Management Principles: Solving Problems and Making Mistakes

Numbers 4 and 5: 

Of the list of topics relating to the Management Principles, these two definitely go hand in hand. 

There are very few things that can upset a manager more than the employee who comes to him or her with problems but no recommendation of how best to solve the problem.  Just problems.  No solutions.  My thought has always been if you are going to come to me with a headache, you’d better bring the aspirin.

                  Fear of making a mistake is another.  If you are always looking for someone else to be liable for what can go wrong, then you will never be successful.  Do not be afraid to make a mistake.  In fact, it shows your true character.  How do you handle yourself when something goes wrong, especially when it was your responsibility?  Do you stand up and admit your mistake, or do you perform some type of new Olympic event with the “duck, shuffle, and point the blame”.

                  So how do these go together?  As a leader I have many expectations.  I expect that when I direct and delegate, that you understand you have the wiggle room to make deck-plate decisions without checking in with me on every step.  In fact, I trust you to use your experience and expertise to make appropriate and timely decisions in order to keep working.  Given this knowledge, I assume you understand that when a problem arises it is you that I expect to come up with a solution and execute that solution.  Will you always be right?  Hell no.  Will you make a mistake?  Hell yes.  But that is the genius part of this.  I believe in you.  I believe you did not make a mistake on purpose. I believe that whatever mistake you have made will in fact be a great lesson learned. 

                  Now, with that being said, there must be some rules to live by:

1)      Some situations will require a boss’s judgment, authority, or experience to come to the optimum solution. Your job is not just to identify problems, but also to develop, prepare, and execute solutions according to the direction given by management. 

2)     We must learn from our experiences and expect our people to do so also.

Knowing this, you and those who work for you should feel more empowered to come up with solutions to the problem.  Identify the risk versus gain, and decide a plan ahead.  If during the execution of this planned solution you make a mistake, it is okay—take a deep breath.  Most of the time it is a minor course correction that will get you back on the right path.  It is so much better to make an informed decision knowing that adjustments will need to be made, than to never make a decision at all.

Management Principles: Following Direction

Number 3:  Following Direction

                  This one seems to be simple; just follow direction. Just do it.  Go on, do what you are told! 

When in fact, it is very complicated—what if the direction contradicts something (e.g. morals, values, higher authority). 

                  As I think about this, I realize that whether I receive the direction or I give it, the expectation is the same….Follow direction.  If you walk away when given direction, then the expectation is you will follow it.  This then becomes your responsibility.  So, if you have a question, concern, point to be made, MAKE IT KNOWN! Do not leave your management thinking all is well if it is not.

                  Likewise, if you direct someone to do something, wouldn’t you assume as they walk away that it was going to be done as asked?  It’s the golden rule simplified; do for others as you expect others to do for you.

Here’s the hitch in this as I have posted in an earlier blog.  When directing your people, be sure to be clear and concise so when they do walk away, you both understand what is being asked.  What exactly are the boundaries of this task? When do you want it done?  Do you want it followed a certain way?  Do you want to be informed at certain points?  Quite literally you could ask these questions all day.  There also has to be a bit of trust in the relationship.  It’s really the 80/20 rule, whereas you spend 80% of your time with 20% of your people.  For instance, after having a good working relationship with my people, I know whom I can give direction to and how they will proceed afterward.  Then, I have those who I must spend time with to insure that they understand what is needed.  It may only be a couple of people, but I spend most of my time with them to ensure the direction is followed.

I also want to take a moment to discuss people in general.  When I was an instructor, I learned that a classroom full of students just meant I had a room full of individual learners.  No two individuals necessarily learned the same way.  While one person needs to read about it first, the other may learn from hands-on training.  The same goes with giving direction.  While one person may need to be told only once, another may require their hand held throughout the process.  Don’t ever forget this, and be sure to understand this and how it can be applied.  It will save you a lot of frustration.  Also, alternately, the same goes for you receiving direction.  Your boss is not necessarily a similar learner.  He/she may give direction, and have an expectation of direction being followed, which you may not comprehend.  This too is very frustrating.  Empathy, in both directions, is the key to your sanity.

 If you as a leader are not approachable; or as a follower are not willing to stand up and speak, then you are now responsible to carry out the direction.  In other words, if I tell you to do something and you walk away, I can only assume that you are going to carry out my direction.

Management Principles: Commitment

Number 2:  Commitments.

If you accept a task, you are committed to it.  If you assign a task that someone else accepts, they are committed to it.  But, what does commitment mean?  Webster defines it as:

1.      responsibility: something that takes up time or energy, especially an obligation

2.      loyalty: devotion or dedication, e.g. to a cause, person, or relationship

Key words are loyalty, obligation, responsibility, devotion and dedication.  If you commit to a task then my expectation—anyone’s expectation—is that you will perform as directed.  Now, if you can’t meet your commitment then be sure to make it known.   The problem with commitment today is that every commercial you see on television says something like “stop with the Hassle fees, switch to Key Bank”, or “your beer has too many calories and not enough taste, switch to Miller Lite”.  Even in sports today we see LeBron undecided where he may end up, whereas Magic never thought that way.  So, we must understand that commitment today may in fact mean something totally different from past generations.  A commitment today may be only temporary compared to what they were before.  With this being known, what does commitment mean to you?  You must realize this:  the definition has not changed through the generations, only the application has.

               Here is what I expect from leaders.  When we task someone or we ourselves are tasked, a commitment is made. It becomes a binding agreement that full responsibility must be taken for, and in the end, if failure has occurred, then you only have yourself to blame.  No one else.  You accepted such a fate when you committed to the task.

               Now you ask yourself, how can I help this situation if things are going south?  First of all, you are responsible based on a commitment.  Imagine that you have been tasked with a major project, one of great importance.  Each of those higher up that you report to in this situation are bears.  If information is food, do you starve the bears or keep them fat?  Easy answer, keep feeding them information as it comes to you.  This keeps those you report to satiated.  If you wait, and give nothing, then the day you need to give an update, good or bad, the bears are going to bite your head off.  They have been hungry and you have failed to keep them informed.  The same goes for you subordinates that you task, in this case though you are the bear.  How would you feel if you were kept in the dark on an important project you delegated?  Hungry!

               My point here is, if you made a commitment, it is your responsibility to keep your boss informed.  No one else holds that responsibility but you.  You are the one who must face the bear with both the good and bad news, because you are the one who has committed to it.  Not only is that expected of you from those you report to, but it is also the standard to which you must hold those who have made a commitment to you.

 

Management Principles: How To Succeed

              Hello there.  I know it has been a while and I offer no excuses.  I am back now, and in full writing mode to share some more thoughts.  In fact, many more.  While I was away from writing I was never far from a notepad to jot down little nuggets of wisdom as I learned them.  I am ready, are you?

               I once heard that the most successful of people listen to books on CD’s while traveling to and from work.  Take this another step, those who are successful read not for pleasure, but to learn and hone their skills and trade.  While I walk through offices of many senior people, I look at their bookshelves to see what is there and what they reference.  It is these books I want to read.  I need to know how my peers and Senior people think so I know how they see things.  Solve things.  Hear things.  You see, I don’t want to clone myself into my management; rather, I want to know how they think so I can get into their heads.  With this information, I have a better understanding of how to present myself in a way I know they will relate to.  I more deeply understand the methods and techniques management uses to reach team goals and can empathize with such direction because of my learning.

               With this, I saw a poster in one the Senior Manager’s office that caught my eye.  It was about management principles and how to succeed.  There were 16 principles, written by J G Barber.  What I want to present to you is these principles, in my own words.  They struck a chord in me.  I like to keep things simple, and this does just that.  Plus, I agree with them.  I have seen these principles in action and can tell you from a first person point of view, it’s about to get real in here.

The Management Principles:

1.       Responsibility

2.      Commitments

3.      Following Direction

4.      Solving Problems

5.      Mistakes

6.      Decision Making

7.      Doing Your Homework

8.      Candor

9.      Technical Competence and Credibility

10.   Responsibility and Discipline

11.   Verbatim Compliance

12.   Symptoms, Illnesses and Details

13.   Integrity

14.   Promotions/Evaluations/Removals

15.   Bad News/Good News

16.   “Bum Dope”

              In the coming days and weeks, I will touch on each of these.  For now, just think about these 16 principles.  How do they resonate with you?  Do you agree that it can be this simple?  Which one means more than the next?  Do they have an order of rank to them according to your principles and values?   

              I will leave you with a quote from Hyman Rickover, the father of Naval Nuclear Power, on Responsibility:

“It is a unique concept; it can only reside and inhere in a single individual, you may share it with others, but your portion is not diminished.  You may delegate it, but it is still with you.  You may disclaim it, but it is still with you.  You may disclaim it, but you cannot divest yourself of it.  Even if you do not recognize it or admit its presence, you cannot escape it.  If responsibility is rightfully yours, no evasion, or ignorance, or passing the blame can shift the burden to someone else.  Unless you can point your finger at the man who is responsible when something goes wrong, then you have never had anyone really responsible.”

               I am really glad to be back writing. As much as I continue to learn, I truly want to share with you my learnings.