5 Classic Management Mistakes (And how to avoid them)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are some classic mistakes managers make on a regular basis. Mistakes that mean they are not getting the results they want and need from their people. 

Mistake 1: Only clarifying, and managing, ‘the numbers’

Leaders often tell me that they focus most of their attention on the ‘numbers’ part of their employee’s performance. They set objectives for producing the right amount of work on time, meeting a deadline, achieving the % increase in sales or the $ of savings. They monitor the numbers and, sometimes, they give feedback to their staff about their performance against those numbers. It makes good sense.

But what about the behaviors? What about; the way the employee manages their time, the way they build and maintain customer relationships, their ability to be solution focused, their ability to work in a team and so on? The difficulty is that managers often see these behaviors as subjective and unquantifiable meaning that they cannot be measured and managed.

But here’s the thing; Why manage behaviors? Behaviors are crucial to the success of your business. Can you be successful without your employees demonstrating the ability to manage their time, build and maintain effective relationships, develop practical solutions and so on?

Because managers also tell me they regularly judge their employees on their ‘attributes’ without being able to clearly define those attributes as behaviors. They say “he’s just not committed enough”’ or “she’s not a team player” or “he lacks creativity”. Without being able to define what ‘being an effective team player’ looks like in practice how can you help your employee improve in this area?

Identifying the Crucial Behaviors

The key questions to ask are:

• What are the behaviors that differentiate us from our competitors?
• What are the behaviors that contribute most to our success?
• What behaviors must a person demonstrate to be successful in this job?

What do I want from the people I manage?

Of course you then need to share your descriptions of the behaviors you want and need with your employees – without making the next mistake.

Mistake 2: not helping employees to understand the bigger picture

We know from the research that employees want to ‘connect their efforts to the mission and purpose of the business’. In short, they want an answer to the question – ‘why am I doing this?’ The mistake owners and managers making is assuming that the answer to that question is obvious. Well maybe it should be, but often it isn’t.

Let’s take a look at how you can communicate objectives in a way that helps your employees understand their importance to the business. Let’s begin with the objectives that relate to the quantifiable parts of the job – the numbers element. There’s a simple process you can use to frame the conversation.

 

Communicating quantifiable objectives:

•  WHAT – the objective is
•  WHY – it’s important

 Communicating behavioral objectives.

 

When you are communicating behavioral objectives it’s always a good idea to explain the ‘Why’ and ‘How’ and to associate the ‘why and how’ with a business imperative. This is because most people can relate to doing something new or differently when they can see it’s to meet a business need. It just makes more sense to them.

So it’s about explaining WHY – why we need the new behaviors and HOW the new behaviors are going to meet the business imperatives.

Here’s an example of how these principles could apply to behavioral objective for

‘Teamwork’

Example of a performance objective for ‘Team Player’

I will consider you to be an effective team player when you;

• Explain the team objectives and your role in meeting those objectives

• Identify when your team members need help or assistance and offer that help
• Fully participate in team meetings and events
• Identify ways the team can work together more effectively
• Gain feedback that you are an effective team worker

Example of how to communicate the ‘Team Player’ objective

WHY it's important

• Major challenges facing the business - in the current economic climate we’ve got to retain more customers.

• Challenge to us – to improve our efficiency in servicing our customer so they stay with us and refer their friends and family.
• Challenge for us as individuals – to maintain or improve our job satisfaction during these challenging times.

HOW the new behaviors are going to meet the business needs.

• If we work better as team we’ll improve our efficiency and customer experience

• Working better as a team should improve our job satisfaction

In short, if we work better as a team we’ll keep more customers and enjoy work more!

It’s all about helping the employee see the importance of their work to the success of the business.

Mistake 3: giving meaningless praise

The research shows that ‘receiving positive feedback and recognition for work well done’ consistently ranks highly as a motivator in employee surveys. Yet research also shows that most people don’t feel they get enough praise. So what’s going on?

Putting aside the fact that it’s likely that some of our survey participants feel they should be praised for just turning up every morning, my view is that business owners and managers are sometimes reluctant to give praise because they’ve had experiences of being praised themselves in ways that, frankly, haven’t motivated them at all. And, of course, they’re not over keen on having the same effect on their employees. It’s actually quite easy to deliver praise badly - praise that is seen as patronizing or manipulative by the employee. But done well, its dynamite.

Here are five ways to do it well:

1. Prepare the praise

It’s interesting that many managers will spend some time preparing to give criticism, but only a matter of seconds (if at all) preparing to give praise. The result? A passing comment (literally) on the lines of ‘nice job Doug, keep it up’ Say what? Which job? The whole job? Keep what up? Not only is this type of praise confusing but, by and large, it’s not wildly motivating.

 

2. Be specific

Describe exactly what you are praising and why. Try the following method:

When you....

What happened was...

And the result is....

E.g. When I showed the client the research you had done on their business she said she was really impressed by the insights you had provided. The result is she wants us to make a proposal for a further piece of business. That’s a really good outcome for us so thank you and well done.

3. Show genuine interest

Ask questions to better understand what the employee did, for example, what preparation they did for a successful presentation, how they managed to design such effective presentation slides etc. Describe how you feel about what they’ve done e.g. pleased, impressed, excited (the hug and kiss might be slightly over doing it)

4. Let the praise stand alone

Don’t be tempted to mix the praise with criticism e.g. That was a great presentation. If only your written work was as good. Deal with the written work issue at a different time.

5. Do it quickly and time it well

Give your praise as soon after the event as possible – it has far more impact. Be careful not to give the praise at a time when it will appear conditional or a ‘softening up’ process e.g. just before you delegate a task or ask for the person to work late

Public or Private?

There’s an old saying ‘praise in public, criticize in private’. Though we wholeheartedly agree with the latter we’re not totally convinced by the former. Of course the principle is sound. We want other employees to hear the praise and understand what we are praising because we hope that they will want to copy those behaviors or achievements. But not everyone is comfortable being singled out in this way and some people find accepting praise in front of their coworker embarrassing.

Try delivering the praise in private. You can then ask the employee if they are happy for you to share the praise with their coworkers – say in the next team meeting - and take it from there.

What if there’s no praise to give?

Of course employees find praise motivational, who wouldn’t? A challenge is when there is no praise to give because the employee is not performing effectively. The answer is to give regular feedback rather than praise.

The best way to motivate employees to improve their under performance is to give them what we call ‘positive criticism’ – criticism that’s easy to understand and easy to accept because it’s clear, objective and fair.

Mistake 4: avoiding talking to your employees about their job satisfaction

We know that showing a high level of interest and concern for our employees results in higher levels of motivation and performance. One of the most powerful ways to do this is to have a conversation specifically about how to maintain or improve their current level of job satisfaction/engagement.

After all, who wouldn’t feel motivated by having a supervisor who cares about our satisfaction at work and who is happy to spend the time talking to us about this subject which is so close to our hearts? Some managers, though, are reluctant to hold these conversations in case they result in ‘opening a can of worms’ – more specifically in case the employee comes to them with a list of wants and needs they cannot meet.

Good point.

Mistake 5: Neglecting to set high standards and hold others accountable

This denies employees the chance to learn and excel. Employees do not want to be told, “Let me make your life easier by enabling you not to learn and not to achieve anything new.  A balanced combination of uncompromising standards and confidence-building reassurances sends a very clear and consistent message to your team: “I believe in you and I want you to win as much as I want to win.”

There are two strategies for dealing with poor performance: One-minute coaching-corrections and redirection. A coaching-correction works best with people who have “won’t do” or attitudinal problems. These people are winners and they know how to do it but for some reason they are not doing it. 

 

Redirection is appropriate for people with “can’t so” or experience problems.  There will be more need for redirection because things are changing so fast now in most fields that competencies to do a job is often short-lived.

Redirection

1.  Make sure they know that a problem exists. Be specific. Share what happened clearly and without blame

2.  The person being redirected needs to know the negative impact that the error caused

3.  If appropriate, the manager should accept responsibility for not making the task clear

4.  Go over the task in detail and make sure it is clearly understood

5.  Express your continuing trust and confidence in the person

Bottom line: Hold people accountable to high standards while allowing them to hold onto their dignity as human beings.

To your greater success and well-being,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT

Take the Next Step...
Interested in learning how to develop your organization's leadership capability, culture, and employee engagement ? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. 

To request an interview with Peter Mclees please 

contact: Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile:323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, energy storage, facility services & maintenance, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, wealth management services, real estate services, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth.

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

 

 

Ask for Help from a Position of Strength, Not Weakness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Imagine you’re handed a new project at work that requires skills or information you don’t have. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, and while asking for help can be intimidating, you can do so in a way that actually demonstrates your strength, competence, and professionalism. Here’s how.
 
Start strong. Avoid phrases like “I hate to bother you.” Instead, begin with a clear purpose. For example, “I’d like to get your thoughts on a challenge I’m facing,” or “I’m working on this project and would like to bounce some ideas off you.”
 
Be precise and concise. Make your request clear and specific. Instead of “I’m having trouble with this presentation. Can you help?” try “I’ve prepped content for the board presentation, but I’m not sure about the order of slides five through 10. Could you take a look?”
 
Explain what work you’ve already done. For example, “I’ve mapped out three potential scenarios for the project timeline. Can we chat about which is most realistic?” This will demonstrate that you’ve done your due diligence and help narrow the focus of your request.

Ask for advice. Framing your request as a desire to learn or seek mentorship can be effective, too. Research finds people are more likely to do you another favor if they’ve already helped you once. Why? Because we tend to justify our actions by assuming we must like the person we’re helping.

So instead of saying “Can you help me with this?” try “I’d like to understand how you approach this kind of problem. Could you walk me through your thought process?” This shows you value their expertise and want to learn, not just get a quick fix.

Remember, most people enjoy feeling knowledgeable and helpful. By asking for advice, you’re giving them an opportunity to feel good about themselves. Plus, asking for help with confidence doesn’t just change how others see you, it also changes how you see yourself. You begin to trust your own judgment more. You start to see challenges as puzzles you can solve. You feel more capable and in control, even when things get tough.

Check out a related post:  Assertive Communication: Asking For What You Want Firmly and Fairly.

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT

Take the Next Step...
Interested in learning how to develop your organization's leadership capability, culture, and employee engagement ? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees or a SMART Development consultant please 

contact: Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile:323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, energy storage and facilities management, distribution centers, food production facilities, wealth management services, real estate services, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth.

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

Defining a Coaching Cadence is a Force Multiplier that Will Supercharge Performance

 

 

 

 

 

In military parlance, force multipliers are anything that can take the given combat force of a unit and multiply its effectiveness as if it were a larger unit.  Classically, terrain and fortifications are common examples, but advanced weaponry that outranges the enemy, air support, electronic warfare, information warfare, and psychological warfare, all can play a role in multiplying the combat force in a unit.

For example, if a unit of 1000 soldiers attacks a unit of 500 soldiers, all other things being equal, you would likely expect the attacker to win. However, if the 500 soldiers sat upon a hill, surrounded by minefields and barbed wire, with muddy ground that slows movement and a stream that the attackers must cross, the 500 soldiers might be able to defeat an attack by 1,000 soldiers.  It might take 2,000 or 3,000 soldiers to overcome such a position.

The terrain and fortifications are called “force multipliers” as it permits the unit of 500 to operate with the power of a much larger force.  A force multiplier of +50% or +100% or more might exist for particularly favorable terrain.

Having a consistent coaching cadence for leading your team is a workforce output multiplier. A cadence is simply a rhythmic pattern or sequence you follow. For leaders, it provides a structured process for the activities involved in managing and coaching your team.

Too many leaders bounce from one thing to the next without a method to the madness. Flying by the seat of your pants is not flexibility, it’s a recipe for dropping the ball and missing opportunities. Defining a coaching cadence ensures you cover all the key elements on a set schedule.

Leaders must hold regular check ins, provide individualized coaching, analyze performance, assess and address team dynamics and hiring and retention issues, and track progress towards goals. Setting these meetings and time blocks ahead of time keeps everyone on the same page and embeds them into the processes.

Leading high-performing team requires leadership to juggle a lot. An intentional cadence creates a healthy rhythm to keep those tasks in the air at the same time.

A coaching cadence will simultaneously improve your team’s skills, tap into their internal motivation, and gain buy-in for the actions they need to do in order to be successful in their role.

So how do you create a coaching cadence like this?

Here is a 5-step process to help you define and/or optimize a coaching cadence.

Step 1 — Identify the types of meetings you need to conduct

There are three different stakeholders for a manager and subsequently a need to create three groups of meetings. The first is the individual employee, the second is with your team as a whole, and the third meeting you have is with  direct reports who are supervisors.

A sample guide to communication cadence:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 2 — Set the duration and frequency of your meetings

After identifying the types of meetings you should have, you then need to determine the duration and timing of those meetings.

How often are you going to have these meetings?

You may have meetings daily, weekly, and monthly — depending on their agenda and objectives. In most cases, the more frequent meetings will be one-on-one with your employees and the team meetings whereas the meetings with your supervisors will be less regular.

Step 3 — Determine the meeting agenda

Read any book on running effective meetings and, chances are, one of the first recommendations is going to be to set an agenda. Managers are often led to believe that having a written plan is the key for an engaging and successful meeting. Sadly, it’s not that easy. Research has actually found little to no relationship between the presence of an agenda and attendees’ evaluation of meeting quality. What matters is not the agenda itself but the relevance and importance of what’s on it, and how the leader facilitates discussion of the agenda items.

Instead of designing your agenda as a laundry list of topics to be broached, consider creating your agenda as a set of questions to be addressed . In its simplest form, the meeting exists to answer a set of compelling questions in an allotted time. Here are some examples of what this could look like:

• Instead of a topic titled “Budget Problems,” consider a question such as, “How will we reduce our spending by 100K by the end of the fiscal year”?
• Instead of a topic titled, “Customer Process Improvement,” consider a question like, “What are the key ways of improving overall response time to customers by 25%?”
•  Instead of a topic titled “Leader Succession,” try changing it to “Where are we vulnerable in our leadership bench strength and how might we address these vulnerabilities?”

Ultimately, a questions-based approach to agendas can bring focus, engagement, and better performance to your meetings (See ask more, tell less). If you have never tried this approach, give it a go. It’s important to experiment, reflect, learn, and tweak your approach. This work will not only help make meetings better, but will also build a broader team culture of learning, taking reasonable risks, and non-complacency.

Step 4 — Map out your quarterly plan

A number of your meetings won’t occur every week so it is also important to map out a quarterly plan.

There is no “one and done” way to approach a quarterly coaching cadence, but this example will give you a well-tested approach to the rhythm of meetings you should be having.

Once you plan out your quarterly meetings it gives you some real structure and purpose to your one-on-ones and day-to-day team habits. It’s no longer just the same old questions being asked every week because the focus is on coaching and continuous improvement over a period of time.

Step 5 — Communicate with your team

The most important thing to consider when you are building a coaching cadence is that you communicate clear responsibilities and expectations with your team. Clarity and alignment on what success looks like for each team member's essential functions is a moving target that needs continual adjusting and fine-tuning.

You want to demonstrate that coaching is at the forefront of everything you do. That failure is okay and feedback is encouraged. That the continuous improvement and honing of team member’s craft is a top priority for the company.

If each member of your team genuinely feels as if their development is the number one priority for you as the leader, then ultimately their performance is going to exponentially improve over time. Helping you move closer to your goals and targets.

These tips will help you build your own coaching cadence and go a long way to creating a high-performing team.

Here are three related posts:

What's Your Work Cadence? Five Ways Cadence Impacts Your Culture and Results   (3 min read)

Proven Ways to Calibrate Organizational Cadence  (3 min read)

 3 Strategies to Develop--and Retain--Your High Performers (5 min read)

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT

Take the Next Step...
Interested in learning how to develop your organization's leadership capability, culture, and employee engagement ? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees or a SMART Development consultant please 

contact: Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile:323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, energy storage and facilities management, distribution centers, food production facilities, wealth management services, real estate services, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth.

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.