(third in a series titled Issues Managers Face in the Workplace)

You have choices as to how you manage your team. When you combine your experience with the views of your boss and colleagues, leadership books, conferences, blogs (just like this one!), unsolicited advice from friends, and the random newspaper article, it is no wonder managers are overwhelmed by choice! Each has their pros and cons. No matter what you choose, there needs to be a consistent thread. Each of these resources should provide you support or guidance - not necessarily be your prescriptive plan.

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It’s never too late to choose optimism, to choose action, to choose excellence. The best thing is that it only takes a moment — just one second — to decide. - Seth Godin

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Here are three tenets of management choices for your review:

Choose Optimism

The culture and mood in your department/team are set in large part with how you approach things. Are you typically a ‘the sky is falling’ type that is so risk adverse you lose out on innovation and are blindsided by competition? Do you approach the celebration of goals with how little was missed, not how much was accomplished? Is the look on your face one of excitement and optimism, or one of brooding ‘focus’ and uninterested smirking? Set the tone, be the leader. Don’t you like it when your boss smiles and is optimistic?

Choose Action

You cannot rely on indecision and inactivity as a management style. Getting 100% commitment to a good idea/decision is more preferable than 50% commitment to a great idea. You get manager compensation for making decisions. Spending too much time in analyses paralyzes you and your team from reaching your goals. You want to be more strategic? Make a decision.

Choose Excellence

You should expect excellence from your team and provide it as well. No need to say, ‘great job’ if you don’t mean it. A passive/aggressive approach to managing people is not productive, not fair, and not ethical. You hire, promote, and fire your people based on results and behaviors. If you set the expectation of excellence, you will be surprised at how well people respond. Your employees want to do their best on the job. Sometimes they just need you to ask them for it.
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According to his official biography, Seth Godin is a “a bestselling author, entrepreneur and agent of change.” If you have read any of his books or posts, you know that his thoughts run wider and deeper than just change agent or marketer. Want to know more about choices? Check Seth’s blog post titled, “Two More Years.”

Joe Raasch :: Dec.28.2007 :: Leadership, Performance Management :: No Comments »