How do you get Managers to be good managers?

[Terrence Seamon]

As a follow up to our first focused forum question of 2009 (What will the main work of a Manager be in 2009?), here is another question that we hope all of you will weigh in on.

The question was first posed at a forum on LinkedIn, where the question went like this:

"How do you get managers to ACT like good managers? Our managers know what to do, but don't when given the chance. What kind of structural mechanisms can we put in place to force good behaviors?"

I answered: "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." I learned that bit of wisdom as a child from my elders.

Extracting the wisdom from the saying, it seems to me that any ACT (i.e., behavior, choice, decision) has to come from within the person. Even the so-called "gun to my head" scenario.

So how do you get your Managers to do the right thing and act the right way? A few thoughts...

1. Hire (and promote) carefully

2. Clearly communicate what you expect from Managers, then communicate again, and again, and again......etc

3. Train regularly on the basics of good managing . . . and follow up with reinforcement

4. Provide coaches

What would you say? How do you get Managers to be good managers?

[Tim Rutledge]

Terrence, your raise a crucial issue. The role of the manager/supervisor in creating and sustaining engaging employment experiences, and not just jobs, can't be stressed enough. I want to respond to your first point: the hiring and promotion of new supervisors.
Over the years the practice has grown up of filling supervisory vacancies with the best front line employee or the one with the longest tenure. Organized labour has abetted this with its insistance on seniority as the only differentiator among employees. But even when more care is taken with moving people into management roles there is a dimension that is overlooked: how will someone who has never had any organizational power tend to use it once they do have it?
Senior management tends not to view supervisors as having power. And from their perspective it's not a very powerful position. But for the people who report to the supervisor it's a very powerful role indeed. I don;t know of any instrumentation that screens for how people may tend to exercise organizational power. Can anyone enlighten me?

[Terrence Seamon]

Excellent points, Tim.
Regarding the perception of power, you mention two perspectives, higher mgmt and employees. There is a third perspective too: the supervisor's own view of his or her power.
Seems to me this subject of "supervisory power" is a somewhat seldom addressed topic in supervisory skills training that could have tremendous impact for positive change in the workplace, including engagement.
Terry

[Hayley]

Hi,

I have just written a short handbook of practical tips and hints for Line Managers in how to engage their team and the benefits to them of doing so.

By selling them the benefits you can let them make the decision about whether they want to be an amazing manager or an average/poor manager and unfortunately that has to be their call, however you can takes steps to influence their decision.

You can get a copy of this free guide here:

http://tinyurl.com/5tun8w

[Terrence Seamon]

Hayley,
Thank you so much for pointing us toward your free handbook!
I agree that managers have a choice whether to be average, poor, or amazing.
Terry

[Anja Schuetz]

Hi Terry,
Very nice question!

My response to "How do you get managers to ACT like good managers?” is one of my favorite quotes: Awareness creates responsibility!

Often people don’t improve or change their behavior because they simply are not aware that anything is wrong with it.
Why would they not be aware? Because maybe there is no feedback system in place in which they could find out how their team members think of them. It is also possible that their performance reviews do not evaluate them on people skills/people management skills. It could also be that their own managers don’t act like good managers so they don’t have good role models.

I like your quote about leading the horse to the water – I’ve used it myself in a related post on my blog http://newpeoplemanagement.wordpress.com/2009/01/10/you-can-lead-a-...

I think we’re thinking along the same lines when you say “it has to come from within the person” – meaning the person has to want it. You cannot make anyone do anything; you can only provide conditions in which the person will want to do what you want them to do :) Because at the end of the day, we all weigh our options and do what we want to do.


1. Hire (and promote) carefully
Agree

2. Clearly communicate what you expect from Managers, then communicate again, and again, and again......etc
Yes, though I’d like to mention that it should not only be a one way street of Expectation. We have to keep in mind that those managers might have certain “expectations” too (or "needs" that they need to have met in order to perform better). So we should always strive for Agreements rather than just stating Expectations. Steve Chandler has a great little audio file on the subject of Expectations vs Agreements, which I am allowed to pass on, so if anyone is interested let me know (connect as friends with me here to enable messages).

3. Train regularly on the basics of good managing . . . and follow up with reinforcement
…And with feedback and regular evaluation

4. Provide coaches
Absolutely! Providing a coach could maybe even replace number 3, in my opinion. I am coaching a group of managers at the moment – we have one session every other week on several topics (but all related to people management) and they really appreciate this format over one-off trainings because they get constant reminders to observe their own behavior; they get the chance to apply the new learnings (which all come from raising their awareness) in between sessions and then discuss and share their experiences in the next session and adjust course if necessary.

@Tim – I agree with everything you say! As for an “instrumentation” – I think that one would be a feedback system that allows the managers to find out how they are perceived by everyone they are working with. Meaning receiving feedback from above (their managers) and below (their teams).
From my experience the feedback mostly comes only from above and it often doesn’t address “good people management skills”. The feedback rarely comes from below because the teams might simply be scared to tell the truth to their managers. Therefore possibilities for anonymous feedback must be put in place.
The only managers who ask their team members for feedback and provide an environment where people dare to be honest, are the ones who are already “good ones” and continuously strive for self-improvement :)

@Hayley
Thank you for making you handbook available, I will check it out!

Looking forward to more views on this,
Anja

[Terrence Seamon]

Anja,
Super reply! Thanks for responding not only to me, but to Tim and Hayley as well. So inclusive.
Your point about awareness is key. That's where change begins.
Terry

[Robert Morris]

Many EEN members have read Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman’s First, Break All the Rules, published in 1999. In it, the co-authors discuss twelve crucial statements (Q12®) to which millions of workers responded in surveys conducted by Gallup during the previous 25 years. Three years ago, Rodd Wagner and James K. Harter’s 12: The Elements of Great Managing was published. (Both are Gallup principals.) As Wagner and Harter explain, these statements comprise “the 12 Elements of Great Managing…Behind each of these is a fundamental truth about human nature on the job. The correlations between each element and better performance not only draw a roadmap to superior managing; they also reveal fascinating insights into how the human mind – moldced by thousands of years foraging, hunting, and cooperating within a close-knit and stable tribe – reacts in a relatively new,, artificial world cubicles, project timelines, corporate ambiguity, and changing workgroup membership.” The question Terry poses is a critically important one. In my opinion, the best answer to it is provided by the twelve crucial statements (Q12®). I cannot provide a list of them now because Gallup insists that they not be reprinted or reproduced in any manner without the written consent of The Gallup Organization. However, I can strongly recommend Wagner and Harter’s book.

[Terrence Seamon]

Bob,
Great to hear from you in this discussion!
You are right to remind us of this research from Gallup. Their 12 elements of great managing provide an excellent roadmap.
The trouble is, most managers are probably unaware of it. And, as you point out, Gallup doesn't want anyone to give it away for free.
So how do we proceed?
Terry

[Robert Morris]

Terry:

Re “how to proceed,” here are a few suggestions:

1. Obtain and read both First, Break All the Rules and 12: The Elements of Great Managing
2. Obtain and read only 12.
3. Check out the reviews of each (featured by Amazon) in which the twelve crucial statements (Q12®) are discussed

Frankly, I prefer #1 because of the potential dangers of what Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton characterize as “the knowing-doing gap.” Obviously, knowing and understanding the twelve crucial statements are quite different from converting that knowledge into effective action. Buckingham/Coffman and Wagner/Harter explain how. Amazon currently sells a new copy of 12 for only $17.13 and there is a value-added bonus that is worth at least three times that.

Thanks for asking your question. You have certainly generated some outstanding responses thus far. I would be interested in having those who have converted in action what they learned from 12 share their experiences with EEN members. When helping my own corporate clients to do that (or at least attempt to do that) in recent years, the greatest barriers encountered were the result of what James O’Toole so aptly characterizes as "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom.” My own experience suggests that a remarkably high percentage of workers are actively engaged in defending the status quo.

Best rrgards, Bob

[Terrence Seamon]

Jared,
I salute you and Curt for this service to managers!
Terry

[Robert Morris]

Thank you, Jared.

I was unaware of the access to this material online. Although you have indeed saved a great many people a great deal of time, I still highly recommend the books based on Gallup research: not only First, Break All the Rules and 12 but also StrengthsFinder 2.0 and Streangths Based Leadership.

Best regards,Bob

[Bob Gately]

Hello Terrence:

I'll only comment on the first item in your list.

"Hire (and promote) carefully" is not only the first thought you listed but also the most important step in creating an engaged workforce.

Managers often presume employees are responsible for their own engagement. Of course this shifts the burden from the manager to the employee which is good for the manager's mental health but bad for the employee and employer.

Managers need to "Hire (and promote) carefully" but few employers provide the tools and techniques to do it successfully.