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Month: November 2016

When You Don’t Agree with Upper Management

When You Don’t Agree with Upper Management

Recently I was watching an episode of the show “Silicon Valley” in which, the CEO of Pied Piper made a decision to create an appliance instead of a platform. The engineering lead and his team thought the decision a bad one, but the sales people liked it. So the CEO and the board decided it was worth producing. But later, the board changed direction to go with the platform concept when Hooli decided to buy Pied Piper’s main competitor who was creating a similar platform. By buying their competitor, Hooli gave a dollar value to the platform. So the board fired the CEO and went with the platform instead of the appliance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlHMJaovr3g


If you are in management, you’ve probably had the experience of not agreeing with your manager or your manager’s manager with regard to big decisions like this. Some people are really good at finessing the situation. I’ve been learning from them. I’m very direct, very blunt. Sometimes, being direct is appropriate and sometimes it really isn’t. What I work on is understanding when the direct approach isn’t going to work. Yes, I’ve blown this in a major way at times. Calling out the CEO in front of all his management staff? Not a good idea.

When I determine a less direct approach is needed, I begin by asking for more information. How was this decision made? Is it ok if I talk to the people that helped you make this decision? My goal is to turn the questions into a conversation. This is a struggle at times, especially when what I really want to do is just explain why it’s a bad decision.

Sometimes, a decision can be changed. Other times, I have to get behind the decision even if I disagree with it. The bottom line is, either you decide to get behind the decision or you leave the company. Why leave the company if you can’t get behind the decision?  Remember, you are part of a management team. If you can’t support that team, you need to get out. Otherwise,you might end up being a negative influence and that can reflect badly on you and the company.

What do you do when you don’t agree with a decision made by management?

What Gets You Out of Bed in The Morning?

What Gets You Out of Bed in The Morning?

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I’m motivated to do a good job when I have the freedom to manage my team without interference from my manager. Why? Because I enjoy taking on new challenges and like to create clear goals for my teams and for myself. When these needs are met, I enjoy my work. I’m motivated to succeed.

But what motivates me doesn’t necessarily motivate the people that work for me. One of my jobs as a manager is to understand what motivates each of them. I think motivated employees produce better quality work and are more dedicated to the success of the company. If I am successful in motivating them and they are happier in their jobs as a result, that’s a win-win for both of us. So how do I discover what motivates them?

First, I give them a list of job factors and ask them to list their top six in priority order and bring it to our next one-on-one meeting. My list of job factors is at the end of this post– check it out before you continue reading.

One of the things you may notice is that the list doesn’t ask if they love their jobs. Instead, I’m trying to get to what they need out of their job and out of their career. What’s important to them? I do this because I can’t assume that I know what is important to them. Everyone has different needs in their life. I might think I know, but I’ve found I’m usually wrong. I remember meeting with one of my direct reports. I was convinced that she wanted a promotion and that was what was motivating her. After she handed me her prioritized list of job factors, I realized I couldn’t have been further from the mark. She wanted public recognition when she did something outstanding. She was also interested in a promotion but that was further down the road for her.

When they bring in the prioritized list, it enables a discussion around what they want from the job and what motivates them. If they are looking for the next rung on the ladder, a promotion, then I look for opportunities to let them stretch and operate at that level. If they are more interested in benefits, I make sure that they are satisfied with the benefits. If they aren’t, I take it to HR. Sometimes it can’t be resolved to the satisfaction of the employee but at least they know I recognized the importance to them and I took action to attempt to correct it for them. If they leave because of it, I understand.

A question I usually ask new employees is, “What makes you want to get out of bed in the morning? What makes you think: I can’t wait to do this!” I get very different responses. Can’t say that any two are alike. Here are some responses:

  • “I like being challenged. I like taking on new projects.”
  • “Money.”
  • “I want to do my job well, and I’m looking forward to retiring in a few years.”
  • “I need good healthcare benefits.”
  • “Stock options. I hope we IPO!”
  • “Having a manager that allows me to work independently but still is there when I need her.”
  • “Having a manager that I can talk to when I need/want.”
  • “I’d like to continue making progress in my career. I want to be promoted to the next level.”

I reassure people there is no “right” answer to this question but I can tell when they are editing their responses. They think they need to tell me what they think I want to hear. Things like “I love this job so much and I can’t wait to get into work in the morning!” I’d really like it if everyone felt that way but realistically, I know not everyone loves their job or loves what they are doing. If someone gives me this type of reply, I usually chuckle and say something like, “Well, for me, I really need a manager that doesn’t micro manage. I hate being micro managed! What makes you feel valued at work?” (So what do you do when they edit their response? How do you get more out of them? Chuckle and ask again?)

When I ask them this question, I find the conversation goes in interesting directions. For example, in talking with one employee, he listed benefits as the top priority for him and then achievement and success. He explained that his child had health issues and it is important to him to have good health benefits. And having clear goals and measures of success helped him to focus himself most effectively while at work. It helped him to balance work with the home stresses. I doubt that I would have had this conversation if I hadn’t started it with the Top 6 Job Factors list.

Feel free to use my list or to make one of your own. Then schedule a meeting with your employee because its time to find out what motivates them!

Directions: Mark the top 6 job factors listed below that are most motivating to you. Most motivating can be defined as the job factors that, if present in your job, would make you excited about getting up to come to work in the morning.
Job Factors Check Top 6
Benefits – medical benefits, 401k, vacation, etc (does not refer to compensation)
Career Development – having opportunities and strategies for upward promotion, lateral career moves, and/or significant added responsibilities & authority
Achievement & Success – being coached toward “winning,” feeling motivated to succeed, having less job stress due to clear goals
Base Compensation – base salary only; does not include commissions, bonuses, stock options, etc.
Corporate Culture – the values and mission of the organization have personal meaning to you and you feel part of the team (does not define work processes or procedures)
Policy & Administration – rules and procedures that define how you have to get things done, i.e., Finance and HR policies (does not refer to work processes)
Job Fit – having work that you can do with confidence and enthusiasm – your skills and interests match the job tasks
Job Security – a job that is relatively secure (does not mean “a job for life” with the company)
Professional Growth – getting continuous training and development as well as learning on the job via new assignments and feedback
Recognition & Rewards – feeling appreciated and recognized for your work
Support – feeling in on things, supported by peers and management in both work and personal issues
Work Conditions – the physical work environment: too hot or cold, old or new, cramped or open
Commute – short vs long, public transportation available, company transportation available
Something else not specified above? Please add.
Managing a New Team

Managing a New Team

When I start managing a new team, be it at a new company or at a company for which I already work, I like to get as much information as I can before deciding if any changes are needed.

Of course, I meet with my direct reports first. If they are all managers, I also schedule a few skip level meetings and not just with people they recommend. I meet with the external teams my team interacts with. If I am managing the Quality Engineering organization, I meet with all the organizations those teams interact with: development, technical writing, user experience designers, support. When I am managing a development organization I meet with quality engineering, user experience designers, support (really important!), technical writing, product management, sales.

Hand writing Get the facts, business concept

When I talk with the sales people, I listen to them talk about the challenges they have in selling the product. With the other teams, I listen to what they think is working and what needs to be improved. I do a lot of listening. I always ask about communication when talking with these other teams.

All this information allows me to understand how well my team is working and to answer some basic questions:

  • Is the current organizational structure working?
  • Do the challenges my team faces require an organizational change?
  • Can some process improvements help?
  • Do staff members need some help/training on communication or other soft skills?
  • Does the team require technical training?

Once I have the answers to these questions, I have what I need to work with my new team in the best way possible.

How do you approach managing a new team?

Talk Positive Instead of Negative

Talk Positive Instead of Negative

plus-or-negative

“You always talk about how great your team is,” my manager said to me, “and it’s not good that you do.”

Talk about confusing. I didn’t know how to reply to that one. I do know my teams’ weaknesses and strengths. I work with them on the weaknesses. So why would I tell my peers and my manager about the weaknesses all the time? Why wouldn’t I instead talk about the strengths, the good stuff, the positive stuff about my teams?

Being very confused about this feedback from my manager, I asked people I’ve worked with at other companies why talking positively about my team to peers and other teams is a problem. They told me it sounded like I thought my teams were better than everyone else’s. “I never said that to anyone,” was my reply. Their reply, “Well, it’s implied since you always talk positively about your teams.”

This is crazy. Or maybe dysfunctional is a better word.

People talk. When I talk about my teams’ strengths to those outside of my team, eventually, those comments get back to them. When I share negative things about my teams to others outside of my team, those negative comments also get back to them. Now what is more inspiring to you; knowing the leader of your organization is saying positive things about your organization – or negative things?

 

I gotta go with positive.

 

If there are issues preventing the team from delivering, yes, I will share that circumstance with my manager AND I’ll also share what I’m doing to fix those issues. I’ve replaced management staff and eliminated positions to fix problems within my teams; I don’t hide from the negative aspects of my team members.

I simply see no reason to only talk about the negatives and not the positives when it comes to my teams especially when I know that what I say will eventually filter down to my team members. I prefer they hear motivating comments than negative, de-motivating comments. I’ll go with positive. In the long run, the team will perform better and problems will be resolved more easily.

Which would you go with? Positive or negative?

Behavioural Assessment Tools

Behavioural Assessment Tools

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We can never have too many tools in our management tool kit.toolbox

One challenge managers face on a day-to-day basis is communication. Am I communicating enough? Am I communicating the right information? Is my messaging clear, transparent, and is it being understood? I see this in every organization that I have had the pleasure to work with.

Behavioural assessment tools are key to understanding and helping teams develop into high performing teams. In my travels with my profession, I have used various types of behavioural assessment tools. There are ones that will only skim the surface of the person’s preference (introvert/extroverted), how they see the world (sensing/intuition), and how you make decisions (thinking/feeling) and there are assessments that dive deeper into the personality and communication preferences. I prefer the deeper behavioural assessments for managers. These assessments give Managers more insight in the questions above. They can then tailor their communication to their team. Some teams only need the high-level information, whereas, other teams may need the nitty gritty details.

The initial assessment can be daunting for some employees. They may feel as though you are peeling away their layers like an onion. A manager needs to reassure the employee that the assessment will not disclose their deep darkest secrets. The assessment paints only a picture of who that person is.

waving-character

 

Through the behavioural assessment, each team member will have an understanding of each other. Team building activities are used with the assessment that creates a space where people feel safe, creates closeness with their teammates, and fuels creative juices. They start the journey to becoming a high performance team.

High performance teams work together with incredible synergies because they communicate effectively and have an intimate knowledge of each member’s personalities do’s and don’ts. An HR practitioner working with the manager and the team with a behavioural assessment tool will develop the team from a team to a high performance team.

About Sharmin Homenuk:

Sharmin’s leadership experience, energetic style, positive approach, and corporate savvy help executives align their talents with the needs and culture of their organizations.

Sharmin has more than 20 years of Senior Human Resource experience at several mid- to large- size companies in such industries as healthcare, utilities, financial, retail, security and outsourcing.

Website: Next Step HR www.nextstephr.ca

Linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/sharminhomenuk