Invest the Time to Develop Your Direct Reports

How much time do you spend developing your direct reports? According to research by the Corporate Executive Board, managers average 21% of their time on developing direct reports. Assuming a regular forty hour work week, that is over eight hours -one day! - per week.

I don’t know how they are defining “developing direct reports” but in my experience it is the conscious effort to provide coaching, feedback, challenging assignments, mentoring, and training with the express purpose of helping the employee develop the right skills for their career advancement.

Coaching employees for development is very different from coaching them to improve their performance. Managers need to do both, but unfortunately due to time constraints or shortsightedness, they primarily coach when they see a need to correct or improve sub-par performance in order to meet expectations.

Even though developing direct reports is (or should be) one of a manager’s highest priorities, with the way managers are overloaded, this vital leadership skill often ends up getting shoved aside. I am surprised at the 21% figure. Even my coaching clients – who are coached on this skill – don’t spend that amount of time on developing employees. Nor do they need to.

Every interaction with an employee is a chance for development. It only take a few minutes to ask what they like best about their job, what they find most challenging, and where they would like to see themselves in the company. An astute manager then takes this information, combines it with their own observations of the individual, and keeps it in mind whenever they are assigning new responsibilities or pondering training opportunities for their staff. Now that they know how the employee would like to grow, they can tailor their development efforts to those areas. Each time they talk to this employee they can update them as to what they are doing on their behalf, and ask if anything has changed about the employee’s goals, strengths, or challenges.

Even if there are no obvious advancement opportunities within your department or company, managers should have a development conversation with every employee. Those star employees need even more time from you –a formal career development plan can be written out, with periodic meetings scheduled to see how things are progressing.

As a matter of fact, it is even more important to have these development meetings when there are no obvious career paths within your organization for your employee. They are more likely to jump ship if you don’t sit them down and have a serious conversation, showing your interest in them and their career. That makes it a bonus for them to stick around, because having a manager that truly cares that they grow professionally -and acts on it - is rare. Just be clear with them that you are not able to help them prepare for any specific position, but that you want them to be ready if one does arise.

One of my clients – a high-tech department manager - once told me that developing his employees was his favorite part of his job. He got the most satisfaction from doing it, and wanted to do it as well as he could. I find that most people derive a high level of fulfillment from being able to coach, mentor, and assist employees’ growth. Unfortunately, their companies don’t formally place a high priority on it.

‘Developing others’ should be on every manager’s performance review, measured in number of promotions, number of career advancement plans, and direct reports’ feedback. From the process of helping them develop their potential, you get more productive, more loyal, and happier employees. The Corporate Executive Board reports that effective managers can increase the retention level of direct reports by 40 percent and performance levels by 25 percent by giving attention to development.

Take care of those valuable human resources, develop them, and the return will be measureable, not only in profits, but in your own feelings of well-being. And honing the leadership skill of ‘developing others’ can help you in your career advancement too.

Dress for the Job You Want




Picture Perfect

— MOVIECLIPS.com

If this boss wants to engender loyalty, he's got it backwards.

Prepare Yourself for VUCA Leadership

Business and government leaders in Japan are being tested during the current triple-whammy of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear reactor meltdown.

Leading effectively during a crisis requires strong character, excellent planning, consistent communication, and a cohesive team. It takes the ability to manage one’s own dilemma: how to externally convey peace and calm while internally experiencing a turmoil of emotions that may include horror and despair.

Dilemma management was given an academic focus and an acronym by the US Army War College. The term VUCA was coined to describe the factors of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity which face a leader in today’s combat environment.

The study of VUCA began as part of a military leader’s education but now has crossed over into business, making it an important part of effective strategic management. Any business leader can immediately see how learning how to lead in a VUCA environment is relevant to their situation.

The VUCA framework gives us some direction about the skills needed to lead effectively during times of drastic change.

Volatility can refer not only to unexpected emergencies such as natural disasters, equipment failure, or workplace violence, but also to the economy and the speedy lifecycles of technology. It’s necessary to survey your particular organization and know what factors could disrupt your operations. If you work in a large organization, no doubt you have addressed the issue of business continuity and data recovery. However, it’s been estimated that 40% of small businesses have not. Having the foresight to plan for the worst in every situation is a strategic management skill that is a requirement for effective leaders.

I will never forget experiencing a bomb threat at my workplace, part of a call center and warehouse. The bomb threat was thought to be a direct result of some national media attention my department’s sizable Japanese business had attracted. Although not trained in how to deal with a phone call like that, the receptionist handled it with calm professionalism. Customers never knew what happened, but orders were not received or distributed that day, and hundreds of workers were sent home.

• Does your organization have an emergency action plan and business continuity procedures in place?

• Do you have strategic plans to address future trends that may affect your particular business?

No matter how experts try to predict - the next earthquake, the next invention, the economic recovery – no one really knows. The next great Tokai earthquake is overdue to occur in the Shizuoka prefecture and the Japanese government has been preparing for it since 1978. The great tsunami-generating earthquake of March 11th off the coast of Sendai was not predicted. We need to be able to lead despite uncertainty.

When faced with a volatile situation, list the questions you have. What is known, and what is unknown? Determine the best courses of action to deal with the unknown. Mitigate the uncertainty as much as possible by asking all the questions and collaborating with others to find the answers.

• Do you have a good team in place who asks the difficult and unexpected questions?

• Do you have the ability to listen well?

Every circumstance contains multiple connections and repercussions. The complexity of a situation can be overwhelming. Leaders need to be able to discern and prioritize to make good decisions within the parameters of their knowledge. In order to do this, you must have access to real-time, accurate information and as much expert analysis as possible.

Disaster relief workers in Japan are confounded by the enormity of their task: people need shelter, food, water, warmth, medical care, to find their loved ones, to find their belongings, to be protected from radiation…the list goes on and gets more complex when the challenge of logistics, gasoline and factors we are not even aware of are added. In order to prioritize and give people what they need, leaders need timely access to key information and essential communications.

• What is the state of your communications networks, for both emergencies and non-emergencies?

• Are you receiving the right amount of quality information on a timely basis?

• Do you have people and systems in place that can make effective use of this information?

It can be difficult for people to function in an environment of ambiguity, but that is often a necessity in business and in life. No matter how much we try to put structures, rules, and procedures into place, the world is not black and white. There are always exceptions, and in a VUCA world knowing how to lead people through chaos and ambiguity is an essential skill. Communicate way more than you think you need to in order to manage expectations, calm fears and mitigate rumors.

Most VUCA –type circumstances are not just problems to be solved, but dilemmas that must be prepared for as much as possible, then continuously managed. It can be a taxing job, so incremental successes within the larger situation must be identified, acknowledged, and celebrated.

• Do you communicate to your employees often and in depth?

• Do you have temporary structures and procedures for times of ambiguity and change?

Not surprisingly, the study of VUCA and dilemma management has not yet addressed (as far as I can find) the psychological preparation needed for a leader to manage during VUCA times or how a leader can help their people resume full functioning after a trauma. Here is one resource for the latter.

Volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity at work are becoming more business-as-usual than exceptions. Take advantage of the practical resources which are widely available, such as data recovery systems and emergency action plan templates. And hone your leadership skills so you can manage both the internal and external dilemmas that come your way.

Lack of Management Communication is the #1 Reason For Quitting

In a recently published study from Regus, over 15,000 business managers were interviewed to find out which issues would drive them to quit their job. Interestingly, 40% of them admitted that they were considering quitting their jobs after the summer vacation. Although ‘considering' is different than actually taking the courageous step to do so, it is revealing that nearly half the respondents would like to find a new position.

Less surprising are the top five reasons they state would drive them to quit their jobs:

1. Lack of communication and involvement by top management 40%
2. Lack of promotion despite good work results 37%
3. Overwork 34%
4. Lack of company vision 31%
5. Lack of belief in colleagues’ competence 28%

Although the respondents of this survey were primarily senior managers, study after study reveals that the top reason anyone leaves their job is their relationship with their manager.

Reiterating your vision, communicating your appreciation, sharing plans, and involving your employees are key to keeping good people. Here are a few tips on what works when communicating:

• Keep communication simple and heartfelt, not complex and bureaucratic.
• Repeat important messages such as vision, goals and valued behavior often.
• Do your homework before communicating in order to understand what people are feeling, to get the whole picture, and to be able to answer questions well.
• Begin your communication by speaking to where people are: usually they are thinking of themselves and how things impact them. Then bring them with you to think of the team, the company, the vision.
• Acknowledge feelings. This will allow people to feel understood. Once they feel you understand them, they will listen to you.
• Ask questions and listen.

Particularly when changes are going on – and when aren’t they? – frequent communication is essential to gain employee engagement. An “open door” policy is great, as long as you walk the talk and leave your office to communicate often with your employees.

5 Marketing Rules For Long-Distance Influencing

I was listening to a leadership CD in my car and the speaker said the sole difference in whether one is a leader or not is whether one can influence others. It makes sense to me. As we know, leaders are found at all levels, at all ages, in all places. There are leaders of gangs, of friends, of families, of organizations, of all sorts of groups and teams. What makes someone a leader is whether others allow them to influence them.

Granted, other factors are considered before one decides (consciously or not) whether to allow someone to influence them. Do they know what they are talking about? Can I trust them? Do they have a decent track record? Do they impress me enough – in whatever ways I deem important –so that I will accept their influence?

Today with more and more people working remotely and in virtual teams, learning how to positively influence others that one has never met face-to-face is even more challenging. Yet every day we receive direct mail, email, and other advertisements that attempt – often successfully - to influence us to take advantage of whatever offers they are hawking.

We can learn some lessons from the advertising world when attempting to influence long distance:

1. Repetition. Every marketer knows that repetition is necessary in order to make a sale. In 1885, a London marketer named Thomas Smith wrote some advice that started out “1. The first time a man looks at an advertisement he does not see it.” It goes all the way to “20. The twentieth time he sees the ad, he buys what it is offering.” Frequent communication of the same message is essential. For example, say you need help from another department in another city in order to get information for a client. Let them know something like “excellent customer service means on-time delivery of vital statistics” every time you speak or email with them. Even add it to your email signature. And to take this a step further, frequent communication in general is essential, in order to build a relationship. Which leads us to:

2. Build a relationship. The best marketers build a relationship with their customers. They find something in common – their love of their product ideally, but sometimes it’s a concern for a philanthropic cause, or the community they are in, or an event. We build a relationship with someone the same way – by finding something we have in common, by truly being interested in the other person, and by getting to know them beyond our surface transactions. Take the time to get to know someone over the phone, Skype, and through email. Do you both have teenagers? Both love football? Build on commonalities by sharing stories, tips, and resources. This helps with the next lesson:

3. Understand your customer. Understand what they want and need, and speak to that. Marketers know that fear and wanting to be part of a desired group are both big sellers. With fear, you are selling the idea that “you don’t want to have bad breath/excess weight/(insert undesirable quality here)”. With selling the desire to be a part of a certain group you sell the idea that “if you buy this you will be beautiful/part of the in crowd/smart/sexy/(insert desired state here)”. Know what is important to your ‘customer.’ Do they want to be part of a winning and successful team? Do they want to be promoted, recognized? Do they want to avoid looking dumb/failing? How can you present your idea to appeal to what they want, or as an antidote to what they want to avoid? “Getting me those statistics on the 5th of each month will be so impressive to my customer – I’m going to let your boss know you do that and how helpful it is.”

4. Make what you're selling accessible. It can't be too hard to do or get. It’s not too expensive. It’s not too complicated or too boring. It’s even fun to use or do. It’s easy to ‘buy’ and easy to use. “Here’s a template that you could use if it makes your work easier.”

5. Finally, engage them. Use the Law of Reciprocity to encourage them to buy into your idea by giving them something first. (E.g., the template, the compliment to their boss.) Intrigue them with your ideas by involving them in fine-tuning them. (“What other information could we give this client to really ‘wow’ them?”) Involve them in a group event where everyone is experiencing the idea. (“I’m inviting you to meet the customer at the Client User Forum next month.”) Tell them stories to help them visualize and emotionalize your idea. Get them excited and enthusiastic about your idea and watch it take off. Studies have shown that all decisions are emotional decisions, yet are justified with logic. Give your ‘customer’ both – positive emotions tied to your idea, and logic to back it up.

Influence is at the core of leading. And you don’t need a title to lead, or to influence successfully. You don’t even need to be in the same room to influence. But the best leaders wield their influence with integrity.

Be a human being.

Know When to Delegate

The managers I talk to are slammed with work and time is a precious commodity that always seems to be in short supply. Yet when I ask them about sharing the workload with their direct reports – an excellent way to develop employees and groom successors – they often have legitimate excuses as to why they don’t do it as much as they could or should. And the biggest reason revolves around time. It does take a bit of time to delegate effectively.

Expectations need to be clearly defined. This is the most difficult part, and the most crucial. In the future, I am going to dedicate a blog posting solely to communicating expectations, but that’s not the topic today.

Besides setting clear expectations, managers need to ensure their delegatee has all the tools, resources, knowledge and skills to do the task. Sometimes check-ins during the task or project delegated are necessary. When the task is completed, the manager needs to follow up with their direct report to debrief and express appreciation. Or alternatively, to back up and make some changes if things didn’t work out as expected the first time.

When I recently spoke to one of my clients who is always overwhelmed, I was surprised to find that he was less stressed and seemed happier with how things were going. When I probed, I found out he had finally taken the plunge to delegate some responsibilities off his plate and onto his employees, who were happy to be trusted with meetings, customers, and tasks that the boss had previously kept to himself. It really didn’t take as much time as he thought it would to delegate effectively. It was a leadership step that freed him up to be a better leader.

Delegating builds relationships, and your employees will feel like they’ve gained (more of) your trust and respect. In return, you’ll get more loyalty from them. If you are afraid that you would be overloading them, just be sure to let them know if they feel they can’t handle the extra work, to let you know. You can then help them with prioritization and perhaps redistribution of their workload.

Delegation is an underused development tool. Survey your current responsibilities. What could you pass on that would expose your direct reports to new people, new situations, new knowledge and new tasks? And would lighten your load in the process? You could use that extra time to concentrate on planning and yes, leading.

There are some instances when you do not want to delegate. As you survey your responsibilities, determine which are:
• Extremely time-sensitive. It may be necessary for you to keep the task if explaining it and a ramp-up training time is too long.
• Too political or protocol-oriented. Some tasks just need your personal attention.
• High risk. If it is a task that cannot handle a less than stellar performance as your delegatee gets up to speed on it, then keep it in your own hands until that person can do it up to standard every time.

If any one of the above points are true, it’s better not to delegate that task. In addition, sometimes you just don’t have the candidate with the right stuff to do the job. Make sure you know your direct reports well, and understand their current skills, their working habits, their interests, their potential, and their knowledge. You want to be able to delegate the task or project to just the right individual – one you can trust and who sees the extra responsibility as an opportunity to develop their skills and stature in the organization.

Delegating is a leadership skill that benefits everyone. Take the time to delegate effectively and watch as not only your open time grows, but your employees do too.