Category Archives: Be a good manager

More on Lesson Learned #9: Prioritization

I really love this website First Round review. This post by Roli Saxena talks about how to avoid burnout with a valuable concept called the Prioritization Matrix,  a simple grid which categorizes work on 2 axes: 1) impact for the company,2) likelihood for success. The quadrants are: “Strategic Priorities”, “Home runs”,” Housekeeping” and my personal favorite, “Stuff You Shouldn’t be Doing.” She talks about how to align your activities, and most important, what you should be spending your time on and what you should be delegating. Continue reading →

Patience

Someone asked me if I was a patient person. It gave me pause.

I would say that I am patient with the person, but I’m not patient with the progress of whatever it is we’re working on.

I used to be really impatient with people: I felt that if they weren’t doing what they were supposed to be doing, it was deliberate, they were lazy and I’d write them off. It never occurred to me that it might be because they didn’t know how or were afraid to try.

So now, I assume if we’re not getting the results we want, they don’t know the how. And that I can usually help with.

Radical Candor

I came across this post from one of my favorite blogs, A Cup of Jo and it really resonated with me…this idea of radical candor.

Now, you might say to me being honest isn’t so radical. But the truth is, we’re bad at this at the times we need to do it most: when our employees are stumbling or failing. We don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings. We feel bad when we’re being negative. It feels judgey.  It’s easier to retreat and not say anything.

Kim Scott, a coach, talks about the two axis of caring personally and challenging directly.  I love this concept because the reality is, I have found that I can always give really direct feedback as long as the person recognizes it comes from a place of positive intent for them.  And as long as I’m being clear and fair, they get it.  They may not always agree, but it’s always a productive conversation.

 

 

 

 

Click here for the link.

Loyalty

A friend has asked me to speak on any topic of my choosing: the topic I thought would be interesting is my perspective on “Reasons Why Leaders Fail.”

After 20+ years of working, I have seen many situations where leaders have ended up leaving the organization.  One important reason is they don’t know how to instill loyalty.

Jack Welch had a great saying: that to instill loyalty, you needed to take care of  “heart, mind, and wallet.”  Heart was people believing in you, mind was people agreeing with you, and wallet is pretty self explanatory.

Too often I see leaders who assume loyalty without taking care of these three things, only to be disappointed.

I’ll post the other reasons once I hold my session. Have a great weekend!

What To Do?

It’s hard to get the right balance between power and attractiveness, but you need both to be a good leader. You need enough power to be credible, enough attractiveness so that others want to help you:

If you’ve been told you’re too abrupt, too results oriented, sometimes “pointy elbowed”, it helps to introduce changes like the following:

  1. Ask people what they think. Not everything should be a command from you. Solicit other people’s feedback and consider it.
  2. Sit forward, and nod as the speaker makes eye contact with you. You are quietly saying “I’m with you, I agree, I support you.”
  3. Make inclusive summary statements: “It sounds like we’ve agreed to do x, not sure about y, and definitely won’t do z.  Does that sound right?”

If you’ve been told you’re too nice, lack gravitas, senior folks aren’t sure you can make the tough decision:

  1. Don’t give in all the time. If someone counters you, but you know you’re right, stick to your guns. I often say “At the end of the day it’s your decision, but I don’t agree.”
  2. Don’t telegraph agreement before you need to. Some folks agree with everything that comes out of my mouth as I’m saying it. That’s not what I want: I want to know when you really agree with me, and when you don’t.
  3. When it’s a tough decision, make it. Don’t shy away from it, don’t kick the can down the road. Doing the right thing almost always means making the tough decision.