Tag Archives: Managing Teams

04-Managing a project team, team dynamics

5 tips on how to be an effective manager

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When I came across this article on Linked-In, I was surprised by the jarring title, but appreciated the simplicity of it. Many of us have been there—had a manager that we couldn’t believe was allowed to be in a position of leading a team and thought to ourselves that if we were in their position, we would handle things so differently. Ken Sanderson, a management consultant at Swift Wind Knowledge group, recently  took a close look a management skills and identified 5 elements that we should consider in order to be a good manager.
I thought these were all pretty spot-on, but would offer up a few others as well. For example, I think it’s very important for managers to be strong communicators and  not be afraid to engage in conflict resolution. Additionally, I think it’s also very important to  establish creditability with their employees. Although managers might have the illustrious title, it’s important for them to show that they can deliver results and actually execute projects.
Do you agree with Ken’s list below? What are some other skills that you would include?

1. First and foremost – don’t be a jerk.
Treat Everyone, from cleaning staff through to executives, with utmost respect. Too many people get a position of “authority” and suddenly look down on other staff who are “lower” in the hierarchy. Not only is this wrong on a human level, it is also a serious strategic error. You have no idea what there connections may be, what influence they may have, or where they may end up being in the next year.

It also means that you should not sabotage “rivals”, step on people’s heads to advance, steal credit (or even worry about who gets credit at all), or stab people in the back. Unless you are a pirate, none of these tactics are helpful to a career or a healthy workplace.

2. Be present

You expect your employees to show up for work and put their time and energy in – so should you. Managers that demand 100% from their employees, but then turn around and take extended lunches or go “networking” on the golf course are not only insulting, they are grossly underproductive to their own organization.

Employees are not stupid. When they see this type of inconsistency, they become disengaged. Suddenly, their own contributions to the organization mandate begins to lose its meaning as well as their sense of being appreciated.

Being present is also more than just being in the office. It means being there for your employees. My office door is never closed except for when an employee needs to have a private discussion. A manager’s primary responsibility is to guide and support their staff; thus, the manager must be available to them.

3. Lead by Inspiration, not fear

Antiquated notions of an aggressive leader striking fear and awe into his/her employees are just that… antiquated. They never achieved anything more than obedience and compliance. Staff under that type of leadership did their hours and the minimum required to comply with their duties. Such workplaces never achieve greatness, nor any true productivity.

A good manager leads, instead, by inspiration. To do this a manager needs to include staff in planning, sincerely consider staff ideas and opinions, and help staff see how their contributions connect to the greater picture of the organization’s mandate and directions. They need to see how they are meaningful to the organization.

Might there be performance issues at some point? perhaps, but then that is what performance management systems are for. However, in my experience, engaged employees tend to put in extra time rather than sluff off.

4. Be Open

Managers often think that they are doing staff a favour by holding back certain information (for example, there may be contemplation by senior management about reorganizing a specific team of staff). This could not be further from the truth. Staff ALWAYS find out about considerations or plans – but without you discussing it with them, they are left with wild speculation and fear.

A good manager understands that he/she has a TEAM he/she is managing, not children to coddle. When they know that you communicate with them and that you are there to support them in whatever way possible, you drive up engagement and the true sense of a team.

5. Manage, don’t micromanage!

Far too many managers think they are geniuses. Let’s face the facts here, if you are a manager, you are NOT a genius. You are no smarter than the people you are managing – you just have a different set of skills.

It is the mistaken belief by a poor manager, that they are smarter than their staff. This belief causes many to interfere with the work that should be assigned to their staff. Even worse are those who may have been the best widget maker previously. They have a tendency to interfere all the time – believing that everyone should operate exactly how they did and achieve exactly the same level of results they did.

All of these notions are wrong. First, it is no longer the role of a manager to do all the work. They are supposed to be guiding their staff, supporting them and taking on the tasks of planning. If they are busy doing their staff’s work, they have no time for the actual work they are hired for.

Furthermore, many of these managers have no trust in their employees and so they either criticize unceasingly their staff’s work or do it themselves. To be a good manager, you need to trust your employees and their skills. Give them the tasks to do, let them find their own most productive way of doing it and support them training or whatever else they may need help them gain more and better skill sets.

One caveat to all of this is that you need to get to know your employees and their characters. Some will thrive better under slightly more supervision while others may thrive better under minimal supervision. You need to understand these character differences in order to provide the best management possible for staff to succeed.

Regardless of how much or how little supervision an employee will thrive under, manager’s should not be taking over their work. Nor should managers pretend to know everything their staff knows. Seek out their opinions on issues, involve them in planning or decision making – let them know that you value their expertise. You may not always opt for their recommended decision, but at least you are showing them that you value them enough to seriously consider it.

Link to article

 

04-Managing a project team, team dynamics

Adventures in Miscommunication

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In my work in science, there is often pressure to achieve “breakthrough” results in order to continue to receive grant funding and to publish in high impact journals.  As a consequence, there is sometimes the tendency to not directly falsify, but to prune data so as to cast experiments in the most favorable light.  Minimizing this kind of data manipulation requires effective communication of core scientific principles at all levels of a research team; however, team leaders need to be especially careful that they are sending the right message.  In “Business Adventures” by John Brooks, a book I discovered through an interesting review article by Bill Gates in the Wall Street Journal, there is an example of miscommunication of business ethics throughout General Electric’s entire hierarchy that seemed particularly relevant.  Although the book is several decades old, the series of articles on which it was based appeared from 1959-1969, it is “as much about the strengths and weaknesses of leaders in challenging circumstances as it is about the particulars of one business or another,” as Bill Gates writes in his review.  In the case of GE, the communication of the company policy regarding price-fixing with competitors began to be accompanied by an unmistakable wink from some executives and this eventually became so engrained in corporate culture that even a direct order by an upper-level executive to not engage in price-fixing was ignored.  In his conclusions, Brooks offers the following scenario, where he describes how effective communication requires you to consider not only what you are saying, but precisely how you are conveying it to your audience:

Suppose, purely as hypothesis, that the owner of a company who orders his subordinates to obey the antitrust laws has such poor communication with himself that he does not really know whether he wants the order to be complied with or not.  If his order is disobeyed, the resulting price-fixing may benefit his company’s coffers; if it is obeyed, then he has done the right thing.  In the first instance, he is not personally implicated in any wrongdoing, while in the second he is positively implicated in rightdoing.  What, after all, can he lose?  It is perhaps reasonable to suppose that such an executive might communicate his uncertainty more forcefully than his order.

The review is available here: http://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/Business-Adventures, and the book is available either from the Emory library or Amazon.

03-Planning the work of a team, 04-Managing a project team, feedback, team dynamics

Managing [Remote] Teams

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Remote work is a passion of mine. Since 2007 I’ve worked remotely in multiple jobs and in multiple capacities. Yikes — that’s 7 years of self-discipline, Skype calls, and lunchtime showers.

While I do not have any direct reports, I’m a Senior Project Manager, which means for every one of my 33 projects, I manage a copy writer, designer, data manager, implementation specialist, and client team — none of whom are in the same state as I am, let alone down the hall.

I’m always looking for ways to improve team work, manage better, and communicate clearly. All of these skills need to be at a different level when there’s no face-to-face, but some of them can translate to an office environment.

Jana Rhyu wrote a blog post on LoopUp that hits several familiar points on managing remotely that I’d like to share with you.

1. Hire the right people
Jana gives some tips on what “the right people” are. You can probably guess “autonomous self-starters” lead the list of good remote employees, but did you know that introverts are some of the best remote employees? Extroverts tend to shrivel without that face-to-face and introverts shine.

Our method of hiring the right people includes a company favorite interview, affectionately called the “Why You Don’t Want to Work Here” call. People think that working from home will be a cakewalk, until they get on this call with a random five people from across the various departments of Fire Engine RED. We tell them things like “your home will be your workplace, so some days you might hate your house,” “your friends will not understand/believe you’re working when they have a day off and try to swing by,” “your spouse will try to ask you to do errands because you don’t have a commute,” “you’ll check your email before you eat breakfast and later realize you’re starving and it’s suddenly 2pm,” and “your boss will still give you work because s/he can’t see your full plate.” It’s a relatively fun call, but a sobering one at the same time.

What would you have on your WYDWTWH call?

2. Get the right tools
Tools for telecommuters are tools for everyone. If you don’t have an IM program in your office, you might consider bringing one in. Shoot a message to a colleague when she’s on the phone and get a response, or ping someone on another floor to see if they got your file.

Google Docs is something I can’t live without. Even in an office it just makes sense to have certain documents shared and thus have the newest version accessible (and editable) on the go.

The list in the article is longer and I definitely use every one and a few more. Ask any MP team member of mine who had a long commute spared for a group project.

3. Communicate regularly
The curse of telecommuting isn’t a lack of communication, but rather an over abundance of communication. Christine Shealy wrote about The Communication Loop and I can tell you that with all your team members able to reach you on your IM, your cell, your home phone, your email, Skype, and by text, that loop gets closed! You can be on a client call but you’ll still be expected to respond to an urgent message about another client.

I’m not sure I’d recommend all the regular meetings in the blog post (what’s the point of a bi-weekly call if you already have a weekly meeting?) but regular meetings to go over progress, outstanding items, and potential problems is a must.

Meeting just to meet, however, is a pet peeve of mine. In very busy seasons with dozens of projects going at once, I understand meeting every other day to keep each ball in the air. Still, it’s great practice to cut unnecessary meetings to once a week so as to not negatively impact productivity.

4. Set the tone
“Be willing to get and give feedback” is the most important on this list, followed closely by “be direct”. I’ll let you read through these points and comment below on what’s most important in a remote or office environment.

Link to the original blog post: http://loopup.com/blog/communicating-effectively/managing-remote-teams-top-4-tips/

04-Managing a project team, team dynamics, team roles

Listen, Learn and then Lead

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2) Planning the Work of a Team, 3) Managing a Project Team

http://www.ted.com/speakers/stanley_mcchrystal

So I openly admit bias on my inspirational and informative reference (but in fairness most of my other Military Officer vets have incredible admiration for the guy). The former commander of US and ISAF forces in Afghanistan, General Stanly McChrystal, gave an incredible lecture via TED that is applicable to anyone wishing to take on a leadership role in a not just challenging environment but seek to implement transformational changes to said organization. As with many of my peers, I too have been in (and will seek post-MBA) leadership positions that have entirely different duties and responsibilities than my previous roles. From the transition from a Platoon Leader as a Second Lieutenant in a Sapper Platoon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp5LqGCtzYI ) to my other less interesting (and more plans-oriented) positions I realized that there are certain traits that make leaders excel in any field or organization that they are placed in.

One of the common themes at the US Army Officer Candidate School is leadership is leadership: irrespective of your specialty or organizational level responsibility. It has taken years for me to develop (and am still learning in the corporate world now) but the key traits I have observed and am now especially cognizant of are best summed up by General McChrystal:

Listen, Learn and then Lead.

Reflecting on all the skills one learns during his or her MBA experience I believe it to be equally important to understand how to implement your ideas to fully utilize lessons learned from classes such as Management Practice. In the course of leading often skeptical clients or coworkers (or Soldiers and civilians in the General’s case), McChrystal suggests to first listen. Listening is quite possibly the most difficult task leaders have, particularly as we are prone to defaulting to preconceived notions on how the role and responsibilities should play out before we even arrive; this is especially difficult when compounded with issues such as generational differences, prior experiences and job diversity. Throughout the learning phase (continuous) the main goal is to build trust and rapport; people tend to work harder and with more conviction when they believe someone has their best interest in mind; this is particularly true when it comes to leading higher risk maneuvers or actions where the natural tendency is risk-aversion to prevent failure / negative performance reviews. Finally there is learning when to fully lead. “When in charge be in charge” is one of the idioms always taught to military officers; when you have demonstrated the listening and learning traits to your group this becomes significantly easier to execute. I have found these leadership maxims to be of extreme value regardless of leading Soldiers in warzones or my peers when implementing a new sales strategy as a novice to seasoned sales representatives.

The “Listen, learn and lead” design is paramount to a leader’s success, particularly of importance when leading teams with informational and generational differences.

03-Planning the work of a team, 04-Managing a project team, work plans

Managing Your Time Effectively

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We all know how difficult it can be juggling school, our jobs, friends, family and goodness knows what else. Sometimes it seems like we’re burning the candles on both ends, and we just can’t seem to catch up no matter WHAT we do. It’s so easy to get distracted, especially with all the electronic devices filling up our lives, whether it’s the TV or your smartphone.

I’ve often observed this with managers and co-workers as well. They get so caught up with the little things,  it can be difficult to stay on track.  Projects then get pushed back, things pile up — and then they end up spending 12-14 hours a day working 6 days a week. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg talks about trying to balance family and work in her book “Lean In”.  When she first became an executive at Google, She said she constantly felt worried about missing something – if she was at home with her family, she was concerned about things at the office, and vice versa.  So she implemented a pretty similar policy outlined in Michael McKeown’s article The No. 1 Time Management Mistake. She cut out the non-essentials — whether that was extra meetings, phone calls, etc. She kept strict office hours, but made herself available, if needed, on her BlackBerry. She prioritized to-do list every day — and her employees soon followed. Soon, her team was completing projects more efficiently – and in less time.

I think these lessons are especially key for us as students and future managers. Learning how to focus on the essentials and eliminating distractions will help our stress levels and our work flow. And having effective time management seems particularly essential in this shortened summer semester! So how do you make time for school, work and your personal life?

 

04-Managing a project team, feedback, team dynamics

The Communication Loop

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Throughout my professional years, I have found myself in working situations where the majority of the people that I interact with are not in the same office as me. I imagine several of you have experienced a work relationship like this as well. Satellite environments have made me a huge proponent of closed loop communication.

Steve Adubato describes the impact of this tool in an article entitled Great Communicators Close The Loop. Proactively closing the conversation eliminates confusion as to what the next steps are for each party. While I know some people hate to receive “Thank you.” emails, I am not one of those. Those simple emails say so much. I read those two words as, “I received the document that you have provided, and it fulfills my needs perfectly. I will contact you back should I need anything further.”

When I receive no communication back, I am left in a state of confusion. Did my file go through? Are they too busy to respond? Is that all they needed?

Sometimes I imagine how this interaction would play out in person:

Christine: “Hi John. Here is the file you requested. Please let me know if you need anything further.”

John: (Grabs paper and walks away without responding)

Not an entirely beneficial exchange, but I know we all witness these types of passive conversations daily via email.

Steve also describes the importance of proactive communication. Don’t always force people to remind you that they are waiting on a deliverable. Bringing the topic up, explaining your work to date, and acknowledging a completion date all provide confirmation that you are hard at work on their task. People like to feel that their work is important to you, and these simple behaviors will reinforce that feeling.

Am I the only one that saves “Thank you.” emails as a sign of confirmed receipt? Do you all find yourselves frequently in email limbo, wondering if your document was received or if anything further is required of you?