Becoming an Extraordinary Manager

Product Description

Nearly all managers dream of being inspiring leaders who elicit the most from their people. But while they may understand the skills needed to manage their teams, very few know how to put their knowledge into practice. Now, any manager can get exceptional results and make an important contribution to the organization. Becoming an Extraordinary Manager focuses not just on "understanding" principles of good management, but on taking action. Readers will learn the basic attitude and skills outstanding managers must know, including:

* why it’s critical to be interested in, rather than interesting to, their people * the best ways to motivate their team * effective interviewing techniques * conducting a performance review * time management * introducing change * delegation * thinking and acting about their people positively (the self-fulfilling prophecy) * building a high-performance team * retaining top talent * handling performance problems * listening

Lively in style and thorough in content, this is the book that gives every manager a complete guide to avoiding the ordinary and becoming the best.
Product Details

* Amazon Sales Rank: #82999 in Books
* Published on: 2007-10-31
* Original language: English
* Number of items: 1
* Binding: Paperback
* 256 pages

Editorial Reviews

Review

“…A smart addition to an aspiring leader’s bookshelf.”

-Washington Business Journal

About the Author

Len Sandler (Westford, MA) is the President of Sandler Assoc. and has successfully developed and delivered more than 2,500 seminars for such clients as EMC, General Motors, Disney, AT&T, Johnson & Johnson, Motorola, General Electric, Hertz, Sun Microsystems, Honeywell, Citigroup, Lucent Technologies, Siemens, and Corning.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Extraordinary managers make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. They add value to their organization. They get extraordinary results from ordinary people. Average managers wind up with ordinary results no matter how good their people are. There are even managers who, unfortunately, drag their groups down so that they get ordinary results from extraordinary people. The whole, then, becomes less than the sum of its parts. These managers have little, if any, value. They don't really manage much of anything. They're "straw bosses." After the worthwhile stalks of wheat and other grains are harvested, straw is what's left over on the ground. It's used primarily for animal bedding. The term straw boss has come to mean a low-level manager who isn't good for much. Such managers have very little authority. They're leftovers. The term also connotes someone who is petty and makes things more difficult, not better, for employees. I know some companies that have more than their share of "straw bosses." I'm willing to wager that you do, too.

Overall, I've found there to be four basic kinds of people:

1. Those who make things happen. You can count on these people 100 percent of the time. No matter what the assignment, no matter what the obstacles to overcome, no matter what the deadline. They're always improving themselves. Their development curve looks like a skyrocket. I'm assuming you're this kind of person. Why else would you have bought this book?

2. Those who watch things happen. These people are the spectators. They sit up in the stands. They second-guess and play Monday-morning quarterback. You probably say the same things to them that I do: "If you can do better, you come down on the field of play where the action is." Of course, they never do. They don't want to get their hands dirty. They don't want to stick their necks out.

3. Those who wonder what's happening. These are the people who are always confused. Things are never clear enough for them. They're always waiting for something. They say things like, "I have the responsibility but not the authority." They want things to be given to them. On retirement day, they'll still be waiting for instructions and direction.

4. Those that everything happens to. These are the victims. The "Woe is me!" people. They claim they have such terrible luck. In truth, they make their own bad luck. You hate to even say "Hi!" to them. That's the only opening they need. They'll give you an hour's worth of their latest problems and their latest troubles. You wish you could hold a mirror up to these people. Maybe then they'd see themselves for the way they really are. Some of them have had fifteen or sixteen different jobs. They always say, "No one understood me. No one listened to me. They made promises they didn't keep. It wasn't fair." After that many jobs, you'd think they'd learn that their own behavior has a lot to do with their lack of success. But they just don't want to face the truth. So they play the "blame game."

Because you're a "Make things happen" kind of person, I'm willing to share my experience with you. I spent sixteen years working in corporations, large and small, and the last eighteen years as a consultant for many of what are considered the very best Fortune 500 companies. I've seen my share of good managers. I've seen a whole lot of bad ones. Too many bad ones. I've been an observer. A note-taker. In this book, I'll report to you on those observations. I'll try to talk in simple, commonsense terms about what's done wrong and how it can be done right. Work should be more than just work. It doesn't have to be boredom, drudgery, and something to be avoided. People don't have to go around talking about "Blue Monday" and "Hump Day Wednesday" and "Thank God it's Friday." There are too many employees who just put in their time. Kind of like prisoners in a maximum-security prison. They're just waiting to get released for the weekend, a holiday, or vacation. It doesn't have to be that way. The truth is, there's no such thing as unmotivated people, just bad management.

When the cake comes out wrong, it's seldom the fault of the ingredients. The odds are the flour, sugar, and eggs were just fine. It's probably the fault of the baker. Some bakers are good and others aren't so good. Some managers are good and others aren't so good. The best have special recipes that they've learned. They take ordinary ingredients and incredible things happen. You can be like that, too. I'm not saying that the ingredients don't matter. Get good ingredients. But it takes much more than that to be a great baker.

I'm going to give you practical steps to follow that can help you become a better manager or prepare for a management position. I know you've got good intentions. Everyone has good intentions. The problem is that we judge ourselves based on our intentions. Others judge us on our actions. So, rather than focus on building an understanding of good management principles, we'll focus on actions you can and should take.

I've heard all the excuses that managers give as to why they don't manage. Excuses like, "I'm too busy," and "My boss won't let me," and "I'm not going to hold people's hands." To understand how ridiculous these excuses are, let's put them in a different context. Let's say you were having your house painted. The painting crew was doing a terrible job. The radio was blaring, they were making a mess out of your yard, and not much work was getting done at all. You call the crew chief over and say, "I'm very disappointed in the work your crew has been doing." He claims it's not his fault because he's "too busy" and the "boss won't let me" and he's "not going to hold people's hands." My guess is you'd be outraged. You'd probably call the owner of the painting company and demand that this crew chief be replaced. You wouldn't let him get away with saying those things. Why should we let our managers get away with it?

Recently I asked several hundred people in various training sessions a simple, straightforward question: "Do managers know how to motivate people?" A whopping 75 percent said, "No!" If we asked a different question—for example, "Do salespeople know how to sell?"—and 75 percent said "No," wouldn't someone be upset? What if 75 percent of the accounting people weren't good with numbers? Wouldn't someone want action to be taken? I asked those same people if would they fire their manager on the spot if they were able to. A full 25 percent of employees said, "Yes!" What does that tell you about their respect for the people they work for?

So, why aren't there more good managers? We've got many good programmers. Most programmers are very capable. There are a few bad ones, of course, but the vast majority are just fine. We've got many good accountants. Most accountants are very capable. There are a few bad ones, of course, but the vast majority are just fine. You get the idea. With management, it's just the opposite. There are some good ones. But many aren't very good at all. They cause more harm than good. They discourage, demotivate, and drive good people out of organizations. They negatively affect business results and cost companies untold amounts of money to repair the damage they cause.

I can't tell you how many hours I've spent captive in an office while the boss brags on and on about how wonderful he is. He'd tell stories about his vacation, his family, his hobbies, while I sit there thinking about how much work I have to do. The boss is going "Talk, talk, talk," while the clock goes, "Tock, tock, tock." You say the same thing has happened to you? And it drives you crazy, too? Okay, so you know what I mean when I talk about managers who "discourage, demotivate, and drive people out of the organization." Why a company would pay people in management positions to tell personal stories and build up their egos like mini-tyrants, at the expense of people's valuable time, is beyond me.

I talked to an employee recently who told me that her manager wanted to hold an individual development planning discussion with her. She was delighted. She said she had never had such a discussion and was thrilled that a manager would show that much interest in her. She did her research and prepared a lot of information for the meeting. Unfortunately, the meeting was postponed because the manager was too "busy." That meeting was postponed nine more times. She said she is now so disgusted that she deleted all the information she had prepared and said that, if and when the manager reschedules the meeting again, she purposely won't show up to try to get back at the manager. Employees should be treated with the same respect that customers are given. Imagine postponing a customer meeting because you're too "busy"?

Why Aren't There More Good Managers?

There are five main reasons why there aren't more good managers:

1. Most occupations require some demonstrated competence, but management doesn't. Many occupations require certification or a license, where you have to pass a test to demonstrate a certain level of knowledge and proficiency. To become a plumber or an electrician, for example, you've got to be licensed. Frankly, even a dog has to be licensed. What do you need to become a manager? Nothing. Nothing at all. You just have to be in the right place at the right time. Maybe you're the last one standing. Everyone else has quit and you've hung around the longest. It's the "Poof! You're a manager" process. Imagine if there were a "Poof! You're a heart surgeon" process...