Earlier, I described two people whom I have coached in the past year. Both of these individuals have responsible jobs with excellent compensation. The first is a store manager of a large supermarket, and the second is a manager in a large multi-national manufacturing company. They both have the education, experience and opportunity to be successful in their careers. In fact, both of these people have the ability to move up in their respective organizations. The problem is that both of them are about to be terminated due to their failure to perform up to expectations.
The reason I have chosen to discuss these two people is that I come across similar situations fairly regularly where people have everything it ought to take in order to be successful. But for some reason they make a decision to commit “career suicide.” I have every reason to believe that within a year both of these managers could be reading the want ads looking for a new position wondering what went wrong with their last job. They will wonder this in spite of the fact that for over six months I met with, coached, counseled, prodded and even warned them that behavior change was needed immediately. But for the reasons I would like to discuss, these people have decided, “good enough is good enough.” As Larry Hodges, the former President of Mrs. Field’s Cookies, has said, “Good enough is not good enough.”
The reason I selected these people and this topic is that in both of these cases termination does not need to happen. With a little effort and behavior change both of these people could have long and productive careers in their companies. But unfortunately, that may not happen: I think we can learn from their mistakes not only for ourselves, but also for those people who report to us.
Jack Welch, the former Chairman of General Electric Company, once said, “Face reality as it is, not as you think it is, or as you wish it was. Face it head-on as it really is.” That advice is clearly what both of these people need to do, because in both cases they have constructed their perception of reality as they “wish it was,” not, “as it really is.”
First, let me update you on the situation with the store manager. Although his district manager has several complaints, his primary complaint is that the manager is indecisive and procrastinates. This is even true on time-sensitive problems where immediate action is critical. Nonetheless, when given a directive, this store manager nods his head as if he hears what is being said, seems to understand what needs to be done, and even has the ability to do what is needed. However, in too many cases he either can’t make a decision, or waits too long before beginning. Have you ever seen someone like this? These behaviors can drive people crazy!
Procrastination is a complex psychological behavior that affects everyone to some degree or another. With some people it can be a minor problem; with others it can be a source of considerable stress and anxiety. Procrastination is only remotely related to time management, (procrastinators often know exactly what they should do, even if they don’t it), which is why very detailed action plans usually don’t help.
As in the case with the store manager, the procrastinator is often amazingly optimistic about his or her ability to complete a task on a tight deadline. It’s common to hear expressions of reassurance that everything is on schedule. For example, he or she may estimate that a project will take two days to complete. That sounds like a lot of time, so the person delays getting started because there appears to be an abundance of time available.
At some point, the person crosses a point in time where he or she suddenly realizes, “Oh no! I’m not in control. This isn’t working.” And as a result, waits even longer because being out of control is so uncomfortable. Even though it may appear that procrastinators are lazy, actually, one of the most common root causes is a fear of being out of control.
There is no simple solution to procrastination. Improvement takes not only a personal commitment followed by discipline, but it also requires the person realize that the best way to maintain control of situations is through preparation and on-time performance. This isn’t easy, but it can be done.
The second manager has a much different problem. After considerable discussion, she finally admitted to me, “I am a sarcastic person.” Then she quickly added, “But I’m only sarcastic in order to get people to do what I need them to do.” She believes that sarcasm is a valuable motivator and is appropriate in the workplace.
The problem with sarcasm is that it is so potentially dangerous that practically nothing else can destroy a relationship faster. People have long memories and most people don’t soon forget when they are the victim of sarcasm. So this manager has systematically damaged almost every peer relationship she has in her company. In an assessment I conducted asking her peers to rate her effectiveness in interpersonal communications; almost every person gave her the lowest possible rating. Most of them apparently, had been the victim of her sarcasm.
Research indicates that the quickest way to improve organizational effectiveness is to improve interpersonal relationships. And conversely, the quickest way to fail is to erode interpersonal relationships.
This manager’s second problem is arrogance. In the business world arrogance tends to be associated with a person in a position of power. Without organizational power, arrogance can appear misguided or even humorous. When a manager is in a position of power, he or she can be the victim of an over inflated perception of self that results in demonstrated arrogance. That seems to be the problem with this manager. She actually believes that she is indispensable in the organization and couldn’t be reassigned or terminated under any circumstance. She has created in her mind such a false sense of reality that she is unable or unwilling to accept the advice of others, even her boss.
So what’s going to happen to these two managers? Time will tell, but unless they begin to face reality as it is, very fast, they may be on the outside looking in, rather than on the inside watching their careers blossom. These are sad stories that, unfortunately, are repeated all too often.
Recently, an interview with Buck Showalter, Manager of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team was shown on the television. It caught my attention because the Orioles have had many losing seasons and there is renewed hope that Buck Showalter will be able to continue to turn things around for Baltimore. The last time the Orioles made it to the playoffs was in 1997. It was interesting that Buck doesn’t claim to be a “miracle worker.” He said he “respects challenges” that the organization faces and knows that he has to lead and “overhaul an entire culture of losing.” Many leaders are facing a similar situation because of the economic downturn and difficult challenges that have plagued many organizations. A lot of leaders may find themselves in a situation where they too need to overhauls the culture of a team or organization because of the downturn and impact on morale. Economic conditions have certainly taken a toll on my own organization and even with some positive signals it still seems that there is work to be done to reinvigorate people and get people recommitted to our vision and mission. To do this, it starts with consistent leadership. Buck said he’s just trying to get his young team members to think about the individual “piece they can contribute to the team everyday” that the team can “count on.” It is obvious that he believes in his players and what they can do. Buck Showatler’s leadership will certainly be in the forefront of my mind as I think of the challenges that we must respectfully face and finds ways to enroll my team members in positioning our organization for long terms sustained success.
While times are tough and budgets are under the microscope, it would be wise for organizations to take a strategic and thoughtful approach vs. a reactive one. Determine what the most valuable assets are that will keep the business going long term. Arguments can be made for technology, more infrastructure, more resources and equipment, or more systems and processes. Of course, all of these things are important; however none of them will perform well without people to put them into action. People still remain and will always remain to be an organization’s most important resource. When the chips are down and dramatic changes are needed, it won’t be your computer to get it started, especially when it is the culture and environment that might need the most attention. There isn’t a technology available that can openly capture the level of motivation or disappointment that is going on within an employee’s psyche. So, how can an organization get through it all?
No doubt, coaching and mentoring have many similar characteristics. Both coaches and mentors are typically established to assist other people in personal development in life, business, school, career decisions, athletics, and many other areas. At CMOE, we have found that good mentors and good coaches will demonstrate many of the same types of skills and behaviors when working with other people. One thing we find to be more common than ever before is that employees are looking to their immediate managers to take the role of coach and mentor. Not only are the employees seeking this help, but many managerial job descriptions are requiring leaders to coach and mentor as well.
