It's Okay To Be The Boss FAQ by EDGE Business Management Consulting

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR BRUCE TULGAN (New Haven, CT) is internationally recognized as a leading expert on

leadership and management. He is an advisor to business leaders all over the world, the author or co-author of numerous books, most recently Not Everyone Gets a Trophy: How to Manage Generation Y (Jossey-Bass, 2009), the classic Managing Generation X (1995), and the recent best-seller It’s Okay to Be the Boss (2007). Since founding the management training firm RainmakerThinking in 1993, he has been a sought-after keynote speaker and seminar leader. Tulgan has personally trained tens of thousands of managers in a wide range of industries. His work has been the subject of thousands of news stories around the world, and he has written for dozens of publications, including The New York Times, USA Today, Human Resources magazine, and The Harvard Business Review. He also holds a fourth degree black belt in Okinawan Karate and is married to Debby Applegate, who won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Biography. Tulgan’s weekly v-log (video newsletter) is available for free at www.rainmakerthinking.com.

Frequently Asked Questions These are the most frequently asked questions by managers at the It's Okay to Be the Boss Workshop. After each is a brief response provided by Bruce Tulgan. WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO START OUT AT THE BEGINNING OF A MANAGEMENT RELATIONSHIP? IS IT BETTER TO START OUT BEING HANDS-OFF AND THEN GRADUALLY BECOME MORE HANDS-ON? OR IS IT BETTER TO START OUT BEING MORE HANDS-ON AND THEN GRADUALLY BECOME MORE HANDS-OFF?

If you start out very hands-on, you’ll figure out just how closely the person needs to be managed and you can calibrate your approach accordingly. You’ll also make it clear right at the outset that your expectations are high and that you are willing and able to manage very closely. So start out very hands-on: Meet with the employee every day. Break goals down into lists of concrete action steps with lots of guidelines and very short deadlines. Then, as the employee delivers on those expectations, you can gradually back off. If the employee keeps delivering, back off some more. But don’t back off too much. Keep meeting regularly to review priorities, clarify expectations, and to monitor, measure, and document that person’s performance. If the employee’s performance falters in any way, tighten the reins until you have things under control, until the employee is acting like he is in a strict regime. Then you can back off again. AT WHAT POINT CAN I DETERMINE WHETHER AN EMPLOYEE REQUIRES SO MUCH OF MY MANAGEMENT TIME THAT IT’S JUST NOT WORTH IT?

First, let me promise you this: Most employees require more management time than you think, and most require much more management time than you might wish to spend. Second, here is some good news: Most employees require more of your management time in the early stages of a job and less over time. Third, with every individual, you have to figure out just how closely the person needs to be managed and calibrate your approach accordingly. So when is it too much? That is a business decision you have to make for yourself. Is this employee much less able and skilled and motivated than other employees you could hire for this job from your available labor pool? Are you sure? If you replace the employee, is the labor pool available to you for this job likely to yield a similar employee?

4 ISN’T ONE GOAL OF MANAGEMENT TO HELP EMPLOYEES GET BETTER AT MANAGING THEMSELVES?

In my view, everybody needs to be managed. Even CEOs need to be managed by boards of directors. But, of course, one of your primary goals should be to help your employees grow and develop and become more self-managing. How? By managing them very, very well. By managing an employee very, very well, you are demonstrating the same methods she’ll have to apply when it comes to managing herself. You are demonstrating that self-management involves a constant accounting: What is expected of me? How is my performance measuring up to those expectations? What can I do to improve? What do I need to revise and adjust? Constantly clarify priorities; clarify expectations; clarify plans; clarify action steps; clarify timelines. Second, by managing the employee very, very well, you should be teaching her what to do and how to do it. On a whole range of tasks, the employee should be learning through sheer repetition. She should be learning guidelines, specifications, and standard operating procedures. Third, by managing the employee very, very well, you and the employee are likely to be creating tools (like checklists) that should help her become more selfmanaging. Fourth, by managing the employee very, very well, you should be gradually expanding the employee’s scope of responsibility. This means bigger goals or bigger constellations of goals. This means longer deadlines. This means you are stepping back, meeting every other day instead of daily; meeting once a week instead of every other day. Fifth, by managing the employee very, very well, you should be teaching the employee great work habits. Sixth, no matter how good your employee gets at managing herself, remember, she still needs you. If not, then you shouldn’t be her boss anymore. HOW DO YOU MANAGE A SUPERSTAR?

Even superstars need to be managed. Nobody can be as objective about himself and his own performance as his boss should be. Nobody can hold herself accountable—accountability comes from knowing you have to answer to someone else. Even superstars have bad days, sometimes go in the wrong direction, have lapses in judgment or integrity, and need guidance, direction, support, and encouragement. Even superstars need to be challenged and developed. What is

5 more, superstars often want to know that someone is keeping track of their great work and looking for ways to provide them with special rewards. I MANAGE TOO MANY PEOPLE. HOW CAN I POSSIBLY BE HANDS-ON WITH THIRTY-TWO EMPLOYEES?

First, do a reality check. Do you really have thirty-two people who directly report to you? Or do you have a “chain of command.” Are some of those thirty-two people actually managers or supervisors or team leads who are supposed to be managing some of the others? If you have a chain of command, you have to start using it. You need to focus like crazy on those managers who answer to you. And a big part of your focus with each of these managers should be how each manager is managing the employees who answer directly to him or her. What if you don’t have a chain of command? What if you really are supposed to be managing an unmanageable number of employees? There are no perfect solutions. But you need a strategy. One option is to create a formal or informal chain of command. Another is to choose your targets every day. Concentrate on, say, four people each day. At that rate you could get to twenty people in a week; forty every two weeks, if you must. Of course, some people need more attention than others. What if you meet with some people every two weeks, others once a week, and still others every day? Just don’t make the mistake of choosing the same targets over and over again. Spread out your management time, and spend time managing every person. The third option is to rely more on team meetings. Meet with your whole team when you have information that needs to be shared with the whole team. Meet with your team in smaller work groups when you have information that needs to be shared with that smaller group. But remember that team meetings are no substitute for one-on-ones. So make sure you are making time for one-on-ones with every person as often as you possibly can, based on what makes sense for each person. Having one-on-ones with some people every day, others once a week, and others just once a month isn’t ideal. But it’s a whole lot better than accepting under-management. I MANAGE PEOPLE IN A REMOTE LOCATION. HOW CAN I POSSIBLY BE A HANDS-ON MANAGER WITH EMPLOYEES I RARELY SEE?

The first question is, “How often are you in the same location with your remote employees?” The answers vary widely. Sometimes managers see their remote

6 employees several times a week, sometimes just once a month, and sometimes only a few times a year. The less often you see an employee, the more time you should spend when you are in the same location together. Use that time to really clarify all the work you’ve done to manage that person remotely, to reinforce the expectations you’ve been setting, to reinforce the feedback you’ve been providing based on your monitoring and measuring of the person’s performance, to go over in person the performance track record you’ve been documenting every step of the way. Second, when you are not in the same location, you must create an iron-clad protocol for doing remotely all the things you would do in person: spelling out expectations, monitoring, measuring, and documenting performance; dealing with problems quickly; and doing more for people when they’ve earned more. Use the telephone, e-mail, videoconferencing, and any other tools at your disposal. That doesn’t mean scheduling a weekly phone call and then leaving each other messages saying, “I can’t make the call.” Before each call or videoconference, send an e-mail saying, “Here’s exactly what we need to discuss. . . . Please be prepared to discuss a, b, c, and d on our call.” Then make the call, discuss a, b, c, and d, and send a follow-up e-mail saying, “We agreed the following about a, b, c, and d,” complete with goals, deadlines, guidelines, specifications, checklists, to-do lists, and all the other details you would include if you were meeting with the person face-to-face. I MANAGE EMPLOYEES WHO WORK DIFFERENT SHIFTS FROM ME. I AM NEVER (OR RARELY) THERE WHEN THEY ARE. HOW CAN I MANAGE THEM IF I AM NOT THERE?

This is a close corollary of managing employees who are in remote locations. Create ironclad protocols for communicating expectations clearly, monitoring, measuring, and documenting performance. Use technology. Use telephone, e-mail, and/or videoconferencing. Leave each other notes! When you are on site at the same time, sit down together, face-to-face, and clarify everything you’ve been doing remotely. If different shifts are preventing you from ever being in the same place at the same time with that employee, go out of your way to overlap once in a while. If the employee works the shift after you, then stick around at the end of your shift or ask the employee to come in a bit early. Sometimes you’ll have to go the extra mile and come in during that employee’s shift, even if you are not “supposed to be working.” Remember, you are the boss. Inconvenience goes with the territory.

7 I MANAGE PEOPLE DOING WORK IN AREAS IN WHICH I DON’T HAVE KNOWLEDGE OR EXPERIENCE. HOW CAN I MANAGE PEOPLE IF THEY KNOW MUCH MORE ABOUT THEIR WORK THAN I DO?

You don’t have to become an expert on the work that person is doing. But you do have to learn enough to manage that person. You can learn by managing that person closely over time. Think of yourself as a client and the employee as a professional you’ve hired. You don’t have to be a lawyer to make sure your lawyer is doing a good job for you; you don’t have to be a doctor to make sure your doctor is taking good care of you. It’s okay that you don’t know or understand everything the person is doing. But it’s not okay to remain in the dark and just trust that the person is doing a good job. Do your homework so you can ask good probing questions every step of the way. If you don’t understand the answers, say so. Ask more questions. Don’t allow yourself to be brushed off. Get a second opinion, and a third. As you are spelling out expectations, focus first on outcomes. Then ask such questions as, “Exactly what are you going to do? Why? How are you going to do that? Why? What are the steps? What is involved in each step? How long will each step take? Why? What are the guidelines and specifications?” If the answers are vague, press for details. If the answers are complex, ask for explanations. As you monitor and measure performance, again focus on outcomes first: Look at the work product. Then ask questions: “Did you do what you said you were going to do? Why or why not? How did you do it? Why? What were the steps? What was involved in each step? How long did each step take? Why?” Again, press for details and ask for explanations. And don’t forget to ask around: Ask customers, clients, vendors, co-workers, and other managers. Ask another employee who does similar work. Get those second and third opinions whenever you can. Just as you would if you were managing someone whose work you understand totally, you should be documenting the basics of your conversations. What expectations were established? How did the performance line up with the expectations? As you are documenting performance, ask the employee to tell you what he thinks you should document and why. Over time, you will get to know the person’s work better and better. You may never become an expert, but you will certainly learn enough to be the boss. You will get to know the employee’s work habits and track record. You will be better able to gauge the employee’s veracity, trustworthiness, and reliability. You will be able to tell whether the person is on track or off track. You will be able to read the conversations you are having by the way the person talks and the kinds of things he says.

8 I DON’T HAVE DIRECT AUTHORITY OVER CERTAIN EMPLOYEES, BUT I STILL HAVE TO MANAGE THEM. HOW CAN I MANAGE AN EMPLOYEE IF I AM NOT REALLY HER BOSS?

If you don’t have authority over an individual, your only option is to use influence. First, you can draw on interpersonal influence. This includes the accumulated weight of your relationship with the person thus far, and the likelihood that your relationship with the person will continue. Have you had personal rapport in the past? Will you have personal rapport in the future? Second, you can influence another person through the persuasiveness of good reasons. Third, you can draw on transactional influence. If you reach an agreement with the person, then you have a basis to expect that agreement will be fulfilled. This is especially true of mutual reciprocal promises. But even if you elicit a one-way promise from another person, if it has sufficient specificity, there is great pressure on the person to deliver on that promise. Have you relied on each other in the past? Will you rely on each other in the future? WE HAVE A MATRIX STRUCTURE (OR WE WORK INTEGRALLY WITH OUTSIDE VENDORS). THAT MEANS MY EMPLOYEE(S) OFTEN HAS TO WAIT FOR ANOTHER EMPLOYEE IN ANOTHER BUSINESS (INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL) TO FINISH SOME PIECE OF THE PUZZLE BEFORE MY EMPLOYEE(S) CAN CONTINUE HIS WORK. HOW CAN I FAIRLY HOLD MY EMPLOYEE(S) TO DEADLINES IF HE IS HELD UP BY SOMEONE IN A WHOLE OTHER BUSINESS?

First, focus on all the steps your employee can accomplish on his own, without depending on other employees in other businesses. What are all the concrete actions that can be taken leading up to the point where your employee has to rely on someone else? Break it down. Spell it out. Second, focus on the concrete steps your employee is taking when it comes specifically to dealing with the other employee(s) in the other business(es). Spell out exactly what steps you want your employee to take in order to get what he needs from that other employee in that other business. Create standard operating procedures. You can’t hold the employee accountable for the actions of another person. But you can provide much more guidance and direction about how to handle this difficult situation, and doing that puts you in a much better position to help your employee succeed and also hold your employee accountable.

9 SOME OF THE EMPLOYEES I MANAGE ALSO ANSWER TO OTHER BOSSES. WHEN I GIVE AN EMPLOYEE AN ASSIGNMENT, IT’S NOT ALWAYS CLEAR HOW MANY OTHER ASSIGNMENTS THAT EMPLOYEE IS TRYING TO JUGGLE WITH OTHER BOSSES AND WHETHER THE EMPLOYEE IS TAKING ON TOO MUCH. AND EVEN AFTER I’VE GIVEN AN ASSIGNMENT TO AN EMPLOYEE, SHE SOMETIMES WILL GET ANOTHER “MORE URGENT” ASSIGNMENT FROM ANOTHER BOSS.

First, be the boss who attracts the best employees. Be the boss all the stars want to work for. They will come looking for assignments from you. When you have a project, everyone wants to be on it. Second, if you are the boss who is most engaged, you will be the boss to whom your employees are most responsive. If they know you are always going to be following up, monitoring, measuring, documenting, and insisting on accountability, they will always put assignments for you first. Third, be the boss who sets employees up for success and rewards them accordingly. Fourth, whenever you are giving an assignment to an employee, make sure you understand what other responsibilities she is juggling. Ask lots of questions about her other tasks, projects, and deadlines. Talk through how your assignment/project might interfere with her other work and how her other work might interfere with the work you are assigning. Decide together whether she will be able to meet your requirements and exactly what she is going to do if anything changes, if another responsibility comes up that might interfere with meeting your requirements. WHAT IF OTHER MANAGERS WHO ARE YOUR PEERS HAVE FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT EXPECTATIONS, STANDARDS, AND REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYEES?

Whether your employees report to these other managers or just hear about them at the water cooler, don’t be shy. Remind your employees regularly and enthusiastically that you are different and that your expectations, standards, and requirements are higher. Make it a point of pride. Let the people on your team appreciate your especially high standards and make that part of the esprit de corps you all share.

10 MY PROBLEM IS CONFLICTS AMONG TEAM MEMBERS. OFTEN I AM DEALING WITH “HE SAID/SHE SAID” SITUATIONS. HOW CAN I REFEREE ARGUMENTS AND PERSONALITY CLASHES AMONG EMPLOYEES?

Conflicts come from lots of different sources. You cannot keep track of every detail and referee every argument. Sometimes people just don’t like each other. Other times there are real gripes, personal and professional. First, you cannot keep track of everybody and everything all the time. But you can be that manager who is all over the details, who is spelling out expectations every step of the way, monitoring, measuring, and documenting performance every step of the way. You can be the manager who is talking to every employee on a regular basis, so you know where your people are coming from and where they are going. You know what you can expect from each person and what you should expect. You know what’s in character and what’s out of character, what rings true and what doesn’t. When you are that manager, employees are more likely to level with you and less likely to worry about each other and more likely to worry about themselves. You are in a whole lot better position to evaluate conflicts when they do occur and make better decisions. Second, try to keep everyone focused on the work. If you keep your employees very busy with work, they have a lot less time to have conflicts with each other. And the more focused they all are on the work they have in common, the more likely they are to cooperate. Third, if you know that certain employees often clash, do what you can to keep them apart, working in different areas or on different shifts. Fourth, if this happens often on your team, figure out why. This kind of conflict is very rare on a team with a strong hands-on manager. Maybe you are part of the problem, or maybe there is something about the way your team functions that is causing the conflicts. Do team members have to rely on each other to a high degree? Are there good, clear standard operating procedures to ensure that this interdependence flows smoothly? Maybe you need to examine the way team members have to work together and rely on each other. Maybe you can eliminate or improve aspects of your business process to reduce unnecessary conflict. Fifth, if one or more employees are particularly prone to conflicts with others, include this issue in your regular coaching dialogue with those individuals. Before there is another conflict, include reminders about avoiding conflict and interacting in a positive way with other team members in your regular management conversations.

11 I MANAGE MANAGERS WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO BE MANAGING THE NEXT LEVEL OF EMPLOYEES. BUT MY MANAGERS ARE NOT MANAGING THEIR EMPLOYEES. THAT MEANS I OFTEN HAVE TO GO AROUND MY MANAGERS AND MANAGE THEIR EMPLOYEES. AS A RESULT, THESE EMPLOYEES OFTEN GO AROUND THEIR MANAGERS AND COME DIRECTLY TO ME. HOW CAN I GET MY MANAGERS TO MANAGE?

First, focus on your managers intensely until they are playing the role you need them to play. Teach them how to be strong hands-on managers. Explain to them that, just as you are working hard to be a better boss, they need to do the same. Just as you are learning to talk like a performance coach and trying to customize your approach to every person, they need to do the same. Just as you are meeting with the employees who report to you every day, they need to meet regularly with the employees they supervise. Just as you are spelling out expectations more clearly, they need to do the same. They need to go over concrete goals, guidelines, specifications, to-do lists, and deadlines with every person every step of the way. Just as you are monitoring, measuring, and documenting performance every step of the way, they need to do the same. They need to start keeping their own managers’ notebooks. Just as you are dealing with problems immediately before they are like a ton of bricks, they need to do the same. They need to solve small problems before they fester and grow into bigger problems. Just as you are trying to help employees earn what they need, your managers must do the same with their people. And so on. Second, in your regular management meetings with each manager, talk through the manager’s various tasks, projects, and responsibilities and then focus on exactly how your managers are doing the hard work of managing their people. Ask about employee number 1. Ask about employee number 2. Ask about employee number 3. Ask: “When did you last meet with employee number 3? What was the purpose of the meeting? What were you hoping to accomplish? What did you talk about? What is he or she working on? What did he or she do last week? What guidance and direction did you give him or her? What are his or her current goals and deadlines? What guidelines and specifications did you spell out? What notes did you take down in your manager’s notebook? May I take a look?” If you want your managers to focus on something in particular with one or more employees they are managing, you have to spell that out. If you want your managers to carry a specific message to their employees, hammer away at that message. If you want your managers to carry specific marching orders, hammer away at those marching orders. Spell out exactly what you want your managers to focus on with their employees.

12 Third, you may want to sit in on some of your managers’ one-on-one meetings with their employees. Let the manager do the managing. Don’t step on the manager’s toes. Don’t undermine or contradict the manager. You are there to listen and take notes, so you can give your manager feedback on his or her management. That feedback needs to come afterward, not during the meeting. THE CORPORATE CULTURE IN THIS ORGANIZATION DOESN’T SUPPORT HANDS-ON MANAGEMENT. HOW CAN I BE A HANDS-ON MANAGER WHEN EVERYBODY ELSE IS HANDS-OFF?

This could be said of the corporate culture in most organizations. Corporate culture is the combined web of shared meaning and shared social practices that develop between and among people in an organization. There is an under-management epidemic throughout the workplace, at all levels in organizations of all shapes and sizes. So most corporate cultures support a hands-off status quo in which hands-on managers often feel like ducks out of water. Be different. And let people know. Be the manager who is not afraid to be the boss. Be the manager who is strong. Be hands-on. You might find out that the culture supports good management after all. Indeed, there may be more hands-on managers in your midst than you realize, doing their thing beneath the radar. Or you might find that being a strong hands-on manager really makes you a maverick. That’s okay. Be the maverick. Stand out as that manager who is really serious about the work and always goes the extra mile when it comes to managing. Being the maverick can be uncomfortable. Be uncomfortable. WE ARE UNDERSTAFFED AND EVERYBODY ON OUR TEAM IS OVERWORKED. I CANNOT FIRE MY LOW PERFORMERS BECAUSE THE REMAINING EMPLOYEES WOULD HAVE TO WORK EVEN HARDER. ISN’T 50 PERCENT PERFORMANCE FROM A LOW PERFORMER SOMETIMES BETTER THAN HAVING NO EMPLOYEE IN THAT ROLE AT ALL?

Yes, your team is overworked. And it’s true that firing a low performer might put an undue burden on the rest of the employees for some short period of time. The remaining employees (and/or you) will have to pick up the slack and do the extra work if you fire that low performer. It is true that sometimes you are just so busy that it would be stupid to fire anyone. For one thing, firing can be a timeconsuming and painful experience for you (not to mention the person being fired). More to the point, if you are super busy, you might as well squeeze one last day of grunt work out of the low performer.

13 Choose your timing carefully. But you have to fire the low performers if they refuse to improve. There are four reasons: First, they get paid. Second, they cause problems that other employees have to fix. Third, high performers hate to work with low performers. Fourth, low performers send a terrible message to everybody else: “Low performance is an option around here.” If your team is overstaffed and overworked, then high performance really is your only option. You have to be able to get more work and better work out of everyone. You cannot afford to have the negative energy and unnecessary problems of a stubborn low performer dragging down the rest of the team. PRIORITIES SHIFT AND CHANGE. HOW CAN I MAINTAIN CLEAR EXPECTATIONS FOR MY EMPLOYEES WHEN EXPECTATIONS CHANGE EVERY DAY?

Managers cringe when they have to tell employees, “I know that yesterday I said the most important things were a, b, and c. Well, from now on a, b, and c don’t matter.. Now the most important things are z, q, and s.” And there is always the strong likelihood that in the not too distant future, the manager will have to come back and say, “Well. . . . Okay, forget about z, q, and s. . . . Now the most important things are m, n, and p.” Of course priorities shift and change, and when priorities change, expectations change. That is all the more reason why it is so important to be a strong hands-on boss. After all, who is going to tell each employee which priorities have shifted and changed today? Who is going to make it clear to each employee what matters most today? Who is going to tell each employee what to focus on today? Who is going to spell out expectations for each employee today? That’s going to be you. The more things shift and change, the more guidance and direction and support employees need. Guide and direct and support your employees through the constant change. Every day, tell every person exactly what’s staying the same and exactly what’s changing. Every day, tell every person what matters today; what to focus on today. Every day, for every person, spell out expectations for today. I’VE BEEN ACCEPTING MEDIOCRITY FOR A LONG TIME. HOW CAN I SUDDENLY CHANGE THE STANDARDS?

Initially you, not the employees you manage, will feel the greatest impact from changing your management style. You are the one who will have to figure out who is doing what where, why, when, and how. You will have to start meeting with every employee regularly. You will have to start monitoring, measuring, and documenting what every employee is doing every day. You will have to solve

14 problems quickly. You will have to start rewarding employees extra when they go the extra mile. You will have to customize your approach to every employee and learn to talk like a coach. You are the boss. You are the one with the tremendous responsibility to make everything go right all day every day. The employees you manage will experience big changes, too, but those changes don’t have to come down suddenly. The biggest change for most employees, at the outset, will be meeting with you more often. Over time, they’ll have to get used to talking with you more often and in more detail about their work and keeping closer track of what they are doing. You (and they) will be trying hard to link real consequences—positive and negative—to their actual performance. But that will happen over time. And you should work hard to prepare them in advance and every step of the way. Be open and honest. Don’t pretend you are not making a change. Explain, “I’m making a change. I’m going to be a better manager.” Explain why. And explain what the changes will entail. When employees say, “But you’ve always done it this way or that” or “You’ve always accepted thus and so” or “These standards are much more demanding,” respond by saying, “You are right.” Admit, “The way I did it before was less demanding; in the past I accepted a lower standard, and managed in a more lax manner. Not any more!” I’VE INHERITED ONE OR MORE EMPLOYEES WHOSE MANAGERS HAVE BEEN ACCEPTING MEDIOCRITY FOR A LONG TIME. HOW CAN I SUDDENLY CHANGE THE STANDARD?

This happens in one of two ways: Either a new employee is joining your team or else you are joining a team as the new manager. It’s easier when a new employee joins your team because that individual will come in expecting to make adjustments. People starting a new job come in with a bunch of question marks: What is this team like? What is the mission? Where do I fit? How do they do things? How do I succeed here? How do I get what I need? How does the boss operate? If the employee is new to the company altogether, you have an on-boarding challenge. You have to communicate vividly and relentlessly: “This is the team. This is our mission. This is where you fit in; this is your role in relation to the mission and the team. This is the way we do things. This is the way for you to succeed on this team. This is the way for you to earn what you need. This is the way I manage.” You need to meet with the new employee at least once a day, maybe more than once, until the employee is up to speed. And then you can gradually back off to an appropriate scope of supervision for that person.

15 If the employee is new to you and the team, but has already worked in the company for some time, you have the same on-boarding challenge, but you might get more resistance. The employee has his own track record in the organization— his own career, experiences, relationships, and the paper trail to go with it. He or she is more likely to think, “This is my company too. I’ve done things my way for some time and I’ve been successful.” The employee is more likely to push back and hope you will be the one to adjust, thinking that his paper trail in the organization will protect him from any adverse consequences you might try to impose. And he might be right, at least for some time. In that case, you need to communicate vividly and relentlessly. Start creating the next chapter in that employee’s track record—and the paper trail to go with it. Usually the employee will adjust to you and your way. Sometimes he will realize that he’s made a terrible mistake coming to work for a manager as hands-on as you are and will start looking for another manager. Otherwise, you’ll have to deal with this employee as you would any other stubborn low performer. WHAT IF I AM THE NEW PERSON ON A TEAM? I’M THE BOSS, BUT I’M COMING IN FROM THE OUTSIDE.

First, get to know the team and its circumstances. Is the team successful? Or is it underperforming? What’s working? What’s not working? What should not be changed? What needs to change? Who are these people? Who are the stars? Who is posing as a star and who is really a star? What role does each person play? What tasks and responsibilities belong to each person? Who gets along with whom? Who is immediately courting your favor? Who is hiding from you? Do your homework. Interview the prior boss. Talk with other managers. Talk with vendors. Talk with customers. Review every report. On day one, hold a team meeting. Introduce yourself briefly—long enough to answer the question, “Why are you the new boss?” Then ask lots of questions and listen to the answers you get. Then interview every member of the team and listen. Start creating your manager’s landscape. When you are ready, hold another team meeting. This time, let the team know what kind of boss you will be: “This is the way I manage. This is the way to succeed, working for me. This is how to earn what you need, working for me. . . .” Start meeting with every employee often, until you get up to speed with each employee. Then you can gradually back off to an appropriate scope of supervision for each person.

16 I’M MANAGING PEOPLE WHO WERE MY PEERS BEFORE I WAS THEIR MANAGER. IT’S REALLY HARD TO GET THEM TO RESPECT MY AUTHORITY AND ACCEPT ME AS THE “BOSS.” WHAT SHOULD I DO?

First, remember that you are the one who received the promotion. Live up to it. As tempting as it might be to remain “one of the guys,” you are in a different role now. You have new responsibilities. You are in charge. That doesn’t mean you have license to act like a jerk. It means you need to be the boss and you need to be good at it. Second, communicate vividly and relentlessly exactly what kind of manager you intend to be. Do not try to justify why you were given the promotion instead of someone else or explain why you “should” be the boss. Simply explain how you are going to behave as the boss. Explain what your standard operating procedures will be and follow those standard operating procedures consistently. Third, don’t let your former peers use your former role to put you on the defensive. When they say, “Come on, you know how it is. . . ,” you need to say, “Yes, I do know how it is and so I know that my expectations are reasonable.” Fourth, use your former role to make you a better boss. Remember what it’s like to do the job. What kind of guidance, direction, and support could you have used? Can you provide that kind of guidance, direction, and support? Use your experience when it comes to spelling out goals and deadlines and specifications. Use your experience when it comes to monitoring and measuring and documenting performance. Use your experience when it comes to problem solving. Use your experience to recognize performance above and beyond—performance deserving of extra rewards. SOME OF THE PEOPLE I MANAGE ARE MY FRIENDS. HOW DO I SEPARATE MY ROLE AS BOSS FROM MY ROLE AS FRIEND?

First, decide which is more important to you. If it’s the friendship, maybe you shouldn’t be the boss. You have to accept the fact that your role as boss might compromise or damage the friendship. Second, protect the friendship by establishing ground rules with your friend about keeping the roles separate. Say, “Our friendship is very important to me. My job is also very important to me, and around here I am the boss. When we are here at work, I need to be the boss.” Then make it very clear exactly what kind of boss you are going to be, exactly how you are going to manage, and what your standard operating procedures will be. When you are outside work, try to leave your

17 authority behind. That will probably be harder for your friend than it is for you. You both have power in the realm of each other’s livelihood, but you have more. Third, protect the friendship by being a really good boss. Make sure things go really well at work. Minimize the number of problems and you will minimize the number of potential conflicts. Fourth, recognize and embrace the fact that the work you and your friend have in common will become more and more the terrain of your friendship. Perhaps this gives your friend the opportunity to have undue influence on your thinking about work. So be it. As much as you try to keep work separate from your friendship and your friendship separate from your work, there will always be overlap. You cannot help but feel close to each other, even at work. You cannot help but be aware of your work relationship, even when you are spending time together as friends. The best you can do is honor your friendship by being a great boss and hope that your friend will honor your friendship by letting you do that to the best of your ability. MY PROBLEMS ARE LAWS, REGULATIONS, POLICIES, PROCEDURES, EEO, UNIONS, CONTRACTS . . . AND THE HR POLICE. HOW CAN I BE A STRONG MANAGER WHEN I HAVE TO PRACTICALLY BECOME AN EMPLOYMENT LAWYER IN ORDER TO DEAL WITH ALL THE RULES AND RED TAPE?

Managers often say that, despite their best efforts, they are held back by rules and red tape and contracts. Some managers hide behind this challenge as an excuse to not manage. Yet in the very same organization, with the very same rules and red tape and contracts, there are lots and lots of managers who find a way to work within and around the rules and red tape and contracts. It’s difficult and they do it anyway because that is their job. The question is, How do you work within and around the rules, red tape, and contracts? Think about what lawyers do when confronted with rules and red tape. They learn the rules and red tape and contracts backward and forward. And then they work the rules and red tape and contracts. Learn it and work it. Some managers worry about being sued. There are many impermissible reasons for distinguishing between and among employees, but performance is not one of them. As long as you can demonstrate that any rewards or detriments to employees are based solely on their work performance, there is no basis for a claim of unlawful discrimination. Remember this: There are many things you can do, even if there are a lot of things you can’t do. Of course, there will be things you can’t do. Don’t do them. If you do you’ll get in trouble. But often you can do things you didn’t realize you

18 could do, once you learn how do them. Find an ally who can help you learn the rules and work the rules: Someone in HR. Someone in legal. Someone in EEO. Someone in the union. Your boss. THE PROBLEMS I HAVE WITH CERTAIN EMPLOYEES ARE INTANGIBLE, SUCH AS BAD ATTITUDE. HOW DO I DEAL WITH INTANGIBLE PERFORMANCE ISSUES?

Often some of the most important elements of employee performance seem intangible and therefore very hard to manage. Bad attitude and/or bad temper are classic examples. First, if you want to see a bad attitude get much worse, try telling someone with a bad attitude that she has a bad attitude. It is rarely much help to “name” a behavior if you are trying to get someone to change it. Second, make the intangible more tangible by describing the behavior in as much detail as you can. Break it down. Spell it out. Instead of saying, “You are in a very bad mood this morning and that’s really disruptive,” try saying something like this: “At 9:13 a.m., you walked through the door. Instead of closing it gently, you pushed the doorknob swiftly and rather hard so that the door slammed shut, making a loud noise. Then you wrinkled up your forehead, turned the corners of your mouth down, and said in a very loud voice, ‘This place sucks!’ After that, you walked quickly to your desk, in such a way that every step you took made a loud thud.” Maybe that’s exaggerating. But you have to really spell it out. Describe the behavior. Don’t name it. Third, it’s not enough to describe the intangible behavior that you want to end and therefore make it more tangible. You also have to describe the intangible behavior you want to see instead and therefore make it more tangible as well. This is just another way of saying, “Spell out expectations.” Fourth, it often helps a lot if you have a simple and clear way of connecting the behavior with concrete work outcomes. You want to be able to say, “Please stop doing that because that has the following negative effect. Please start doing this instead because this will have the following positive effect.” WHAT IF AN EMPLOYEE IS VERY GOOD AT HER JOB, BUT SHE JUST DOESN’T GET ENOUGH WORK DONE?

The problem is productivity; output per labor unit; speed. First, you have to do a little time/motion analysis. Exactly what is the person doing? Break it down. How long does each component actually take? Where is the delay occurring? Break down each task into its component parts, determine how much time each

19 component part should take, and figure out how long it should take to complete the task. Then look at pauses, breaks, distractions, and other downtime. Talk all this through with the employee. Based on all that, you should work together to agree on an hourly quota of tasks. Provide a tool for the employee to monitor productivity per hour. If this doesn’t work, ask the employee to keep a minute-byminute diary of pauses, breaks, distractions, and other downtime so you can see where the time is going. WHAT IF THE EMPLOYEE IS VERY GOOD AT HER JOB, BUT SHE JUST MISSES TOO MANY POINTS OF QUALITY, DETAILS, AND SPECIFICATIONS?

First, look for patterns. Are there particular errors that recur? If so, hammer away at those points, details, and specifications. Whether or not there are patterns, offer reminders in every management conversation. Create checklists and other tools. Repeat training. Repeat training again. Provide more reminders and checklists. WHAT IF THE EMPLOYEE IS VERY GOOD, BUT LACKS INITIATIVE?

You have two choices. First, try to convince the employee that he should take initiative and then hold on to your hat. If an employee is not disposed to take initiative, that’s probably because he is not sure what to do or how to do it, especially when his basic tasks are done. Provide a list of “extra to-do items” for such employees. Explain that when their normal work is done, they should move on to these “extra to-do items.” WHAT IF THE EMPLOYEE IS VERY GOOD, BUT SEEMS NEITHER WILLING NOR ABLE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY, MAKE TOUGH DECISIONS, OR SOLVE PROBLEMS WHEN THEY ARISE?

Again, you have two choices. First, try to convince the employee that she should take responsibility, make tough decisions, and solve problems when they arise. If the situation continues, the employee may not be sure what to do or how to do it, especially when unforeseen circumstances arise. Work with the employee very closely to develop decision/action tools. Talk through every unforeseen circumstance you can think of. For each one, provide very simple and clear marching orders to the employee: “If a happens, do z. If b happens, do q. If c happens, do t.” And so on.

20 WHAT IF THE EMPLOYEE IS VERY GOOD, BUT NEVER SEEMS WILLING TO GO THE EXTRA MILE?

Explain exactly what “going the extra mile” looks like. You have to explain it in the big picture. Explain it every month. Explain it every week. Explain it every day. And make sure the employee knows what’s in it for her. “If you go the extra mile today by doing z, q, and t, then here’s what I can do for you in return. . . .” WHAT IF THE EMPLOYEE LACKS PASSION OR ENTHUSIASM FOR THE WORK?

It’s hard to make someone feel passionate or enthusiastic. But this point is worth remembering: Very few people start out passionate or enthusiastic about anything. Most people need to become involved in something and learn about it and do it for a while before they feel any passion or enthusiasm. Also remember that it’s usually not what you are doing that makes you feel passion and enthusiasm but, rather, how you are doing it. When you do something with purpose and precision, it is possible to unlock the joy in that work. It also helps a lot if you are doing it, whatever it is, with other people who care a lot about it, whatever it is. WHAT ABOUT AN EMPLOYEE WHO CAN DO THE WORK, BUT JUST DOESN’T FIT IN?

First, how does she “not fit in”? Is it the work or the workplace or the team? What about the employee doesn’t fit the work or the workplace or the team? Are you sure? Be very sensitive to the fact that someone might be very different from the other employees and still be a great addition to the team. Second, ask the employee what she thinks. How does she like the work, the workplace, and the team? Does she feel things are going well? Maybe she is feeling the bad fit and wants a graceful exit. Third, if you are convinced that she doesn’t fit and she does not see things this way, focus on expectations. What is it you want her to do differently? If you consistently break down and spell out expectations, the employee might start to behave the way you want. If not, then you’ll both have a shared dialogue over time about how the employee’s behavior is out of sync with the expectations. If you can’t demonstrate that the employee’s behavior is out of sync with clearly spelled out expectations, then what you perceive as a problem is too intangible to deal with as a manager. You should probably rethink it.

21 IN OUR COMPANY, IT’S VERY HARD TO FIRE PEOPLE. HOW DO I LOSE THE LOSERS?

In most organizations, you have to jump through a bunch of hoops, usually, before you can fire someone. There are a lot of reasons for that. One reason is fairness; we all want to make sure that people are not fired for reasons that have nothing to do with their job performance. Another reason is cost; when you lose an employee, you lose your investment in recruiting and training the person, you have down time, and you have to invest in recruiting and training another person. On top of that, employers want to make sure they don’t get sued by a fired employee, and they want to make sure that, if they are sued, they have done what’s necessary to be able to successfully defend against the lawsuit. Most managers are so hands-off that the following scenario often plays out: The manager does not spell out expectations clearly. The manager does not monitor, measure, and document performance. The manager does not deal with small problems when they occur. As a result, small problems fester and grow. The manager intervenes. The manager gets frustrated. The manager calls HR and says, “I’ve got to fire Mr. Blue.” And HR says, “Have you been documenting Mr. Blue’s performance? Have you been letting Mr. Blue know all along that there was a problem? Have you been clarifying expectations?” And the manager says, “No, no, no. . . .” And HR says, “Well, you have to do those things before we can fire Mr. Blue.” Good news: If you practice hands-on management, you will be able to answer “yes, yes, yes” to HR. You’ll be able to say, “Of course, I’ve been spelling out expectations every step of the way; monitoring, measuring, and documenting performance every step of the way. I’ll send down the file.” By the way, if you practice hands-on management, most of the time, Mr. Blue will not need to be fired at all because you will help Mr. Blue succeed. But it’s not always easy, even if you do your part. Some organizations are so worried about being sued that there is almost an unwritten rule against firing under any circumstances. In other cases, the process for firing is so time-consuming and burdensome that managers feel that firing is just not a real option. And in some countries, the law actually makes it virtually impossible to fire an employee or even demote an employee. In those situations, keep in mind that you don’t have to fire an employee to get him off the team. Take advantage of the fact that low performers don’t like to be managed closely. They don’t like scrutiny. They don’t like to incur consequences for their low performance. So manage that person very, very closely. Put that person under a huge amount of scrutiny. Do everything in your power to impose consequences (however slight) for the person’s low performance, every step of the

22 way. If you shine a bright light on a low performer, he will usually start looking around for a way out. He’ll go shopping for a manager who will leave him alone. IN OUR COMPANY, IT’S VERY HARD TO GET CLEARANCE AND RESOURCES FOR ANY KIND OF SPECIAL REWARDS. SO HOW DO I REWARD THE HIGH PERFORMERS?

Every organization is resource constrained. But in every organization there are managers who find ways to do more for their employees. They jump through hoops, dot i’s, cross t’s, bend over backwards, and they are always on the phone with someone trying to get their hands on more. You should be one of those managers. Your employees are working hard. They are trying to take care of themselves and their families. They are trying to balance their working lives with their non-working lives. You are the boss. Part of your job is to help your employees meet their needs. First, you can’t do everything for everybody. And why would you? The more selective you are with special rewards, the more likely you will be to succeed. The more limited your resources, the more important it is to save those resources for the employees who really go the extra mile. Second, if you are practicing hands-on management, you’ll be in a much better position to reward people because you’ll be able to make accurate and fair distinctions about who should receive extra rewards and who should not. And you’ll be able to justify those distinctions with your boss, with your team, and with HR. Third, remember the logic of “the unique value proposition” (the “needle in a haystack”), One person’s unique want or need is more valuable to that person (by definition) than its overall value in the marketplace. So talk to your high performers when they go the extra mile and find out what they really want or need. If you can fulfill a unique need or want, you will be doing something especially valuable for that person. Fourth, look at the discretionary resources that are within your disposal. Do you really use the evaluation/ranking system fully? Do you really use the full latitude available to you when it comes to allocating raises and bonuses? Do you really use your full discretion with non-financial rewards to reward high performers specially? It turns out that a lot of the non-financial rewards people want the most (like scheduling flexibility and good task assignments) are the work conditions for which managers usually have a lot of discretion. Fifth, get on the phone and beg for more resources. Brainstorm, scavenge, and hoard. Use whatever resources you can get your hands on as bargaining chips to drive performance and to reward people when they go the extra mile.

23 Of course, you won’t always be able to reward people as much as you’d like. That’s why you should always make clear what is within your sphere of authority and influence and what may not be. Sometimes you can say, “I can do that.” Sometimes you must say, “I’ll try to do that.” Sometimes you have to say, “I can’t do that, but I can do this. . . .” Sometimes you have to say, “I don’t know if I can do that. But I will promise you this: I will go to bat for you.” Even if you cannot make something happen for an employee, sometimes it can be a valuable reward just knowing that you—the supervisor—are willing to go to bat for your people when they work hard for you. SHOULD I SINGLE PEOPLE OUT FOR PRAISE AND REWARD IN SECRET SO OTHER EMPLOYEES ARE NOT DEMORALIZED?

First, you must respect every employee’s privacy when it comes to his or her work conditions and rewards. That means you don’t need to, nor should you, publish every employee’s salary, bonus, and other rewards. Second, the first point is in tension with your need to create transparency. You have to create a certain amount of transparency when it comes to rewards. Ask yourself, “How much secrecy is feasible in today’s information environment?” There are plenty of people who are actually in the know about rewards. Are you sure they are going to keep quiet? Even if the waters are muddy instead of transparent, you will have plenty of speculation about rewards. Truth is usually far preferable to rumor. Sometimes the best thing to do is make it clear exactly whom you are rewarding, how, and why. Maybe others will work hard to earn special rewards too. That’s why it’s so important to make sure every person knows exactly what she needs to do to get the rewards she needs. Every step of the way, clearly define deliverables for every contributor and tie concrete rewards directly to those deliverables. When every person is managed this way, an employee is much less likely to wonder why another person is receiving special rewards. They know what they have to do to earn special rewards. They know that if Mary is receiving some special reward from you, she must have earned it fair and square. After all, that’s the kind of manager you are. The most important transparency factor is not whether employees know what others are earning, but rather that every person knows exactly why she is earning her pay, and exactly what she needs to do in order to earn more (or less).

24 WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AN EMPLOYEE GETS SOME SPECIAL REWARD AND THEN HIS PERFORMANCE STARTS TO SLIP? LET’S SAY THE EMPLOYEE WANTS A FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE AND HIS PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN GREAT. I GIVE HIM A FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE AND ALL OF A SUDDEN HIS PERFORMANCE IS NOT SO GREAT. DO I TAKE AWAY THAT SPECIAL REWARD?

In an ideal world, all rewards should be contingent on performance all the time. You get exactly what you earn every step of the way. When you are positioning special rewards for extra performance, the best approach is the one-time reward. People can earn one-time rewards over and over again. But they have to earn it every time by meeting a concrete set of expectations: Clear goals and specifications with a concrete deadline. If you are talking about an ongoing accommodation, like a special schedule, then the best approach is a sort of permanent probation. Treat it like a very special case that has to be reviewed continually: Take it one day at a time, or one week at a time, or one month at a time. For example, if the employee needs Thursdays off, take it one Thursday at a time. Every week, you can say, “Let’s take this Thursday: Here’s what I need from you by Wednesday at midnight. . . . Otherwise, I’ll see you here on Thursday.” This approach sidesteps the need to “take away” a special reward. WHAT IF, DUE TO YOUR ORGANIZATION’S INTERNAL PROCESS OR SOME OTHER REASON, THERE IS NO WAY TO “OFFICIALLY” MAKE THE SPECIAL REWARD/ACCOMMODATION A ONE-TIME REWARD SERIALLY EARNED? WHAT IF THE ONLY WAY TO GIVE SOMEONE A SPECIAL REWARD IS TO JUMP THROUGH A BUNCH OF HOOPS AND MAKE WHAT IS ESSENTIALLY A FIXED REWARD?

If you really have no other way to establish a special reward, then go for the fixed deal, but make it very clear to the employee that you don’t consider it a fixed deal; that you consider the deal to be contingent on specific performance requirements. Spell out those requirements. Make sure the employee understands: This is permanent probation. Then monitor, measure, and document every step of the way. If the employee fails to meet the established performance requirements, come down on that problem like a ton of bricks. Let the employee know in vivid terms that you consider the deal is being broken and the special reward is in jeopardy. Set the wheels in motion for taking the special reward away. Give the employee a chance to fix the problem immediately. If not, then by all mean, take that special reward away. It’s only fair.

25 WHAT IF THE NATURE OF THE EMPLOYEE’S JOB IS TO BE CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE? THIS REQUIRES THAT AN EMPLOYEE BE WILLING TO TAKE RISKS AND MAKE MISTAKES. SHOULD YOU STILL MANAGE THAT EMPLOYEE CLOSELY? WON’T THAT INHIBIT THE EMPLOYEE’S CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION? WON’T THAT MAKE THE EMPLOYEE LESS LIKELY TO TAKE THE NECESSARY RISKS AND MAKE THE NECESSARY MISTAKES?

First, don’t conflate reinventing the wheel with innovation. The wheel has already been invented. Real innovation builds on what has already been invented. Real innovation takes the next step. So if you want to promote innovation, you need to make sure the employee understands the state of the art. Spell out all that has already been invented, so the employee has real stepping stones from which to launch. Second, if the employee’s job is to be creative, the biggest favor you can do for that employee is be very clear about what is not within the employee’s discretion. Spell out all the guidelines and specifications. Make it clear that any creativity must occur within those parameters. What if you want the employee to be creative in the most free-form way? You don’t want to hold the employee back in any way. No guidelines. No parameters. That’s a very rare assignment. But maybe you have that very rare assignment. Is there a time limit? Or will you pay the employee to brainstorm ad infinitum? How will you know when the employee is “done”? How will you recognize a finished “result”? Third, if you want an employee to feel free to take risks and make mistakes, then what you need to do is spell that out as a concrete assignment: “I want you to go take risks and make mistakes.” Maybe you need to tell the employee how many risks to take and how many mistakes. Maybe not. But you have to find a way to create a space in which risk taking and mistakes are safe. You have to find a way to create a timeframe. If you want to be kind, you should find a way to define some parameters. I KNOW THAT CONSISTENCY IS REALLY IMPORTANT WHEN IT COMES TO MANAGING. BUT AS HARD AS I TRY, I SOMETIMES DROP THE BALL. I KNOW MY EMPLOYEES NOTICE. AND IT MAKES IT REALLY HARD TO COME BACK IN AND START MANAGING AGAIN, AFTER I’VE BEEN DISENGAGED FOR SOME PERIOD OF TIME. ONCE I DROP THE BALL, HOW DO I BOUNCE BACK AND TAKE CHARGE AGAIN?

You are human. Therefore, you will surely have bad moments, days, weeks, even months. First, try to bounce back sooner rather than later. One mistake managers make is that they feel guilty and sheepish after going through a rough patch, so

26 they remain disengaged much longer than the duration of the bad moment. If you’ve been disengaged and gotten out of your hands-on routine, if you are off schedule, then the only thing to do is get back on schedule and into your routine as fast as you possibly can. Acknowledge your failure in your discussions with your employees. Promise to do better. And do better!!