Bull Feather Chronicles: Conversations with an Intuitive Manager ppt

Bull Feather Chronicles: Conversations with an Intuitive Manager By Dr. Woody Sears PUBLISHED BY Woodrow H. Sears at Smashwords. Editorial/Design Support by PleasantValleyPress.net BULL Feather Chronicles: Conversations with an Intuitive Manager Copyright © 2011 Woodrow Sears License Notes This free ebook is a collection of articles that first appeared in Expert Access, the business journal published during 2010 and 2011 by Cincom, the pioneering creator and distributor of business software. It is made available by permission of the publisher. You are free to reprint this book, share it with friends, or quote from it, but please provide attribution as follows: “Dr. Woody Sears, writing in Cincom's Expert Access Business Journal.” Thank you for respecting the author's work and the publisher's ownership. Table of Contents Bull Feather Chronicles: #1: Management Theory is Useless! #2: Motivation? Not for People who are Appreciated #3: Coaching? Just Begin with Telling the Truth #4: Who’s in Charge Here? #5: Team Building is a Waste of Time and Money #6: Outstanding Customer Service Requires Intelligent Delegation #7: Don’t Monkey About with Morale #8: If You Want to Hear God Laugh… #9: Planning is Easy, but Scheduling is an Art Form #10: Project Management is Easy—It’s the Clerical Discipline That’s Difficult! #11: Managing Change—It’s an Everyday Requirement Now! #12: Ouch! Ethics! About the Bull Feathers Chronicles Participants Author’s Note These conversations with my friend, Andy Graves, took place over several years during his posting at U.S. Embassies in Vilnius, Lithuania; Oslo, Norway; and Tallinn, Estonia. We talked while he was cooking, tending turkeys on the Weber, over dinners, in bars, and walking through the forests near his Vilnius and Tallinn homes. Accordingly, these conversations are reconstructions of fragments of discussions, assembled with the certain knowledge that they accurately represent the attitudes and practices of one of the finest managers I've met in 40 years as a consultant and management educator. At root, Andy is an expediter. He knows how to get things done. He knows from his head and heart how to work with people, and his people respond to him with appreciation and affection. I was a guest at a reunion with a staff from eight years past, and it was like a family reunion. In truth, how often do you imagine people show up on their own time to celebrate the visit of a boss from eight years back? That is the measure of a special individual. Now, Andy is using his skills and talent as an Embassy management officer, the individual who is in charge of all the non-political, non-diplomatic activities and operations within the Embassy. His current staff has been recognized for its achievements when measured against other locally-engaged staff worldwide. It is also important that you know that Andy spent 22 years in the U.S. Air Force and won numerous performance awards. Most readers will not have experienced military service, but for those with the will to learn and lead, the military offers training and opportunities to prove their capabilities. Andy Graves is an outstanding example of the kinds of leaders that system produces. He is embarrassed by my persistence in writing about him, insisting that he is just doing what he’s paid to do. But trust me, better than the average bear! I am pleased to introduce you to the headwork of a truly intuitive manager I also want to acknowledge the support of Steve Kayser, the award-winning editor of Expert Access who chose to include these conversations in his exciting and valuable journal. If you haven’t yet discovered this great free resource, please check it out at: cincom.expertaccess.com. ~~~~~ You know about Intel’s Andy Grove – but do you know Andy Graves? Probably not. This Andy is a retired USAF master sergeant, a natural leader, and a born (intuitive) manager who currently works for the U.S. Department of State. This is a record of a recent conversation. Bull Feather Chronicles #1: Management Theory is Useless! Woody: What do you mean? You can't say categorically that management theory is useless. For the last 100 years… Andy: No, that's exactly what I mean! For the last 100 years, we've been capturing people and putting them in work groups they didn't choose. As often as not with people they don't like and wouldn't choose to be with. What managers and wanna- be managers need to know is how to mix with those people and help them find the common points of interest that will let them work together effectively. And challenging their ability to hang onto their salaries is a good place to start getting their attention. Woody: I thought goals, objectives, and targets and team building did that kind of thing. Andy: I love that story about Frederick Taylor designing a new coal scoop 100 years ago—you know, when scientific management was born? As far as working people think, management's been redesigning the coal scoop ever since, trying to find new ways to make them work harder, faster, cheaper. Most people believe in program goals like they believe in bull feathers. Woody: So how would you train managers? Andy: That woman you quoted in your book* said it—but no guy ever would—that you have to love your people enough to listen to them. People who can't do that can't be managers—just people pushers. When managers don't listen, they send a clear signal that they don't care about their people. Even so, they think their people are dumb enough to do extra work for them, to make them look good in front of their bosses. Man, I don't think so! Woody: People pushers? I like that term. Never heard it before. Andy: That's the alternative to having your people working with you. If a manager can't get in with his or her staff and lead them to see the points of common interest among them, then the only choice is to threaten, push, and behave in ways that are basically abusive and push people further away. Those are the nasty guys everyone knows and hates. Woody: Yeah, I've known a lot of those guys, and some women too. But back to the question—what do you recommend for manager training? Or, better, the great theorist Douglas McGregor—the Theories X and Y guy—said that every managerial act begins with a theory. What's your theory of management, the ideas that guide you? Andy: Empowerment! Responsibility! Collaboration! These words don't have meaning outside the context of a specific group doing specific tasks in a specific place and time. Otherwise, those words are just more bull feathers. I guess I push too hard sometimes, but I want people to make decisions, to act as if the work was their own, to make sure it gets done to support the mission. But for that to work, everyone has to be held accountable and be responsible for doing professional work that meets the expectations of others whose work must be integrated into a service or product. Woody: Does everyone “get it?” Do they appreciate your approach? Andy: I wish it, but no. There are always some hardheads who've got their egos and heads up their a s. But the majority get used to me and find that they are doing more work independently, slipping into leadership roles, and taking initiatives they never imagined before. You have to remember that most of the people I work with are locally-employed staff, and in this part of the world (Eastern Europe), their culture tells them not to stand out, not to be noticed, not to outperform their colleagues. But this tends to chill down when the rewards and recognition starts coming—not only from me, but from the Ambassador, the Deputy Chief of Mission, and from Washington and regional bureaus. As for the hardheads, they are a benchmark for how far we've come. Woody: So there really is a theory behind management success? Andy: If it's a personal theory. But real people at work don't want theory. They want to know in specific terms how to be successful. They want to perform well, they want to please their managers, and they want to be appreciated when they make extra effort. Anything else is just pure bull feathers. I've been sent to a lot of so-called management training, and it's at least 50 percent bull feathers and has no connection to working with untrained staff on tight deadlines and inadequate budgets That's where the “can do spirit” kicks in, and I think you have to live it, at least once, to know it. Woody: I wish I knew how to bottle what you know. We could change the world. *See Manager's Front Line Guide to Communicating with Employees, HRD Press, 2007. ~~~~~ Bull Feather Chronicles #2: Motivation? Not for People Who are Appreciated! Woody: Some of us see the work place as a combat zone in which managers use the emotional technology and bribery of motivational theory, trying to get more productivity out of unwilling workers. For their part, workers are likely to cut through the chatter to say, “Do they think we're stupid?” Andy: I agree 100 percent! If people love the work they do and admire and respect their co-workers, you don't need to add more grease. In fact, if you try to “motivate” them, it makes them suspicious. Woody: The problem I see is that if you want highly-effective groups, it has to start during recruiting and screening—like at Southwest Airlines where they put more weight on the attitudes candidates display at the interview than their degrees and other work experience. Andy: Where I work, there's so much emphasis on academics that it lets people slip through the Human Resource screen who are long on smarts but short on common sense. When they've got 10 years in the system and have been promoted several times, you still have to give them heads-up recommendations on how to work with people, especially with the locally-engaged staff. Woody: That's not pretty. Are these people just insensitive or insecure and need to throw their weight around? Andy: It doesn't matter. The fact is, those order-givers don't really understand teamwork and don't realize that they can't be effective without the support of the locals. And that lack of understanding makes those at the bottom of the ladder feel bad about themselves and their jobs. Woody: Probably most people at work don't love their jobs, but they have to work somewhere. Can you turn them into effective, committed workers? Andy: Absolutely! Usually, it's not only that they don't like their jobs, they don't like their bosses or the people they have to support. Organizations can't control the expectations of the people they hire, but they can definitely influence the quality of the supervision and success-support they get. When people do their work well, that needs to be celebrated, appreciated, and they need to be recognized among their co-workers. Woody: But what happens when the same people keep getting the rewards? Andy: Then you look for the lazy supervisors who spend time in their offices instead of getting out on the work floor and seeing their people in action. There's always someone or something to praise, and when people know that their work is being observed, they tend to work better and earn some praise for themselves. Woody: Still, isn't there a problem of just a few people being recognized as star performers, and demotivating the others? Andy: No, no, no! That's the bull feathers excuse managers use when they're too lazy to work the system to get rewards for their people! If you want to know who the star performers are, just ask the workers themselves. They know! And most of them aren't jealous. They know some people work better than others, and that some are just natural performers. And usually, they are the informal leaders in the group. At least that's my experience. The people who get the rewards and recognition usually are leaders who sort of pull the others to perform in an outstanding manner. Besides, there are so many ways for a manager to show appreciation that there's no reason to leave anyone out of the winner's circle. Woody: Is it really that simple—just paying attention to performance and rewarding it? Andy: Yes and no. Rewards are necessary. But they are the icing on the cake. The manager's real work is in knowing his or her people, talking to them individually, encouraging and appreciating them one-on-one. That's how you get to know who your people are, what kinds of skill-building they need, and what kinds of off-the- job burdens they're carrying. See, they work for you, not for the company or the organization, and managers have to create that connection with individuals. Woody: What you're saying is that if the manager doesn't create those interpersonal connections, the workers will create their own! Those connections don't always include the manager and can compromise the performance of the entire group. Andy: Oh yeah! One of the most useful things I've heard you say, quoting Frederick Herzberg, is that if you don't piss-off your people, they'll probably give you 10- or 15-percent more performance, for free! That makes sense, because the worst thing that can happen to a worker is to have a selfish, me-first boss who ignores the people who do the work. Woody: If we could burn that thought into the brains of all managers, we could change the world! ~~~~~ Bull Feather Chronicles, #3: Coaching? Just Begin with Telling the Truth! Andy: The strangest thing I found on this trip was a woman, sitting maybe 10 feet from her boss, and they've been communicating by e-mail because they don't like each other. Woody: That's bizarre! Are they locally-engaged staff? [Note: Some work our Embassies do must be performed by Americans, but most work can be delegated to locally-employed staff.] Andy: Yeah, but what makes it so bad is that her boss is the local HR guy! So naturally I said we've got to talk, and I sat down with the two of them. She thinks he's unfair, he wants to fire her, and this has been going on for more than a year! And they don't talk to each other! Woody: That can happen in these cultures. Some of these folks are not great at confronting problems or each other. Andy: Well, apparently there had been a lot of confrontations, but this guy had no records, no documentation covering what she failed to do, what he advised her to do, and what follow-up actions he took, so of course he can't fire her. He's been sent to training, he knows how to do that stuff, he just doesn't like to do it. So I reminded him of the requirement to document malfeasance and hammered on him about having to keep a record of what he did to help her succeed on the job. It was like he never heard it before! Woody: And what about her? Andy: She said she didn't know what she didn't do well, because he never told her. All she could say was that he didn't like her! And since I don't know the background, I have to think maybe she doesn't perform adequately. But she says she doesn't know what she does wrong, and there's no evidence that he ever told her! Woody: That doesn't leave you a lot of maneuver room, especially given the short trip. Andy: No it didn't. I even told the Deputy Chief of Mission that they might have to end up firing her. But then something kind of magic happened. Woody: She resigned? Andy: No! That would have been too easy. What happened was I sat down with her on Friday, and all she could talk about was how badly she had been treated three months ago, six months ago, nine months ago. And as I listened and looked at her, it was clear that she was a total mess—hair, dress, complexion, emotionally. In fact, she looked like s**t! Woody: This isn't sounding very politically correct. Andy: Don't worry! I'm not going there! What I said was that as long as she was focused on things that happened months ago, all that could happen was that she would create the same situations again. And that instead, she should look at today, tomorrow, and start thinking forward instead of backward. Woody: And about her appearance? Andy: I just told her the truth, namely that I'm not big on dressing up and avoid wearing suits and ties and usually show up with an open neck shirt and a sweater, as I was dressed then. And I said that compared to the other women in the building, it didn't look to me like she as paying much attention to her appearance, and maybe that was somehow connected to how she was looking at her job and maybe… Woody: Then what happened? Andy: She admitted that was something to think about and thanked me! But then, on Monday, she shows up looking like a different person! She had a new haircut and style, some make-up, and was wearing a really sharp outfit. I damn near didn't recognize her! Woody: How did her boss respond? Andy: I think he was as blown away as I was. Woody: Will she still get fired? Andy: That could happen. But the signal she sent loud and clear on Monday morning was that she wanted to keep her job and get out of the rut she'd been in for so long. For certain, she came to work with a different attitude, and that in itself might be enough to turn things around. Woody: That's beautiful, Andy. But why did no one else talk to her, at least the other women? Andy: You know that women don't always help each other, and guys are so afraid of getting hit with a charge of sexual harassment or some other bull feathers reason for not getting involved… Seems like most people are just afraid to be human anymore, to reach out to tell each other the kinds of truth that will bump them off bottom-dead-center, that will help them succeed. That's what bosses and managers and leaders are supposed to do! Isn't it? Woody: I thought so. I hope so. If it isn't, we're really lost! ~~~~~ Bull Feather Chronicles #4: Who’s In Charge Here? Woody: Some years ago, while riding my motorcycle along the Loch Ness, a definition of leadership came though to me so strongly I stopped to write it down: Leadership is the creation of structures and processes through which people can contribute to the achievement of worthwhile goals. I still like it because it includes real things like structures and processes, not a lot of airy-fairy hoopla. Andy: I can go with that. It ties up the confusion about leaders and managers, you know, where leaders decide the right things to do and then managers do the things right. Real life hasn't worked that way for me. Woody: How's that? Andy: Because among workers, someone is always taking the lead. And who's that? It's the man or woman who knows the most about the task and technology. This is a lesson a lot of managers miss. It doesn't matter who has the rank! What's important is who has the most recent and relevant experience. When I was an enlisted man teaching officer/pilots survival skills, I was the one with the most recent and relevant experience, and those officers knew that my job was to teach them how to survive disaster situations. I was outranked, but that didn't matter. What I knew made them listen to me. Woody: And did none of them resent being lectured to by an enlisted man? Andy: Only a few, but they created another lesson—competence is so important that the other officers would tell the few to shut-up! So I didn't have to worry about that stuff. The real leaders in any group will keep you covered. Woody: I got a similar lesson. Once as a lieutenant, I was on a project with a bird colonel and working with a bunch of majors and light colonels. My boss told me, “Woody, if any of these people give you any trouble, refer them to me.” That taught me a lot about delegation, and that if I did my job competently, I was fireproof! Andy: Isn't that a great feeling? And when you're in that zone, do you need to be motivated? Do you need anything more than knowing at the end of the day that you had a great day, doing your job for someone who appreciated you? That's the thing a lot of people don't get. I've seen a lot of senior people cripple programs because they let their need to be the boss get in the way of getting the job done. Woody: I once asked a guy who was just standing around, doing nothing, what he was waiting for. He said, “I'm waiting for my boss to tell me what to do!” I thought he was joking, so I asked if he was going to do something different than the day before. “Of course not,” he said, “but my boss likes to tell me what to do, and I like to make him happy!” Andy: Sure! If he made that decision, he would be taking his boss's job. That's why the “structure and processes” part of your definition is so important. You can't have 15 or 20 people waiting to be told what to do. They have to know, and they do know—if you involve them in planning work and laying out schedules. Woody: Do many managers do that, in your experience? Andy: Only the good ones. Leadership is about taking people to new levels of performance, so they surprise themselves when they see how competent they are, and how much fun it is to hook up with others to win against the clock and the budget. Good leaders stretch their people, push them, and make them stronger performers. Woody: How hard can you push them? Andy: Right up the edge of what employment laws allow. Sometimes it's giving them more work, or tighter schedules, or making them solve problems and implement solutions by themselves. And when they win, you praise them and talk about what they learned. Woody: But what if they don't win? If they fail? Andy: Bull feathers!!! If you pay attention to them, they don't fail. You see them struggling and you stop by to offer a suggestion or two. If they're afraid to fail, they work too slow. If you let them fail, you tell them that succeeding, being on schedule isn't important! I don't care what people write about the freedom to fail, because real leaders don't let that happen to their people. Not if there are any real chips on the table! Woody: Real leaders, then, make sure people are successful at their work? Andy: Nothing else is more important! ~~~~~ Bull Feather Chronicles #5: Team Building is a Waste of Time and Money Woody: At least 30 years ago, when I occasionally got team-building assignments, it became obvious that the major thing that kept people from working together effectively was that they chose not to understand their own responsibilities and those of their co-workers. Andy: What do you mean, “…they chose not to understand”? Woody: Basic stuff, like job descriptions, like who's responsible for what and when. Andy: That is basic! How can people not understand…? Woody: Because they choose not to. It's a variant of waiting to be told what to do, except it's fueled by the kind of petty bull feathers that shows up in work groups when there's no imperative to perform, and no emphasis on “we” and “our” among managers and workers. Andy: That's a basic difference between military and civilian organizations, and the reason so many ex-military have trouble fitting-in with civilians. The military is based on unit effectiveness. Everyone has a responsibility beyond his or her own role, to chip-in extra effort to support each other when there's a crunch. Woody: And that means cross-training, knowing what the other guys do and how to do it. Without that knowledge… Andy: Work grinds to a halt, everyone's got an excuse, and it's time to do some serious talking. The thing is, it's a game and everyone knows it. The game is called “F**k the boss!” I see it played between the locally-engaged staff and American bosses with oversized egos and rotten interpersonal skills. Woody: It's never the other way around? Andy: Not in my experience. With very few exceptions, locally-engaged staff are as dedicated and committed a work force as you could want. They stay in one place while their American managers rotate out every two or three years. The locals know where the gold is buried, but they can forget in an instant if they get a boss who's heavy-handed, indifferent, arrogant, or all of the above. Woody: Don't these people get any training? Andy: Sure they do, and it's usually first rate. The trouble is, most of these people are specialists—in politics, economics, security, etc.—and managing a staff isn't interesting to them. But getting promoted usually means they have to take supervisory slots. Woody: You see something similar in private-sector organizations too. Maybe what this means is that team-building is really about overcoming ineffective leadership and a lack of focus on unit effectiveness. Andy: As soon as you talk about team building, you're telling people that they're supposed to be a team and that working well together is what they're supposed to do! Woody: And the reason they resist is that there's something more important to those involved than working well together, and that something is sending a message to anyone who notices that “We ain't happy!” Andy: That's when you need to cut through the bull feathers and get to the issues, like, what's hanging them up? Woody: You need to ask tough questions, like “What do you want that you aren't getting? What would it take to get you to perform up to your potential? Who or what is hanging you up?” But you need to be prepared to listen and to respond, including making sure the boss is confronted with his or her misdeeds or unmet [...]... Woody: Of all the managerial skills, project management may be the most important It seems to involve all the qualities you want to find in a new manager you know, knowledge of planning and scheduling; being familiar with the technologies involved; able to negotiate with functional managers and customers or clients; and ability to collect and organize information Really, it's a full range of interpersonal,... other at meetings But it's the nature of the job—and the strength of the system, I guess And moving means making new friends and helping a new group of people to see how good they can be ~~~~~ Bull Feather Chronicles #9: Planning is Easy, but Scheduling is an Art Form… Woody: Anyone can learn to plan in a half-day, but when they start organizing tasks and scheduling resources to get the most out of... before Andy: I'm sure you have, and you know that if there's bad morale, look at the managers, not at the working people Poor morale is a symptom of bad management ~~~~~ Bull Feather Chronicles #8 If You Want to Hear God Laugh… Woody: That's what I learned in Slovakia a decade ago—if you want to hear God laugh, make a plan! God, local people, and bosses always change their minds, change the specs… Andy:... heard it explained that way, Andy Maybe you've come up with a new theory about teaching planning and getting people to take more responsibility Andy: Bull feathers! I don't do theories I just want people to grow out of the boxes they're in when I show up People can always do more, if they want to, and I keep finding that too many people have never been asked to do more than the narrow definitions of... that means there won't be any recommendations for economies that result in job losses Andy: You got that right! And a lot of times, job losses mean the loss of great people and their experience, and that kicks morale and loyalty right in the ass It's usually a stupid decision by people with limited vision and who need to feel powerful Wasting people usually is a bull feathers move that will cost an Embassy... families and friends… Woody: Is there really an American way of treating people? Andy: It might not be every manager' s style, but the way I look at it is that: (1) you don't hire people unless there's work for them to do; (2) because they're needed, they're important; and (3) because they're important, what they see and think about how the work gets done and could be improved is important too, and valuable... everybody they deal with, and the clean-up takes so much time and energy you might as well have done the job yourself Woody: So where do the good ones get the know-how to be effective? Andy: I don't know Maybe from their mothers… Woody: I've been telling you, women are better at project management than guys Andy: Bull feathers! What I mean is that it's about being polite, minding your manners, and paying attention... Andy: I guess that's true Maybe it's age and experience… Woody: That's part of it, but another part is what you said about what we learn from our mothers, that there are ways to get things done without being tough, that being an authoritarian is a Neanderthal way to manage Andy: And you can't go across the organization, asking for cooperation, by making demands and giving orders to people who don't work... drummer, and wait for the others to catch up! ~~~~~ About the Bull Feather Chronicles Participants Andy Graves has worked in three embassies and a consulate in Eastern Europe and Russia, and is still at work out there, taking raw talent and turning it into professional precision, just as he did on A-10 “Warthog” flight lines Dr Woody Sears is an author, teacher, and consultant working in Vilnius, Lithuania... ask for project updates, and they look at their clipboards to answer your question ~~~~~ Bull Feather Chronicles #11 Managing Change—It’s an Everyday Requirement Now! Andy: What do you like best about being a consultant? Woody: That it's almost always something different—different organization, different culture, different people, different locale I really love the change and the challenge of getting . Bull Feather Chronicles: Conversations with an Intuitive Manager By Dr. Woody Sears PUBLISHED BY Woodrow H. Sears at Smashwords. Editorial/Design Support by PleasantValleyPress.net BULL Feather. be with. What managers and wanna- be managers need to know is how to mix with those people and help them find the common points of interest that will let them work together effectively. And. consultant and management educator. At root, Andy is an expediter. He knows how to get things done. He knows from his head and heart how to work with people, and his people respond to him with