The Cranky Middle Manager Show #311 Serial Innovators Claudio Feser
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #294 The Trust Edge David Horsager
Posted on 26. Aug, 2011 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Today we talk to David Horsager about building, keeping and making the most of trust. We also look at a Turkish Vizier, an English hymnwriter and why Wayne chooses not to be paranoid. Mostly.
If you’re going to use WebEx, GoToMeeting or any of those tools, don’t you want to use them well? At GreatWebMeetings.com we teach you the skills to present, sell, train or manage your team using web presentation tools. We offer programs in How to Create and Manage Remote Teams, Web Presentation Basics and Leading Effective Virtual Meetings. Drop us a line for pricing and more information.
Cranky listeners get a 10% discount on this webinar workshop: “How to Lead Effective Virtual Meetings”, September 29th. Register on the site or drop me a line for discounts and details.
Show Notes
0:00 Today we dedicate this show to Kemankes Mustafa Pasha who knew a thing or two about building trust…and how hard that is to transfer to the next boss. If you’ve ever had absolute trust from one manager and none at all from the next you can identify. And even your worst boss hasn’t had you beheaded (yet).
4:07 The quote of the week is from Isaac Watts, a hymn writer who knew a thing or two about how hard it was to trust. It ain’t easy, but according to today’s guest it can be done.
5:00 Welcome David Horsager to the show. He’s the author of “The Trust Edge-How top Leaders Gain Faster Results, Deeper Relationships, and a Stronger Bottom Line” So what is trust, exactly? Maybe it’s not as soft and mushy as we thought. Does the bottom line matter as much to managers as the human relationships do?
8:45 According to Horsager, there are 8 pillars of trust (and we won’t get to all of them)
- Clarity
- Competency
- Compassion
- Connection
- Commitment
- Contribution
- Character
- Consistency
12:37 Trust is measured by time and depth…it’s hard to get deep trust without exposure over time. He gives some great examples.
15:32 Are you a naturally trusting person or not? I’ve got scars to show it ain’t always the smart move, but says something good about me. I hope.
17:18 When you take over a new team, the first step to building trust is to be really clear about what you want, what people can expect and what you expect from them. Do you really know?
19:14 Working remotely hasn’t made trust any easier. How do we go about making that work better? (You can read more on www.theconnectedmanager.com). In person still works best…. get the finance weasels to spring for it. You need to communicate even more than usual. This sometimes bumps up against our natural tendencies. Innocent actions can be misconstrued, just ask some of the people who used to work for me.
24:15 How do you rebuild trust once it’s broken? You’ll never rebuild trust unless you can make and keep a commitment.
David’s Resources
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #293 Bare Knuckle Management Sean O’Neil
Posted on 16. Aug, 2011 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Welcome back. Today we’re going to look at a depressing truth: no matter how many books we read or how hard we try, people are going to make our lives complicated. We can complain that they’re not behaving like they do in the Management books, or we can get on with it and cope. We’ll talk to Sean O’Neil, co-author of “Bare Knuckle People Management: Create Success With the TeamYou Have- Winners, Losers, Misfits and All”. We also drag Wyatt Earp and Marcus Aurelius into the conversation…. which may be the first time those two have ever been included in the same sentence but that’s what we do here.
If you’re going to use WebEx, GoToMeeting or any of those tools, don’t you want to use them well? At GreatWebMeetings.com we teach you the skills to present, sell, train or manage your team using web presentation tools. We offer programs in How to Create and Manage Remote Teams, Web Presentation Basics and Leading Effective Virtual Meetings. Drop us a line for pricing and more information.
Cranky listeners get a 10% discount on this webinar workshop: “How to Lead Effective Virtual Meetings”, September 29th. Register on the site or drop me a line for discounts and details.
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to the show. Today we’re talking about doing the best you can with the people you have on your team. As exhibit A, we present Wyatt Earp and the gunfight at the OK Corral. Let’s face it, if you were staring down the most dangerous people in town, would you choose your brothers and an alcoholic dentist with tuberculosis as backup? Probably not, but we make the most of the hand we’re dealt. That’s what being a manager is.
4:30 The Quote of the Week is from Marcus Aurelius.… you can be stoic, or you can recognize the reality of the situation. it seems like asking for both is a bit of an overreach.
5:43 Welcome Sean O’Neil to the show. Why isn’t this a standard, politically correct , very polite management book? Because real life doesn’t work that way all the time.
8:15 The world is not a Harvard Business Review case study. We have to play the hand we’re dealt. Many managers don’t realize going in that not everyone has the same work ethic or skillset you did when you had that job.
11:24 We are told that if we did all the good employee engagement “stuff”, all will be well with the world. The reality is sometimes colder than that.
13:28 One of the heresies in the book is the idea that blanket one-size-fits-all rules just don’t work all that well.
16:00 When dealing with Superstars, it’s important that they understand everything you do for them. This is an interesting notion. The Badass might be a superstar or not…. they certainly act like one.
20:00 Every team has the “Steady Eddie”….not superstars, not problems, they just show up and get the work done. You have to realize what they bring to the party and use them as a stalking horse. The problem is that they aren’t spectacular and often get ignored.
22:00 I am an “ADHD Butterfly”…. Sean explains how he’d manage the likes of me. We also discuss how your personal style impacts your ability to work with others.
Sean’s Resources
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #292 Just Ask For What You Want John Baker
Posted on 09. Aug, 2011 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel talks to John Baker, creator of The Asking Formula about how we should all learn to ask for what we want from our bosses, our teams and ourselves. There’s an art to this, folks. We also take a look at the management lessons to be learned from The Wizard of Oz and a quote from Gandhi. Who says we ain’t classy?
If you’re going to use WebEx, GoToMeeting or any of those tools, don’t you want to use them well? At GreatWebMeetings.com we teach you the skills to present, sell, train or manage your team using web presentation tools. We offer programs in How to Create and Manage Remote Teams, Web Presentation Basics and Leading Effective Virtual Meetings. Drop us a line for pricing and more information.
Cranky listeners get a 10% discount on this webinar workshop: “How to Lead Effective Virtual Meetings”, September 29th. Register on the site or drop me aline for discounts and details.
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to today’s show. Asking for what we want is complicated and messy. Sometimes we get it, sometimes we don’t and sometimes we get it but it’s way more trouble than it should be, which is why we dedicate this to the awful, spiteful Glinda the Good Witch of the North from the Wizard of Oz. Ahhhh, if only Dorothy had been clear about what she wanted.
2:46 Today is the launch of our new blog, www.theconnectedmanager.com. This continues the work we were doing over at BNET on managing remote teams, using technology to communicate and working virtually. Please take a read, subscribe and share it with your team and colleagues. Thanks to www.management-issues.com for giving us our new home.
3:59 Today’s quote of the week is from Mahatma Gandhi (who says we don’t have a higher calling here?). Ask for what you want and odds are the universe will be more cooperative than IT in granting it.
4:39 We’re talking to John Baker, creator of The Asking Formula. Yes, a formula…because we don’t do this very well when left to our own devices. Why not? Turns out we’re human….who knew? Because we can’t rely on the brute force of threats to get what we want, discretionary mindshare is the key now. Influence over demands.
7:19 When does communication become information overload? Very often we give people information and assume they understand the call to action. It ain’t true. We need to keep it short and focused. Maybe we’re just playing defense. Don’t leave clues, give them answers.
11:55 When we fear rejection, our brains freak out. Learn the biology here.
14:02 You know that you have to ask for what you want. As a manager this is doubly true. So why don’t we just ask and why do we do it so badly? There is a three step formula for making requests.
- Define your goal or your “ask”. What one thing do you really want?
- Ask for it. Clearly, up front, just come out and ask for it. Start the conversation with the words, “I am asking for…”
- Understand their point of view and give them the three best reasons they should give you what they want.
18:32 Here’s a tricky part. Once you’ve told them what you want, end the sentence with a period, not a question mark. Then give them 3 reasons from their point of view. Quote them verbatim if possible. 3 is kind of a magic number.
23:40 You’ve asked for what you want, you’ve given people 3 reasons, now shut up! Stop talking and wait for their response.
24:50 So what if you ask and the answer’s no?
John’s resources
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #291 You’ve Screwed Up Larry Kelley
Posted on 02. Aug, 2011 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel talks to Larry Kelley about an unpleasant topic. What do you do when, not if, but when, you screw up royally. Does your career have to be over or does it just feel like it? We also talk World War 1, a laboratory for horrible mistakes, and a quote from someone you’ve probably never heard before.
If you’re going to use WebEx, GoToMeeting or any of those tools, don’t you want to use them well? At GreatWebMeetings.com we teach you the skills to present, sell, train or manage your team using web presentation tools. We offer programs in How to Create and Manage Remote Teams, Web Presentation Basics and Leading Effective Virtual Meetings. Drop us a line for pricing and more information.
Cranky listeners get a 10% discount on this webinar workshop: “How to Lead Effective Virtual Meetings”, September 29th. Register on the site or drop me aline for discounts and details.
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to a different kind of Cranky show. All my listeners are competent terrific people, but we all have or will screw things up royally at some point. Does it have to be the end of your career? Not always. You can take heart…or forever despair depending on your attitude from the lesson of Sir Douglas Haig, leader of British forces in WWI and the Battle of Passchendaele. To this day this makes me furious but there are statues of Haig still standing which should kind of make the point of this show.
4:45 Join us starting August 8 for our new blog, www.theconnectedmanager.com which will be twice a week hints, new and tips for managing remote teams, presenting online and keeping connected to your people no matter where they are in the world.
5:30The quote of the week is from silent screen actress Mary Pickford, so although she said it, odds are good you have never heard it. Failure is not in doing something wrong, it’s what happens afterwards that counts.
6:35 Welcome Larry Kelley to the show. He’s an advertising professor when he’s not listening to this show and this will be an honest and slightly uncomfortable conversation, to be sure. There aren’t a lot of books out there that talk about how to recover from a horrible mess. It’s all about self preservation. Not terribly honorable, perhaps, but true nonetheless.
10:45 Is there a difference between an honest mistake and a screwup? It’s mostly a matter of scale and it’s your fault.
12:40 If you do mess up, either deny it or don’t. Vehemence may not be honorable but does buy you some time to get your feet back under you. Congressman Anthony Weiner is a great example of this. But can you deny something you know you did? Do you want to feel good about yourself or do you want to survive? That’s not a rhetorical question.
16:40 Weasels get a bad rap on this show, but they do serve a purpose. Deadlines and budgets are always unreasonable, make that work for you.
17:30 Let’s face it, the best thing to do is to come clean. This may be the first time in podcast history that Richard Nixon has been used as a child-raising tool. Horrifying but true.
19:30 How would Larry deal with a mistake of biblical proportion? Listen and learn. We also discuss the difference between blame and responsibility? Sometimes just helping people learn who to blame (you!) is the most helpful thing you can do.
22:19 So how do you move forward? How do you tell your next employer that you messed up? We also discuss the options between sticking it out and taking the Japanese face-saving option. Odds are the sun will, in fact, rise.
27:50 What about the morning after? How do you rebuild trust in you? You screwed up, you are NOT a screwup. (Although you will forever be known as that guy).
Don’t forget our new The Connected Manager Blog starting August 8th!