Fulcrum Point Partners

Managers will get asked this question. They get asked by their employees so the employee knows how to act around them.

Most managers will answer the question by stating their preferred style.

But there really is only one correct answer.

And that’s to answer the question with another question. And that question is:

It depends. What management style do you need?

Managers shouldn’t have only one style. They should be flexible to use the style appropriate for their employees at the time.

Some people will need a lot of direction. Some will need to be left alone. Then the people who needed direction might need to be alone at times, and the people being left alone might need more direction!

It’s always changing.

How can you be most effective as a manager if you don’t change your style to match what each employee needs?

How effective can you be when you only have one style? It won’t fit a majority of situations because one style does not fit all!

When you adapt your management style to fit the needs of each individual employee and not have them adapt to your style:

• You are able to meet each employees needs more effectively
• Results and productivity increase dramatically
• You make your job a lot simpler!

Not only can answering the question what’s your management style with the question it depends – what management style do you need, be effective with your employees; it will serve you on an interview for another management/leadership type position as well!

How does it feel when your employees work as a team?

In the last soundbite, I described the airplane game, which is played in my management courses. This game demonstrates delegation or collaboration.

Briefly, the game is played by having everyone make paper airplanes and fly them into a garbage bin. The reason they do this is we pretend we’re all part of the same company. The way we generate revenue is to get airplanes into the garbage. Yes, reality has to be suspended for this game!

Round 1 everyone works alone. Round 2 everyone at the same table can collaborate. Round 3 the whole room works together.

In one workshop where I taught communication skills, there were managers and non managers attendees.

Since we covered the topic of delegation, we played this airplane game.

The results were intriguing.

The end result was similar to when only managers participate. Each round saw an increase in the number of airplanes thrown into the garbage due to working together.

The difference was how the participants collaborated.

There was a better division of tasks prior to the final round.

How come?

You could say since it wasn’t all managers, there weren’t as many cooks as when it’s all managers. But at least half the group was in management positions, which is still a lot of cooks, I mean, managers!

I think there was a better division of tasks because with the mixed audience, there was more inclination for discussion, strategy and input.

This is good news for managers!

It shows how people want to be included. They want to participate in achieving results, for themselves and the team.

For newer managers, it’s different to rely on your team. Your success used to be dependent on you, now it’s dependent on others.

For more seasoned managers, you might have gotten used to not having as many people to confide in, therefore you sometimes forget there is a team who can help and support you.

When managers continually keep their team involved:

• There is more team collaboration
• More shared responsibility happens between team members
• Problems can be addressed more proactively

You will still have conflicts, misunderstandings and miscommunication throughout the team. This doesn’t go away.

But how it’s handled can be a rocky airplane ride or one with a little less bumps and more smooth sailing!

If you don’t take the time upfront to regularly talk with your employees, does it cost you more time in the end?

One of the more popular activities in my management courses is the airplane game.

I tell all the managers we are part of the same company. The way we make money is to create paper airplanes and fly them into a garbage bin. This creates revenue and keeps our stockholders happy.

Yes, you have to suspend reality for this and the participants do at the prospect of creating paper airplanes!

Round 1 everyone works alone. Round 2 everyone at the same table can collaborate. Round 3 the whole room works together.

This game is used to demonstrate either teamwork or delegation. (It’s also fun to watch adults act like children!)

The number of airplanes landing in the garbage bin increases as everyone starts working together. Yes, some of that is because they’re getting a better understanding and experience with what to do. But the requirements increases geometrically (if in round one the total for a table is 6, then round two they are expected to get at least 15 since they will be working together). Most usually meet this quota.

In one class, there was a group of managers who cut corners. This pretty much started in round 1. They exaggerated their numbers, created airplanes that really weren’t airplanes; basically they cheated!

This resulted in them getting higher quotas in the subsequent rounds which they couldn’t accomplish.

This time the learning wasn’t about teamwork or delegation. It was about how when we try and cut corners it comes back to us with damaging results; it would have been easier to take the time and do it right in the first place.

When managers are under time crunches, one of the things they let go is the continuous meetings they have with their reports. Since this work is important but not urgent, its gets pushed back.

It saves time in the moment.

But the cost is greater in the long run.

When you don’t have continuous ongoing meetings it can result in miscommunications, misunderstandings, decrease morale, lower morale and a lot of wasted time correcting it all.

Yes, you can miss one once in a while.

But the continuous ongoing meetings with your reports are one of the most important things you do as a manager.

When you maintain continuous ongoing meetings with each report:

• You are avoiding surprises for your or your report in the future
• If something goes wrong you are catching it sooner than later
• You are providing an atmosphere for trust and communication which we all need

So go ahead and cut corners when flying paper airplanes. Just don’t do it with the meetings you have with your reports.

The Pareto principal, which is better known as the 80/20 rule, states that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts.

This principal could be applied to all areas of one’s professional and personal life.

But in terms of evaluating one’s performance:

Is 80% fully successful?

Will you give someone a high evaluation if they achieved 80% of their work?

Will they get a raise? A promotion?

It depends.

There isn’t one correct answer.

Every situation with each employee is dependent on their circumstances.

But as managers, how do you measure your employees with the same standards?

By making sure each goal they have is as specific as it needs to be to be successful. That the measurements are well defined, so you minimize the chances for misinterpretation.

The end result for a manager-employee relation is the yearly appraisal.

In order for this appraisal be a mere formality and not an argument, you need to start with goals which are specific, measureable and timely (SMT goals, as discussed in my book!)

Then you need to meet regularly to see where each employee is on track with their SMT goals or where they need your support and guidance.

When you measure each employee with the same standards:

• Each employee will have different goals, but they all will be specific, measurable and timely
• The frequency you meet with each employee could be different but should meet the needs for each of them
• You will have less miscommunication, more productivity and less conflict!

And you will know if 80% is enough!