Managing People : Secrets to Leading for New Managers · 2015. 10. 23. · managers can also become great leaders. While becoming a leader is something to strive for, the transformation

ManagingPeople

BARRY SILVERSTEIN

B E S T P R A C T I C E S :

SECRETS TO LEADING FOR NEW MANAGERS

PREFACE

1 MANAGING PEOPLE 101

2 ESSENTIAL SKILL I: MANAGING INDIVIDUALS

Selecting Staff 25 Training 34 Reviewing Performance 42 Handling Difficult Tasks 48

3 ESSENTIAL SKILL II: MANAGING TEAMS

Building Teams 61 Defining Roles on Teams 68 Motivating Teams 76 Using Teams Effectively 80

Contents

v

1

21

59

4 ESSENTIAL SKILL III: MANAGING PROJECTS

The Project’s Scope 88 Defining the Process 100 Strategic Management 108

5 ESSENTIAL SKILL IV: LEADERSHIP & COMMUNICATION

The Nature of Leadership 117 Providing Feedback 122 Leading During Change 128

OFF AND RUNNING 136

RECOMMENDED READING 140

INDEX 146

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CREDITS

COVER

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

COPYRIGHT

87

115

Preface

How do you hire people? How do youencourage them to do a better job? What doyou say to them if they don’t? How do youfire someone who refuses to cooperate? Howdo you get your staff on board at a time ofmajor change?

In this book, we distill the wisdom ofsome of the best minds in the field to tellyou how to do a better job at managing youremployees and creating a workplace thatsupports the goals of your company. Thelanguage is simple and the design colorfulto make the information easy to grasp.

Quizzes help you assess your knowl-edge of people and project managementissues. Case files show how companies

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have tackled tough management prob-lems. Sidebars give you a big-picture lookat management challenges and highlightinnovative, out-of-the-box solutions worthconsidering. Quotes from business lead-ers will inspire you as you face your ownchallenges. Finally, in case you want to digdeeper into management issues, we recom-mend some of the most important businessbooks available. The authors of these booksboth influence and reflect today’s thinkingabout managing people and related issues.Understanding the ideas they cover willinspire you as a manager.

Even if you don’t dip into these volumes,the knowledge you gain from studying thepages of this book will equip you to dealfirmly, effectively, and insightfully with themanagement issues you face every day—tohelp you make a difference to your com-pany and in the lives of the people whosupport you.

THE EDITORS

vi i

�ManagingPeople 101

“The task ofmanagement is to makepeople capable of jointperformance, to maketheir strengths effectiveand their weaknessesirrelevant.”

—Peter Drucker,management guru and author

(1909–2005)

� Managing peopleisn’t like managingthings or evenlike managing

projects. Each person has uniquecapabilities and talents, strengthsand weaknesses—and feelings.Helping each person achieve hisor her individual potential mayrequire different motivationalstrategies and tactics.

M A N A G I N G P E O P L E

2

ARE YOU MANAGEMENT MATERIAL?

Read each of the following statementsand indicate whether you agree or dis-agree. Then check your score at the end.

1. I consider myself a good judge ofcharacter.

�� Agree �� Disagree

2. I trust people to do the right thing.


3. If someone comes to me with a prob-lem at work, I take time to listen andoffer help without being judgmental.


4. When a co-worker doesn’t understandsomething, I don’t lose my patience.


5. I think it is best not to be very closefriends with someone I manage.


6. It is better to make the right decisionthan a popular one.


Self-Assessment Quiz

M A N A G I N G P E O P L E 1 0 1

3

7. I’m good at delegating work.


8. I know how to motivate people.


9. It is better to give instructions thanorders.


10. People would say I have integrity.


Scoring

Give yourself 1 point for every questionyou answered “Agree” and 0 points forevery question you answered “Disagree.”

Analysis

8–10 You have the potential to be anexcellent manager of people.

5–7 You could use some work onpeople-management skills.

0–4 You have a lot more to learn ifyou want to effectively managepeople.


4

What It Takes to Be a Good ManagerBefore you can effectively manage other people,you need to know about yourself and yourmanagement abilities. The Self-AssessmentQuiz on pages 2–3 will help you understandwhat skills you bring to the game.

Managing people used to mean dominatingthem. The boss’s word was absolute and notto be questioned. But today’s workplace is verydifferent. As companies continue to increase pro-ductivity and reduce costs, operations tend to beconsolidated: a smaller number of people do agreater amount of work with fewer managers.

“If your staff is happy,you are doing your job.People don’t often leavejobs—and, in particular,bosses —they like. Treatpeople the right way andyou will have disciplesfor life.”

—Tom Markert,author of You Can’t Win a Fight with Your Boss


5

To succeed in this climate, businesses dependon knowledge-sharing, effective communication,and teamwork. These are diffi cult to achieve with-out the three C’s described on pages 6–7.

THE MANAGER’S PERSPECTIVE

The manager’s perspective needs tobe broad and all-encompassing. As amanager, you are the one who needs tounderstand what must get done, whatit will take to accomplish your goal,how to assess and monitor progress,and how to measure success at thecompletion of the work.

Take advantage of the capabilitiesof each of your staff members anddelegate the appropriate tasks sothey can work as a team towards acommon goal. Match specific tasksto the skills of each individual. Helpand guide them—but let them do thework. Hold team progress meetings tokeep everyone on track and follow upindividually with any team memberwho is having trouble or falling behind.

Like a great maestro conductingan orchestra, you are there to keepevery individual working in harmonyand to ensure that the end result is abeautifully executed performance.

The BIG Picture


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Collaboration. A good manager createsmany opportunities for people to collaboratein setting goals, determining how work will get

DECLINE IN MIDDLE MANAGERS

During the 13 years between 1986and 1999, the number of middlemanagers in large corporationsdeclined by 27 percent. This studyreflects the reality of more than 300publicly traded U.S. firms.

Firm size = Number ofemployees in thousands

Depth = Number of managersbetween CEO and DivisionalManager

1986 1999

SOURCE: “The Flattening Firm” by RaghuramRajan and Julie Wulf, National Bureau of EconomicResearch (April 2003).

Behind the Numbers

85,900 1.5869,900

1.15


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accomplished, and establishing criteria to mea-sure a project’s success rate.

Cooperation. Fostering cooperation withina work group and setting a good example as amanager encourages employees to focus on theneeds of the group rather than only on theirown needs.

Consensus. Establishing consensus among yourworkers creates a common sense of purpose andinvolves everyone in working toward the samegoal. Good managers use consensus-buildingto encourage employees to voice opinions whilemaintaining control of the group.

What’s Your Management Style?Managers can have very different styles andstill succeed.

At one extreme are autocratic, heavy-handedmanagers who govern by fear and intimidation.

SECRETS OF MANAGERIAL SUCCESS

Effective people managers practice thefine art of delegation.

• They delegate tasks withoutabdicating their responsibility.

• They explain the why but neverdictate the how.

• They give instructions, not orders.

• POWER POINTS •


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In the long term, this generates ill will and lackof respect; employees either contribute mini-mally or eventually choose to work elsewhere.

At the other extreme are managers with a nice-guy approach. They fraternize with employees,delegate almost everything, and generally take a

MANAGEMENT RULES TO LIVE BY

As a manager, you need to hold yourselfto a high standard.

�� Do lead by example.

�� Don’t manage by fear and intimidation.

�� Do plan your work and work your plan.

�� Don’t begin a plan without aspecific goal.

�� Don’t fail to plan for things going wrong.

�� Don’t let your team begin a projectwithout a common goal.

�� Do keep a positive attitude.

�� Do give instructions, not orders.

�� Don’t overdelegate.

�� Don’t abdicate your responsibility forthe outcome of a goal.

�� Do foster collaboration and teamwork.

Dos & Don’ts R


9

hands-off attitude. This management style can bealmost as detrimental as the autocratic style; theoverall lack of direction can frustrate employees.

For the most part, good managers of peopleexhibit some of both styles when appropriate,and with balance. Good managers combine

�� Do catch people doingsomething right.

�� Do create opportunities for peopleto succeed.

�� Do empower subordinates withresponsibility.

�� Don’t criticize your staff in public.

�� Do fix the problem, not the blame.

�� Don’t be dishonest when you havebad news to deliver.

�� Don’t tune out an employee who istelling you something you don’t wantto hear.

�� Do listen before you speak.

�� Do encourage an open, honest workenvironment.


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solid direction and strong leadership withobjectivity, compassion, and the right amountof delegation. Whatever your style, it is impor-tant to be consistent and fair.

It also pays to get to know the people who workfor you. Ask them questions and solicit their inputand advice. Then listen to what they have to say.Just taking the time to listen to your staff—to hearand respect their opinions and to “agree to dis-agree” if necessary—makes a big difference.

Managers Versus LeadersManagers tend to be more rational, objective,and driven by organizational needs, while leadersare more visionary, emotional, and inspirationalin nature.

Although the ideal for a good manager is to bea good leader as well, it doesn’t always work outthat way. A great leader has drive and personalityin addition to management ability. A great man-ager may lack those qualities. However, somemanagers can also become great leaders. Whilebecoming a leader is something to strive for, thetransformation is never a sure thing.

The Fine Art of DelegationOne of the most important skills a good man-ager must acquire is how to delegate.

There is a difference between delegation andabdication. You can’t just drop a project onsomeone’s desk and hope he or she will fi gure itout—that would be abdicating your responsibil-ity as a manager. Instead, a good manager fi rstgives thought to which tasks are appropriate to


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delegate to which employees and then diligentlyfollows up to be sure each task has been success-fully completed.

An effective manager explains the why of thetask and establishes goals, due dates, and criteriato measure success. But a manager should notdetail the how. It is the employee’s responsibilityto take ownership of the job and determine thebest way to get it done.

When you delegate, give instructions ratherthan orders. Instructions acknowledge that theindividual receiving them is capable of partici-pating, learning, and doing. Instructions invitepeople to have a say in how things are done.Orders imply that there is one right way to dosomething, which discourages employees fromthinking independently or showing initiative.

“Good managementconsists in showingaverage people how todo the work of superiorpeople.”

—John D. Rockefeller,American industrialist and

founder of Standard Oil(1839–1937)


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It takes a large measure of trust to delegate.You must recognize that the employee’s pathto the outcome may not be exactly the one youwould have taken.

Overburdening an employee with work isas bad as overmonitoring work that you havedelegated. Delegate the right work to the right

people, give them enough leeway to accomplishwhat needs to be done, and monitor their prog-ress reasonably and effectively so that they feelsupported rather than micromanaged.

Praise in Public, Criticize in PrivateAs a manager, you are likely to have your share ofpositive and negative experiences with employees.

Be sure to praise an employee publicly whenyou catch him or her doing something right.Praise the individual for the specifi c action andbe honest and sincere about it.

“Don’t tell people howto do things. Tell themwhat to do and let themsurprise you with theirresults.”

—George S. Patton,U.S. general

(1885–1945)


13

CASE FILE TURNAROUND SPECIALIST

New senior managers brought in torescue a corporation in trouble areoften faced with challenging decisions.

Such was the case of Lou Gerstner,credited with rejuvenating IBM duringhis tenure as CEO from 1993 to 2002.

When he came to IBM, Gerstnerdiscovered a company in whichmanagers of operating units competedwith one another. Employees focusedon their own internal issues ratherthan those of their customers.

Gerstner made an effort to geteveryone working towards a commonpurpose. Specifically, he institutedrewards based on total corporateperformance instead of division orunit performance.

As Gerstner wrote, “During my timeat IBM, I came to see that cultureisn’t just one aspect of the game—it isthe game. In the end, an organizationis nothing more than the collectivecapacity of its people to create value.”

SOURCE: Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance by LouisV. Gerstner, Jr. (Collins, 2002).


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If an employee requires criticism, however, keepit private. Deliver negative feedback as soon as youcan after a poor performance or an instance ofunacceptable behavior. Speak with the employeecalmly, without becoming emotional or heated.Always criticize the employee’s specifi c behavioror performance, not the person’s character. Givethe employee the opportunity to explain why thebehavior or incident occurred.

Finally, help the employee create andimplement a positive plan to prevent it from

DEAL WITH IT

A strong manager is always lookingdown the road. When a job is welldone, it deserves praise. When anemployee does something wrong,criticism may be appropriate. Butremember to use a light touch.

�� Do get to know your staff.

�� Do start planning your course ofaction as soon as you see clouds onthe horizon.

�� Don’t wait to address a problem.

�� Do get to the root of the problem.

�� Do encourage the individual to talkopenly without fear of reprimand.

Dos & Don’ts R


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happening again. Agree on a goal and a timeline.And then move on.

Turn Problems into OpportunitiesManaging people isn’t always predictable. Somepeople come to a job with personal baggage thatcan cause them to become emotional, to over-react, or to object to authority.

As a manager, you need to get to know thepeople who work for you as individuals. Meetwith all your staff members individually, one at

�� Do work out a solution. Come to aresolution that respects the personwhile maintaining your authority.

�� Don’t berate an employee in frontof others.

�� Don’t criticize the individual.Focus instead on the individual’sactions or performance.

�� Don’t get emotional when criticizing.

�� Don’t be sweepingly negative. Pointto specific actions or incidentsinstead—and do it soon after theyhave occurred.

�� Don’t stifle a chance for dialogue.


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a time. Find out more about what they do everyday, what decisions they make, and what chal-lenges them.

What complaints do they get on a regularbasis? What misunderstandings have arisen?What makes them angry? What was effi cientand what took too long? Which procedures aretoo complicated?

Ask about their goals, determine their likes anddislikes, and assess their personality styles.

CASE FILEMANAGING A CINDERELLA STORY

During the 2006 NCAA Men’sBasketball Tournament, one of themost improbable things happenedin the history of the tournament:Little-known George Mason Universityreached the Final Four.

Coach Jim Larranaga was largelycredited for the team’s success.He was human and approachable,often inviting team members to hishome. Yet at the same time he heldhis players to a high standard ofexcellence. During a conference semi-final game, Larranaga saw one of hisbest players commit a serious foulthat the officials missed. The coachhimself benched the player.


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Then, for each person, ask yourself:• How does this person’s job fi t with the others?• In what ways can I best use this person’s

knowledge, experience, and skill set?• Is this person a leader or a follower?• Will this person present a management

challenge in any way?Good managers draw on their knowledge of

their staffs’ strengths, weaknesses, and prefer-ences when orchestrating company work.

Sometimes management challenges turn outto be opportunities. The fl ip side of a madden-ingly diffi cult quality can be a strength on aspecifi c project. For instance, an individual whodemonstrates a lack of fl exibility may be just thehyperorganized, methodical, and detail-orientedperson you need for your next big project.

“Outstanding leaders goout of their way to boostthe self-esteem of theirpersonnel. If peoplebelieve in themselves,it’s amazing what theycan accomplish.”

—Sam Walton,founder of Wal-Mart


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Plan Your Work and Work Your PlanA manager can accomplish very little without aplan of action. Start by establishing a goal. Thenfi gure out what it will take to reach that goal.What staff will you need? What resources willbe required? Are there budget constraints? Whateffi ciencies can you achieve? What contingencieswill you have if things go wrong?

Next, work your plan. Create a step-by-stepplan of action for accomplishing your goal.Assemble everything you need and get started.

Provide a common purpose and good direc-tion to your staff and delegate appropriatelyalong the way.

WHAT TO INCLUDE IN YOUR PLANS

Good managers plan their workcarefully. Here are the elementsof a plan:

• Setting goals

• Orchestrating staff buy-in

• Defining resources—staff, outsidesuppliers, budget

• Determining each step

• Identifying achievable milestones

• Anticipating snafus and setting up aplan B for each one



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The key word here is delegate. This does notmean stepping aside entirely. Be supportive,involved, and available. Help your people suc-ceed. Monitor progress from beginning to end,and step in as necessary to provide direction orkeep things on track. Strive for success. At thesame time, look ahead, anticipating what couldgo wrong. Have contingencies and alternativeplans available just in case things don’t turn outas anticipated.

Finally, when your goal is reached, always letyour staff know how much you appreciate theirhard work.

“Excellent companiesare the way they arebecause they areorganized to obtainextraordinary effort fromordinary human beings.”

—Tom Peters and Robert H. Waterman, Jr.,authors of In Search of Excellence

�“A great manager isbrilliant at spotting theunique differences thatseparate each personand then capitalizing onthem.”

—Marcus Buckingham,coauthor of Now, Discover Your Strengths

Essential Skill IManaging Individuals

�Regardless of yourorganization’s size,as a manager you arefaced with the same

basic challenge: You manageindividuals, not just teams,work groups, departments, ordivisions. Consequently, you needto understand each individual’sstrengths, weaknesses, talents,abilities, and goals.


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You must be aware of any organizational, emo-tional, or work-environment issues that couldbe affecting an individual’s job performance.You have to be patient and calm, and at the sametime fi nd ways to keep people motivated so thatwork is accomplished and progress is made.

While no two people are alike, there are certainsound management principles you can alwaysapply to make your job easier.

First: Remember that you have a signifi cantimpact on an individual’s job satisfaction andcareer development. This is a serious responsibil-ity, one that provides you with the opportunityto participate in someone’s success. Nurturingemployees, guiding them along the way, andwatching them achieve their goals can be one ofthe most rewarding things about management.

ELEMENTS OF SUCCESS

Whether employees do well at work haseverything to do with the competenceand conscientiousness of theirmanagers. To succeed they need thefollowing:

• Effective training

• Honest, regular feedback—bothpositive and negative

• Access to the information and toolsthey need to make good decisions


M A N A G I N G I N D I V I D U A L S

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Second: Recruit and hire the right people, thengive them the training and tools they need to dotheir jobs well. When you bring quality peopleinto your organization, or promote outstandingworkers from within, you are establishing a stan-dard of excellence.

Third: Help individuals monitor their progressby providing objective, constructive, and timelyfeedback, both informally and during perfor-mance reviews. Take the attitude that you expectyour staff to succeed. Help them see the benefi tsassociated with doing their jobs well and they

COMBAT WANING ENTHUSIASM

To manage individuals mosteffectively, it is important to get offto a good start. Surveys of some 1.2million employees at 52 primarilylarge companies found that a majorityof employees are enthusiastic whenthey start a new job. But their moraledeclines sharply after six months andcontinues to do so for the next severalyears. Managers who foster goodrelationships with new employeeshave a much better chance of keepingthem motivated.SOURCE: “Stop Demotivating Your Employees!” byDavid Sirota et al., Harvard Management Update(January 2006).

THE BOTTOM LINE


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will be more satisfi ed. You will gain more satis-faction from your job as well.

Fourth: Manage with compassion and hon-esty, instead of by fear or by creating uncertainty.Managers who are approachable, personable, andforthright have greater success than those whotend to be remote, tight with information, orunavailable. Adopt a more accessible managementstyle and you will have employees who are happierand more likely to stay in their jobs.

Finally: Communicate the big picture, create agame plan, and set a positive tone for achievinga goal. If you can effectively present your vision

PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST

Great managers learn how to get themost out of their staff.

�� Do believe in a person’s ability tosucceed and do the right thing.

�� Do listen responsively.

�� Do get out of your office—let yourstaff see that you care about them.

�� Don’t wait to act on a problemsomeone brings to you.

�� Do ask how each person is doing.

�� Don’t let people struggle—find outwhat you can do to help them dotheir jobs more effectively.

Dos & Don’ts R


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to your staff and inspire them, they will want tojoin you in contributing to the team’s success.

SELECTING STAFFHow do you hire the right person for the job? Youcan remove some of the guesswork by creating aclear job description and instituting an orderlyscreening, interview, and decision process.

The Job DescriptionFirst, you must identify exactly what you needand defi ne your requirements. Create a detailed

ARE YOU BEING COUNTERPRODUCTIVE?

Check yourself for thesebehaviors, which could make youcounterproductive as a manager:

• The cutoff – You impatientlyinterrupt people.

• The false positive – You sugar-coatbad news instead of delivering itdirectly and honestly.

• The shifty-eyed shuffle – You avoidmaking eye contact, or seem tensewhile speaking to an employee.

• The dump and run – You tend todelegate a lot of work with little orno explanation.

Red Flags �


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job description that includes the job title, objec-tive, specifi c responsibilities, and how the job fi tsinto the organization’s reporting structure.

Be as specifi c as possible in describing thequalifi cations and requirements for the job:number of years of experience, needed skills,education, particular traits (such as meticu-lousness or organizational skills), and specialprofi ciencies (familiarity with a computerprogram, knowledge of a foreign language).Establish a salary range for the position.

JOB DESCRIPTION BASICS

Choosing the best possible candidatebegins with a strong job description thatincludes all the essentials about the job:

• Title

• Job objective

• Duties and responsibilities

• Reporting structure

• Salary

• Experience and education required

• Skills and proficiencies needed

• Applicable qualities of mind

• Intangibles



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While deciding what your actual requirementsare and what the job description should include,also give careful thought to intangibles. Thinkabout your own management style and yourcompany’s culture. Ask yourself what type ofperson would be the best match. Make a list ofall the characteristics your ideal candidate for theposition would have.

Former General Electric CEO Jack Welchemphasizes the importance of three qualitiesabove all others in employees: integrity, intel-ligence, and maturity. In considering candidatesfor the job, pay attention to these valuableunderlying characteristics. They will stand youin good stead as you meet the challenges of theworkplace together.

The Screening ProcessIn larger organizations, candidates’ applica-tions and resumes might initially be screened

“You will be great exactlyto the extent that you arewilling and eager to hirepeople who are betterthan you.”

—Tom Peters


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by recruiters working either for your company’shuman resources (HR) department or for anoutside fi rm. It’s often a good idea to keep thisscreening fairly loose the fi rst time aroundso that you can review as many candidatesas possible. If appropriate, consider internal

“Every staffi ng needmust begin with a clearassessment of the work:Exactly which tasks,responsibilities, andprojects need to bedone? Once you have aclear picture of the workitself, the remainingquestions are obvious:Who is the best personfor this job? Where willyou fi nd the people youneed?”

—Bruce Tulgan,author of Winning the Talent Wars


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candidates for the position. Review their quali-fi cations objectively.

Applications and resumes are your best guideto experience and qualifi cations. As an indica-tor of how well a candidate communicates, thecover letter accompanying a resume is equallyimportant. It can also give you an idea of theindividual’s personality, style, motivation, andattention to detail.

Use a consistent method for ranking thecandidates. One common approach is to sortprospects’ applications into three separategroups: one for strong candidates, one for likely

THE BAD HIRE

You did all the right things and selectedthe best candidate. But after the personhas been in the job for a few months,you have the awful realization that he orshe is a bad fit.

If others agree with your assessment,you’ve given the person every chanceto improve, and you feel there is noway you can salvage the situation, it’sbest to let the individual go rather thanprolong the problem.

Be specific when you explain whyit isn’t working out and be generouswith severance.

Then cut your losses and move on.

Plan B


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candidates, and one for candidates who areobviously not qualifi ed.

The strong resumes can then be arranged inorder of your interest in the candidates, or dividedinto several subgroups based on your assessmentof the candidates’ particular strengths.

The InterviewInterview your strongest candidates personally.Have a few other people interview the strong

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Know what you want to ask—and knowwhich topics are off limits.

�� Don’t ask about the candidate’s age,race, or ethnicity.

�� Don’t ask about marital or familystatus.

�� Don’t ask about living or child-carearrangements.

�� Don’t ask about physical or mentaldisabilities.

�� Don’t ask about someone’s credithistory or financial situation.

�� Do ask how prior positions haveprepared her for this job.

Dos & Don’ts R


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candidates as well. For the candidates, it is usu-ally less intimidating to meet with interviewersindividually. At least one of the interviewersshould be in the same work group or hold a posi-tion similar to the job for which you are hiring.

Asking the right questions during an inter-view will give you the input you need to makean informed decision. Does the candidate seemgenuine? Does she admit to mistakes? How doeshe discuss his life—is he candid yet appropriately

�� Do explore what she hopes to bringto the company.

�� Do find out what his experience hastaught him about working with otherpeople.

�� Do probe his reasons for leavinghis current position.

�� Do ask how she dealt with achallenge at a previous positionand what she learned.

�� Do ask about problems she hadwith co-workers in the past andhow they were resolved.

�� Do ask if the candidate hasquestions for you.


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discreet? Is she intellectually curious? Does sheseem knowledgeable not only about her fi eldbut also about a range of topics? Finally, doesyour gut tell you he will be able to handle stress?Does he respect others? Does she have a sense ofhumor?

It’s a good plan to have everyone who inter-views a candidate ask the same basic questionsabout prior experience, job qualifi cations, andmanagement ability so you can directly comparethe answers.

Make sure you know which questions are offlimits for legal reasons. If a question does notrelate directly to the individual’s performance,do not ask it.

Finally, fi nd out if the candidate has questionsfor you. Smart questions from a candidate are

“Every minute devotedto putting the properperson in the proper slotis worth weeks of timelater.”

—Colman Mockler,former CEO of Gillette

(1930–1991)


33

as important a consideration as good answers toyour questions.

Watch the candidate carefully as he or shespeaks. Observe body language and evaluate theindividual’s ability to think.

After the interview, write down your impres-sions right away. Make sure to include your gutreaction—your feeling about your chemistryor rapport with the candidate —as well as yourimpression of the individual’s experience andqualifi cations. Do you think this person wouldfi t in? Would he or she work well with you, yourgroup, and your company?

INTERVIEWING THAT WORKS

When interviewing candidates, anorderly process is most effective:

• Rank candidates.

• Decide who will do interviews.

• Prepare a list of initial questions andpossible follow-ups.

• Cover all relevant topics during theinterview.

• Reflect on your interview and gutreactions to the candidate.

• Compare candidates’ answers withyour interview team.



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First impressions may be lasting, but it’s a goodidea to regroup with the other interviewers andconsider their thoughts about each candidate.Bring fi nalists back for second interviews to askadditional questions, or to explore experiencesand qualifi cations that seem especially pertinentto the job.

The Final DecisionA number of factors enter into a fi nal hiringdecision—the candidate’s experience, qualifi ca-tions, references, and salary requirements as wellas your and your fellow interviewers’ impressionsabout the candidate’s suitability for the positionand fi t with your team.

It’s important to have a solid sense that youhave found the right person for the positionbefore you make a job offer. You and your com-pany will be making a signifi cant investment inthis individual. You want it to pay off.

TRAININGAn old adage in business: There is never enoughtime to do it right—but there’s always time to doit over. One of the most common reasons thattasks are mishandled the fi rst time around is theemployee’s lack of proper training.

Managers who appreciate the importance oftraining display a love of learning and functionas role models for their staff. Periodically, theytake courses to improve their own skills, andthey encourage their employees to do the same.Managers who train and coach others derivesatisfaction from teaching and mentoring while


35

at the same time improving their own communi-cation skills. Staff training takes place in variousways—in new-employee orientation sessions,in formal training courses, and via on-the-jobtraining, as appropriate.

A formal assessment can help determine thetype of training that would be most usefulfor your staff. Typically conducted by human

POST-SESSION LEARNINGReference materials, aids

TRAINING SESSION

PRE-SESSION PREPARATIONQuestionnaire, reading

EMPLOYEE TRAINING CYCLE

APPLY LEARNING ON THE JOB

WORKFLOW TOOLS

REINFORCE KNOWLEDGE BYTRAINING OTHERS


36

resource professionals, the assessment mayinclude discussions with management, analysisof the work done successfully by employees insimilar positions, and employee surveys andfocus groups. Using the results of the assess-ment, you can design a training program toimprove individual employee skills that willcontribute to overall productivity.

Orientation for New EmployeesNew-employee orientations have two parts:fi rst, an introduction to company policies andprocedures and second, an orientation to theemployee’s department, including meetings withcoworkers and a review of the job description.

KEEP EMPLOYEES LEARNING

Giving your staff the knowledge theyneed to do a better job pays off. Youcan provide this enrichment in severalways:

• Formal introductory and refreshercourses

• Remedial courses for employeeslacking a specific skill

• Preparation for responsibilities inleadership and management

• Cross-training opportunities



37

Be supportive of this orientation and reinforceits importance to the employee. New-employeetraining that is well planned and executed can setthe right tone for your new staff member’s expe-rience at your organization and put her on theright track early on.

HIGHER INVESTMENTS IN TRAINING

U.S. organizations are investing morein employee learning, according to areport from the American Society forTraining and Development (ASTD),which used benchmark data from 281public and private U.S. organizationsof varying sizes and industries.

Average annual trainingexpenditure per employee

Hours of formal learning

2003 2004

SOURCE: 2005 State of the Industry Reportby Brenda Sugrue and Ray J. Rivera (ASTDPress, 2005).

Behind the Numbers

$820

26

$95532


38

The orientation session will be your fi rstopportunity to expose her to the core valuesof your company and department and to setthe stage for your work together in the yearsto come. Good training can even have a posi-tive impact on morale and loyalty and reduceemployee turnover.

On-the-Job TrainingTwo key aspects of on-the-job training are skilldevelopment and remediation. Today’s work-place relies on technology to get things done.

TRAINING AS MOTIVATION

Training programs are an opportunity toreinforce the qualities and skills thatyour company values in its employees.Provide a common theme or threadto the training instead of making itrandom and disjointed.

Provide employees with training thatis completely relevant to their jobs. Usequality learning materials, hands-onexperiences, and excellent instructors.Pre-session questionnaires and post-session reference materials and aidsare especially helpful. Encourageemployees to use their knowledge totrain others.

The BIG Picture


39

Employees need to be comfortable with technol-ogy, from copy and fax machines to telephonesystems and desktop computers. You may needto provide introductory, refresher, or advancedtraining in software and systems use. In addition,for some otherwise highly competent employees,you may need to provide remedial training. Forinstance, some workers may lack the basic skillsnecessary to communicate in writing.

On-the-job training can also be an excellent,informal way to broaden a person’s job and

MAKING TRAINING EFFECTIVE

Make sure training is relevant to youremployees and high in quality.

�� Do keep training practical andimmediately applicable to the job.

�� Do hire great trainers.

�� Do break up training sessions intomanageable parts.

�� Do prepare employees beforehandfor what they will learn.

�� Don’t fail to reinforce learning afterthe session.

�� Don’t make training a chore—besure to position it as a privilegeand opportunity for growth.

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40

TRAINING AS INVESTMENT IN SUCCESSWhen you add up all the costs oftraining, both direct and indirect, youunderstand why the training budgetis one of the first to be slashed whentimes are tough.

Add the direct training charges(course fees, materials costs,instructor fees) to the indirect costs(the number of employees participatingtimes the number of hours they arein attendance times the sum of theiraverage hourly wages and proratedhourly cost of their benefits). The sumis not negligible.

The tangible and intangible rewardsof training are hard to measure. Arepeople spending fewer hours producingthe same amount of work? Is the qualityof their work better? Has employeeturnover declined? Have employees’attitudes improved? Yet training hasgreat motivational value and buildsleadership skills. And having motivatedleaders at all levels of the company is asure path to corporate success.

The BIG Picture

introduce him or her to management duties.It’s a good idea to determine where employees’responsibilities can be expanded and to give thema chance periodically to make decisions more


41

independently or to participate in establishingpriorities. You can assign employees who haveleadership potential their own projects to manage,teams to lead, or other employees to supervise.

If appropriate, on-the-job training can alsoinclude cross-training—that is, instruction onhow to perform different jobs within an organi-zation, in other areas, departments, or divisions.Whether you allow employees to observeemployees performing these other jobs or letthem work with or be trained by their peers,this type of training can expand employees’ jobresponsibilities and make them more versatileand more productive.

Formal TrainingWhen employees need to improve their existingskills or learn new ones, it may be best to invest

ASSESSING TRAINING NEEDS

To figure out what would be best foryour staff, you need a training-needsassessment with these components:

• Input from management above you

• Analysis of the work of successfulemployees

• Employee surveys

• Focus groups



42

in formal training. Whether it is conductedinternally or by an outside fi rm, formal traininghelps employees work up to their potential.

Formal training can be an outside seminar, a uni-versity course, or an online course. You might giveemployees a list of recommended business books toread and schedule times to discuss them.

Training the TrainersCreate an atmosphere of continuous learning byattending training sessions with your staff andencouraging employees to transfer their newknowledge to others. Teaching not only helpsreinforce learning but also makes an employeean educational missionary. This arrangementbenefi ts the employee, other employees, and theentire company.

REVIEWING PERFORMANCEMany managers don’t take the time to giveemployees adequate feedback. Some wait untilan annual performance review.

If you value your people, you will make timeto review their work more often. Good manag-ers are continuously commenting on the workdone by their staff members, both the good andthe bad, as tasks and projects are underway orbeing completed.

In addition, to provide a wider perspectiveon employees’ work and how they can improveit, good managers provide a more substantialreview at least quarterly, even if the companyactually requires no more than an annual reviewfor salary adjustment purposes.


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It’s a good idea to develop an objective methodof evaluating employees’ job performance. Somecompanies have performance appraisal forms

with rating scales or checklists, while others per-mit a more narrative approach. The format youuse is not as important as the information youconvey to the employee and how you convey it.

Accentuate the PositiveA good performance review should be a positivelearning experience, not an exercise in intimidation.

“The biggest room wehave is the room forimprovement. There’salways something wecan do better, do moreoften, or do with differentintensity. Appropriatecriticism helps us focusour attention on what weneed to do to becomemore successful.”

—David Cottrell,author of Monday Morning Mentoring


44

First, give employees enough notice so thatthey can complete a written self-appraisal andsubmit it to you in advance. How the employeeperceives his or her performance will give youvaluable insight into the individual’s ability to be

EFFECTIVE REVIEWING

Reviewing employees is a skill that’sworth developing. Good reviews canhelp solid employees grow into stars andultimately make greater contributions toyour work.

�� Do provide continuous feedback.

�� Do conduct formal reviews at leastquarterly.

�� Do use reviews to set goals forperformance, skills acquisition, andadvancement.

�� Don’t have someone else conduct thereview of your direct report.

�� Do give some thought to whatfeedback you will communicate andmake notes of supporting details.

�� Do use anonymous input from coworkersin addition to your own experiencewhen formulating your review.

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45

self-critical and realistic and will help you frameyour comments.

Second, make the review motivational. Alwaysemphasize employees’ strengths and praisetheir accomplishments. Address areas that need

�� Do ask employees to evaluatethemselves—and give them ampletime to prepare.

�� Do schedule reviews well in advanceand hold them on time.

�� Do balance negative and positivefeedback.

�� Don’t fail to acknowledge specificaccomplishments.

�� Do make all criticism constructive.

�� Don’t be critical of the individual,just the behavior.

�� Do make time for the employee tohave his say.

�� Do let employees respond in writing,if desired.

�� Don’t end one review withoutestablishing when the next will takeplace.


46

improvement as well, but do so constructively.Including coworkers’ anonymous input—bothpositive and negative—is a good way to broadenthe review so that it refl ects more than youropinion alone.

The quarterly performance review should fol-low the same outline as annual reviews. This willmake the annual review much easier for bothyou and the employee.

At the end of any performance review, employ-ees should understand clearly what they aredoing right—and what they can do better. Thefocus should be positive. After a review, employ-ees should feel motivated to overcome theirweaknesses rather than feel inadequate.

No SurprisesWhen an employee is surprised by your appraisalof his or her performance, it could be becauseyou have not provided daily or quarterly feed-back, or you have not been clear and direct inthe feedback you did provide. If you have beenconveying honest constructive criticism all along,then there should be no surprises.

Upward AssessmentsDo you have the guts to let employees reviewyou? Some organizations use employee surveysto rate a manager’s performance. For instance,at sales meetings of Pitney Bowes, the world’slargest mail specialist, the company’s top man-agers hold forums where the salespeople—whoare in the fi eld with the customers day in andday out—rip into management strategies and


47

policies with hard-hitting questions and con-frontations. Although initially disconcerting, such“upward assessments” can have a positive impact.Managers see themselves through employees’ eyesand gain new respect for the review process. Askeach employee to tell you honestly how you cando better.

CASE FILETHE MORE FEEDBACK THE BETTER

Fannie Mae vice-president LeRoyPingho realized that he wasn’t gettingthe feedback he needed to get overwhat he called his “flat spots.”

To rate his performance, he set upan annual review for himself—by aboss, a customer, and a subordinate.Then he wrote a report on theinformation he had been given, gaveit to 50 people—everyone from hiswife to his boss—and asked a fewof them to be his “spotters.” Thesepeople, with whom he worked everyday, agreed to help him deal with hisweaknesses. “If you see something,say something,” he told them.

Having immediate feedback in anarea you’ve targeted for improvementmakes all the difference.

SOURCE: “How to Give Good Feedback” by GinaImperato, Fast Company (September 1998).


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HANDLING DIFFICULT TASKSYou know about square pegs and round holes.Well, both show up in the workplace just as oftenas in the rest of life. Sometimes a person justcan’t do the job, and as a manager you are facedwith the diffi cult task of reprimanding or even

THE MIDDLE 70 PERCENT

Former General Electric CEO JackWelch believes that most managersinformally divide their staffs intothree groups—a top-performing 20percent who are continually rewardedfor their work, the bottom 10, and themiddle 70. “This middle 70 percent isenormously valuable to any company,”he notes. “You simply cannotfunction without their skills, energy,and commitment.” Keeping themmotivated calls for training, positivefeedback, and thoughtful goal-setting.People with promise should be cross-trained in other areas to broaden theirexperience and knowledge and shouldbe given opportunity for leadership.It’s not about keeping them out ofthe bottom 10 percent, he notes. It’sabout giving them the opportunity tojoin the top 20.SOURCE: Winning by Jack Welch (Collins, 2005).

Outside the Box


49

terminating him or her. Simply because mostof us do not like confrontation, many managersavoid stern conversations with employees, eventhose who need that kind of powerful jolt to setthem straight.

Part of your responsibility as a manager isto make sure your work group is functioningeffectively. Consequently, if an underperformingemployee is holding you back, or an employee whohas trouble getting along with co-workers is disrup-tive, it is your responsibility to correct the situation.

When you observe an employee doing some-thing wrong, it is important to address the issuewith the employee promptly and privately. If aco-worker brings another employee’s misdeed toyour attention, you still need to act—but with care.Try to corroborate the story and be tactful whenconfronting the employee with any secondhandinformation.

When handling a diffi cult situation, it is veryimportant to give the employee the benefi t of the

COMMON MISTAKES

Of all the mistakes managers make ingiving performance reviews, three areparticularly common:

• Reviewing too infrequently

• Being underprepared

• Providing unbalanced feedback



50

TAKING ACTION

Dealing with employees who don’tmeasure up to expectations can bechallenging. Here are ten keys tohandling underperformers:

�� Do deal with a difficult task as soonas it presents itself.

�� Do remain calm and unemotional.

�� Do provide guidance to correct thesituation.

�� Do set deadlines for required actions.

�� Do make dated notes of everyconversation and situation.

�� Do initiate disciplinary action if theproblem is not corrected.

�� Do consider probation ortermination if a problem is notresolved.

�� Do make certain that you havejust cause for oral or writtenreprimands and terminations.

�� Don’t attack employees personally.

�� Don’t fail to get employees to signperformance reviews and writtenreprimands.

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51

doubt and to remain objective, calm, and unemo-tional. If your work environment has been one ofmutual trust and respect, you will be better pre-pared to deal with any problem that comes along.

Get into the habit of documenting every prob-lem. Make notes of who said what and whenafter a problem occurs and during any meetingsat which it is discussed. Keep these notes in alocked fi le.

ReprimandsIf you have been doing a good job of provid-ing continuous feedback to your employees andreviewing their performance periodically, repri-mands should rarely be necessary.

They should be issued only when there is justcause—misconduct, negligence, insubordina-tion, unwillingness to perform job requirements,or similar circumstances.

The oral reprimand. If constructive criticismdelivered in a private meeting has failed tocorrect an unacceptable behavior, a more offi cialoral reprimand may be warranted. This is thefi rst step in the progressive discipline processthat may ultimately, but not necessarily, leadto termination.

In an oral reprimand, you and your employeediscuss a specifi c problem, and you call for anaction to correct it. You need to tell the employeethat it is an oral reprimand, give the specifi creasons behind it, and warn that a more seriousconsequence could result if the problem is notcorrected. You should also document the oralreprimand in writing.


52

The written reprimand. If the problem con-tinues unabated, you may wish to formallyput the employee on notice with a writtenreprimand. You must ask the employee toacknowledge the written reprimand by signingand dating a copy, and you should fi le a copywith your HR department. If the employeerefuses to sign the reprimand, make a writtennote of this on your copy of the document andon the copy you send to HR.

Delivery is important. Both oral and writ-ten reprimands should be delivered privately.

CONSIDER PROBATION

Probation, a formal warning that anemployee will be terminated if thereis no improvement within a specifiedperiod, can help employees realize asituation’s severity. It announces thatthey are being given one last chance.

If you opt for probation, state thereasons clearly in writing. Set a goalthat is measurable and explain thattermination could follow if it is notreached by a given date—usually 30,60, or 90 days later. Ask the employeeto sign the probationary notice. Forsome employees, this warning is allthe motivation they need to improve.

Plan B


53

ORAL REPRIMANDSAlways given in private

PERFORMANCE REVIEWSGiven quarterly and annually

INFORMAL FEEDBACKGiven during and afterprojects and tasks and

always documented in writing

PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINESTEPS

WRITTEN REPRIMANDSTo be signed by employee

WORKFLOW TOOLS

PROBATIONFinal warning

TERMINATIONThe last resort


54

You should also always give the employee anopportunity to respond verbally or in writing.

Whether oral or written, any reprimandmust include specific references to the unac-ceptable behavior. You must provide thoroughdocumentation of the nature of the behavior,when it occurred, and how it veered fromacceptable standards.

Reprimanding an employee doesn’t requireyou to be angry or upset. Stay calm even if theemployee becomes emotional. Be fi rm yet fairin explaining the nature of the reprimand, andmake it clear that additional disciplinary actioncould be taken if the problem is not corrected.

Delivering a reprimand is not pleasant. Don’tlet that deter you, however. If you have a prob-lem on your hands that needs to be dealt with,face up to the need for the reprimand and takedecisive action promptly.

TerminationEven for experienced managers, it’s hard to ter-minate an employee. But sometimes terminationis unavoidable. When a termination is due to lay-offs, it can be particularly diffi cult, since it maycome as a surprise to the employee.

When termination is the result of poor per-formance, it is not necessarily easier, but at leastthe employee should not be shocked if you haveprovided regular feedback in the form of con-structive criticism and performance reviews.To prepare for a termination, thorough writtendocumentation of past unresolved problems isessential. If you have any doubt, you need only


55

review your paperwork to be certain that you arejustifi ed in taking action. Be sure you know yourcompany’s policy on termination and the provi-sions of federal and state laws.

Whatever the reason for the termination,deliver the news calmly and objectively. Althoughthe meeting should be private, it may be appro-priate to have an HR representative present.

“It’s awful to fi re people.But if you have acandid organizationwith clear performanceexpectations and aperformance evaluationprocess . . . then peoplein the bottom 10 percentgenerally know who theyare. When you tell them,they usually leave beforeyou ask them to.”

—Jack Welch,former CEO of General Electric


56

An employee’s reaction can run the gamutfrom disbelief to anger to tears. Show compas-sion but be fi rm. Make it clear that the decisionis fi nal. Your objective is to terminate theemployee without impugning his or her dignity.

Former General Electric CEO Jack Welch,widely considered one of the century’s mostinfl uential business leaders, says that what youdo after you fi re someone matters as much

TERMINATION

Firing someone is never easy. Butknowing the protocols can help theprocess go more smoothly.

�� Do create a paper trail. Keep written,dated accounts of any incidents orproblems that occur.

�� Don’t terminate an employee withoutcomplete documentation.

�� Do plan what you are going to say atthe termination meeting. Practice ifnecessary.

�� Don’t berate the employee during thetermination meeting.

�� Do gather information aboutunemployment, health insurance,severance, and other benefits.

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57

�� Do bring a termination letter to themeeting that details severance details.

�� Do prepare a checklist of what theemployee must turn in before leaving.

�� Do treat the employee respectfully andstay calm and unemotional.

�� Do block access to e-mail andtelephone as soon as the employeeleaves.

�� Do not let a terminated employeeleave with confidential information.

�� Do notify remaining employees aboutthe termination as soon as you can.

�� Do not retract a termination once youhave made the decision.

as how you do it. Specifi cally, don’t let youremployee feel that he’s a pariah. Even if you areangry, you have to bolster his self-esteem andassure him that he will fi nd another job that’s abetter match. It’s possible that the lead for thatjob could come from you. A soft landing for himis your objective. “Every person who leaves goeson to represent your company,” Welch notes.“They can bad-mouth or they can praise.”

�“Teamwork is the abilityto work together towarda common vision. Theability to direct individualaccomplishments towardorganizational objectives.It is the fuel that allowscommon people to attainuncommon results.”

—Andrew Carnegie,philanthropist and founder

of Carnegie Steel Company(1835–1919)

Essential Skill IIManaging Teams

�Why work in teams?To put it simply,you’ll accomplishmore—and

do it more effi ciently. Themodern workplace is leaner,and managers are expected todo more with less. The properlymanaged team can produce morework of better quality, faster, thanindividuals working alone.


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A team doesn’t exist to give its members thepleasure of teamwork. Whether the team isa work group team, a sales team, or a serviceteam, it exists to accomplish something spe-cific, and its members share a common senseof purpose. The old saying “The whole isgreater than the sum of its parts” is never truerthan for a team.

Good teams are grounded in collaboration andcooperation. The culture of the workplace mustembrace the concept of working together; youmust embrace being a team leader.

Team leadership involves doing four thingswell: building your team, defi ning the roles of

TEAMS ACCOMPLISH AMAZING THINGSIn his book Creativity, author MihalyCsikszentmihalyi points out that inFlorence, between 1400 and 1425,five different artists created five of themost celebrated works in all ofart history.

• Filippo Brunelleschi designed thecathedral dome.

• Lorenzo Ghiberti sculpted the Gatesof Paradise.

• Donatello created sculptures in thechapel of Orsanmichele.

• Masaccio painted frescoes in theBrancacci Chapel.

The BIG Picture

M A N A G I N G T E A M S

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• Gentile da Fabriano rendered the“Adoration of the Magi” in theChurch of the Trinity.

This was more than just coincidence,he believes. The collaboration of theartists with their patrons, and thefeedback these patrons gave duringthe creation of each work, pushed theartists to heights that they might neverhave achieved on their own. In otherwords, outstanding performance isnever a solo accomplishment.SOURCE: Executive Intelligence by Justin Menkes(Collins, 2005).

your team members, motivating your team, andusing your team effectively.

BUILDING TEAMSManagers who don’t inherit teams must startwith existing employees. Rarely do you havethe opportunity to build a new team from theground up. Even so, you can make an impact byconveying a sense of purpose and direction.

Define the Team’s RoleIt falls to you as the manager and team leaderto spell out what the team is expected toaccomplish.


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Make the goal specifi c and measurable; itcan be as ambitious as you need it to be, but itshould still be realistic. Set a deadline.

At the same time, explain how the team’swork supports the goals of your organization asa whole. Often, when people work closely on ateam, their perspective becomes narrower andmore focused. Although this changed perspectivehelps them do their work, knowing the biggerpicture is important in making decisions andmaintaining enthusiasm for the tasks at hand. Inaddition, make a point of consistently remindingyour group of the value of their efforts.

Know Your Team MembersChances are that not all team members are equallycommitted to the team—or equally competent.

MANAGING TEAMSWorking in teams is a way formanagers to accomplish more withless. These are the basic principles formanaging teams:

• A team exists to accomplishsomething.

• Teams are built on cooperation andcollaboration.

• Team leaders know how to buildand motivate teams and use themeffectively.



63

As team leader, you need to learn which is which,to determine the strengths and talents of eachperson, and to make appropriate assignments.If you have the option, choose employees withcomplementary skills. Some employees may bebetter suited to certain tasks than others. Somemay show initiative; others need more support.

CASE FILEA WHOLE CULTURE OF TEAMS

Whole Foods has become one of themost successful natural foods groceryretailers. One major reason, accordingto cofounder and CEO John Mackey, isits team culture.

Each store operates on its own withan average of ten teams managing thestore’s departments. The teams haveleaders and performance targets.

Whole Foods promotes the conceptof internal competition. Each store’steams, the stores themselves, andthe company’s regions compete withone another. Bonuses, recognition,and promotions are directly tied tosuperior performance.

It makes for a whole company ofteams focused on excellence.SOURCE: “Whole Foods Is All Teams” by CharlesFishman, Fast Company (April/May 1996).


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Training may be required for some to reach thestandards set for the group—or the team as awhole may need instruction.

Foster CooperationTeams succeed only when their members coop-erate closely and work collaboratively. However,

RECOGNIZING INDIVIDUALITYWhen managing a team, start byviewing each team member as unique.

�� Do match team members’ roles totheir individual capabilities.

�� Don’t force people into roles forwhich they’re ill-suited.

�� Do make organized, detail-orientedindividuals your administrators andproject managers.

�� Do assign your creative people thejob of generating ideas. They arethe ones who will spark the teamto think inventively.

�� Do try to find someone withsubject-matter expertise.

�� Do designate a social, outgoingteam member as your team builder.

�� Do make sure everyoneunderstands everyone else’s role.

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65

not everyone is capable of that. While it’s neces-sary to respect different personalities, as a teamleader you cannot let personality differencesimpede your progress. You need to reinforce

mutual respect, cooperation, and teamwork. Praise team members for collaborating. Encour-age the open sharing of information.

At times, you may have to mediate differencesbetween team members. Even as you encourageindependent thinking, be sure that the end resultmakes a contribution to the team’s goals.

Build Team SpiritThe work of a team can be intense at times. Inthe best teams, the shared experience of work-ing towards a goal—with all the advances andsetbacks that entails—creates a strong senseof camaraderie.

However, this team spirit takes time to develop.At the beginning, you can help moderate themood by having team members share something

“I’ve always foundthat the speed of theboss is the speed of theteam.”

—Lee Iacocca,former CEO of Chrysler


66

personal at your meetings. Occasionally useteam-building exercises. Get the team togethersocially—out to dinner, to a sporting event, oron a hike. In other words, have some fun.

Then, when you create team T-shirts, sweat-shirts, baseball hats, pens, or coffee mugs, theteam slogan or icon members display will becomepowerful reminders of the team’s shared experi-ences, both achievements and setbacks, and yourcommon goal. These logo items will become onemore way of reminding the group that they arepart of something important.

HOW TO BUILD STRONG TEAMS

An effective team can accomplish morethan any single individual. The better youare at managing teams, the better yourresults will be.

�� Do define what you wantaccomplished before you startbuilding your team.

�� Do explain the team’s purpose—don’tassume members understand it.

�� Do explain how success will bemeasured.

�� Do consider members’ uniquestrengths and weaknesses whenassigning roles to team members.

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Insist on AccountabilityA team is not a place for employees to avoidresponsibility. Set high performance standards,and expect each team member to make an effortto contribute. Empower team members to beself-suffi cient, but always be available to guidethem. Even if you promote consensus decision-making, you are ultimately accountable for theteam’s success. For that reason, monitor yourteam diligently. Make sure team members leaveprogress meetings knowing what is expected andfeeling accountable for getting it done.

�� Do provide appropriate training—forindividuals or for the group as awhole.

�� Do foster collaboration andcooperation.

�� Don’t let personality differences andconflicts impede team progress.

�� Do nurture and promote team spirit.

�� Do set a high standard for teamperformance.

�� Do monitor team progress.

�� Don’t abdicate responsibility for theresults.


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CASE FILEHOW DO TEAMS AFFECT A BUSINESS?

To find out, economics professorDerek C. Jones and his colleagueTakao Kato spent 35 months doing in-depth interviews and surveys and evenshadowing workers at a fast-growinglight manufacturing firm that makesparts for other businesses.

The CEO of the multinationalcompany that owned the firmbelieved in teams and had initiateda teaming program throughout themanufacturing plant.

When Jones and Kato analyzedindividual team members’ daily outputof parts, the number rejected becauseof poor quality, and the number of“downtime” hours consumed by

DEFINING ROLES ON TEAMSIt’s important to realize that the team you build ismade up of people, each of whom has unique skills,experience, capabilities, and talents. A smart managerwho wants to build a successful team assesses eachindividual’s strengths and leverages them to maximumadvantage in service of the team’s goals.

In their best-selling book, First, Break All the Rules(Simon & Schuster, 1999), Marcus Buckingham andCurt Coffman make the point that it is far more effec-tive to focus on each individual’s strengths and to


69

cultivate his or her talents than to make anattempt to remediate his or her weaknesses.The authors encourage all managers to “helpeach person become more and more of who healready is.”

The authors suggest that many managersare more comfortable with assumptions andgeneralizations about types of people, such as“ego-driven salespeople” or “shy accountants,”rather than dealing with the reality that eachperson is different.

nonproduction-related job activities,the findings were startling. Initially,individual productivity among teammembers increased significantly—byabout 3 percent—and rejection ratesdropped more than 25 percent.

In fact, for those whom managementhad invited to join the teams, theoverall benefits were lasting. Andthese statistics measure only theteam membership’s impact on theproductivity of individual workers,apart from workplace improvementsthe teams had developed.SOURCE: “The Effects of Employee Involvementon Firm Performance” by Derek C. Jones andTakao Kato, The William Davidson Institute(September 2003).


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GOOD WORKS

Companies can use team building notonly to reach their corporate goals butalso to promote global citizenship.

Dell’s Global Community InvolvementWeek encouraged employees aroundthe world to contribute time, energy,and enthusiasm to help the globalcommunity. In the United States, 52teams represented 2,500 employeesand Dell teams in 16 countriesspearheaded community service effortsduring a designated seven-day period.Thousands of Dell team membersengaged in community serviceactivities ranging from educationalfairs to building houses.

Dell has numerous other team-building programs. The Team BuildingMatch Grant Program, for example,encourages departmental and teambuilding by providing a financialmatch to a not-for-profit organizationchosen as a beneficiary by a Dellemployee team.SOURCE: Dell, Inc., www.dell.com.

THE BOTTOM LINE


71

Find the DifferenceMake the extra effort to develop a thoroughunderstanding of the capabilities of your teammembers. Then use that insight to put people inthe right team roles.

Do you have someone on your team who isorganized and detail-oriented—perhaps some-one with project management experience? Thisperson could be well suited to be the team’sadministrator. An administrator helps coordi-nate individual team members’ efforts, keepswork on schedule, tracks the status of tasks,minds the details, and so on.

THE INTANGIBLE IMPACT OF TEAMS

An us-versus-them mentality pervadesin many workplaces. Sometimes thisdivision between employees and theirmanagers is reinforced by companypolicy and traditions, and sometimesit exists as a subtle undercurrent. It isanathema to the team spirit.

However, a strong team philosophycan make a positive impact thatcounters this mentality. Even as aleader, when you participate as ateam member, you join employees oncommon ground—and you’re all onthe same side.

The BIG Picture


72

Is there a team member who is always com-ing up with ideas or has a creative side but isn’tvery organized? This person might be the team’sidea-generator, someone who functions as a“spark plug” and gets the team thinking broadlyand imaginatively.

Does one of your team members have exper-tise in a subject, or in-depth knowledge of asystem or process that might be of value to theteam? This person could be the team subject-matter expert, the person others rely on forinformation and facts.

Is one of your team members particularly socialand outgoing? This person might function as a

EIGHT INGREDIENTS OF PERFORMANCEIn his classic book, The Wisdom ofTeams, Jon Katzenbach says there’sno perfect recipe for building teamperformance. However, his research hasilluminated eight ingredients that mosthigh-performance teams shared.

• Management imparts a sense ofurgency and sets a clear direction.

• Team members are selected based onskills and potential, not personalities.

• First-time interactions of the teammembers are positive.


73

liaison to other teams or take the responsibility forsetting up team-building exercises and events.

Formalize the RolesOnce you’ve matched the individuals with theirroles, formalize these roles. If you have moreroles to fi ll than you have team members, somemembers will need to take on multiple roles.This is not uncommon among smaller teams;you should still be able to accomplish your goals.

Defi ne each of the roles as specifi cally as pos-sible. What tasks must be accomplished? Whatare the dependencies of one role to another? Isit necessary for the responsibilities of one role

• Management has set clear rules ofbehavior.

• Immediate performance-orientedtasks and goals have been laid out.

• The group has been challenged withnew perspectives and information.

• The group spends a considerableamount of time together.

• Management exploits the power ofpositive feedback, recognition, andrewards.

SOURCE: The Wisdom of Teams by Jon R. Katzen-bach and Douglas K. Smith (Harvard Business SchoolPress, 1992).

THE BOTTOM LINE


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to be completed before another role begins? Besure that individual team members know notonly their own roles but also those of other teammembers. This is one situation in which it’s goodfor everyone to know each other’s business.

Set the CourseOnce all your team members know their ownroles and each other’s, get everyone together todetermine what needs to be done and when. Theymust take ownership of the process, begin to func-tion cooperatively, and collaborate to complete the

“A team is a livingaggregation of individualtalent. Sure, its collectivecapabilities may add upto more than the sumof the parts. But if weforget to nurture andcultivate each part, thesum can never achievegreatness.”

—Frank Pacetta,author of Stop Whining—and Start Winning


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assigned tasks. Have your administrator provide aschedule that shows what needs to be done, when,and by whom. Jump-start the work with a meetingto review roles and reiterate your goals.

HOW TO KEEP A TEAM STRONG

Personalities are apt to clash andtempers to flare when a team is at work.Try to prevent the resulting tensionsfrom affecting your team’s progress.

�� Don’t support one team memberover another when conflicts arise.

�� Do make an effort to be impartialin resolving disagreements.

�� Don’t harshly criticize any teammember in front of others.

�� Don’t favor one employee overanother in distributing teamrewards.

�� Do encourage all team members tovoice their opinions honestly.

�� Don’t expect every team member tobe equally committed.

�� Do work to communicate a stronganswer to the inevitable question,“What’s in it for me?”

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MOTIVATING TEAMSIt sounds paradoxical, but motivating a teamstarts with motivating individuals.

While it is nice to think that people want towork together in teams just to be more produc-tive, they are motivated by self-interest. Theyexpect to be personally rewarded for their efforts.

Each and every team member wants to feelimportant. Each individual’s self-esteem needs tobe affi rmed. Each needs an appealing answer tothe question “What’s in it for me?”

You can provide the answer by making sureindividuals understand that their collectiveeffort will bring benefi ts they would not enjoyif they were working alone—not so much sal-ary increases and promotions as other distinctrewards and benefi ts.

Working as OneDemonstrate by your attitude, actions, andwords that your staff ’s work as a unifi ed team isimportant to you and to the organization youall work for. Make a point of reinforcing thismessage at every team meeting, in all team com-munications, and whenever you set goals andreview progress.

Make it fun to work as one. Create a team logoor saying with your team members. Put it onteam memos and paraphernalia.

Show team members that you expect them towork as a team and promise to reward them fordoing so. Motivate them even more by tellingthem that the team’s rewards will increase as theteam’s performance increases.


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Motivational Exercises and EventsConsider using icebreakers and motivationalexercises at the beginning of team meetings andat other team events. Such exercises promotecamaraderie and help team members get toknow one another better. Exercises might includepresentations, skits, drawing, writing, or someother form of interaction. Develop exercises thatare appropriate to your company and your team.

Motivational events can also help make theteam more cohesive. Parties, excursions, tours,and other group events are other options worthconsidering. Some companies endorse the use

LEARN BY ROLE-PLAYING

One novel way to encourage teammembers to respect each others’ rolesis to conduct a role-playing exercise.

In it, encourage team members toswitch roles and act out how theymight handle specific situations orproblems. Have two team memberswho switch roles “perform” in front ofthe other team members. The otherteam members should comment onwhat they observe.

Role-playing can be a valuablelearning experience for the entireteam. Be sure to be impartial whenconducting this exercise.

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TIME FOR REWARDS

Individual motivators vary—monetaryrewards work for some and non-monetary rewards work for others.Make the point that working as a teamcan be rewarding by offering variouscreative incentives:

• Bonuses

• Profit-sharing

• Stock options

• Team excursions

• Hats, mugs, team items

• Parties

• Prizes such as lessons, health-clubmemberships, and tickets to events

• Seminars and conventions

• Vacations and weekend trips

• Certificates, plaques, ribbons, andmedals, publicly displayed

• Public acknowledgment of teamaccomplishments in a newsletter ormemo or at a meeting



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of ropes courses and Outward Bound–style pro-grams to heighten team motivation.

Material RewardsIncentives such as prizes, vacations, bonuses,profi t-sharing, or stock options can drama-tize the point that working as a team can berewarding. However, be sure to distinguish teamrewards from individual rewards. Having teammembers share a bonus pool that increases asthe team meets specifi c objectives is differentfrom rewarding an individual salesperson whoexceeds her sales quota. Any team reward shouldbe distributed equitably, so as not to favor oneemployee over another.

A department, division, or company profi t-sharing program is a good example of ateam-oriented monetary reward. Typically, aprofi t-sharing program distributes paymentsto employees based on the successful achieve-ment of one of its fi nancial objectives. Since all

“If you want star players,reward the stars. If youwant star teams, rewardteam players.”

—James B. Miller,corporate coach


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employees contribute to that goal, each one willbe eligible to receive some portion of the profi t.Sometimes this portion is based on time withthe company or seniority in the corporate hier-archy. Profi t-sharing motivates the individualto work on behalf of the larger team to get themaximum fi nancial reward.

USING TEAMS EFFECTIVELYYour direction as a manager is one of the keysto your team’s effectiveness. It is your respon-sibility to set goals, monitor progress, andestablish criteria for success. But it’s equallyimportant that you solicit and applaud yourteam’s input in these areas so that each teammember feels a part of the process.

There are two ways to provide direction toyour team. The first is to meet with individualteam members whenever they need guidance,

“As a leader, your job isto gently steer the teamtoward a more usefuldirection and towardsolutions, and then letthem do the thinking.”

—David Rock,author of Quiet Leadership


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have a problem, or are experiencing conflictswith another team member.

The second is to convene team meetingswhen you have a specific agenda or want tomonitor the team’s progress. To keep thesemeetings efficient, establish what you want toaccomplish and set a time limit at the outset.Share the purpose of the meeting with teammembers in advance. Invite the smallest pos-sible number of people without arbitrarilyexcluding team members.

WARNING SIGNS OF DIVISION

Watch out for these signals that a teamis not unified:

• Lack of direction – The team isunsure of its purpose or goal.

• Team malaise – Team membersseem to lack energy and spirit.

• Frequent flare-ups – Two or moreteam members seem to be often atodds.

• Decision paralysis – The team isunable to reach a decision together.

• Incompatibility – One or more teammembers ask to be transferred toanother team.

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Resolving ConflictIt is almost inevitable that tempers will flarebetween team members at some point. This isnot at all unusual when people work closelytogether under deadlines.

It is best if conflicting team members canwork out their differences without your inter-vention; however, any conflict has the potentialto disable the effectiveness of the team. Whenyou become aware of a conflict, meet with theteam members who are involved individuallyfirst and then, if necessary, together. Reinforcethe importance of working together as a teamand try to facilitate a resolution.

THE SELF-MANAGED TEAM

A self-managed team can accomplisha great deal if the manager stepsback and lets the team succeed. Self-managed teams thrive when:

• The members of the team feelempowered.

• Team members have some authorityto make decisions.

• Team members take on expandedroles and responsibilities.

• A coach, not a supervisor, is atthe helm.



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Empowering the TeamThe most effective teams are those whosemembers feel empowered. Efficiency is high.The individuals work together like a well-oiledmachine, each one accepting responsibility forthe success of the team as a whole. Not only doteam members accomplish tasks on schedule,they also practice consensus decision-making.

For this situation to develop, the team needsto be given a certain amount of authority tofunction independently and make decisions.

TEAM TIME-OUT

If a team is either always at odds orchronically underperforming, it may betime for a team reality check.

Get everyone together for a frank andhonest discussion. The group mightneed to hear what the consequenceswill be if they continue to fail to meetteam goals.

Probe to find out whether teammembers feel responsible andaccountable for the team’s success.Remind the group that if they miss theirgoals, they won’t earn the rewards thatare due to the team.

Often these steps can get the teamback on track.

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HELP YOUR TEAM BECOME EFFECTIVE

As the team leader, you can have asignificant impact on the success ofyour team.

�� Don’t abdicate your responsibilityfor monitoring the team’s progress.

�� Don’t hold team meetings withouta specific agenda.

�� Don’t allow conflicts to continueif you believe they are affecting theteam’s effectiveness.

�� Do get out of the way if your teammembers already accept individualresponsibility for the team’ssuccess.

�� Don’t micromanage a team thatalready functions effectively.

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Not all team members are comfortable with thisresponsibility. In fact, team members of sucha self-managed team often fi nd that their jobsexpand and they need to take on new, broaderresponsibilities.

Still, self-managed teams can accomplish agreat deal. If you put into practice the strate-gies and techniques discussed earlier, it is quite


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possible to build a self-managed team. Consideryourself lucky if you do. When a self-managedteam becomes truly successful, an interestingthing happens: the manager becomes not somuch a supervisor as a coach. Your role is no lessimportant, but it is certainly different.

The best course of action, when possible, is toget out of the way and let the team succeed. Beavailable to answer questions and offer guidance.Be a sounding board. Facilitate decision-makingwhen the need arises. Monitor progress.

Don’t completely let go of the rudder, butdon’t overmanage your team if it is capable ofgetting the work done on its own. After all, it is atribute to you as a manager when such an effec-tive team hits its stride.

�“How do you know whenyour project measures up?Each week, ask, “Will webe bragging about thisproject fi ve years fromnow? Never let a projectgo dreary on you.”

—Tom Peters

Essential Skill IIIManaging Projects

�Managing projectstakes the skills youacquire managingpeople and teams

and applies them to a deliverable.A project is any deliverable—areport, a presentation, a strategicplan, a manufactured product—for which you have managementresponsibility.


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Typically, managing a project means manag-ing three components—resources, money, andtime—that are separate but interdependent and,taken together, comprise the scope of the project.

THE PROJECT’S SCOPEIn effect, the scope of the project is what youneed to accomplish with the resources, money,and time you have available. Most project man-agement experts say that properly defi ning thescope of the project at the outset is the ingredi-ent most critical to its success.

To defi ne the scope, you need to fully under-stand the nature of the project, its objective, andwhat you think will be required to get it done.Can the project legitimately be accomplished

WHAT’S A PROJECT?

A project is any deliverable for whichyou have management responsibility.The three critical elements are:

• Resources – People, equipment,physical material, outside services

• Money – Funds allocated for theproject, anticipated profit

• Time – How long it takes to reacheach milestone and to complete theproject overall


M A N A G I N G P R O J E C T S

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GET ORGANIZED

ALLOCATE RESOURCES

DEFINE PROJECT’S SCOPE

BASIC PROJECT MANAGEMENT

BUILD A SCHEDULE

WORK FLOW TOOLS

DO A REALITY CHECK

MONITOR PROGRESS

ANALYZE THE OUTCOME


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CASE FILESTRONG PLANS ARE TOP PERFORMERS

For Washington Group International,a large engineering consulting firm,weak project management is not anoption. The company runs projects in30 countries at any given time—asmany as 400 to 500 jobs at once.

Not only does repeat businessdepend on successful execution ofevery project, but so do the firm’searnings: Revenues from most of thecontracts are linked to performance.Consequently, successful execution ofevery project has a direct impact onthe bottom line.

With this impetus, the firm haslearned that projects with a well-defined planning process and strongexecution plans outperform projectswith weaker plans by five to one.Strong project management skills area firm value and part of its corporateculture. As a result, about 75 percentof the firm’s jobs meet or exceedtargeted performance due to projectmanagement, according to TomZarges, executive vice president ofoperations.SOURCE: “Beyond the Bottom Line” by MarlaSchulman, PM Network (January 2005).


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with the available resources, money, and time?What is the budget? The delivery date? Arethere elements of the project that you believeshould be outside the project’s scope? A project’sscope is dynamic— it should change if the proj-ect is modifi ed along the way.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

The more mature an organization’sproject management practices, themore likely the organization willreach a high level of performance.A 2006 survey of senior practitionersindicated that improving the levelof project management maturity,assessed via an industry standardmodel, has a direct impact onperformance benefits.

The most significant differencebetween high-performing and low-performing organizations is in theirallocation of resources and theirestimates of what they will need tosee a project through successfullyfrom beginning to end.

High-performing organizationsare also significantly better atcompleting projects on schedule.SOURCE: Project Management Maturity (The Centerfor Business Practices, 2006).

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Your job is to determine what changes in scopemay be needed—in terms of more or fewerresources, money, or time—if the project changes.

Managing projects closely is key. Sometimes theproject may not appear to change dramatically.However, several seemingly insignifi cant changescan occur that, when added up, contribute to aphenomenon known as “scope creep.” Suddenly,the project you’re managing seems to be consum-ing more resources, time, or money. This is whenyou need to stop to assess the project and possiblymake a scope change.

AVOID COMMON MISTAKESPlanning carefully, then managingprojects closely as they change, iscrucial.

�� Don’t assume all projects arethe same; each one has its ownrequirements and challenges.

�� Don’t take shortcuts in the projectmanagement process.

�� Do plan for contingencies; thescope of most projects changes asthey progress.

�� Do understand that a change ofscope is a failure only if you didnot plan for it or communicate thechange to others.

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A scope change implies that additionalresources, money, or time will be needed forthe project. Once you decide a scope change isrequired, you will likely need to gain approvalbefore going any further.

Goals and Objectives DefinedFor any project to reach its successful comple-tion, the manager and project team mustunderstand the project’s goals and objectives.These two terms are often confused, but theyrepresent very different concepts.

A project goal describes the broader aim of theproject, often in the context of a business goal.Goals are expressed in general terms and are nottypically measurable.

The objective of a project, on the other hand,relates to the specifi c outcome desired fromthe project. Objectives are usually expressed inconcrete terms, typically using numbers, per-centages, and other measurable terms.

Here is an example. Suppose a university isembarking on a major capital project to improveits library. One of the goals of the project is tohelp improve the reputation of the university asa research institution on a national level. Oneof the objectives of the project is to add enoughphysical capacity by autumn of 2008 to increasethe library’s book holdings from 50,000 to100,000 volumes.

It is important for a manager to understandthe project goal, but it is essential for a managerto live the project objective. Objectives repre-sent real, measurable results. The objective is


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what you, as a manager, have been tasked toachieve. The degree to which your objective isachieved will be the basis for your evaluation asa project manager.

About Goals and ObjectivesGoals for a project should always be tied tobusiness goals. A defi nable project does notexist in a vacuum—its reason for being is tosupport a larger business goal. In fact, a projectmay fulfi ll only a portion of a goal; it may takeseveral projects to meet a particular goal.

Project objectives can be set by project man-agers, with the approval of senior management.

HOW TO SET GOALS AND OBJECTIVESTo a great extent, the success of a projectis determined in the initial phases, with theestablishment of the goals and objectives.

�� Don’t confuse goals and objectives.

�� Do create objectives that describe thespecific outcome of the project.

�� Do get the project team involved insetting the objectives.

�� Don’t allow others to set objectiveswithout your approval for projects thatyou will be responsible for managing.

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However, it’s also wise to involve a project’steam members in setting objectives, since theywill be doing the work. The objectives will bemore readily achievable if the team wholeheart-edly embraces the objectives of the project upfront.

Involving the team does not mean leaving thefi nal decision to the group, however. Althoughyou want to encourage the members of yourteam to participate in setting objectives, it shouldbe up to you as the project manager to make thefi nal decision. It is ultimately the success of thegroup in meeting the objective you’ve establishedthat will be measured.

�� Do establish criteria at the outset formeasuring results, if need be.

�� Don’t set project objectives that youknow are unrealistic or too aggressive.

�� Do accept that it may take severalprojects to meet a particular goal.

�� Do make sure that your goalsdescribe the broader aim of theproject and are in keeping withbusiness goals.

�� Do take final responsibility yourselffor achieving the objective.


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The easiest way to set an objective is tounderstand what the project must accomplish.A project is generally designed to change orimprove something. The objective expresses adesired improvement, in terms of resources,time, or money. The objective should be realisticand achievable.

In addition, criteria should be establishedso that the project’s results can be accuratelymeasured. You need to be able to impartiallyevaluate whether or not the project is meetingits objective.

Managing Project MilestonesAs a manager, you should also establish proj-ect milestones—deliverables or checkpointsthat occur at specifi ed intervals on the project’scritical path. By reaching these mini-objectiveson schedule, you and your team know that theproject is on track. Missing a milestone can havea snowball effect on the entire project. Con-sequently, managing milestones is one way tokeep a project on track and ultimately meet theproject’s objectives.

It is important to note that project milestonesmay or may not be dependent on one another.Often there are constraints on resources, time,or money so that milestones cannot occurstrictly in sequence. Some parts of the projectmay have to be done concurrently, and tasksmay well overlap.

In such cases, you may feel as if you have manyballs in the air at once as you manage the project.It takes a competent team of individuals with


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clearly defi ned responsibilities to make sure yourcritical milestones are reached on time.

Quality, Time, and MoneyOften, a project goal is to improve quality in somemeasurable way. A typical project objective is todo that on time and within a specifi ed budget.

Quality, time, and money form a triangularrelationship in the project management world.

MILESTONES MATTEROnce you’ve set your goals andobjectives, it’s important to establishthe deliverables or checkpoints thatwill occur along the way. Here’s whatto keep in mind:

�� Do involve your project team whendeciding on task checkpoints.

� � Do have team members managetheir individual portions of theproject.

�� Don’t fail to manage majormilestones yourself.

�� Don’t expect all milestones to bereached sequentially—some mayhave to be concurrent.

�� Do take advantage of projectmanagement software to help youplan and manage milestones.

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Many experts believe you can optimally achieveonly two out of three in any project: You can’tobtain the highest quality in the shortest timeframe at the lowest cost.

From a practical perspective, every project hassome budgetary and scheduling constraints, sothe real issue becomes the defi nition of “quality.”Quality, says the American Society for Qual-ity, comprises the characteristics of a product orservice “that bear on its ability to satisfy stated orimplied needs.”

THE SEARCH FOR QUALITYBe sure to define the quality you wantfrom your project from the outset.

�� Do recognize that the definition of“quality” can vary from project toproject.

�� Do quantify the improvement inquality you’re seeking if you wantto make it a project objective.

�� Do estimate the time and moneyit might take to achieve a quality-improvement objective.

�� Don’t accept an inadequate timelineor budget in a quality-improvementproject without negotiating for amodified objective or an increase inthe timeline and budget.

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If a project goal is to improve quality, thenthe manager must gain some guidance as tohow to quantify the improvement. If it can bequantifi ed, then a specifi c quality improvementobjective can be set.

The next question is what kind of time andmoney it takes to achieve this improvement.Although you can strive to meet the defi nedobjective, it may not ultimately be attainable ifthe schedule and budget are inadequate. If youhave the knowledge and experience to foreseethe shortfall at the outset, you can collaboratewith your own managers to redefi ne the scopeof the project.

POOR PROJECT PLANNINGWhen there is a breakdown in planning,project objectives are less likely to beachieved. Watch out for:

• A poorly defined scope – This startsa project off on the wrong foot.

• Scope creep – Unwanted surprisespop up if you disregard small scopechanges, and a project can spin outof control.

• Inadequate resource allocation –A project can run aground if themanpower, funds, and time allotedare insufficient.

Red Flags �


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DEFINING THE PROCESSProjects in today’s business world are increas-ingly complex. In addition, expectations forcompleting projects have become more andmore aggressive. Businesses need to accomplishmore in less time and within tighter budgets.

Although some managers believe in managingprojects informally, there is a growing awarenessthat most projects require a certain discipline tobring together the necessary project elements andexecute the project within budget and on time.This process is fairly standard and extends across

CASE FILE A LAW FIRM TAKES CONTROLWith more than 1,000 attorneys,Foley & Lardner LLP needed asystem to schedule, track, and reporton projects—one that was easy toimplement and maintain.

Rather than adopt software alreadyavailable in the marketplace, thefirm decided to develop a brand newsystem for project management. It hasdramatically changed the way the firmmanages projects.

Throughout the firm, projectmanagers create and track projectsusing a single methodology, andexecutives can check project statusonline and obtain detailed informationabout how the project is progressing.


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many types of projects, varying only with thecomplexity of the project and its components.

Scope. Determine the precise scope of theproject. You need to spell out ahead of timewhat you need to accomplish with the resources,money, and time you have available.

Resource allocation. Determine what insidestaff, outside resources, physical material, equip-ment, and other items will be needed to executethe project.

Organization. Plan how you will work on theproject and choose the right people for each task.Explain the project objective to your group, andget everyone pointed in the right direction.

The result? Project managers are moreproductive, the firm has reduced costsfor itself and its clients, and up-to-dateinformation about any project in anyoffice is now readily available to allauthorized users.

Developing the new system “forcedus to come up with a unified projectmanagement process,” says a projectmanager at Foley & Lardner. “Thishas made us more productive. Whereit used to take 20 hours to create aproject schedule, now, with the newproject templates, I can do it in four orfive hours.”SOURCE: “Foley & Lardner LLP: Law Firm ImprovesProject Management Processes, Boosts Productivity,”www.microsoft.com (June 19, 2005).


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CONSIDER FLEXIBLE DEVELOPMENTWhen you create a process to managea project, structure without constraintis always a goal. You need a structureso that everyone knows what comesnext and your progress can bemeasured. But you can’t underestimatethe impact of changes along theway. Change is fairly likely in manysituations, sometimes because themarket for your product is volatile,sometimes because of managementchanges in your company.

You need to plan for the changefrom the outset and make projectdecisions in a way that leaves youwiggle room in case of snafus.

Specialists in project managementhave developed a methodology tohandle this type of situation in anorganized way that aims to minimizethe excess cost and impact ofchanges, a process called “flexibledevelopment.” Consultants in thefield can help you design a customsystem as well as educate you, viaprivate or public seminars, in theapproach.SOURCE: “Developing Products on ‘Internet Time’”by Alan MacCormack et al., Management Science(January 2001).

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Scheduling. Set your start and end dates. Mapout all the other milestones for the project frombeginning to end. Include target dates for thecompletion of these milestone tasks that, in com-bination, will meet the fi nal end date requiredfor the project. Get the members of your teaminvolved in determining milestones for theirindividual tasks and functions.

Reality check. Rethink all the details to makesure that your schedule is realistic and that yourresources and budget seem adequate. If yoususpect that the objectives are unrealistic forthe resources you have, ask for more—moneyor time—or negotiate for a modifi ed objective.Planning for contingencies early on can save youfrom disaster later.

Tracking progress. Manage your team, moni-tor the schedule, and keep written reports onprogress. Carefully document any scope changes,

“The better work men dois always done understress and at greatpersonal cost.”

—William Carlos Williams,American poet(1883–1963)


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then inform management and get changesapproved as required. It is almost inevitablethat some parts of your project will not go asplanned.

Analysis of the outcome. A project isn’t com-pletely fi nished until you review and assess howit was executed and managed and whether it suc-cessfully met its objectives.

The Right ToolsThe right project management tools can mini-mize risk and help assure that a project will reacha successful conclusion.

Project management software is one such tool.Project management software can help you scopea project, schedule milestones, and estimate time,money, and resources. It can also help you man-age all these elements continuously so that youcan stay on top of scope changes, deadlines, andestimated-versus-actual requirements.

Project management software can also helpfacilitate communication about the project.Whether you use e-mail, written reports, staffmeetings, or a combination of all these, it isessential to communicate updates or changes inthe project’s status to both team members andcompany management on an ongoing basis.

The right tools can also help you standardizeproject management practices. If typical projectsin your organization are fully documented, youwill have the ability to study these projects, com-pare them to the project you need to complete,and see in advance what the scope included, howresources were managed, what issues came up,


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COMPANIES RATE THEIR SYSTEMSWhen asked to rate the maturity levelof their project management systems,most companies say they are notsatisfied, according to the first globalsurvey on the subject, undertaken byPriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Interestingly, the survey showedthat while senior management tendedto blame project managers for poorresults, the true reasons for failureslay in imbalances within the organ-ization that was undertaking theproject—situations that were clearlyoutside the direct influence of themanagers of those projects.

The survey also found that failuresin project management tend to takeplace more often in organizations witha lower level of project managementmaturity. Lower maturity means projectmanagement is not institutionalizedand processes are informal.

Staff development and professionalcertification have a positive impacton minimizing project failures—andraising an organization’s projectmaturity level.SOURCE: “Boosting Performance throughProgramme in Project Management,” PriceWater-houseCoopers, www.pwc.com.

The BIG Picture


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what unanticipated problems arose—and howeach of these situations was handled. This willgreatly increase your ability to complete yourproject successfully.

Assessing and Managing RiskAn element of risk hovers over every project.The potential for problems due to inadequateresources, budget over-runs, missed deadlines,do-overs, or the inexperience of team membersis obvious.

Battle-tested project managers assess thepotential snafus early in the game, before theyderail the project. Risk analysis is often based

“It is well known that‘problem avoidance’is an important part ofproblem solving. Insteadof solving the problem,you go upstream andalter the system so thatthe problem does notoccur in the fi rst place.”

—Edward de Bono,motivational author


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on the execution of similar projects. Sometimesproject team members and managers discusspossible problems, document their fi ndings, anddevelop preventive strategies.

This is a smart way to keep projects under con-trol. Taking the time early on to anticipate whatcould go wrong later is worth the effort. It letsyou plan for contingencies—to build a scheduleloose enough to accommodate potential delays,for example, or to have backup resources readyjust in case.

TROUBLED PROJECTS

In a recent survey, senior practitionerswith knowledge of their organizations’management practices characterized47 percent of their projects as“troubled,” “troubled and recovered,”or “troubled and failed.” Out of 3,874projects that closed in a 12-monthperiod, 1,830 were troubled.

Only 24 percent of the organizationssurveyed had a standard process forrecovering troubled projects, and31 percent had no process at all.Organizations with a standard recoveryprocess had more successful projectsby 83 percent.SOURCE: Troubled Projects (Center for BusinessPractices, 2006).

Behind the Numbers


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If you plan in advance to handle such prob-lems, you will have more options for dealingwith them, which will lessen stress.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENTIf you are managing many projects on a con-tinuous basis, you are managing a “portfolio” ofprojects. To do this effectively, you not only haveto manage each individual project, you also have

“A strategy enables youto fulfi ll your promisesin the best possible way.And the only way to dothis is through a system.As most managers haveexperienced but fewhave understood, thereis simply no way in theworld to truly manageanything without one.”

—Michael Gerber, author of The E-Myth Manager


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to decide how resources and budgets are splitbetween projects in the portfolio.

In managing a project portfolio, you willtypically fi nd that resources such as people andmaterials are shared across many projects. Thiscould require allocating the same resources todifferent projects at different times. Instead ofestimating one project at a time, you should domultiple estimates at once and share data from

HOW TO JUGGLE MANY PROJECTS

When you have many projects going atonce, bear these points in mind:

�� Do take a larger view by looking atprojects as interrelated elements ina system.

�� Do develop a strategy to managemany projects at once.

�� Do manage how resources andbudgets are split between projects.

�� Do plan on sharing resourcesacross many projects and usingthe same resources on differentprojects at different times.

�� Do estimate multiple projects atthe same time to share data fromone to the next.

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project to project. Similarly, you will need todevelop a standard project timeline as a templatethat you can then apply to multiple projects.

Managing Concurrent ProjectsThere are any number of project manage-ment methodologies that can help you manageconcurrent projects. These methodologies sys-tematize projects so that the process becomesstandard and automatic. Their importance liesin the fact that taking a repeatable, managedsystematic approach leads to higher quality, andtherefore to a better project outcome.

KEEP PROJECTS ON TRACK

The success of your project has every–thing to do with how you manage it.

�� Don’t create expectations that are soaggressive that you and your teamwill never be able to meet them.

�� Don’t overlook the impact of otherprojects on your current project,especially if several projects shareresources.

�� Don’t overpromise or undermanage.

�� Do try to be realistic and objective indeveloping and explaining the plan.

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Managers at the individual project level needconsistent templates, tools, and defi nitions sothat they can repeat their success from oneproject to another.

Managing Projects StrategicallyAs you become profi cient at project manage-ment, you will rise above the day-to-day projectmilestones and take a broader, more strategicview of the projects for which you have respon-sibility. A good way to manage strategically isto pay attention to three basic phases: planning,implementation, and monitoring.

�� Don’t execute a project plan in avacuum—get input and cooperationfrom your team and the approval ofsenior management.

�� Do invest time in managing teammembers’ relationships.

�� Do accept uncertainty and changeas being inevitable.

�� Do prepare for change by managingexpectations and developingcontingency plans.

�� Do adapt your management style toeach project’s needs.


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Planning. For any project, always have aplan in place that is realistic, well-defi ned, andstructured. Know the outcome you expect, thedeadlines you need to meet, and the resourcesthat are available. Make sure that you bringpeople on board who have the skills you need.

Implementation. Executing any projectrequires the discipline to follow steps in alogical sequence. However, seasoned projectmanagers know that things can, and often do,veer from the anticipated path. That is why it isimportant to be prepared for change and to beas fl exible as possible.

Effective project implementation also requiresthat you delegate work to your team members.Make sure you are delegating the right work tothe right people. Then motivate them to com-plete the project as a team.

“Everyone should feel asif his signature is on thefi nished product.”

—Ray Evernham,NASCAR crew chief


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Monitoring. Monitor the progress of eachproject continuously. Consider other concur-rent projects that may compete for resources,including people. Finally, apply your expe-riences in completing one project to thesuccessful completion of others.

�“Management is theeffi ciency of climbingthe ladder of success.Leadership determineswhether the ladder isleaning against theright wall.”

—Stephen Covey,author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Essential Skill IVLeadership &Communication

�Being an effective leaderis not a right, it is aprivilege—a privilegebestowed by those you

lead. A leader is not much of aleader without people who arewilling to follow.

This is why the fi rst lesson ofleadership is this: Inspire trust.People want to be able to puttheir trust in a leader.


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People want to follow someone they canbelieve in, someone who displays character,someone whose vision makes sense to them. Intoday’s corporate environment, people espe-cially want to follow a leader with high moraland ethical standards.

A leader must look deep inside, examine hisor her convictions, and validate that they arein keeping with the goals of the organization.Knowing yourself is important if you are toeffectively lead others.

TOP LEADERSHIP TRAITS

The best leaders possess some ofthese important characteristics:

• Honesty

• Confidence

• Vision

• Intelligence

• Fairness

• Broad-mindedness

• Courage

• Straightforwardness

• Imagination

SOURCE: The Tom Peters Group, www.tompeters.com.


L E A D E R S H I P & C O M M U N I C AT I O N

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Paint a PictureA leader must be able to paint a picture of agoal that people can attain together. Great lead-ers convey a sense of purpose and envision apromising future so that people feel inspired andexcited about getting there. Leadership requiresconstant communication so that people knowwhere they are heading and why.

THE NATURE OF LEADERSHIPPerhaps management guru Peter Drucker saidit best when he drew the distinction betweenleading and managing: “Management is doingthings right; leadership is doing the right things.”Generally, the focus of managers is driven byorganizational needs: accomplishing specifi cgoals and objectives, conforming to specifi ca-tions or requirements, managing projects within

LEADERSHIP BASICS

Your integrity will be apparent in youractions as a leader.

�� Do know yourself and your ownconvictions.

�� Don’t assume people will followyou unless they trust you.

�� Don’t tell people something youdon’t believe yourself.

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budgets and time frames, administering policiesand procedures, controlling processes, and man-aging work groups.

Leaders, on the other hand, set the direction forpeople in an organization—and for the organiza-tion itself. Leaders establish a vision, formulatestrategies, take a long view of problems andopportunities, originate ideas, innovate new waysof doing things, and inspire and motivate others.

“It’s a self-fulfi llingprophecy—if the leaderreally believes thatpeople can do more,they’ll expect more fromthemselves. People canaccomplish unbelievabletasks if their leaderexpects them to andcommunicates it bybehavior, not just bywords or memos.”

—Robert Townsend,author of Reinventing Leadership


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What Managers and Leaders DoThere is a legitimate need for both managers andleaders in a business.

Managers execute plans, maintain order, andget things done. They are skilled, competent,and no less important than leaders. Withouteffective managers, few businesses could operateeffi ciently. However, managers may resist change,and they may be less capable of guiding andmentoring people.

WHAT’S YOUR LEADERSHIP STYLE?

Good leaders tend not to rely on asingle approach but use a mix of thesethree basic styles:

• Authoritarian – Authoritarian leaderstell people what needs to be doneand when, without asking forothers’ opinions. This style may beappropriate during crisis situations.

• Participative – Participative leadersencourage others to help solveproblems and make decisions whilethey retain the ultimate authority.

• Delegative – Delegative leaders offeremployees a lot of leeway in solvingproblems and making decisions andare largely hands-off.

Outside the Box


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Leaders are charismatic, motivational, andinspiring. They are skillful at leading peopleinto the future. Without a leader, a business mayplod along but never achieve greatness. However,leaders can embrace change to a fault and maybe inept at the rigors of implementation.

To be truly successful at managing people, youneed skills both as a manager and a leader.

The people you manage will want order, rou-tine, and structure. They will want you to setspecifi c goals and objectives. They will want

LEADERSHIP TIPS

Leadership begins with modeling theright behavior.

�� Do create and communicate avision that is inspiring.

�� Do present the long-range view offuture problems and opportunities.

�� Do develop excellentcommunication skills.

�� Do stay positive and upbeat.

�� Don’t ignore the fact that peopleneed to be managed as well as led.

�� Do understand your own beliefsand values before you try to inspireand motivate others.

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someone who can guide them as team membersto complete multiple projects effi ciently. That isthe management side.

At the same time these people will look to youto lead, inspire, and motivate them. They willwant you to serve as a team leader, the personwho communicates goals, guides their progress,and cares for them along the way. That is theleadership side.

Can You Be Both Manager and Leader?You will probably fi nd that your capabilitieslean more towards one than the other. Work ondeveloping complementary skills that grow yourstrength in both areas.

It is generally more diffi cult to learn to leadthan to learn to manage. While you can acquireleadership skills, some of the requirements ofleadership may be deep down inside. Before you

MANAGERS AND LEADERS

In deciding if you are basically amanager or a leader, ask yourself thesequestions:

• Where do your capabilities lie?

• What complementary skills do youneed to develop?

• What leadership skills do you needto acquire?



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can inspire and motivate others, you must havea good grasp of your own beliefs and values. Youmust be a great communicator. Being a goodmanager does not automatically qualify you tobe a leader. However, if you can demonstrate topeople that you can be their leader as well as theirmanager, you will have loyal employees who willbelieve in you and follow you.

PROVIDING FEEDBACKGreat managers and leaders practice active lis-tening. Active listening is a way of listening thatfocuses on the person who is speaking to youand shows that you comprehend what is beingsaid. It can include nonverbal cues, such as nod-ding and smiling, as well as verbal cues.

Active listeners process what someone else says,rephrase it in their own words, and replay it sothat the speaker can validate that the message wasunderstood. It requires some detachment, becauseyour role is to demonstrate understanding, whetheror not you agree with what the speaker is saying.

“The way to develop thebest that is in a manis by appreciation andencouragement.”

—Charles Schwab,founder of Charles Schwab & Co.


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People Want FeedbackBy actively listening, you can be in a betterposition to provide feedback to the people youmanage. Positive feedback is, of course, wel-comed by employees, but sometimes negativefeedback can result in more signifi cant improve-ments in performance or behavior.

CASE FILETEACHING LEADERSHIPIn many successful companies,leaders from the CEO on downdevelop leadership abilities in theirsubordinates. Former General ElectricCEO Jack Welch exemplified thispractice. Every two weeks for some 20years, he spent a day at the company’sexecutive training center withpromising managers and executives,listening to them, lecturing,challenging them with hard questions,and in the process demonstratinghis approach to quality, productivity,management, and other issues. Inall, he reached more than 15,000employees, transforming the companyinto what BusinessWeek called “alearning organization.” During histenure as CEO, revenues rose from justunder $30 billion to more than $90billion.SOURCE: “How Jack Welch Runs GE” by John A.Byrne, BusinessWeek (June 8, 1998).


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Most employees want to know what theycould be doing better. They want to receiveinput that will help them improve. The key,however, is to present negative feedback in apositive way—that is, to offer criticism that isconstructive.

People typically take a defensive posturewhen they feel they are being verbally attacked.Some individuals defend themselves by argu-ing, others withdraw, and still others may shutdown entirely. Negative feedback conveyedin a harsh or angry manner will cause mostpeople to tune out. Unfortunately, if they stoplistening, that means they won’t hear anythingpositive that’s being said either.

A manager can be demanding and yet offerfeedback in a positive way. Try to give youremployees examples of what to do right

ACTIVE LISTENING IN A NUTSHELL

As a manager, active listening is a vitalskill. It has two key components:

• Verbal and nonverbal cues – Noddingyour head, leaning forward, andsaying things like “yes” and “hmm”show that you’re listening.

• Rephrasing – Repeating what you’vejust heard in your own words provesyou’ve understood.



125

instead of berating them for what they dowrong. Let employees know a behavior isunacceptable, but do it with respect. Empa-thize with employees and offer them a secondchance.

How to Give FeedbackGenerally, the best course is to give positive feed-back in public and negative feedback in private. Praise is a powerful motivational tool, both forthe receiver and onlookers. Giving praise or posi-tive feedback publicly demonstrates that you,as a manager, recognize and acknowledge youremployees’ efforts.

Negative feedback is best handled one on one.Provide constructive criticism as soon as any

TUNING OUTNegative feedback can be harmfulwhen it isn’t presented as constructivecriticism. Look for these warningsigns when someone is responding tonegative feedback:

• Shock and dismay, strong emotion

• Argumentation, dispute

• Withdrawal, nonresponsiveness,silence, apparent inattention

• Nervousness, jitters, fidgeting

Red Flags �


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unacceptable behavior or problems occur. Ask tosee the person for a moment in private. Addressthe behavior directly and express your concernabout it. You should avoid showing irritation oranger. To keep the conversation focused on thedesired result —improved behavior—it is best tobe straightforward and factual. Taking that tackwill help keep the individual from becoming emo-tional. Allow the person to explain. Make a pointof listening actively to the individual’s point of

DELIVERING NEGATIVE FEEDBACK

Most people want to know how to do abetter job at work and truly appreciatefeedback. However, the way that youdeliver negative feedback has everythingto do with how it’s received.

�� Do practice active listening to defuseconflict, avoid misunderstanding,and soften the impact of verbaldisagreements.

�� Don’t avoid giving negative feedbackif it’s warranted.

�� Don’t be overly negative or harshwhen discussing performance.

�� Don’t allow yourself to show anger orirritation during the conversation.

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view. Then, work together in a collaborativeway to arrive at a mutually acceptable solutionto the problem. Conclude the meeting with anagreement of how and when positive actionwill occur.

If you handle the conversation correctly, theperson is more likely to respect you and takeyour negative feedback to heart. In the end,your onetime problem employee may becomeone of your stars.

�� Do put a positive spin on negativefeedback to make it easier to hear.

�� Don’t attack, lest your employee goon the defensive and tune you out.

�� Don’t forget that a respectfulapproach makes the message mosteffective.

�� Do allow a person to explain andto offer a possible solution to aproblem.

�� Do give employees examples ofwhat to do right.

�� Do create a mutually acceptableplan for rectifying a problem.


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LEADING DURING CHANGEIt is often said that change is the only constantin business (and in life, for that matter). Changecan be disruptive and even demoralizing in aworkplace—but it can also allow for positiveenergy and promise.

A leader has a lot to do with how change isviewed. If he or she is able to cope with change,embrace it, and fi nd a way to lead employeesthrough it, change can strengthen an organization.

A leader faces a signifi cant obstacle in lead-ing during change: the status quo. Most peoplebecome accustomed to routine. It is comforting tothem to repeat the same tasks. They are secure in

“A corporation is aliving organism; it hasto continue to shed itsskin. Methods have tochange. Focus has tochange. Values have tochange. The sum totalof those changes istransformation.”

—Andrew Grove,founder of Intel


129

LEADERS TAKE THE LONG VIEWSenior executives who lead changeare often way ahead of their people’sability to accept it, according tomanagement consultants WilliamBridges and Susan Mitchell Bridges.

They call this phenomenon “themarathon effect”: leaders who arehigh in the organization tend to movethrough the change process veryquickly. They see the destinationbefore others even begin the race.

A good leader should alwaysremember that his or her organizationneeds more time letting go of old waysand transitioning to the new.SOURCE: “Leading Transition” by WilliamBridges and Susan Mitchell, Leader to Leader(Spring 2000).

THE BOTTOM LINE

the fact that they know how to do things and whatto expect. They are in control of the situation.

What happens when all that changes? Sud-denly, the status quo is turned on its head.Change could mean new rules, new processes,a new boss. Even worse, if change bringslayoffs, it can also involve losing friends, col-leagues, coworkers.

Leaders Gain Acceptance for ChangeThe immediate reaction to change is often resis-tance, even fear. Change represents uncharted


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territory and a potential loss of control. Strongleaders recognize that this is a common reactionto the prospect of change.

By immediately focusing on accepting theinevitability of change, leaders turn this negativeenergy into positive energy. They address their

WHEN LEADING CHANGEIn talking about change with employees,anticipate initial resistance. Realize,however, that the way in which youintroduce and handle change can have amajor impact on employees’ responseto it. Bear these guidelines in mind:

�� Do accustom your staff to theidea that change is inevitable.

�� Do work on creating andcommunicating a new vision.

�� Don’t try to implement changewithout a plan that includes bothshort- and long-term goals.

�� Do stay positive and enthusiastic toencourage others to adopt a positiveattitude toward change.

�� Do communicate the benefits of thechange to your employees.

�� Don’t give the false impression thatchange will come easily.

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employees’ apprehension by showing them thetangible benefi ts that can come from change.They encourage questions and answer themhonestly but positively.

Leaders detail a plan for change and ask peoplefor their help in implementing it. They do not give

�� Do create mid-change milestonesto help people feel their efforts areyielding success.

�� Don’t assume everyone will understandthe need for change as you do.

�� Do enlist a group of individuals to bechange supporters.

�� Do work on gaining everyone’sacceptance. Negative attitudes cansway even those who support thechange.

�� Do remain honest, open, andcompassionate, especially if changemay have painful consequences.

�� Don’t forget that change is acontinual process that needs to bereinforced over time.

�� Do assure employees that their effortsmatter. They will accept change moreeasily.


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the false impression that change will be easy. Theyconvey the sense that it will be a challenge every-one will meet and surmount by working together.

Leaders also know that change is a continualprocess. In these changing times, change mustbe the new status quo. The Japanese havea philosophy they call “kaizen”—continualimprovement. The understanding that changeis necessary to better oneself is one of the rea-sons the Japanese have achieved such success.

CASE FILE LEADING CHANGE AT HP

After Mark Hurd joined HewlettPackard as CEO, he carefully studiedthe organization before restructuringit and cutting 10 percent of theworkforce four months later.

More important, Hurd fundamentallychanged the massive computercompany by streamlining managementand reducing HP’s businesscomplexity.

Six months later, Hewlett Packardsaw a 30 percent increase in profitand a 6 percent increase in revenue,sure signs that Hurd’s leadershipduring change paid had off.SOURCE: “H-P Net Jumps Amid a Shift in StrategicFocus” by Christopher Lawton, Wall Street Journal(May 17, 2006).


133

GETTING COMFORTABLE WITH RISKMost change leaders are not averseto risk. Change brings with itorganizational bumps, the potentialto lose good people, and uncertaintyabout the future.

However, the rewards associatedwith change often outweigh the risks.Change leaders create a strong, clearvision, formulate a solid plan, andrally the support of others. They stayfocused on long-term success, even ifthere are temporary setbacks. All thesethings minimize risk and keep changemoving in the right direction.

The BIG Picture

Leaders Change AttitudesFor people to accept change, their attitudes mustbe fl exible, starting at the group level. Cowork-ers who have a negative attitude may sway thosewho are positive or at least neutral about change.

Leaders’ enthusiasm must be so powerful thatit is contagious. Leaders need to make everyonepart of the “change team,” feeling empoweredand in control and believing that their efforts areessential to a successful outcome.

When Change Has Painful ConsequencesSometimes change involves restructuring, down-sizing, or other diffi cult courses of action whoseprice seems to outweigh any conceivable benefi t.


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CREATIVE THINKINGRosabeth Moss Kanter says leadersneed to develop “kaleidoscopethinking.” They should take fragmentsof data, construct patterns, and thenmanipulate the data to create differentpatterns. This challenges theirassumptions about how the piecesof their organization fit together.“Looking through a different lens”spawns new ideas. She recommendsgetting a fresh perspective and offersthe following possibilities:

• Search for new ideas from outsideyour own industry.

• Work in other parts of your company.

• Broaden brainstorming sessions toinclude outsiders.

SOURCE: “The Enduring Skills of Change Leaders”by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Leader to Leader (Sum-mer 1999).

THE BOTTOM LINE

In the face of such doubt and anxiety, you needto be honest, open, and compassionate. Makeeveryone feel they are part of the solution, notpart of the problem.

In their book, The Heart of Change, John Kot-ter and Dan Cohen detail a multi-step process tohelp leaders better prepare to lead and managechange. They suggest that you establish a sense


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of urgency; form a guiding coalition of changesupporters; create a vision of the future, commu-nicate it, and empower others to act on it; planfor short-term wins so that people can feel prog-ress; maintain momentum over the long haul;and institutionalize the new approaches to “makechange stick.”

If you can convince your people of the ultimatebenefi ts of change, you will transform resistanceinto acceptance. And the goal-setting and team-work integral to change will help employeesstretch themselves and grow—and will energizeyour company.

“How do you know youhave won? When theenergy is coming theother way and whenyour people are visiblygrowing individually andas a group.”

—Sir John Harvey-Jones,British industrialist and business commentator


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You are now ready to put what youhave learned from this book intopractice. Use this section as areview guide:

CHAPTER 1. MANAGING 101

• The three “C’s”—collaboration,cooperation, and consensus—canhelp you become a better manager.

• Delegation does not mean abdi-cating your responsibility. Evenwhen you delegate, it’s important tomonitor progress on a task.

• Praise should be given in public;criticism must be offered in private.

• A step-by-step plan of action foraccomplishing your goal is crucial.

CHAPTER 2. MANAGING INDIVIDUALS

• A strong business starts with theright staff.

• Training—new-employee orientations,on-the-job development, and formaltraining—is key to employees’success and motivation.

Off and Running >>>

137

• Feedback should be given often,not just during annual performancereviews.

• Disciplining an employee is aprocess that begins with oral andwritten reprimands and proceeds toprobation, when appropriate, andtermination as a last resort.

CHAPTER 3.MANAGING TEAMS

• Teams can accomplish miracles ifproperly managed.

• Clear steps ensure a team’ssuccess: define the team’s roleand goals, choose its members,foster cooperation, and insist onaccountability.

• Match team members’ skills to theirtasks, formalize their roles, and setthe course.

• Motivational exercises, events, andmaterial rewards can all help buildenthusiasm.

• A manager provides clear direction,resolves conflicts, and empowersthe team to perform on its own.

O F F A N D R U N N I N G


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CHAPTER 4. MANAGING PROJECTS

• Managing a project consists ofseven steps: define the scope,allocate resources, organize yourgroup, build a schedule, do a realitycheck, monitor your progress, andanalyze the outcome.

• Focusing on the project scopehelps you assess the resources,money, and time you will need.

• It’s important to define precise goalsand objectives from the beginning ofthe project.

• Setting and monitoring projectmilestones helps keep a project ontrack.

• There is a relationship betweenquality, time, and money. Projectgoals should note the quality that isdesired and allocate the appropriateresources.

• Anticipating, assessing, and man-aging risk is essential.

• Managing multiple projects takesstrategic planning.

Off and Running >>>

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CHAPTER 5. LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNICATION

• Leaders inspire trust, share theirvision, formulate strategies,anticipate problems and oppor-tunities, innovate, inspire, andmotivate.

• Managers execute plans, maintainorder, and get things done.

• Active listening, an important skillfor both leaders and managers,involves giving nonverbal cuesto show that you’re listening andrephrasing what has been said toshow that you understand.

• Change is inevitable; leaders musthelp employees accept it and copewith any painful consequences.

• Change can energize a business.

O F F A N D R U N N I N G

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The Transparent Leader: How to Build a Great CompanyThrough Straight Talk, Openness, and AccountabilityHerb Baum with Tammy KlingIn the wake of numerous corporate scandals, Baum offersbusiness leaders a compelling method to get maximumresults by being open and honest in business practices.

Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge, 2nd ed.Warren Bennis and Burt NanusLeadership guru Warren Bennis and coauthor Burt Nanusreveal the four key principles every manager should know.

Reinventing Leadership: Strategies to Empowerthe OrganizationWarren Bennis and Robert TownsendTwo of America’s foremost experts on leadership showhow their strategies can lead organizations into a futurethat includes increased employee satisfaction and contin-ued economic growth.

The Success Principles™: How to Get from Where YouAre to Where You Want to BeJack Canfield with Janet SwitzerOne of the coauthors of the incredibly successful ChickenSoup for the Soul series provides principles and strate-gies to meet a wide variety of goals.

RecommendedReading

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Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap . . .and Others Don’tJim CollinsA best-selling business book, this work distills researchon thousands of companies down to eleven that did theright things to become great. The book provides insightinto how the heads of these companies motivated peopleto drive organizational success.

The Daily Drucker: 366 Days of Insight and Motivationfor Getting the Right Things DonePeter F. Drucker with Joseph A. MaciarielloWidely regarded as the greatest management thinker ofmodern times, Drucker here offers penetrating and practi-cal wisdom with his trademark clarity, vision, and human-ity. The Daily Drucker provides the inspiration and adviceto meet life’s many challenges.

The Effective ExecutivePeter F. DruckerDrucker shows how to “get the right things done,” dem-onstrating the distinctive skill of the executive and offer-ing fresh insights into old and seemingly obvious busi-ness situations.

The Essential Drucker: The Best of Sixty Years of PeterDrucker’s Essential Writings on ManagementPeter F. DruckerThis work compiles Drucker’s key principles into a singlevolume.

Innovation and EntrepreneurshipPeter F. DruckerThis is the classic business tome for presenting innova-tion and entrepreneurship as a purposeful and systematicdiscipline. This practical book explains what all busi-nesses and institutions have to know, learn, and do intoday’s market.

Management Challenges for the 21st CenturyPeter F. DruckerDrucker explains how businesses can reinvent themselvesto retain relevance in our modern society.

R E C O M M E N D E D R E A D I N G

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Managing for ResultsPeter F. DruckerDrucker shows how to see beyond conventional outlooksand open up new initiatives that help grow your businessand make it more profitable.

The Practice of ManagementPeter F. DruckerThe first book to depict management as a distinct func-tion and to recognize managing as a separate responsi-bility, this classic Drucker work is the fundamental forunderstanding these ideas.

Corps Business: The 30 Management Principles of theU.S. MarinesDavid H. FreedmanFreedman examines the organization and culture of theUnited States Marine Corps and relates how businessenterprises could benefit from such Marine values as sac-rifice, perseverance, integrity, commitment, and loyalty.

The E-Myth Manager: Why Most Managers Aren’tEffective and What to Do About ItMichael E. GerberDrawing on lessons learned from working with more than15,000 small, medium-sized, and very large organiza-tions, Gerber reveals why management doesn’t work—andwhat to do about it.

Harvard Business Review on Managing PeopleRob Goffee, et al.This book provides perspective on the challenges ofmanaging people, from articles originally appearing inHarvard Business Review.

Common Sense Business: Starting, Operating, andGrowing Your Small Business in Any Economy!Steve GottryThis book tells you how to succeed throughout everyphase of the small business life cycle—from starting tooperating, growing, and even closing down a business.Author Gottry offers practical applications in the realworld of small business.


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It’s Not the Big That Eat the Small . . . It’s the Fast ThatEat the Slow: How to Use Speed as a Competitive Tool inBusinessJason Jennings and Laurence HaughtonThis is an instructive text on how to create strategic planningand creativity to speed your business past the competition.

What Really Works: The 4+2 Formula for SustainedBusiness SuccessWilliam Joyce, Nitin Nohria, and Bruce RobersonBased on a groundbreaking five-year study, analyzingdata on 200 management practices gathered over a 10-year period, What Really Works reveals the effectivenessof practices that truly matter.

The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High PerformanceOrganizationJon R. Katzenbach and Douglas K. SmithAuthors Katzenbach and Smith reveal the most importantelement in team success, who excels at team leadership,and why companywide change depends on teams.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership FablePatrick M. LencioniBeginning with a real-life scenario, this insightful bookreveals how a CEO came to a company and built trust bycombating five specific team dysfunctions: absence oftrust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance ofaccountability, and inattention to results.

Swim with the Sharks without Being Eaten Alive:Outsell, Outmanage, Outmotivate, and Outnegotiate YourCompetitionHarvey B. MackayIn this straight-from-the-hip handbook, with almost 2million in print, best-selling author and self-made mil-lionaire Mackay reviews the secrets of his success.

You Can’t Win a Fight with Your Boss: & 55 Other Rulesfor SuccessTom MarkertThis guide to surviving the pitfalls of the modern corpo-rate environment presents 56 practical rules that you canuse to find corporate success.


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Executive Intelligence: What All Great Leaders HaveJustin MenkesIn this thought-provoking volume, Menkes pinpoints thecognitive skills needed to excel in senior managementpositions.

The Corporate Coach: How to Build a Team of LoyalCustomers and Happy EmployeesJames B. Miller with Paul B. BrownFounder and CEO of Miller Business Systems, Jim Millershows how giving customers legendary services and alsomotivating employees make for a winning combination.

The HP Way: How Bill Hewlett and I Built Our CompanyDavid PackardDavid Packard and Bill Hewlett grew their company fromits start in a one-car garage to a multibillion-dollar indus-try. Here is the story of the vision, innovation, and hardwork that built an empire.

In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-Run CompaniesThomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman, Jr.Based on a study of 43 of America’s best-run companiesfrom a diverse array of business sectors, In Search ofExcellence describes eight basic principles of manage-ment that made these organizations successful.

Quiet Leadership: Six Steps to Transforming Performanceat WorkDavid RockRock demonstrates how to be a quiet leader, and a mas-ter at bringing out the best performance in others, byimproving the way people process information.

Mavericks at Work: Why the Most Original Minds inBusiness WinWilliam C. Taylor and Polly G. LaBarreFast Company cofounder William C. Taylor and PollyLaBarre, a longtime editor at the magazine, profile 32maverick companies in an effort to examine the “mostoriginal minds in business.”


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The Cycle of Leadership: How Great Leaders Teach TheirCompanies to WinNoel M. TichyUsing examples from real companies, Tichy shows howmanagers can begin to transform their own businessesinto teaching organizations and, consequently, better-performing companies.

The Leadership Engine: How Winning Companies BuildLeaders at Every LevelNoel M. TichyA framework for developing leaders at all levels of anorganization helps develop the next generation of leaders.This enables a company to grow from within, which is thekey to excellence, stability, and building team loyalty.

The Visionary’s Handbook: Nine Paradoxes That WillShape the Future of Your BusinessWatts Wacker and Jim Taylor with Howard MeansIn this book the authors show how nine paradoxes definethe world’s business and social climates.

WinningJack Welch with Suzy WelchThe core of Winning is devoted to the real “stuff” ofwork. Packed with personal anecdotes, this book offersdeep insights, original thinking, and solutions to nuts-and-bolts problems.


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Index

Aaccountability, 67active listening, 124assessments, 46

Bbad hire, 29Bridges, William, 129Buckingham, Marcus, 20, 68Byrne, John A., 123

CCarnegie, Andrew, 58Center for Business Practices,

91, 107change

consequences of, 133gaining acceptance for, 129

Charles Schwab & Co, 122Chrysler, 65Coffman, Curt, 68Cohen, Dan, 134collaboration, 6common mistakes

managers, 49managing projects, 92

communication, 114, 139community service, 70consensus, 7cooperation, 7, 64Cottrell, David, 43Covey, Stephen, 114

creative thinking, 134Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly, 60

Ddecisions

hiring, fi nal, 34delegate, 10, 119Dell, 70de Bono, Edward, 106Drucker, Peter, x, 117

Eemployee enthusiasm

combat waning, 23employee problems

turn into opportunities, 15employee reviews

effective, 44–45empowering the team, 83Evernham, Ray, 112

Ffeedback, 47

delivering negative, 126how to give, 125providing, 122, 123

Fishman, Charles, 63fl exible development, 102Foley & Lardner LLP, 100

GGeneral Electric, 27, 48, 55,

56, 123

147

I N D E X

George Mason University, 16Gerber, Michael, 108Gerstner, Louis V., 13Gillette, 32goals and objectives, 93, 94–95Grove, Andrew, 128

HHarvey-Jones, Sir John, 135Hewlett Packard, 132Hurd, Mark, 132

IIacocca, Lee, 65IBM, 13Imperato, Gina, 47individuality

fi nd the difference, 71recognizing, 64

Intel, 128interview, 30

questions, 30–31interviewing, 33

Jjob description, 25, 26Jones, Derek C., 68, 69

KKanter, Rosabeth Moss, 134Kato, Takao, 68, 69Katzenbach, Jon, 72, 73Kotter, John, 134

LLarranaga, Jim, 16Lawton, Christopher, 132leaders

changing attitudes, 133top traits of, 116

leadership, 114, 117, 139nature of, 117participative, 119styles of, 119teaching, 123tips for, 120

leadingduring change, 128, 130–32,

132learning

keep employees, 36

MMacCormack, Alan, 102Mackey, John, 63management

material, 2rules, 8–9style, 7

managermiddle, 6perspective, 5versus leader, 10, 119what it takes to be, 4

managerial success, 7manager and leader

being both, 121managing

concurrent projects, 110individuals, 20, 136people, 1projects, 86, 138projects strategically, 111teams, 137

Markert, Tom, 4Menkes, Justin, 61Miller, James B., 79Mitchell, Susan, 129Mockler, Colman, 32money, 97motivational exercises and

events, 77

NNCAA

Men’s Basketball, 16new employee orientation, 36

PPacetta, Frank, 74performance reviews, 42, 53Peters, Tom, 19, 27, 86, 116Pitney Bowes, 46praise, 12, 65, 125, 136PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 105probation, 52progress

monitoring, 89progressive discipline, 53project

defi ne scope, 89defi nition of, 88implementation, 112juggle, 109keep on track, 110–11

148

management, 89, 100milestones, 96, 97monitoring, 113organization, 101planning, 99, 112process, 100scheduling, 103scope of, 88troubled, 107

Qquality, 97, 98

RRajan, Raghuram, 6reality check, 89reprimands, 51

oral, 137resolving confl ict, 82resources, 88, 89rewards, 78, 79

material, 79risk

getting comfortable with, 133Rivera, Ray J., 37Rock, David, 80Rockefeller, John D., 11role-playing, 77roles

formalize, 73

SSchulman, Marla, 90Schwab, Charles, 122screening process, 27Sirota, David, 23Smith, Douglas K., 73staff

selecting, 25strategic management, 108success

elements of, 22Sugrue, Brenda, 37

Ttaking action, 50tasks, 48team

time-out, 83teams

accomplish amazing things,60–61

affecting business, 68–69building, 61, 66–67culture of, 63defi ne role, 61, 68effective, 84intangible impact of, 71

keeping strong, 75managing, 58, 60, 62, 63,

66, 137motivating, 76performance, 72–73self-managed, 82using effectively, 80warning signs of division, 81working as one, 76

team spirit, 65, 81termination, 54, 56–57time, 97Townsend, Robert, 118tracking progress, 103training, 34

assessing needs, 41as investment in success, 40as motivation, 38cycle, 35effective, 39formal, 41higher investments in, 37on-the-job, 38trainers, 42

Tulgan, Bruce, 28turnaround specialist, 13

WWal-Mart, 17Walton, Sam, 17Waterman, Robert H. Jr., 19Welch, Jack, 27, 48, 55, 56,

123Whole Foods, 63Williams, William Carlos, 103Wulf, Julie, 6

ZZarges, Tom, 90

I N D E X

Barry Silverstein is a business writer and management consultant. He has 30 years of experience managing and motivating people in small and large businesses. He founded his own direct and Internet marketing agency and ran it for 20 years, growing it to a $5 million, 50-person organization. He also held management positions with Xerox Corporation and advertising agency Arnold Worldwide.

Silverstein is the author of three titles in the Collins Best Practices series. He is also the coauthor of The Breakaway Brand (McGraw-Hill, 2005) and the author of Business-to-BusinessInternet Marketing (Maximum Press, 2001) and Internet Marketing for Information Technology Companies (Maximum Press, 2001).

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