Leading: Meet People Where They Are

A client was of mine was told that he didn't jump in alongside his people to get new projects and improvements off the ground. As a result, things weren't getting done on schedule. So I asked him why he seemed to 'manage from a distance'. His response:

"My people are long time employees. They're highly educated and have a lot of experience. If I start managing too closely, they'll lose their motivation."

I'm thinking,"What motivation? Apparently they aren't getting much done!

His approach to the situation isn't at all unusual, is it? We live in a time when managers are getting messages that say they should be consultative and participative. OK. But what happens when the work group doesn't know what to do our how to do it?

When there is a change, people want clear, strong direction. We all want to know what, where, when, why, and then, if the situation warrants it, how. Think about it: when we face the unknown, we start to get a little insecure. What do we look for? Direction. Strong leadership. Clarity. Help.

It has nothing to do with longevity or advanced degrees. It has to do with diagnosing the willingness and ability of the people and then adjusting management style accordingly.

In the case of my manager friend, he used misguided assumptions instead of proven research in his initial approach.

Meet People Where They Are

I'm a big proponent of Situational Leadership and have been since it was introduced. Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard teamed up to introduce the practical application of the Ohio State Studies.

The principle is this: Before you know how close to manage or how consultative to be with your people, you need to know where their willingness and ability is in relation to the task at hand. The less people know, the closer you manage. The more mature and effective they become, the less you have to direct and the more consultative you can be.

If you've ever taught a child to ride a bike, then think of that as the model. When they start, you have to demonstrate, help them on the bicycle, hold onto them, and not leave their side. As they get a little confidence and are able to go a short distance on their own, maybe you jog alongside if you have to catch them. When you see them smiling and riding a block or so on their own, you shout encouragement. And when they disappear from view; well, yell "I'm going to the house for a cup of coffee." That way they'll know where you are if they need you.

Managing people is a constant series of diagnoses and appropriate responses. It's never all of one thing. And it's never all direction or abdication. It's what people need from you in order to move along the performance curve.

And just to emphasize the point once more: Change=More Managerial Direction. Any manager who is introducing something new has to be prepared to work closer and harder than usual to get things off to the right start.

What's your experience? Are you giving or getting the right thing at the right time?

Comments

[peter vajda]

HI Steve,

you mention, "Managing people is a constant series of diagnoses and appropriate responses"...I believe this principle also applies to the manager him/her self. There are varied events, circumstances and people who have an effect on the manager and so the self-diagnosis is apt here as well. "Know thyself" is the best place to start, IMHO.

[Jo Jordan]

Surely there is a difference between these two:

Setting the collective goal and the subgoals & coordinating the sub-elements as we move towards our collective goal.

And supervising what happens underneath that goal.

First, in a change setting, the leader doesn't have time to come down to sit over someone. Second, we need the leader doing their job - Forming the higher level collective goal and checking out our collective progress.

A leader who comes down to press our keyboard buttons for us is like a lieutenant who does his sergeant's job. And if he hasn't told his three sergeant's the platoon's goal and he doesn't coordinate the sections' movements relative to each other and the ground/enemy, well, least said. If I were the sergeant I would take my section, hide it and wait for the chaos to end (which does happen rather a lot in active armies - it seems to be a core skill.)

Have a great weekend. Andy Roddick giving us great entertainment in his match against Andy Murray, at the minute.

[patricia lynn]

love jo jordans army analogy. can this be applied to our government structure or misstructure? wish the really smart people would get into government and straighten this country out.

[GL Hoffman]

Hi Steve,
Great topic.
One thing I have found is that managers actually have little trouble knowing when to jump in and offer some help. The bigger trouble lies in knowing how and when to remove yourself from the activity.
For example, think of the key customer service issue that somehow demands the manager or leader jump in to 'save' the account. If that happens, that customer service rep will most likely be far too willing to give up, and bring another issue to the top. Managers, wanting to prove their importance, feed their egos by showcasing the skills that only they have.
Any ideas from the group on how one can offer help but then make it known that the customer service rep should not depend on them in the future?

[Mile High Pixie]

I'm learning how to do this right now. I have an intern working for me for the first time in my nine-year career. She has a few years of really good architectural experience, but working for me is her first experience working on healthcare architecture, which is a whole new ball of wax. I have to pause on a regular basis to think about what she might know already versus what knowledge I need to supplement versus what knowledge she is completely lacking. For me ultimately, it's a matter of knowing SO MUCH MORE than she does about the topic that I don't know where to begin teaching or guiding her. It's like trying to explain breathing to someone.

[Steve Roesler]

Peter,

Indeed. Nothing to add to that one.

[Steve Roesler]

Jo,

Are you word-processing and watching the ball go back and forth simultaneously?!

[Steve Roesler]

GL:

The Pixie weighed in with her situation...I'll add this:

My observation over the years has been that most humans have a binary approach (like that?) to managing situations: either jump in and do it our way or just lay back and watch someone struggle. There are other options: Come alongside, make some suggestions, have the person try them, and then get out of the way when success is reached. Or, come alongside and simply ask, "What's your assessment of the situation and what do you think is the best approach?" Then listen and see if they're on target or need a little help.

In the case of the Customer Service rep, if the manager simply does it because (s)he has a savior complex, that's an issue for the next level up to manage (if seen). If the rep didn't know how to handle the issue and needed to be rescued, then the manager needs to provide training or coaching and allow the person to get back into the game with the proper skills.

Here's one for ya: Had a client organization for many years whose management culture was "we hire smart people; we don't have to manage them." Imagine how that worked out in the long run...