By Shari Lifland
If you're in a supervisory position, chances are that
people often come to you for direction and advice. However, being only
human, there are doubtless some occasions when you may not be 100% sure
you have the right answers. The Manager’s Question and Answer Book
answers nearly 200 common management questions, covering a wide range
of topics—recruitment, communication, conflict management, performance
and stress management, political skills and more. Written by management
expert Florence M. Stone (author of The High-Value Manager, The Manager’s
Balancing Act, Coaching, Counseling and Mentoring and other titles),
The Manager’s Question and Answer Book can help any manager become
better equipped—and more confident—to handle the day-to-day
challenges of the job.
Shari Lifland recently posed some additional questions
to Ms. Stone, in the following interview.
AMA: What was your motivation in writing
The Manager’s Question and Answer Book? Why do you think this kind
of book needed?
Florence M. Stone: The role of manager has become
incredibly complex. Given today’s lean organizations, when managers encounter
new situations they don't have lots of time to seek out the best solution.
The book is reader-friendly and can serve as a handy reference to help
handle problems quickly.
Wouldn't it be great if all managers had a mentor, someone
who can advise them on how to handle a problem most effectively and efficiently?
Unfortunately, we all can't have mentors. Even if we had them, they wouldn't
be immediately accessible. My hope is that The Manager’s Question and
Answer Book will serve as a 24/7 mentor and coach for all managers.
AMA: Your business career has spanned over 30
years. In what ways have the roles, responsibilities and challenges of
today’s manager changed from those of the past and in what ways have they
remained the same?
FMS: Companies are demanding so much more of their managers, and
managers are becoming so much more visible. Their roles have expanded
quite a bit. Once managers played a very small part in strategic planning,
for instance. Now, they are major players. Likewise, they are participants
in projects for continuous improvement and members of cross-functional
teams making major decisions affecting operations and product development
or service. They are responsible for the climate and culture of their
work unit, the flow of work, the morale of their staff and the success
of their tactical plans and objectives.
There is no such thing as a typical workday for a manager.
In addition to their own tasks, managers have supervisory responsibilities,
whether first- or second-line managers, and these are sometimes more important
than their own work. As far as challenges, today’s managers must make
people decisions within a litigious environment. One thing that has not
and hopefully never will change, is a manager’s need to role model values
of integrity and honesty and customer-centricity.
AMA: Obviously, so much of the success of a
team, division and organization depends on the caliber of its workforce.
What tips can you give to managers on how to hire the right person for
a given job?
FMS: Managers need to review the job description of the previous
jobholder to ensure that it is up to date. If it isn't—and they can
determine that by discussing the description with the departing employee—they
should revise it accordingly. The job listing should reflect the key responsibilities.
Once candidates have been prescreened, they should meet with the manager
who has taken time to review each resume and identify specific questions.
The interview should be 80/20, with the manager speaking only 20% of the
time, and the focus should be on the accomplishments of applicants in
their previous positions. Titles mean nothing in today’s workplace.
AMA: What steps can a manager take to help a
new hire succeed?
FMS: It’s important for a manager to spend time with the new hire
on the first day, reviewing his or her job in relation to the bigger picture—the
tactical goals of the work unit and strategic objectives of the organization.
Ideally, a training needs assessment should be conducted to determine
skill deficiencies and an employee development plan should be decided
upon. The employee should be encouraged to come to the manager whenever
he or she has problems. It’s a good idea to assign a buddy to lend the
new hire a hand for the first few weeks.
At the end of the first day and the end of the first
week, the manager should make it a point to talk to the employee to uncover
any problems and work together to find solutions. Thereafter, the new
hire should receive regular coaching by the manager. Indeed, all his or
her direct reports should get that kind of regular feedback to encourage
the solid job performance.
AMA: How can a manager best keep the lines of
communication open with his or her direct reports?
FMS: Coaching every employee on a monthly basis ensures individual
feedback. Meetings for an hour or two per week or every second week to
discuss operations are also valuable. The time is well spent, but for
those managers who worry that too much time will be spent in such meetings,
they should hold standing meetings. Such meetings are much more focused
and less likely to involve rumor or other office trivia. Remember, it’s
better to hear about problems from your employees than from your customers.
Remain accessible and make sure your people know that you want to stay
informed.
AMA: What are some of the ways managers can
keep employees motivated and productive in an environment where expectations
are higher but resources may be limited?
FMS: You're talking about an environment where there are no raises
and no promotions but lots of work. Under such circumstances, a manager
has to demonstrate RESPECT to his or her employees by including them in
planning and decision-making and by providing support and feedback on
accomplishments. Too often, the only times that managers provide feedback
is to criticize. Remember to reward high achievers. Access to stimulating
assignments and training are low-cost ways to show them that you value
their contributions.
AMA: What tips can you give on how to deal with
a "problem employee?" How can a manager determine when it’s
time to give up on an employee and initiate termination proceedings?
FMS: Ideally, catch the problem early, before it develops too
far. Poor performance results don't happen overnight, so problems need
to be addressed as soon as they arise. The first step is to get the employee
to agree that there is a need for a change in the quality of his or her
performance. You should then reach an agreement on the specific actions
that the employee will take to improve performance and set a timetable
for those actions. Follow up with the employee regularly. If he or she
demonstrates an inability to change behavior according to the timetable,
then you have no choice but to terminate the employee. I want to point
out that this question covers so much territory that a full chapter could
be devoted to answering it. There’s so much a manager needs to do to manage
the performance of his or her employees and make the tough decisions related
to marginal performance and misconduct.
AMA: Today’s workplace is constantly changing.
Reorganizations, downsizings, mergers, etc., have become commonplace.
How can a manager become better equipped to deal with ongoing change and
how can he or she help the team to accept and deal with change?
FMS: Here, we're really talking about how managers handle the
transition to the change—for themselves and their staff members.
The most important bit of advice that I would offer is to notify your
employees of such possibilities as soon as possible. Keep them informed
and then listen to their concerns and address them. Remember that their
reaction to the news will be based, in part, on your own reaction to the
change. You should therefore role model a positive attitude. If there
is bad news associated with the change, make sure your people hear it
from you before it reaches the office grapevine. Since change means risk,
you must expect that some mistakes will be made. So your message should
be that the only failure you're concerned about is the failure to try
anything new. Just calmly address any problems as they occur.
AMA: What tips can you give to managers who,
faced with today’s leaner, meaner organizations, are hoping to find some
measure of work/life balance?
FMS: There are two answers—one may not be politically correct
but it is worth saying: Question how effectively and successfully you
are using your work time by considering how your choices reflect a return
on your investment. And, second, make a judgment about how you want to
truly spend your life—there has to be a balance. You have to make
judgment calls—when you are with your family, be with your family.
When you are at your job, concentrate on your job. That said, if you feel
overburdened at work, figure out if you're one of those people who can't
say no. If people are constantly asking you for help when you have your
own urgent deadlines that must be met, offer to help if the person can
wait a few days.
AMA: If you could give just one bit of advice
to today’s managers, what would it be?
FMS: Buy my book. Seriously, realize that 90% of your assets walk
out of your door every day. While they are at work, don't waste them by
failing to recognize the value of the knowledge and ideas they can bring
to your organization.
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