Fulcrum Point Partners

Is “there are no plans for this project” a fact or an opinion?

Let me give you the background.  A manager was expecting plans for a project from one of her employees.  She hadn’t received them on the agreed upon date.  So she said to her employee:

There are no plans for this project

Fact or opinion?

It was an opinion.

This confused the manager who was in one my courses.  She thought it was a fact because she didn’t have the plans.

Aha!

That’s the fact.

I don’t have any written plans for this project.

That is a fact.  The employee could have had the plans, but hadn’t given them to the employee.

The difference in the two statements (there are no plans for this project and I don’t have any written plans for this project) can save a lot of time, productivity and frustration.

How?

The opinion will start a conversation with the employee having to be on the defensive.  The fact could lead to a solution without trying to place blame on the employee.

For example:

Saying there are no plans for this project could get the response yes there are or I have them but didn’t know you wanted them.

Saying I don’t have any written plans for this project could get the response I forgot you wanted them or did you want them, I could email them to you right away.

These subtle differences could have a much larger and lasting effect in a manager-employee relationship.

When we differentiate our facts and opinions:

• We can proceed with our opinions as long as we are clear they aren’t facts
• What we want as an outcome is clearer because we are clearer with ourselves
• We can have an easier time figuring out a fact from the opinion

We have lots of opinions.  Facts are, at times, hard to distinguish from our opinions because our emotions incorporate our opinions.

And that’s my opinion!

What management awareness can we learn from the Sharon Smiley case?

In case you didn’t read about it, in 2010 Sharon Smiley was fired from her job as a receptionist because she refused to not work during her lunch break.

Yes, you read that correctly!

Her former employer, Equity Lifestyle Properties Inc., said it was trying to follow regulations that were documented in their employee handbook, which requires employees to take a break. The company can be held liable if employees are working during mandatory lunch breaks and supervisors know about it.

Sharon had clocked out but decided to work because she had a lot to do.

The company said Sharon was fired due to misconduct and insubordination.

She was then denied unemployment because she had been discharged for misconduct.  She represented herself and took the company to court.  She won the case, has gotten full unemployment compensation and now has a new job.

Do you think there is more to this story then what was in the news?!

I’m surmising that there were a lot of opinions about Sharon’s overall work that wasn’t favorable, and they took this particular objective fact to try and get rid of this 10 year employee.

It didn’t work, and it cost a lot of time and money for the company to fight the lawsuit (not to mention the negative publicity).
I’m further surmising that the company had issues with Sharon’s work for many years, but never directly addressed it.  Or if they did, they didn’t follow through with the issues after mentioning it to her.
Therefore, management’s opinions, their subjectivity, was built upon years of doing nothing.  During these years nothing changed except everyone’s opinions became older and more certain for them.

If management had taken any subjective biased thoughts about Ms. Smiley and were able to convert them into SMT goals (objective goals which are specific, measureable and timely), had regular one on meetings with her to go over these goals, appraised her according to achieving this goals, this situation could have been avoided.

But the management team at Equity Lifestyle Properties Inc. isn’t alone; many management teams don’t follow this structure.

If we can’t convert our subjective opinions on an employee to an objective fact, the problem isn’t within the employee.  We are the problem.  Our beliefs are keeping us right and not seeing any other way to the situation.

When we can convert our subjective opinions to an objective fact:

• We invite the possibility of a different outcome
• Discussion can be on facts so the employee is less likely to get defensive
• The chances of escalation and more wasted time is decreased

Not being enthusiastic enough, not working hard enough, being lazy, trying to do as little as possible, not going above and beyond, being insubordinate are all subjective.

Not knowing your 10 clients names, not completing your reports on time are objective.

Converting anything subjective to objective might prevent your company from having a Sharon Smiley incident!

How specific are the reasons your employees are doing great or need improvement?

I was coaching a manager who was having issues with their manager.  This is not a unique situation.  Managing up has just as many challenges as managing your own employees.

This was the third year my client was with their manager.  This was the first year there were issues.

What happened?

Up until now my client had received outstanding performance reviews.  While she wasn’t sure why she received the highest rating she could possibly receive, she was thrilled to get them!

This year she didn’t get outstanding.  But it wasn’t clear what had happened.  Nor was it clear how to get back to the highest rating she enjoyed having.

My client is frustrated.  She went to speak with her manager to find out what she needs to do.  He is uncomfortable having these types of conversations.

Fortunately my client is not placing blame on her manager (which could be an obvious, yet unproductive thing to do), but taking responsibility for the situation.  She is figuring out what she can do to communicate her and her team’s successes in a way she never did before.

Ultimately this will be more beneficial to her, her team and the whole company.

But it took getting a lower performance appraisal to get into this action.  She wouldn’t have done it otherwise.

When her manager was giving her the highest performance appraisal, the manager himself wasn’t performing at a high level.  He wasn’t being specific in why he was evaluating his employees the way he did.  He didn’t explain the measurements which determined the ratings.

This only became evident when the rating was lower than expected. But the problem was always there.

When we are specific with why we give the appraisal ratings we give:

• There is a clearer understanding on what made the employee successful
• The employee can determine what to do to improve
• Your manager-employee relationship is more a partnership

The true measure of managerial effectiveness isn’t how the relationship is going when everything is great.  It’s how it’s going when things could be better.  In order to do this there needs to be ongoing communication with specific and measureable goals.

How much does a manager need to manage?

On a recent documentary about Woody Allen, it was mentioned how many of his actors get nominated for awards and go on to win awards, yet he is the least directive director you can imagine.

Mira Sorvino, who won an academy award for best supporting actress for the Woody Allen film, Mighty Aphrodite, stated she loved Woody’s directive style.  She said he is a director who has confidence in his actors and doesn’t try to muscle them around.  This gets them to blossom and take responsibility.

As I’ve state before, another word for director is manager.

Being less directive doesn’t mean you are not being directive.

There was a story in the documentary about one actress who wasn’t getting the role nailed down.  She felt she could be fired.  But Woody worked with her, had her alter her voice to take on a different persona.  This direction let her figure out the rest of the character.

The actress was Dianne Wiest, and this performance in Bullets Over Broadway won her an academy award for best supporting actress. (her second, the first for another Woody Allen film, Hannah and her Sisters).

You will need to manage some of your employees more than others.

There will also be times where some of your more accomplished employees may need more managing.

The common denominator throughout is where you come from when managing.

If you come from distrust, this will show.

If you come from confidence, this will show.

When we manage having confidence in our employees:

• We leave them alone when they need to be left alone
• We help them when they need help
• Our actions can inspire them

Being a manager is rewarding and challenging.  One of the biggest challenges is to believe and act that less can be more.