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Are We Any Better at Managing People?
By Bill Catlette and Richard Hadden
The question was recently put to us here at Contented Cows, "After decades of research, training, and books on the subject, are supervisors any better at, well, supervising?"
Though reticent to stir painful memories of posturing over what "the meaning of the word 'is' is", the answer, in a nutshell, is… well, both yes and no.
With respect to classically defined management functions (the planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling stuff), one can make a compelling argument that we're making substantial progress.
Few could disagree that lean production methods (and just plain ole lean times) have led to dramatically improved scheduling methods, for instance. Witness the vastly increased use of part-time, on-call, and split shift workforce scheduling. Every organization has had to do a much better job of staffing to the peaks and valleys of demand, wrenching as much slack as possible out of the equation. That's a good thing, because bored people aren't very happy people, and by definition they certainly aren't productive. (Remember that, though, the next time you've got a phone propped to your ear and are on hold interminably, waiting for a real pulsating human at some airline to come to your aid, as I am at the moment.)
By and large, we've created demonstrably safer workplaces. My 22 year old daughter mentioned this today, suggesting that periodically being asked to 'pee in a cup' in the workplace might have a lot to do with this. (Forgive the personal aside, but it did my heart good to hear her say this.)
Similarly, technological advances have enabled more rapid information transfer, and in turn ratcheted up our ability to organize, direct, disseminate information (does the phrase 'blast e-mails' ring a bell?), and to be sure, control, control, control.
So, have we learned to do a better job of supervising people? Yep, probably so. But at what price?
My chips (all of them) are bet on the notion that with very few exceptions (recent bunglings at the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service come to mind), most people really don't need better supervision. In fact, they could probably perform a lot better with considerably less 'supervision.'
No, what they (what we) need a lot more of is disciplined, determined, capable leaders - people who have a good sense of direction, and one of those big 5 cell flashlights to help light the path. People who set (and stick with) high standards, and don't need a 360-degree performance review process (other folks) to tell someone the truth about their work performance. People who will move heaven and earth to make sure their employees have the tools, training, and trust to do high quality work. And at the end of the day, people you're willing to walk through fire for because you know they care about you as a person - not because they've told you so, but because you just know it.
Why not take a crack at answering this question for yourself. Quick - as fast as you can, see how many of these type folks, really great contemporary business leaders, (not entrepreneurs, but Leaders) you can name within the next 5 seconds………
Time's up. Now, you decide if we've made quantum leaps, or instead have miles to go before we sleep, or think about congratulating ourselves. If you've got more than 3 legitimate names on your list, we'd love to hear from you.
3 Steps Every Business Can Take Right Now to Improve
1. You get what you expect - If you want great leadership behavior, you must expect it, measure it (yes, it can be measured), and reward it, period. Managers who are accustomed to getting results through other means (squeezing, stifling, etc.), and just don't 'get it' need to either be re-trained (if it's a skill issue) or encouraged to seek work elsewhere, preferably with a competitor.
2. Upgrade the gene pool - That's right, working for a leader requires a somewhat different skill set than working for a boss - a supervisor. If you're going to make a big deal out of leadership, make sure you're hiring folks who can step up, think for themselves, take responsibility for their actions, and play team ball. Otherwise, the benefits of your improved leadership habits will be vastly diluted.
3. Leave the lights on next time - According to Alan Greenspan, the recent recession is now technically over. But there will be another, and companies will have a bad quarter now and then regardless of the macro-economy. Let's try something different next time, for the benefit of those 1st line supervisors (you really oughta call them something else) - the folks in your organization with the toughest jobs, bar none. Next time, instead of trying to work your way out of a short-term earnings problem by canceling all training for these people (dumbing down the organization), let's leave the lights on and give them a fighting chance of becoming the kind of leaders you thought they could be when you hired them.
Please print the following attribution for this article: Bill Catlette and Richard Hadden, co-authors of Contented Cows Give Better Milk, help clients clobber the competition by having a focused, fired up, and capably led workforce. They deliver powerful conference keynotes and leadership training. They can be reached at 800-940-7006 (+1-904-720-0870 from outside North America) or www.ContentedCows.com.