. . . and now for something completely different. .
well not really, I was just in a Monty Python kind of a mood, briefly.
Actually, I think it's time for another post on leadership, in particular, leadership versus "man age meant" . . yeah yeah, that one is from my favorite angry squirrel.
But, I've never really considered myself a man ager. I think my strengths in doing my job come from being a leader. The difference as I see it, is to put it simply "management is given, leadership is granted." This is probably different in the civilian world then in the military. In the military I'm sure the people for whom you are responsible already have full "buy in." Meaning; and maybe I've watched 'Full Metal Jacket' once too often, that a young private who has been properly trained and conditioned will willingly follow orders given with very little thought of what they'd rather be doing. I also understand that the reason for this conditioning in this setting. However, in the world where I operate, there really is not a threat of "if I don't do as I'm told.. people could die." The teams I've lead, have been underpaid, and at times over worked. They've for the most part been very successful, and enjoyed doing what I've asked of them. Why? They have a leader that they know respects them, and appreciates their efforts. I'm not trying to say that what I do is difficult, or that what I'm doing should be given any special merit. To be honest, it is easy to lead people, and when done right, down right fun.
Keep in mind, the only teams I've lead are in the restaurant, or hospitality industry. That makes things easier, we're not trying to sell widgets, or build bridges, nope, all we do is make people happy. Maybe you say, but what about pumping up the check averages, and maintaining costs, etc... well, those things will indeed take care of themselves, when there is strong leadership "driving the bus." The vision you hold must be one that involves a full working knowledge of your menu, your guests, your operations. Or, to illustrate; you know you make more money selling steak then hamburger, more money selling pork then chicken, and of course you make more money selling more appetizers and more desserts. So, you need the people doing the selling to know this as well, you need the people making these items to want to make them the best that they possibly can. The key here is to train, empower, and celebrate successes, as well as coach results and constantly communicate standards.
It's in details. Rudolph Giuliani was very successful in cleaning up a myriad of issues in New York City, by simply addressing details(okay, attracting investment from creative sources didn't hurt a bit either.) How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. It would have been an insurmountable task to have done in one foul swoop, but over time, and going one step(or bite) at a time, he accomplished what so many others could not have. Point being, never overlook ANYTHING. Be it good, celebrate it, be it bad, coach it. Every action taken by a leader is the result of a decision. For that matter, every action taken by every member of every team, is the result of an decision. This includes details, did I press My shirt?, did I shave today?, am I on time?, did I leave My issues at the door? am I blaming Johny for issues that Susie and I just had? am I treating every team member, every guest, every customer equally? did I just walk past something I could have made better? is that a piece of paper on the floor on the far side of the dining room? am I fully aware of EVERYTHING going on around Me? .. I think by now you get the point.. and yeah, it can be daunting, tedious, tiring, and at times to the unitiated, a bit overwhelming.
How can I possibly do all of that, and still make sure that everything on the company agenda is being fulfilled, and not spend a million hours a week working? not just go ballistic, and start firing everyone, how can anyone do all of these things, and not turn into an autocratic robot, just spouting orders, and making everyone working for them run in fear as soon as you enter a room?
The answer, takes us back to the point of this post. Sure a good manager can get all these things done, and might even hold onto a small core of people that know how to work for them. There's nothing wrong with that, but, managers feel stress, it's a reflection of the discord in the team they're bullying around. Managers get older quicker, and overtime lose the ability to interact as a human being. They turn into the autocratic automatons they think their job forces them into being. Trust Me on that last point, I did it, I was a great manager, but otherwise empty. No dear reader, management is not the way to do the job of a manger. To manage, means quite simply barely get by. Anyone with sufficient education, or experience, can be given the title of manager. but, to excel, one must lead.
The first thing to know to be able to successfully lead, is one's self. Know your limitations, have a clear image of who you are, what drives, inspires, and guides you. Only then, can you begin to know others. That's next, get to know the team you've been blessed with, know the strengths, the weaknesses, not just the low lying fruit, and the uppermost achievers. Get to know why that dynamic exists, you'll soon find that at the top you have weaknesses, and obversely, you'll learn that some of your consistent under achievers have tons of untapped potential. Now, when you learn that, don't act immediately. At this point, you only know that what, you need to dig deeper, and learn the why. A lot of time, you'll want to know why the top performers aren't trying to help the ones who are lesser then them improve, some times it's for good reasons, and sometimes it's for bad reasons. Both are irrelevant. What's missing is vision, or buy in. This will be the first true area to demonstrate leadership. People need to know why, or for whom they're doing whatever they are asked to. Zig Ziglar, "no one care's how much you know, until they know how much you care." Buy in, just like respect is not a right that managers are given based on title, no, it's something people choose to give you. It must be earned, respect is easy, show respect, be respectful, be consistent, firm and fair, you'll be given respect most times. The times you're not, I'm sure that almost all of those, if you are totally honest with yourself, you'll find that you made some decision, whether you meant to or not, that was inconsistent with being respectful. Buy in, is the tough one, but also the most rewarding. If you know yourself, your team; it inner-workings, and misgivings, and know your team members, the old "what makes Johny jump question" we've been spoon fed, in seminars, books, and the occasional semi-enlightened college professor, is important, but if you know all of those things, next you can form your vision of what can be. This is apart from whatever agenda, be it mission statement, or whatever other cooperate speak you are given early on in your time with your company. Nay, your own vision has to be clear, inspired, and communicated well. Then it has to be given in personalized spoon sized easy to digest bits to your individual team members. That means you have to explain to Suzie that you know her kid's school functions are important, but unfortunately, the schedule has already been made, then help her to find suitable replacement to cover the shift. It means you have to explain to Johny that you know he's on spring break, but he CANNOT be late again. To both situations, you have to know them, you have to communicate the consequences, and you have to be firm fair, and consistent. Don't expect Johny to care about Suzie's kid's stuff any more then you expect her to care about his hangover. That's your job, leadership is a filter. On saturday night, maybe johny made a poor decision, but Sunday during lunch, when he's trying to work, don't think his issues matter much, all that is important is that his results will not be the same. Either support him now, or cut him loose for the shift. Either way, on Monday, have a long heart to heart with him. If it's a pattern, you will have to make the tough call. Same thing, if Suzie chose her kid's event over her Saturday night shift, you will have to have the same, but different heart to heart with her. Only two of the many many examples you'll have to face when leading a team. But, if handled well you will be building relationships. If not with the two of them, with the rest of the team, who had to pick up the slack. The unnamed in these examples, were the rest of the team. They had to step up, they had a lot more work to do, unfair to them, unless they were fully supported, and they know that Johny, and Suzie had consequences. They don't have to know what, they just have to know that you are there to take care of it. The more buy in you have with them, the more it will help. Now, during that shift, that was let's say 6 people doing the work of 8 you have a choice. A manger would just expect everyone else to pick up the slack, a leader will help to fairly distribute the balance, and that quite often means doing a lot of it himself, or herself.
The next step is to have a fully energized team. This isn't about that fake "synergy" type stuff that is parodied in the movie 'Office Space.' It's a team that feels good, both as individuals, but as a team. This is often attempted in business, but most times comes off as insincere, or fake. The only way for anyone to have energy, is to be around it. what to do .. what to do .. try this .. "lead by example." Body language, non verbals, heck, right down to the gait of your walk, sincere flowing, energized, how you hold your eyes, and most importantly how you speak, how you address your team.. works wonders. Head high, back straight, shoulders back .. yet not too tense. not too stern now. smile, often, warmly, and laugh, make those around you laugh. Make the work, that no matter what it is, can be tedious, make it fun. Be direct, but have fun.
But.. but.. Ron .. it's work .. uhm .. fun?? .. we are allowed to have fun??? uh, yeah .. as a matter of fact, it's not only allowed, but it is required. it is required to have fun when leading a team. Nothing inappropriate, and no horse playing, but fun. Lead your team to having fun executing your objectives. If your team is respected, trained, and properly empowered, allow them to have fun doing the job. This is crucial to building relationships, business partnerships with those for whom you are responsible. And this reader, is leadership.
Actually, I think it's time for another post on leadership, in particular, leadership versus "man age meant" . . yeah yeah, that one is from my favorite angry squirrel.
But, I've never really considered myself a man ager. I think my strengths in doing my job come from being a leader. The difference as I see it, is to put it simply "management is given, leadership is granted." This is probably different in the civilian world then in the military. In the military I'm sure the people for whom you are responsible already have full "buy in." Meaning; and maybe I've watched 'Full Metal Jacket' once too often, that a young private who has been properly trained and conditioned will willingly follow orders given with very little thought of what they'd rather be doing. I also understand that the reason for this conditioning in this setting. However, in the world where I operate, there really is not a threat of "if I don't do as I'm told.. people could die." The teams I've lead, have been underpaid, and at times over worked. They've for the most part been very successful, and enjoyed doing what I've asked of them. Why? They have a leader that they know respects them, and appreciates their efforts. I'm not trying to say that what I do is difficult, or that what I'm doing should be given any special merit. To be honest, it is easy to lead people, and when done right, down right fun.
Keep in mind, the only teams I've lead are in the restaurant, or hospitality industry. That makes things easier, we're not trying to sell widgets, or build bridges, nope, all we do is make people happy. Maybe you say, but what about pumping up the check averages, and maintaining costs, etc... well, those things will indeed take care of themselves, when there is strong leadership "driving the bus." The vision you hold must be one that involves a full working knowledge of your menu, your guests, your operations. Or, to illustrate; you know you make more money selling steak then hamburger, more money selling pork then chicken, and of course you make more money selling more appetizers and more desserts. So, you need the people doing the selling to know this as well, you need the people making these items to want to make them the best that they possibly can. The key here is to train, empower, and celebrate successes, as well as coach results and constantly communicate standards.
It's in details. Rudolph Giuliani was very successful in cleaning up a myriad of issues in New York City, by simply addressing details(okay, attracting investment from creative sources didn't hurt a bit either.) How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. It would have been an insurmountable task to have done in one foul swoop, but over time, and going one step(or bite) at a time, he accomplished what so many others could not have. Point being, never overlook ANYTHING. Be it good, celebrate it, be it bad, coach it. Every action taken by a leader is the result of a decision. For that matter, every action taken by every member of every team, is the result of an decision. This includes details, did I press My shirt?, did I shave today?, am I on time?, did I leave My issues at the door? am I blaming Johny for issues that Susie and I just had? am I treating every team member, every guest, every customer equally? did I just walk past something I could have made better? is that a piece of paper on the floor on the far side of the dining room? am I fully aware of EVERYTHING going on around Me? .. I think by now you get the point.. and yeah, it can be daunting, tedious, tiring, and at times to the unitiated, a bit overwhelming.
How can I possibly do all of that, and still make sure that everything on the company agenda is being fulfilled, and not spend a million hours a week working? not just go ballistic, and start firing everyone, how can anyone do all of these things, and not turn into an autocratic robot, just spouting orders, and making everyone working for them run in fear as soon as you enter a room?
The answer, takes us back to the point of this post. Sure a good manager can get all these things done, and might even hold onto a small core of people that know how to work for them. There's nothing wrong with that, but, managers feel stress, it's a reflection of the discord in the team they're bullying around. Managers get older quicker, and overtime lose the ability to interact as a human being. They turn into the autocratic automatons they think their job forces them into being. Trust Me on that last point, I did it, I was a great manager, but otherwise empty. No dear reader, management is not the way to do the job of a manger. To manage, means quite simply barely get by. Anyone with sufficient education, or experience, can be given the title of manager. but, to excel, one must lead.
The first thing to know to be able to successfully lead, is one's self. Know your limitations, have a clear image of who you are, what drives, inspires, and guides you. Only then, can you begin to know others. That's next, get to know the team you've been blessed with, know the strengths, the weaknesses, not just the low lying fruit, and the uppermost achievers. Get to know why that dynamic exists, you'll soon find that at the top you have weaknesses, and obversely, you'll learn that some of your consistent under achievers have tons of untapped potential. Now, when you learn that, don't act immediately. At this point, you only know that what, you need to dig deeper, and learn the why. A lot of time, you'll want to know why the top performers aren't trying to help the ones who are lesser then them improve, some times it's for good reasons, and sometimes it's for bad reasons. Both are irrelevant. What's missing is vision, or buy in. This will be the first true area to demonstrate leadership. People need to know why, or for whom they're doing whatever they are asked to. Zig Ziglar, "no one care's how much you know, until they know how much you care." Buy in, just like respect is not a right that managers are given based on title, no, it's something people choose to give you. It must be earned, respect is easy, show respect, be respectful, be consistent, firm and fair, you'll be given respect most times. The times you're not, I'm sure that almost all of those, if you are totally honest with yourself, you'll find that you made some decision, whether you meant to or not, that was inconsistent with being respectful. Buy in, is the tough one, but also the most rewarding. If you know yourself, your team; it inner-workings, and misgivings, and know your team members, the old "what makes Johny jump question" we've been spoon fed, in seminars, books, and the occasional semi-enlightened college professor, is important, but if you know all of those things, next you can form your vision of what can be. This is apart from whatever agenda, be it mission statement, or whatever other cooperate speak you are given early on in your time with your company. Nay, your own vision has to be clear, inspired, and communicated well. Then it has to be given in personalized spoon sized easy to digest bits to your individual team members. That means you have to explain to Suzie that you know her kid's school functions are important, but unfortunately, the schedule has already been made, then help her to find suitable replacement to cover the shift. It means you have to explain to Johny that you know he's on spring break, but he CANNOT be late again. To both situations, you have to know them, you have to communicate the consequences, and you have to be firm fair, and consistent. Don't expect Johny to care about Suzie's kid's stuff any more then you expect her to care about his hangover. That's your job, leadership is a filter. On saturday night, maybe johny made a poor decision, but Sunday during lunch, when he's trying to work, don't think his issues matter much, all that is important is that his results will not be the same. Either support him now, or cut him loose for the shift. Either way, on Monday, have a long heart to heart with him. If it's a pattern, you will have to make the tough call. Same thing, if Suzie chose her kid's event over her Saturday night shift, you will have to have the same, but different heart to heart with her. Only two of the many many examples you'll have to face when leading a team. But, if handled well you will be building relationships. If not with the two of them, with the rest of the team, who had to pick up the slack. The unnamed in these examples, were the rest of the team. They had to step up, they had a lot more work to do, unfair to them, unless they were fully supported, and they know that Johny, and Suzie had consequences. They don't have to know what, they just have to know that you are there to take care of it. The more buy in you have with them, the more it will help. Now, during that shift, that was let's say 6 people doing the work of 8 you have a choice. A manger would just expect everyone else to pick up the slack, a leader will help to fairly distribute the balance, and that quite often means doing a lot of it himself, or herself.
The next step is to have a fully energized team. This isn't about that fake "synergy" type stuff that is parodied in the movie 'Office Space.' It's a team that feels good, both as individuals, but as a team. This is often attempted in business, but most times comes off as insincere, or fake. The only way for anyone to have energy, is to be around it. what to do .. what to do .. try this .. "lead by example." Body language, non verbals, heck, right down to the gait of your walk, sincere flowing, energized, how you hold your eyes, and most importantly how you speak, how you address your team.. works wonders. Head high, back straight, shoulders back .. yet not too tense. not too stern now. smile, often, warmly, and laugh, make those around you laugh. Make the work, that no matter what it is, can be tedious, make it fun. Be direct, but have fun.
But.. but.. Ron .. it's work .. uhm .. fun?? .. we are allowed to have fun??? uh, yeah .. as a matter of fact, it's not only allowed, but it is required. it is required to have fun when leading a team. Nothing inappropriate, and no horse playing, but fun. Lead your team to having fun executing your objectives. If your team is respected, trained, and properly empowered, allow them to have fun doing the job. This is crucial to building relationships, business partnerships with those for whom you are responsible. And this reader, is leadership.
posted by rjanis | 10:01 AM
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