Why Don t They Do What I Want? Setting Expectations & Delegation

Transcription

1 Why Don t They Do What I Want? Setting Expectations & Delegation Presented by: Leonard Firkus, P.Eng. lfirkus@stormtec.ca

2 Engineer vs. Manager A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am." The woman below replied, "You're in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You're between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude." "You must be an engineer," said the balloonist. "I am," replied the woman, "How did you know?" "Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is, technically correct, but I've no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help at all. If anything, you've delayed my trip." The woman below responded, Ah, you must be in Management." "I am," replied the balloonist, "but how did you know?" "Well," said the woman, "you don't know where you are or where you're going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise which you've no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault."

3 Agenda 1. Introduction to Management 2. Setting Expectations 3. Effective Delegation 4. Goal Setting 5. Providing Feedback 6. Expectation Setting Tools

4 Who Am I? Vs.

5 Case Question If I ve tried once, I have tried a hundred times. Every time I try and delegate a task to someone else, they mess it up hurting the relationship with the client and my reputation. I end up spending a lot more time fixing it and doing it over when I use help versus just doing it myself right the first time!

6 Management What is Management? Gets things done effectively through other people.

7 Great Managers What makes a great manager? 1. Select the right person 2. Set clear expectations 3. Motivate effectively 4. Develop the person Source: Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman

8 Setting Expectations

9 Setting Expectations How the customer explained it. How the sales person understood it. How the project manager scoped it. 9

10 Setting Expectations How the project team built it. How the account manager described it. What was installed. 10

11 Setting Expectations How the customer was billed. What the customer really needed. 11

12 3 Types of Expectations 1. Behavioral expectation Always aim to produce your best work 2. Process expectation Always follow the prescribed steps to ensure client satisfaction 3. Results expectation You should sell $100k of work per year Which one is most important???

13 Expectations What Makes a Good Expectation? 1. Clarity 2. Employee involvement 3. Achievability 4. Measurability 5. Motivation

14 Expectations It is not enough for an expectation to be set. It must be agreed to. Staff must be able to articulate: Their understanding of the expectation How it impacts them

15 Good Expectations How to Effectively Use: 1. Structured Communications 2. Culture of Openness 3. Alignment with individual 4. Realistic & achievable

16 Effective Delegation

17 Delegation In the old days, when we were small, we all just pitched in and did whatever needed to be done. Are you or your senior people frequently stepping in to save the day?

18 Delegation What Stops People from Delegating? Ego Lack of Trust Upfront Investment Availability of help

19 Delegation When should you Delegate? Better use of time? Opportunity for development? Recur again in the future? How critical? Availability of staff?

20 Delegation How to Delegate Successfully: 1. Ask for help! 2. Select right person 3. Trust the individual 4. Clearly define objective & constraints 5. Match authority with responsibility

21 Delegation How to Delegate Successfully (cont d): 6. Invest time/resources required to train 7. Define timeline, expectations 8. Recognize performance 9. Resist reverse/upward delegation Do the right level of work for your role within the organization

22 Goal Setting

23 Stretch Goals What can happen when an unrealistic goal is set? Ford s Stretch Goal: Build a car under 2,000 lbs with a price of under $2,000 by Result: Employees overlooked safety testing. 53 people died. Sear s Stretch Goal: Sales quota of $147/hr to auto repair staff in the 1990s. Result: Unnecessary repairs and overbilled work. Sears' Chairman at the time, Ed Brennan, acknowledged that the stretch goal gave employees a powerful incentive to deceive customers. HBR Blog Network: HBS Working Knowledge:

24 SMART Goals Specific Clear objective & outcome Measurable Can see progress & accomplishment Actionable Has steps within individuals control to move it along Relevant Applies to the individual & bigger group objectives Time Bound A time frame is established to complete

25 Providing Feedback

26 Providing Feedback What s the difference between Feedback and Praise? Feedback for improvement Praise for motivation

27 Giving Good Feedback Frequent: Keeps them from giving up when they are not doing very well (yet!). Catches problems early. Specific: Is clear and acknowledges what the employee is doing well (or poorly) Actionable: Provides a path to improvement through doing the same actions or different actions

28 Getting Good Feedback What can happen with quality feedback? Toyota went from obscure Japanese car company to one of the largest in the world (Kaizen) Brazil developing into soccer powerhouse Aircraft are off course 95% of the time yet reach their destinations Personal GPS providing directions

29 Expectation Setting Tools

30 Tools Details on Select Tools 1. Verbal Up-Front Contract 2. 1-on-1 Meetings 3. Monitoring Log

31 Verbal Upfront Contracts What is a Verbal Upfront Contract? Commitment w/ consequences made in advance Steps for creating: 1. Set the expectation 2. Obtain commitment 3. Establish consequences 4. Follow-up and through

32 Verbal Upfront Contracts Example John I really need you to sort out this overdue invoice. Is Friday reasonable? Great. If you don t get to it by Friday, what do you think I should do? OK. If you haven t sorted out by Friday, I will talk to your contact myself.

33 Verbal Upfront Contracts Common questions: When should they be used? What types of consequences are there? How should they be used? What do you do if a report is unable to fulfill a commitment?

34 1-on-1 Meetings What is a 1-on-1 Meeting? A regular meeting between manager and report Agenda 1. What happened last week? 2. What is your plan for this week? 3. What else is on your mind?

35 1-on-1 Meetings Key Success Factors Regular Scheduling Rarely Missed Meetings Meet in person (if possible) Set & keep to time limit (typical mins)

36 1-on-1 Meetings Implementation Select three key direct reports Identify a regular time and day Calculate the cost of the meetings Set up a binder For the first meeting, spend some time ahead of hand to determine priorities After the meeting, quantify the value of what you discussed

37 Monitoring Log What is a Monitoring Log? Tool used to record action items Includes: Who What When Complete?

38 Monitoring Log MONITORING LOG: NAME OF GROUP OR MANAGEMENT TEAM Duty of Topic Activity Original Due Date Revised Due Date Comp? Status Comments Name 3 Passwords for core group files All DM's to select and submit individual passwords to share with James to be used for password-protecting files that are being passed back and forth between him and individual DM's (i.e. compensation spreadsheets). Name 3 Passwords for core group files All DMs to select and send the name to James who will act as their stand-in should a DM be unable to attend the weekly PSG mtg Name 1 Issues List & Monitoring Log Prepare and circulate the tools and procedures for the Issues List and Monitoring Log to the PSG Name 8 Photo & Design Alternate Mandy to circulate output recently created for a project using new program. Name 2 Lunch & Learn Joe to see if a lunch & learn can be arranged w/ NCS for the group PM's to explain this new service for obtaining photos for projects. Jun 5/13 Late Jun 5/13 Late All DM's expected to attend the weekly meeting and try to keep 9:00-10:30 on Tuesday's blocked off for this meeting. Jun 5/13 y Complete Jun 5/13 Late Cost to get aerial photos of a recent project. Used to build design concept and really impressed the client. Jun 7/13 Late

39 Conclusion

40 Summary Setting Expectations & Delegation Clear expectations hallmark of good managers Focus primarily on the result, not the method 9 key elements to effective delegation Use SMART goals Provide quality feedback Tools: Verbal Upfront Contracts, 1-on-1 s, Monitoring Log

41 Questions? Thank You! Leonard Firkus, P.Eng. (778)