The Cranky Middle Manager Show #311 Serial Innovators Claudio Feser
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #297 Inside the Brains of SLUGS Ellen Weber
Posted on 21. Sep, 2011 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel talks to his old buddy Dr Ellen Weber, about managing SLUGS. Those who are Slow to change, Lack vision, are Unaware of others and suffer Gridlock because of bad tone. We also talk ancient Israeli generals, the suicide of a social media maven and whether Basal Ganglia is a John Cleese character.
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 attempt to answer the question: What’s going on in the brains of those who are often hardest to lead- the SLUGs. Psychological testing isn’t new, just ask our dedicatee Gideon.
4:02 The quote of the week is from John Milton. Reality is a construct, and we can choose to make it , fake it or break it.
4:46 Welcome my buddy Dr Ellen Weber back to the show. It’s hard sometimes to manage by the book when the other people haven’t read the same book. We often wonder what’s going on in the brains of those we struggle to work well with. These are the SLUGs…. and that stands for something very specific: Slow to change, Lack vision, Unaware of others and Gridlocked due to bad tone.
8:49 Today’s important term: Basal Ganglia. It’s where we store all our “baggage” and it doesn’t like things that don’t fit their view of the world. It’s why “best practices” can be a vicious trap.
11:39 Now we’re looking at our Working Memory. Dopamine plays a big part in using this to drive change.
14:57 Getting specific examples can be a bit of work, but we talk about getting people to engage and help drive change in the Academic world.The trick seems to be identify what they hate about the status quo, and get them to change that one thing. She also tells a story about a union shop that was full of tension.
19:56 “What the hell are you thinking?” shouldn’t be a rhetorical question. Serotonin plays a big part in forgiveness. Can you work differently with someone if you can’t forgive them? We talk mind-guiding.
22:20 The conversation takes an unexpected turn. Ellen discusses the suicide of social media guru Trey Pennington, and how depression impacts our brains and the way we work. Are you aware of what’s going on with your people?
24:35 Here’s the takeaway. Serotonin can be created and manipulated. As Milton said earlier in the show, the reality is what you make of it and help others create for themselves. Cynics relate cortisol which can be bad news.
27:09 How does working remotely impact our ability to create these positive relationships. Do you “speak and feel heard”? We also go back to Pennington’s death and question the ability to pick up signals remotely. You don’t have to be remote to be ignorant of what’s happening?
Ellen’s resources
Brain Leaders and Learners Blog
Follow her on Twitter @ellenfweber
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #296 Pay For Performance Dave Wentworth
Posted on 14. Sep, 2011 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Are you paid for the value you bring to the company? Should you be? Pay for performance has always been the norm for sales weasels, but what about managers in other departments? Today Wayne Turmel talks to Dave Wentworth about the pros, cons, dos and don’ts of paying for performance. We also talk about what passes for my life, get interrupted by Byron the Cockatiel and discuss Aristotle. Find THAT combination on any other podcast.
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. No dedication this week, just too much going on. Still, if the way we normally get paid doesn’t work very well, what should replace it? Could the sales weasels actually be onto something? No answers, just lots of good questions this week.
4:12 The quote of the week is from Aristotle, a guy with maybe the most bulletproof resume ever. Are the rewards you’re earning reflective of your quality??? Well, chew on that for a while.
5:15 There’s a lot of talk these days about “pay for performance” (well, mostly from finance people). Why is it such a hot topic? Dave Wentworth from I4CP.com is the author of a new report (you can download it here) on what works and what doesn’t. How is it different from Commissions or Profit Sharing?
7:55 The old models don’t work, but is pay for performance any better? The dance gets old and we’re just going through the motions of performance review and management. A good pay for performance strategy gives people something to work for throughout the year.
11:00 The secret to a good pay for performance model is the metrics. What’s valuable to your company? How do you prove you can do it?
16:45 Many pay for performance schemes aren’t perfect, and some go horribly wrong. Are the goals even achievable? Are they within your control? If you can’t control it, can you be held accountable?
18:46 There are benefits if you can get this right. Engagement goes up, overall performance goes up and stays up. In high performing organizations, it’s seen as a reward and recognition effort. In low performing organizations, it’s seen as a financial measure. There’s a big difference.
21:00 What’s the line manager’s role in pay for performance vs traditional cultures? We are the key, I’m afraid.
26:00 How do you go about having the internal conversation about moving to a pay for performance model? It all starts with having your numbers ready. What are the metrics, outcomes and financials that make your case?
Dave’s Resources
Institute for Corporate Productivity (I4CP.com and I pronounced it wrong on the show, it’s an I not a number 1)
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #295 42 Things No One Told You About Management Pam Fox Rollin
Posted on 08. Sep, 2011 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Today, Wayne Turmel talks to Pam Fox Rollin about her new book, “42 Rules For Your New Leadership Role- The Manual They Didn’t Hand You When You Made VP, Director or Manager”. We also talk Arctic exploration, managing managers and Greek stoics, which I think are a lot like souvlakis only messier.
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 Cranky Middle Manager Show, one and all. Today we dedicate this episode to Sir John Barrow who knew a thing or two about exploring new territory, managing projects and managing without WebEx. Also we look at a Greek stoic and why managing managers is a whole new ball game.
4:01 Our quote of the week is from Epictetus. I love this guy, I wrote about him in my first book A Philistine’s Journal-an Average Guy Tackles the Classics. Anyway, not specific to today’s topic, but if you’re so darned smart, why bother learning and growing?
5:00 Why don’t they hand you a better manual when you start a new gig? They’re real good at telling you about badge security, but not so much about being a leader. When leaders start, they tend to be a bit more confused than we like to cop to.
7:48 Most leaders get a honeymoon period, but how do you make the most of it? A great reason is to avoid jumping straight into the work and introduce yourself around to your peers, colleagues and employees. Don’t wait for a crisis to connect to the people you’ll depend on.
12:04 You often need to introduce yourself….or often RE-introduce yourself. Now’s the time to create your reputation before others do it for you. Oh, and we almost cause a stock market crisis.
14:06 How do you get started in a new role? What are the things we should do to get some quick wins? You need to find out the expectations of your team. What’s your group’s real earned reputation? Odds are it’s not what you were told during the interview.
17:55 We often inherit old metrics for new situations. How do you create a set of metrics that let you actually measure what’s important? What are the things you all agree on that are good signals to watch out for?
21:35 Without getting all paranoid, do you really understand the risks involved in this job? We are not talking obsessing, we are talking risk management.
24:54 As you get past your first project management or supervisor job, you start to manage managers. This is a different gig entirely. How do you measure and coach vaporware? Avoid “surrogate metrics” like activities and participation in meetings. You need to check on whether they set direction, take action and hit the mark. You want them doing leadership, not the actual individual contributor’s work.
Pam’s Resources