The Cranky Middle Manager Manifesto 2007

Posted on 27. Dec, 2006 by Wayne in General

I don’t like New Years- but as a symbol it’s hard to beat as a reason for reflection. This has been a great year for the show:

• We’ve tripled listenership since January of 06
• We got our first real sponsor ( a thousand blessings on the house and camels of Mindtools.com)
• We are getting amazing guests and your feedback on them has been terrific
• I have learned an incredible amount and I think I’m a better manager as a result

I’m even less of a fan of Mission, Vision and Value statements, but I think it’s a good time to repost something I wrote this time last year. What is the Cranky Middle Manager Show about? What are our guiding principles? Why do I put myself through this every week AND try to do the best job I can for my employers at Communispond?

Here then, is my yearly affirmation of why we do what we do here….

“… the firmest and most general ideas I have are those which have been born with me. They are naturally and wholly mine…since then I have established and fortified them by the authority of others and the sound arguments of the ancients with whom I found my judgment in agreement. These men have given me a firmer grip on my ideas and a fuller enjoyment and possession of them” Michel de Montaigne

Three Core Beliefs of the Cranky Middle Manager Show:

1) Like any walk of life, management can be a satisfying endeavour. You just can’t let the weasels get you down. Sometimes you need reminding of how to do it…and that there are others who feel the same way you do. Thousands of you, in fact. And bless you for listening and telling others.
2) You can’t manage to get out of bed in the morning, let alone a team of people, without a sense of mission and purpose. One guest after the other has talked about it… do you know your mission? I’m beginning to feel that this is mine…
3) There is nothing new under the sun, and the universal truths are as true now as they ever were. Sometimes we just need to be reminded of them. That’s what I learned while doing my book, and it’s why I love to revisit tales of ancient history- the tenets of leadership and management aren’t much different than they were for the Greeks or Egyptians. Imhotep would still kick tail whether he was the Pharaoh’s Grand Vizier or a high-potential at GE. Skills are skills.

Four Disciplines of Management:

Whether you’re an individual contributor facing that first management job, or an old-timer, there are 4 disciplines to master if you want to be a complete asset to your company and your team:

1) Business Acumen- do you know how a business operates and how every department in the company contributes to it? What’s happening in your industry? Nothing senior management does makes a darned bit of sense without this view. Sadly, much of it still won’t, but at least you’ll know why.
2) Leadership- Can you influence people constructively? Can you embody your mission and values in how you work with your customers, your team and those above you on the food chain? Are you an ethical leader while still doing the right things for your career and mental health?
3) Project and Process Management- understanding how to get things done, seeing the connections and finding ways to improve them are critical to your progress as an employee and sanity. Step one is learning the basics. Step 2 is knowing you don’t have to know the rest of the steps by yourself- just help your people identify them. We always reserve the right to get smarter.
4) Communication Skills. Nothing is more critical to your career than your ability to communicate. We only do it 4 ways, we read, we write, we speak and we listen. That’s it, no short cuts, no other way around it. How well do we do these things dictates how we’re viewed by everyone from our employees to our bosses to our spouses. You’ll usually get immediate feedback from only one of those, and it’s usually the person who we spend the least amount of time and conscious thought communicating with.

In 16 episodes and 18 months of doing this show, I’ve had a chance to hear a lot of people from around the world way smarter than myself. It’s allowed me to distill the core beliefs about what it means to be a modern middle manager.

What about you? Please post your thoughts..this is a work in progress. I look forward to more conversation about what we do and how we do it.

Meanwhile, I’ll continue to try and support the 3 key beliefs, and help myself-and you along with me- develop in the 4 disciplines of management.

Best wishes for a joyous new year.

Wayne

The Cranky Middle Manager #76 Beyond ROI- Bob Thompson

Posted on 25. Dec, 2006 by Wayne in Podcast

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The Cranky Middle Manager Show #076

Welcome to our last show of 2006. Today we talk about measuring success beyond just the hard numbers. How do you measure success? This show has more than tripled its listenership since this time last year- I consider that a success. Thanks to all of you.

Our guest is Dr. Bob Thompson, rebel psychometrician and consultant at AchieveGlobal.

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome to the show all ye who labor and are heavy laden with unrealistic expectations. This show is dedicated to Gottfried Achenwall

What is it about statistics?

2:40 Our quote of the week admits that statistics are somewhat pliable…so HOW do you show value? How do you prove the training worked or that the project was a success? That’s the point of this week’s show.

3:39 Welcome Dr Bob Thompson, master statistician and workplace heretic. All managers are getting their feet held to the fire to prove ROI. So what’s the problem? We’ve said this before, it’s as much book- keeping as human management…. Bob won’t blame the accountants, I’m not that noble…..

8:00 People know that training does something, the big question is, how does it tie to what we’re doing as a company- it’s not relevant. The question should be “What is it we need as an organization to move forward?” If it aligns, there’s less pressure to show ROI.

10:00 We get all training geek on you. We’re going to talk about Donald Kirkpatrick and the 4 levels of evaluation. Take an HR person to lunch and they’ll explain it to you in more depth than we do. Still, what’s wrong with the classic model?

14:00 So often, performance problems have nothing to do with training. People know what to do, they’re just not doing it. Try this instead- find out who’s doing it well, who’s not doing it at all and find out the difference. THAT’S your difference maker.

20:13 Bob works for AchieveGlobal. He heads up their measurement consultancy and most companies are pushing leadership training….. but how do you know it’s working?

24:34 What are some things managers can do without pulling out spreadsheets? It’s all about case studies and anecdotal evidence.

28:00 To find out more, check out The Success Case Method by Robert Brinkerhoff and check out Berson and Associates…
Thanks for supporting the show this year, gang. You can now email me at wayne@crankymiddlemanager.com and you can also check out www.crankymiddlemanager.com, although it takes you to my same, sad website for now.

Don’t let the weasels get you down.

Santa’s Performance Review

Posted on 22. Dec, 2006 by Wayne in General

We all hate doing performance reviews- but when I got to thinking about the hardest one to write, well…….. enjoy.

Annual Performance Review

Employee: Claus, Santa

Title: General Manager, Global Distribution

Reports To: CEO, Universe

Communication Skills:

Exceeds Expectations. Employee continues to excel at interpreting vague orders and communicating changing needs to his direct reports. This has become particularly challenging since the advent of email. millions of hand-written notes have been replaced by email from portals such as northpole.com and Santaclaus.com. Peak arrivals number 400,000 up to 5 days before Delivery Date. Formerly hand-written letters would arrive from late November to allow for postal delivery problems and make for easier order fulfillment.

Employee Relations:

Meets Expectations. Employee continues to receive accolades from his direct reports, constangly referred to as “jolly” and “merry”. He is, after all, literally a saint. This is doubly impressive given the special needs and diversity issues inherent ina mixed Human/Elf workplace. Accommodations such as specially sized workbenches and jumpsuits for the new clean room were made in a timely manner to the satisfaction of all.

360 degree feedback continues to be solid, although there were complaints on the confidential employee hotline of reprisals (lumps of coal rather than bonuses) to complainers or those considered “naughty”. No credible witnesses have come forth.

Project Management Skills:

Exceeds Expectations. Rapidly changing product lines continue to offer challenges that the Employee overcomes. There were complaints that there were insufficient training opportunities for existing staff to move from the Wooden/Plastic Toys division to the growing Electronics Department over the last 2-3 years. The Union has filed several grievances which have been satisfied.

Additionally, shorter order cycles (see Communication Skills) means accurate staffing has been a challenge. Employee was able to avoid massive layoffs during the slower season but still met Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The North Pole is a one-industry town, and large numbers of laid off elves would have been a PR problem we didn’t need at this time. Employee really stepped up.

For now, production schedules have stabilized and, barring another introduction of a new game console, should remain steady over the next 12 months.

Succession Planning:

Does Not Meet Expectations. Employee has held his current position for almost 1400 years, ever since his promotion from Bishop of Myra in the Turkish Division. While he has stepped up to the challenges of building a global operation with superb Customer Sat numbers, there are concerns.

He has not identified potential leaders capable of filling his position. Given his age and his overall health and weight (in clear violation of our wellness standards) this is a concern. There is no sign he’s delegating effectively.

HR is concerned and will hold a meeting in the next month to identify candidates- perhaps from the Elf pool and lay out a professional development path.

Summary

Overall, another excellent performance review. Unfortunately his salary was capped 600 years ago, and HR is struggling for reward and recognition opportunities for someone who not only has everything, but gives it away. Issue will be studied at the next HR department meeting.

The Cranky Middle Manager #75 Brains and Business Dr Ellen Weber

Posted on 18. Dec, 2006 by Wayne in Podcast

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The Cranky Middle Manager Show #075

Welcome to the show. Today we’re talking brains with Dr Ellen Weber of the Brain Based Business Blog as well as Brainboomer.She’s also author of the MITA Leadership program, which we’ll get into on anohter show- we plain ran out of time.
Don’t forget to check out the 25% discount on Mindtools.com’s Career Excellence Club!

Show Notes

0:00 Welcome to the show, gang. Management is growing. Check out this article from Management Issues. We’re all gonna have to use our noggins more- or at least better- so today we’re talking business, brains and biology.

Today’s show is dedicated to Alcmaeon of Crotona.He’s the one who first wrote that the brain was the seat of understanding. He also was working on some faulty data, but hey, aren’t we all?

4:32 The quote of the week is from Joseph Joubert. Is your brain full of little boxes with no room for more?
6:40 Welcome Dr Ellen Weber. Yeah this show is self-indulgent. Get your own darned podcast. What does Brain chemistry and physiology have to do with business performance?

10:40 What makes a manager smart and how do you know it? Good question, Doc. The question has to match brain science and respect for the person you’re dealing with. That’s what makes them hook on to what you’re trying to tell them.

14:20 Why does Diversity Training stink? Well, it starts with the word training, which Ellen doesn’t like but pays my bills….Brain Based learning starts with the learner.. and don’t get her started on “experts”.

16:06 Now the geek talk starts. We’re talking about Multiple Intelligences, as put forward by Dr. Howard Gardner. This has everything to do with how we work, why some of us are better at things than others, and why knowing people can be more important than knowing C++. You can build your brain to be a better “People Person”.

22:05 Just do it is more than a slogan…if you keep doing it long enough, you’ll rewire your brain. We use a presentation skills example…. jeez I’m a brain builder.

24:25 I throw around the one brain word I know- amygdala and find out it has a lot to do with the workplace. The other word that crops up is Basil Ganglia, which sounds like a James Bond villain. You have to make people feel safe and not stir up old, bad memories that will trigger negative responses. Stress is the biggest barrier to performance.

29:30 What’s the deal with Mensa? Are they really smarter than me??? Ellen says they’re measuring the wrong thing. IQ has been debunked- so there. The question shouldn’t be “How smart am I?” to “How am I smart?”

33:00 Resource time:

Intelligence Reframed, by Howard Gardner

Almost anything by Gardner. Check out the list from 800Ceoread

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind T Harv Eker
Another Day in the Frontal Lobe by Katrina Firlik

Don’t let the weasels get you down- they’re not smarter than you anyway.