ballet from rehearsal to performance.  There is no narration.  Instead this is a cinema verite look at the ballet company.  It is certainly worth seeing, although as the comments to the New York Times review note, it is badly in need of editing and the choice of the featured ballets was – well – bizarre.

There are two things that even those uninitiated to ballet will notice. First, the physical demands of this art form are brutal. You see the rehearsals and the attention to detail in putting together a dance that during performance looks effortless. And you also witness dancers with their feet taped and their legs wrapped in ace bandages repeating segments of a dance over and over even when totally fatigued.  Then there is an extended discussion of about the life span of a ballet dancer and a provision in the pension laws of France that provides retirement funds to a dancer at the age of 40 because the demands of dancing professionally at this level prevent men and women from careers as dancers beyond that age.

Second, in a world of stars, what struck me after watching this documentary is that without a cast of thousands, the principals are nothing. You see everything from seamstresses meticulously sewing costumes, and janitors cleaning the performance hall after the audience has departed to the development staff trying to figure out how to pamper large scale donors to the company.  And then you realize why a ticket to the Paris Opera Ballet is $475!

How many people do you count on in order for you to do what you do for a living?

This is a guest post from Matt Cheuvront and is part of the Guest Blog Grand Tour over at Life Without Pants. Want to learn more about Matt Cheuvront & see how far the rabbit hole goes? Subscribe to the Life Without Pants RSS feed & follow him on Twitter to keep in touch!

Greetings from an over-entitled, conceited, Generation Y know-it-all! Nice to meet you , I’m the twenty-four year old guy on your team that Bossman just brought on board and you’re not quite sure how to work with¦

I get it , I understand that Generation Y gets a bad rep. We’re not willing to settle , we are habitual askers of “why” and we always want our work to have meaning , and yes, sometimes we think we’re smarter than you and don’t give you enough credit where credit is due. But hey, maybe we deserve a little respect as well.

Inter-office politics are never fun , I’ve seen my fair share of drama and gossip in the workplace, even in my short term in the “career world”. It can get ugly, even uglier when you don’t take time to understand what your team wants and needs, and how to best get everyone working on the same bandwagon together.

For what it’s worth , I’m here to help , I’m here to tell you that all youngin’s like me aren’t that bad , that we can bring a lot to the table , but we want you to bring just as much. Here are three MAJOR points to focus on when working with the Generation Y community.

Stop stifling our creativity

Four words: Micromanagement sucks, encourage innovation. People my age want meaningful work , we want something we can invest our all into. The minute you start breathing down our neck , the minute your stop trusting us to do good work , is the minute that trust is breached and the creative juices come to a screeching halt. This isn’t so much a Generation Y thing as it is an “everyone” thing. When you hire someone , you hire someone assuming you can trust them to do their job, right? So what’s the point in hand-holding and micromanaging every step of the way? Loosen the reigns a bit and, until you have to, give your team some freedom to think creatively, set goals, and meet them on their own.

We want to learn from you

We’re young, we’re brash, and we think we know everything. Well heads up , we don’t. Not at all. And to top it all off , we actually want to learn from you. Generation Y (speaking collectively here) is hungry for knowledge , we read , we blog , we network with others, and for what? To learn – challenging ourselves to try new things and think in new ways. So when you bring us on board, you’ve got to be willing to help us learn. Not only will it help someone like me mature and grow into the role , it will help you by developing your team , setting them up for long term success. Don’t shrug us off as know-it-alls, be open to helping your younger team members learn and grow.

We’re the same as you

Really , I get tired of hearing that Generation Y is so different , that we are the ones who want meaningful work, wanting to be trusted and craving freedom. Come on…that isn’t Generation Y, that’s everyone. This post isn’t even about Gen Y (are you starting to get it now?) , it’s about effectively running any business with any demographic. The number one way to build a successful business is to establish outstanding relationships , both internally and with your clients/customers. And every relationship starts with trust. You trust me , I trust you , and we all live happily ever after.

What thoughts do you have about Generation Y in the workplace? Do you have any examples from experience?

“For over 90 years, The Conference Board has created and disseminated knowledge about management and the marketplace to help businesses strengthen their performance and better serve society. The Conference Board operates as a global independent membership organization working in the public interest. It publishes information and analysis, makes economics-based forecasts and assesses trends, and facilitates learning by creating dynamic communities of interest that bring together senior executives from around the world.” (From Conference Board Website)

On Tuesday January 5, 2010, The Conference Board released the results of a survey that indicated the lowest level of job satisfaction among American Workers in the last 22 years. Survey results showed that only 45% of Americans are satisfied with their work. What is even more significant is that 64% of workers under age 25 are unhappy in their jobs. In some workplaces, it is challenging to work and play well with others on a good day; it is particularly difficult to do so when you hate your job.

The last time job satisfaction was this low was back in the late 1980’s when most American workers were experiencing the results of the Reagan Administration’s “trickle-down economics”. And on October 19, 1987 (Black Monday), the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 508 points or 22.61% in ONE day. It was also a period that saw the beginnings of process re-engineering in which American Corporations began to systematically eliminate something called “non-value-added jobs”. The pessimism that stemmed from both events certainly took its toll on job satisfaction.

One of the conclusions of the current study is that this level of job dissatisfaction it could stifle innovation and hurt American industry’s competitiveness and productivity. And it may lead to older workers being less likely to share their knowledge and experience with younger ones. I find this last statement to be the most disturbing.

Jason Dorsey, the self-proclaimed “Gen Y Guy” talks about the fact that Gen Y does not want the Baby Boomers to retire because they know things Gen Y does not – like long division and state capitals! Now Jason’s talks are very entertaining and everyone usually has a good laugh. However, the reality is that Boomers do know things that Gen Y does not that directly impact the sustainability of American business organizations. If that knowledge transfer between the older and younger workers does not occur, it will be difficult for companies to continue to move forward. Yes, Gen Y workers seek the opportunity to “show what they can do”, however, if they lack an understanding of the context of how a company works and the rationale for why things have occurred in the past, they may truly be “rebels without a cause”.

One of the toughest things a manager might have to do sometime in his/her career is to admit a mistake. When University of Minnesota Men’s Athletic Director Joel Maturi hired Tim Brewster as the head football coach, I thought it was a mistake to hire a head coach of a NCAA Division I football program who not only had no head coaching experience, but also lacked a track record as an offensive or defensive coordinator. When he was offered the job, Brewster was a tight ends coach with the Denver Broncos – the equivalent of a first line manager in the corporate world. With a 6-18 record in Big Ten play – and dismal late season performances both this year and last, you would think that Maturi would have the courage to acknowledge a mistake was made and send Brewster on his way.

Instead, this morning the StarTribune reported that Maturi is planning on offering head football coach Tim Brewster a contract extension! Here is Maturi’s primary reason:

“We need stability with the coach, with the coaching staff,” Maturi said. “And this should also bode well for the recruiting going on and for the future of Gophers football.”

I supposed you could make a case for a contract extension if there was a glimmer of hope that there would be some improvement in performance. But I’m not buying the stability argument.

The decision to extend this contract rewards less than stellar performance and that is a dangerous practice in any organization. However, the stability argument just does not hold water. Since Brewster took over there have been five different coordinators (3 defensive and 2 offensive) in the three years of his tenure. Having that much turnover in these leadership positions is generally not a good thing – and does not promote consistency or stability in the program.

Of course, the Gophers do play Iowa State in a bowl game on December 31, 2009, and Maturi did fire the previous coach after his team blew a huge lead in a bowl game in December, 2006. So stay tuned…

It’s hard to work and play well with others if expectations don’t get shared. If both were still alive, today would have been my parents’ 70th wedding anniversary! They were married for 52 years and I was around for 41 of those.

When two people are in a relationship that long there will always be ups and downs and good times and bad. The longevity of any relationship really depends on how well those in the relationship find ways to make it work. One of the things that I noticed when times a got a little rocky between them was that they would forget to share their expectations of each other openly. Instead they just assumed the other knew what those expectation were. A case in point was usually the holiday season. Each would have expectations about what a great holiday season might look like, yet each would never share those expectations with the other. As a result, both were disappointed more often than not.

How many times have you experienced a situation where your boss assumed you knew what was expected or you were a member of a team that just left a meeting assuming everyone knew the assignment – yet those expectations were never openly shared.

Why are we so afraid to share those expectations openly, when not sharing them usually results in hurt feelings?

This obtuse title needs a little explanation. One of my favorite novelists is the late Canadian writer Robertson Davies. Perhaps his most famous work is the first book of the Deptford Trilogy, Fifth Business. The author explained the book’s title as a theatrical term – a character essential to the action but not a principal, “called the Fifth Business in drama and opera companies organized according to the old style.” In the spirit of full disclosure, Davies later admitted that he invented the term. However, I think it is a great term and my total immersion in the Minneapolis theater scene triggered a memory trace of Davies’ and the fifth business role in any production.

I also believe it has some applicability to organizations. In any organization, we typically know who the “leaders are because they are the ones with the titles – the principals as Robertson Davies would say. However, there are others in the organization – “characters that are essential to the action – whose absence would be extremely obvious. They are the ones who don’t just get work done. They are so tuned into the organization and how things work that they can really make things happen.

For example, I recently facilitated an off site leadership team meeting. We had an extremely successful session that would not have been nearly as productive if the person assigned to handling all of the logistics and meeting arrangements with the hotel were not there. Not only did Mary have things running like clockwork, she brought the whole event in under budget!

So take a minute to think about the people who play those fifth business roles in your organization and send me their story.

As I mentioned the other day on a recent post on Working With Twenty Somethings, I spent last weekend at The Fourth Annual Solstice Film Festival in Minneapolis MN. While I was underwhelmed by many of the offerings, another documentary that I thought was incredibly well-done was the award-winningBicycle Dreams.

Bicycle Dreams, directed by Steve Auerbach, is the story of the 2005 Race Across America – a 3000 mile bicycle race from San Diego, CA to Atlantic City, NJ. The synopsis from the official website reads:

They are seekers, madmen, and angels hell-bent on riding across America on a bicycle in less than ten days. But what begins as the adventure of a lifetime is transformed in an instant when tragedy strikes the race. These voyagers discover what is truly at stake as they pedal on, praying for the deliverance only the finish line can bring. By journey’s end, some are saved, others are lost, but all learn that the fuel that takes a soul toward its own true destiny is desire. … Top riders finish in under 10 days, riding over 300 miles per day and sleeping only a few hours per night. Amid the sleepless grind, riders must endure the searing heat of the Mojave Desert, the agonizing climbs and descents of the Rockies, the driving winds of the Great Plains, and the twisting switchbacks of the Appalachians before the final sprint to the finish line in Atlantic City. With little prize money at stake, the fundamental goal of the race is simply to finish, a challenge half of all riders fail to meet.

I have seen a lot of documentary films. This one is without question in my top 5 of all time. See it.

What I do want to address is the concept of individual contributor. In most organizations, this is the place where everyone starts. We have no direct reports. Our manager, who hopefully is competent, gives us assignments. And while we may work on a team, we deliver results by doing the work ourselves – alone. Bicycle Dreams and the Race Across America it documents is a story about individual contributors – those “seekers, madmen, and angels hell-bent on riding across America on a bicycle in less than ten days”. However, what becomes crystal clear is that while one individual is pedaling the high tech machine called a bicycle across deserts, mountain ranges and tall grass prairie, they are not alone. In each case, a sizable support team accompanies the racers in a large RV and provide medical, physical, mechanical, nutritional, and emotional support along the way. Each cyclist needs – no, is totally dependent on – his/her support team to succeed. And what is amazing is that the race is not necessarily won by the fastest racer, but by the fastest racer with the best support team.

So after seeing this movie, I began thinking about whether or not individual contributors in the workplace actually go it alone. Are the individuals who receive the highest performance ratings totally independent or – like the riders in the Race Across America – are they dependent on others for their success? Before I share my point of view, I’d invite comments from others. What do you think?

Today would have been my father’s 90th birthday. He died in October, 1991 of a smoking related cancer. With Father’s Day just two days ago, he has been in my thoughts a lot.

My father did not have an easy childhood. He spent his early years in the coal region of Shenandoah, PA. His younger sister drowned when he was nine. At age ten, his parents separated and he was sent to live with his Uncle in Philadelphia. By the end of the summer of 1929, he had learned how to navigate the trolley system to get to Shibe Park to watch the Philadelphia Athletics. (Some argue that the ˜29 Athletics were the best professional baseball team ever-and my dad saw them play.) I don’t know this for a fact, but I would guess my father made two promises that summer. The first was that if he ever had children they would learn how to swim. And he would take his kids to their first professional baseball game so that they would not have to go alone. He kept both promises.

To be honest, there were many times when my father and I did not see eye to eye. However, I am grateful for the lessons he taught me and I want to share them here because each one contributed to the work I do today in helping people work and play well with others.

1. A deal’s a deal. I’ve written about this lesson before.(See On Commitment.) My father maintained that one of the best things someone could say about you was that you were dependable and that you would do what you said you were going to do. He lived his life by that rule and I’ve tried to do the same.
2. Baseball. My father marched me out into the backyard as soon as I could walk and taught me how to throw and catch and how to hit a baseball. On a warm July evening when I was six, he took me to see my first big league game – the Philadelphia Phillies and the BROOKLYN Dodgers. The players were larger than life and the grass was the greenest I have ever seen. And this was the season after the Dodgers had finally beaten the Yankees in the World Series. I was hooked. Baseball is a team game. A collection of super-star players does not automatically guarantee a great team. Building a great team is hard work and I have never forgotten that lesson.
3. Don’t give up. Both of my parents were of Polish ancestry. There is an expression in Polish that translates literally to “don’t give up. Whether it when I was trying to complete an impossible school assignment or fight my way out of a batting slump, my father would use that expression. To this day when I am feeling overwhelmed, I hang in there because I can still his voice. Years later when I visited Acoma Pueblo west of Albuquerque, NM I learned that there are words in their native language that are almost exactly the same that every child learns – “never quit.
4. Sense of humor. My father had a wicked sense of humor and he also loved to laugh. I have very fond memories of Saturday evenings spent in hysterical laughter. What is significant is that I remember the laughter and not necessarily why we were laughing.
5. Interdependence. My father was self-employed. He had his own shipping room supply business and his office was in our basement. In fact, it wasn’t until I got to High School that I discovered that most of the other parents actually left the house in the morning to go to work. So I guess the fact that I have been an independent consultant since 1991 is genetic. What my father was very clear about, though, is this: We all need to find out what our gift is – what we can do really well. And we need to appreciate what everyone else’s gift is as well because we need each other to create a better world.

When my father was born nine decades ago, the United States was less than a year from being out of World War I, the Great Depression would start ten years later, and World War II was twenty-two years away. When he died, my aunt told me “John, your father was a good man; you could always count on him. Thanks, Dad.