Expert Insights

FiveCriticalManagementDerailers:SymptomsandRemedies

April 2009
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Expert E t Insights I i ht Five Fi Critical C iti l Management M t Derailers: D il Symptoms S t and d Remedies. R di C Copyright i ht 2009 by b Profiles P fil International. I t ti l Printed P i t d and d bound b d in the United States of America. All rights reserved. No part of the report may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without written permission from the publisher. Publisher Profiles Research Institute Dario Priolo, Managing Director 5205 Lake Shore Drive Waco, Texas 76710-1732 Profiles International (800) 960-9612 p www.profilesinternational.com

Acknowledgements CEO, Co-founder, Profiles International: Jim Sirbasku President, Co-founder, Profiles International: Bud Haney Edit i Chi f Dario Editor-in-Chief: D i Priolo Pi l Managing Editor: Carrie D. Martinez Creative Director: Kelley Taylor

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Five Critical Management Derailers: Symptoms and Remedies | 2

Are your managers on track to deliver?

Timesofchangepresentmanychallengesfororganizations,particularlyforfrontline managerswhosepeoplewillberesponsibleforimplementingthechange.Pressureto performishigh,asareemotions,andeveryoneisexpectedtodomorewithless. Ironically,thetimeswhenyouneedyourmanagerstoperformattheirverybestarethevery timestheyaremostlikelytofail. fail Thechallengeofchangeiscompoundedbythefactthatthe highermanagersriseinanorganization,themorelikelytheyaretodevelopblindspotsthat increasetheirriskoffailure. Thisgotusthinking:Whydofrontlinemanagersfailandwhatcanbedonetoavoidfailure? Wepolledourexpertstoidentifyourtopfivemostcommonmanagementderailers.They are: 1.Poorinterpersonalandcommunicationskills 2.Inadequateleadershipskills 3.Resistancetochange 4.Inabilitytodeliverexpectedresults 5.Inabilitytoseebeyondtheirfunctionalsilo Thisreportelaboratesonthesefiveissuesandofferssomecommonsenseadviceforhelping yourmanagersavoidthem.

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Five Critical Management Derailers: Symptoms and Remedies | 3

Five Critical Management Derailers: Symptoms and Remedies

1. Poor interpersonal and communication skills

SymptomsofanAtRiskmanager
Alwaysseemstobefeudingwithsomeoneorsomegroupintheorganization. Hasareputationforbeingauthoritarian,cold,aloof,arrogant,orinsensitive. Actsasapolarizingforcewithinanorganization.Otheremployeeseitherloveherorhateher. Avoidsdirectcommunicationorcontactwithsomeorallcoworkers. Deliversbadnewsthroughemailratherthanthroughdirectconversations. Exhibitsahostileattitudetowardscoworkerswhoshareinterdependentgoals. Becomesthetargetofsubtleorblatantsabotageefforts.

Remediestopreventderailmentandimproveperformance
1. Understandthetruerootcauseofconflict. Doesyourmanagerhaveapersonalorpolitical problemwithjustoneortwopeople,ordoesyourmanagerhavemoresignificantissues withanumberofdifferentpeople?Iftheconflictstemsfromasmallpersonalissuethen mediatearesolutionimmediatelyratherthanlettingitfester.Ifitismoreserious,then 2 Understandthemanager 2. managers smanagementstyleandmotivation motivation.Somepeoplejustarent aren tcut outtobemanagersalthoughtheymaybeexceptionalindividualcontributors.Otherpeople justdontwanttobemanagers.Andwhilesomepeoplemayhavewhatittakestolead,they mightnothavetheskillsorexperiencetodothejob.Ifyourmanagersissueisthelatter, youmaybeabletohelphimdevelopmoreeasilythanyoucanhelpsomeonewho completelylacksthebehaviorsandintereststhatleadtosuccess. 3. Helpthemanagerunderstandhisownmanagementandcommunicationstyle.Inmany situationsmanagerssimplydontknowwhattheydontknow.Forexample,ifhecomes acrossasinsensitiveoraloof,pointoutthebehaviorandhelphimimprove.Itisimportant forthemanagertounderstandhisnaturalmanagementstyleandhowitimpactsothers bothpositivelyandnegatively.Themanagercantbeexpectedtoimproveifhenever receivesconcretefeedback.
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Five Critical Management Derailers: Symptoms and Remedies | 4

Five Critical Management Derailers: Symptoms and Remedies

2. Inadequate leadership skills

S Symptoms of fanAt A Risk Ri kmanager
Teamconsistentlyfailstoachievetheexpectedgoals,evenafterstrongwarnings. Keyprojectsconsistentlyendupoverbudgetorbehindschedule. Teammembersaredisengaged.Theymissmeetingsanddeliverpoorqualitywork. Teammembersarefrustrated.Theyinfight andlosefocusonthebigpictureobjectives. Themanagerdoesnotaddressconflictandpoorperformancepromptlyanddecisively. decisively Teammembersquit.Theycomplainoffavoritism,inconsistencyandpoortreatment.

Remediestopreventderailmentandimproveperformance
1. Clarifytheteamspurposeandgoalswiththemanager.Weallknowwhatitsliketolose sightoftheforestforthetrees,andsometimesmanagersneedtoberemindedofwhat whats s importantandwhatisnt.Thentheyneedtocommunicatetheseprioritiestotheirteams. 2. Helpthemanagerunderstandhispeople. Peoplehavetheirownstylesandpreferences,and thisinfluenceshowtheybestrespondtotheirmanagers.Whenamanagerunderstandshis people,hecanalsobeawareofpotentialconflictorchemistryissuesbetweenhimselfand othermembersoftheteam.Thusthemanagercanbemoreawareofandproactivein dealingwithissuesthatmayimpactperformance. 3. Helpthemanagerunderstandhisleadershipstyleandmotivation. Manyofushavea numberofkeyleadershipqualities,butwestillneedfeedbacksothatwecanbuildonour strengths h and dfortify f if ourweaknesses. k And din i somecaseswhere h i iti isclear l that h amanager reallyisntreadytolead,thediscoveryprocesscanhelpidentifyothercareeroptionsthat arebettersuitedtoamanagersstyleandabilities. 4. Providefeedbackfrommultipleconstituents. Itisextremelyvaluableformanagersto receivefeedbackfromtheirsupervisors, supervisors peersandsubordinatestoilluminate developmentalneeds,misalignmentsandotherissuesthatmaybedifficulttocommunicate openlyunderchallengingcircumstances.
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Five Critical Management Derailers: Symptoms and Remedies | 5

Five Critical Management Derailers: Symptoms and Remedies

3. Resistant to change
SymptomsofanAtRiskmanager
Managerexpressesfrustrationatthesuggestionofchange. Managersattitudeandbehaviorsignalskepticism. Managersattitudedoesntchangeevenwhenhisconcernshavebeenaddressed. Managerispreoccupiedwithreminiscingaboutwhatwasversuswhatwillbe. Manager M continues ti t todo d thi thingsthe th sameold ldwayyet texpects t newresults. lt Managerisuncomfortablewithambiguityandisntopentodiscoveringbetterways. Teammemberscomplainaboutmixedmessagesfromleadershipandtheirmanager.

Remediestopreventderailmentandimproveperformance
1. Understandthemanagersappetiteforchange.Peoplearewireddifferently,andthis influencesourappetiteforriskandchallenge.Somefindchangeexcitingandembraceit, whileothersfinditthreateningandrejectit.Abalanceofbothishealthyforan organization.Knowinghowsomeonewillrespondtochangehelpsyoutailoryour gethimonboard. communicationandg 2. Helpthemanagerunderstandhisnaturalaversiontochange.Ifamanagerhasanatural tendencytoresistchange,thenitisimportanttomakehimawareofthistendency.Thiswill enablehimtodevelophisownwayofhelpinghimselfadapttochange.Whenpossible, havehimthinkthroughtheprocessforyousothatyoucandemonstratehowthechange willbenefitboththeorganizationandtheindividual. 3. Ensurethatthemanagerisfocusedonthenewpriorities.Therearemanywaysto communicatechange,butwordsarenotenough.Youneedtotranslatethischangeinto meaningfulactionsandgoalsforthemanager,andthenyouneedtoinspectwhatyou expect Askthemanagerandhispeoplewhattheybelievehisprioritiesare expect. are,especiallyafter achangeevent.Thisrevealsdisconnectsandopportunitiesforrealignment.
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Five Critical Management Derailers: Symptoms and Remedies | 6

Five Critical Management Derailers: Symptoms and Remedies

4. Inability to deliver the expected results

SymptomsofanAtRiskmanager
Resultsconsistentlybelowgoal,especiallythosethataremeasureable. Managerblamesothersormakesexcusesfortheirfailure. Manageravoidsdiscussionsaboutsetting,trackingandprogressingtowardgoals. Managerspendstoomuchtime,energyandresourcesonlowpriorityactivity. Managerdemonstrates d a d defeated f dornegativeattitude. d Teamunawareofhowtheycontributetothemanagersororganizationsgoals.

Remediestopreventderailmentandimproveperformance
1. Clarifyexpectedresultsandgoals.Itisdifficulttohitatargetwhenthetargetismoving oryoure shooting h ti through th hfog. f Dont D tt take k for f granted t dthat th tyourmanagershave h aclear l understandingoftheresultstheyneedtoachieveandhowtheyregoingtoachieve them.Whenpossible,gobeyondthewhattothehow,andchallengethemanager totranslategoalsintosubgoalsandactivitiesthattheirpeoplemustachieve. 2. Understandthemanager.Noteveryoneisnaturallygoaloriented.Forthosewhoaren arent, t, thenotionofsetting,trackingandachievinggoalscanbeextremelyintimidating.Thisis especiallytrueofnewmanagersinroleswheremeasurementisdifficult.Ifthe managerfitseitherofthesecriteriathenexpecttospendmoretimecoachinghimso thathecanachievehisgoals.Whenpossible,includehiminthegoalsettingprocessto gethisbuyin. 3. Inspectwhatyouexpect.Oncegoalsareclearandyouhavethemanagersbuyin, establishaprocessfortrackingthemostimportantgoals.Usethesegoalstocreatea personaldashboardthathelpsthemanagersethisownprioritiesthatdriveresults. Requirethemanagertoupdatehisgoalsweekly,andusehisprogresstofacilitatea coaching hi discussion. di i Finally, Fi ll check h k b back kwith ithth themanageronaperiodic i di basis b i to t ensure thathisprioritiesareproperlyaligned.
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Five Critical Management Derailers: Symptoms and Remedies | 7

Five Critical Management Derailers: Symptoms and Remedies

5. Inability to see beyond their functional silo

SymptomsofanAtRiskmanager
Unwillingtocommunicateorcollaboratewithothersoutsideofhisunit. Makesdecisionsthatbenefithisunitbutclearlyhurttheoverallorganization. Resistschangethatimpactshimbutclearlybenefitstheorganization. Hoardsinformationthatmightbenefitothersoutsideofhisunit. Coworkers k complain l that h the h managerisoutof ftouch hwith hthe h organizations mission.

Remediestopreventderailmentandimproveperformance
1. Establishclarity. Dontassumethatthemanagerunderstandshowheandhispeoplefitin andinterrelatewithotherunitstoachievetheorganizationsgreatermission.Thisshould bespelledoutexplicitly, explicitly especiallyifthemanagerhasspentlittletimeoutsideofhis functionalunit. 2. Includethemanagerinatleastonecrossfunctionalteam. Havethemanagerexperience firsthandwhatitmeanstocontributetoanddependonsomeoneelsetoachievea g commonobjective. j Ideally, y,heorsheshouldworkunderanexperienced p team significant leaderwhocanprovidebothcoachingandapositiveexperience. 3. Establishatleastonecrossfunctionalgoalforthemanager. Whilesimilartotheprevious point,thisrequireshimtoparticipateinanongoingoperationoftheorganizationrather thanaspecialprojectwithadefinedendpoint.Inthissituation,themanagerswhoshare thegoalshouldreporttosomeonehigherupwhocanmonitorprogress,facilitate discussion,offeradvice,anddriveaccountability. 4. Monitorthemanagersprogress. Thisismorethanjustanannualperformancereview;its aboutholdingthemanageraccountable,ensuringthatheisalignedwiththecompanys prioritiesandchanginghisbehavior. behavior Thisisdonebymonitoringhisprogressandoffering coachingandadditionaldevelopment.Inputfrommultiplesourcessuchasthemanagers managers,peersoncrossfunctionalteams,andsubordinatesisvaluable
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Five Critical Management Derailers: Symptoms and Remedies | 8

Summary: Five Management Derailers and Remedies for Prevention

1.Poorinterpersonalandcommunicationskills Understandthetruerootcauseofconflict Understand U d t dth themanagers natural t lstyle t l and dmotives ti Helpthemanagerunderstandhisnaturalcommunicationstyle 2.Inadequateleadershipskills Clarify ytheteamsp purpose p andgoals g withthemanager g Helpthemanagerunderstandhispeople Helpthemanagerunderstandhisleadershipstyleandmotivation Providefeedbackfrommultipleconstituentstothemanager 3.Resistancetochange 3 Understandthemanagersappetiteforchange Helpthemanagerunderstandhisnaturalaversiontochange Ensurethatthemanagerisfocusedonthenewpriorities 4.Inabilitytodeliverexpectedresults Clarifytheexpectedresultsandgoals Understandthemanagersdegreeofgoalorientation Inspectwhatyouexpect 5.Inabilitytoseebeyondtheirfunctionalsilo Clarifyhowthemanagersrolesupportsothersintheorganization Includethemanagerinatleastonecrossfunctionalteam Establishatleastonecrossfunctionalgoalforthemanager Monitorthemanagersdevelopmentalprogress
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