Confessions of a Reformed Control Freak: The Top Ten Sins Most Managers Make & How to Avoid Them.
By Brian Smith
()
About this ebook
I believe we're not born knowing how to manage or lead people effectively. It's a learned behavior. We all start out making certain assumptions based on our past experiences and perceptions as to the kind of role we think managers and leaders should play. But we also know from experience that our perceptions are not always correct. Today's managers and leaders need to change the way they manage others to stay in step with a changing workforce. "The Top Ten Sins Most Managers Make & How to Avoid Them" are woven into the ten chapters of this book. Each chapter is dedicated to one of those sins. And trust me - in my 40+ year career as an award winning entrepreneur and general manager for a major corporation - I've committed each one of these sins at one time or another. If you want to learn how to communicate and interact more effectively, manage your time, cope with stress and deal with difficult people and challenging situations better, then this book is for you. There is no question that if I knew then - what I know now - I would have managed differently. After reading this book you will manage and lead differently too.
Brian Smith
Brian Smith was born in Australia, where he developed his love of surfing. A chartered accountant, he studied at the UCLA Graduate School of Management, and with $500 of start-up money, he founded UGG Imports to bring sheepskin footwear to America. After seventeen years, as sales reached $15 million, he sold the business to Deckers Outdoor Corporation. The UGG brand has since exceeded $1 billion of international sales several times over. A passionate innovator and entrepreneur, Brian is one of the most sought after business leaders in the country today. As a media guest and inspiring speaker, he is committed to teaching his breakthrough business strategies to entrepreneurs and translating personal vision and spirituality into company culture. Brian spends his time with family and friends in Southern California, still surfs, plays golf, and attempts to improve the planet a little every day.
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Confessions of a Reformed Control Freak - Brian Smith
Confessions of a Reformed Control Freak
The Top Ten Sins Most Managers Make & How to Avoid Them
B.R. Smith
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Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2011 by Brian Smith
briansmithpld@gmail.com
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without written permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
For more information or to order additional copies visit our web site at: http://www.briansmithpld.com or contact the author directly at briansmithpld@gmail.com
This publication is designed to provide competent and reliable information regarding the subject matter covered. However, it is sold with the understanding that the author and publisher are not engaged in rendering legal or other professional advice. While the author has made every effort to provide internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibilities for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third party websites or their content. The author and publisher specifically disclaim any liability that is incurred for the use of or application of the contents of this book.
Second Edition: Confessions of a Reformed Control Freak The Top Ten Sins Most Managers Make & How to Avoid Them -- Brian Smith
Cover Photograph by: Josh Jefferies -- http://www.joshjefferies.com
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Dedicated to Linda and my son Bradley.
You both have been with me from the very beginning. Like some journeys -- I know it has not been easy at times. But, you hung in there with me and I will always be grateful for your love, friendship and support.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
MANAGERS VS. LEADERS -- THE DEBATE CONTINUES
CONFESSION NUMBER ONE: There is No Such Thing as Common Sense
Common Sense Revisited
You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks
Confession Number One Review
CONFESSION NUMBER TWO: You Can’t Motivate People
Motivation -- It’s All in the WIIFM’s
Creating a Teachable Moment
Can’t and Won’t -- Do’s and Don’ts
Goal-Setting for Performance Improvement
Confession Number Two Review
CONFESSION NUMBER THREE: You Ruin Good People by Promoting Them
Sometimes a Sow’s Ear is Just That
Put Your Strengths to Work for You
Sustainers and Achievers
Confession Number Three Review
CONFESSION NUMBER FOUR: You Don’t Have to Know Everything
Intelligence is Over-Rated
You Are Whoever You Think You Are
Confession Number Four Review
CONFESSION NUMBER FIVE: You’re Not The Most Important Person In The Conversation
The Art of Effective Communication
Active Listening -- It’s Tougher Than You Think
Confession Number Five Review
CONFESSION NUMBER SIX: Park Your Ego at the Door; It’s Not About Being Right
Managers -- I Mean Really -- Who Needs Em?
Building Collaborative Work Teams
Confession Number Six Review
CONFESSION NUMBER SEVEN: You Can’t Control Everything All of the Time
It’s Called Delegation for a Reason
Be On Time and On Budget
Confession Number Seven Review
CONFESSION NUMBER EIGHT: You Can’t Demand Respect; Respect is Reciprocal
Life is a Circle -- You Get as Good as You Give
Building Relationships to Last
Confession Number Eight Review
CONFESSION NUMBER NINE: People Hear What They See; Not What You Say
You Are Whoever They Think You Are
Your Personal Code of Conduct
Confession Number Nine Review
CONFESSION NUMBER TEN: There Aren’t Any Negatives; Everything is Positive
Is Your Cup Half-Full or Half-Empty?
Nobody’s Perfect -- So Get Over It
Confession Number Ten Review
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INDEX/NOTES/REFERENCES
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
INTRODUCTION
Yes, I admit it. Just like the book’s title suggests -- I was once a control freak. I was an old school
micro-manager! But the good news is I’ve seen the errors of my ways and I’m here to confess my sins. I’ve written this book with the hope first time team leaders, supervisors and managers might gain some valuable insight into what it will take to be an effective and efficient 21st Century Manager.
I also think there’s a lesson here for those seasoned veterans who developed their management style in the 1960’s embracing what social psychologist Douglas McGregor referred to as Theory X style of management. Theory X style of management suggested that people were inherently lazy and needed to be bullied or brow-beaten into performing their work.
There may also be some hold-outs who graduated from the Chainsaw Al Leadership Academy
, named after legendary and somewhat ruthless corporate executive Al Dunlap who slashed and burned his way to profitability. He was known for turning companies around. And no one can deny that he got results. But, he did it by sacrificing thousands of employees. (I use to say that the most cost effective way to increase productivity was to walk out of your office and fire the first person you see and don’t replace him or her. It’s amazing how the work still gets done.)
Times have certainly changed. What you need to decide now is -- will the management style that got you here -- be the same style that will sustain you or get you to where you want to go? Are you promotable? Would you work for you?
I think there’s been a dramatic shift in people’s attitudes. Their wants and needs are changing. For the first time in our lifetime there are four different generations working in the same work place that communicate differently, manage and want to be managed differently, and have different values and career aspirations. For the newest generation -- The Millennials or Net Generation -- life outside of work is just as important as life at work.
I believe we’re not born knowing how to manage or lead people effectively. It’s a learned behaviour. We all start out making certain assumptions based on our past experiences and perceptions as to the kind of role we think managers and leaders should play. But we also have come to know from experience that our perceptions may not always be correct, and that sometimes, we have to change our way of thinking if we are to become better at what we do. Today’s managers need to change the way they manage to stay in step with a changing workforce.
Worth Remembering...
"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing -- expecting a different result." - Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Daniel Goleman, in his groundbreaking book Working With Emotional Intelligence, might have said it best: We are being judged by a new yardstick: not just how smart we are, or by our training and expertise, but also by how well we handle ourselves and each other.
Productivity is still the name of the game and that will never change. Your job as a manager has always been to minimize the input and maximize the output. But downsizing has put added pressure on managers to hold the line on the expense side of the ledger while still growing the profit side. In order to accomplish both managers must change from being task-focused to being people-focused.
I’ve spent a lifetime working with and managing people as an award winning entrepreneur and a general manager for one of Canada’s best run and most profitable companies and now as Founder/CEO of Brinley Consulting & Training Ltd. -- a training and management consulting firm based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
I have -- and continue to have at the writing of this book -- the good fortune of being a member of the faculty of Algonquin College’s School of Business where I teach business ethics, management functions, entrepreneurship, and personal skills for success. I get a kick out of working with young people who want to be their own boss or manage a company some day. I get to bring the corporate world into the classroom. Textbook theory is great but, it’s just that -- theory. The challenge is learning how to apply it in the real world.
In my 40+ year career of managing and owning businesses I’ve committed my fair share of sins. Trust me -- I’ve been there, done that, and have the t-shirt to prove it. I consider myself a card carrying graduate of the School of Hard Knocks
. To some extent, the writing of this book has been cathartic for me. There is no question that if I knew then what I know now, I would have managed differently.
"The Top Ten Sins Most Managers Make & How to Avoid Them" are woven into the ten chapters of this book. Each chapter is dedicated to one of those sins. And yes -- I’ve committed each one of them at one time or another. So I know from my own experiences what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to communicating and interacting with people at all levels throughout the organization. After all, think of a job that you could do in your lifetime that didn’t involve dealing with people. (There isn’t one.)
Our business schools are graduating students who are technically competent at what they do. They know what they know and they know it very well. However, the one skill -- and I believe the most valuable skill -- which we aren’t teaching our students -- is how to communicate and interact effectively with people.
We are not teaching the one skill that all managers and leaders must have to be successful managing in the 21st Century -- the ability to work with and accomplish goals through people. Manager’s managing in the 21st Century need to understand that One Management Style
does not fit all. Managers need to learn how to modify their management style to be more in tune
with the person they are working with. We must not let hi-tech replace hi-touch.
Take Note: As you read through this book please keep in mind that I have a tendency to repeat over and over and over again -- those things that I believe are important. Managers must be able to do three things very well. They must be able to communicate, educate and delegate. This book will teach you how.
I wish you nothing but success in all of your endeavours both personal and professional. Stay Focused.
- Brian Smith
Worth Remembering...
"One of the most important things about being a good manager is to rule with a heart. You have to know the business, but you also have to know what’s at the heart of business and that’s people." - Oprah Winfrey (b. 1954-)
Worth Remembering...
"In everyone’s life, at some point, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into a flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle our inner spirit." - Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965)
Thank you, Annie, for rekindling my inner spirit.
MANAGERS VS. LEADERS -- THE DEBATE CONTINUES
"Think of leadership as management practiced well."
Worth Remembering...
"For all the fashionable hype about leadership, it is unfashionable management that is being practiced and its fundamental characteristics have not changed." - Hales (1929-2010)
A half-century ago Peter F. Drucker -- who is considered to be the most influential management thinkers of all time -- brought the practice of management to the forefront; and other notables have been trying to ‘one-up’ him ever since. The debate will continue long after you have finished reading this book. But I wanted to take this opportunity to state my position on the subject. I’ve spent 40+ years managing and leading people, and based on my experiences I believe the two: managers and leaders, have more in common with one another -- than not. They are mutually inclusive of one another -- not mutually exclusive of one another, in spite of what some leadership experts would have us believe. The lines between the two are definitely blurred -- if not disappearing all together.
Warren Bennis -- a renowned leadership expert (and Professor and Founding Chairman of the Leadership Institute at the University of Southern California) -- cites integrity, dedication, magnanimity, humility, openness and creativity as the six qualities of a leader. Henry Kissinger (who served as National Security Advisor and later as Secretary of State in the administrations of USA President’s Nixon and Ford) said that the task of a leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.
Walter Bond -- a former NBA player who is considered to be one of the World’s preeminent experts on personal accountability -- refers to micro-management as one of the most common forms of leadership.
Now, who am I to disagree with the likes of a Bennis, Kissinger or Bond? After all this is my first book on the subject -- collectively they have written some of the most respected books on leadership. But it seems to me they could have just as easily been talking about the attributes of a manager as opposed to a leader. I know we can separate managing and leading conceptually -- but in practical terms -- should they be, or can they be, separated at all? How would you like to be managed by someone who doesn’t know how to lead? How would you like to be lead by someone who doesn’t know how to manage themselves or others?
Do we manage more then we lead or lead more then we manage? Is there really that much of a difference between the two to even bother trying to justify one over the other? I think 21st Century Managers need to be able to do both well. I talk about the two of them throughout this book as if those two titles are interchangeable -- I don’t think you can be one without being the other and vice-versa. The role of Manager and Leader is situtationally based. You have to ensure that the day-to-day things that need to get done to make the organization work are being done (that’s managing). But you also need to spend some of your time thinking about where the organization needs to go to stay competitive and to maintain or grow your market share (that’s leading).
To be successful, Managers and Leaders need to be able to communicate, educate and delegate effectively if they are going to manage the day-to-day operations of the organization, or implement the changes necessary to take the organization to where it needs to go. And ... in order to do either of those jobs well, they need a variety of skills.
Managers and Leaders need to be able to:
* Problem solve and resolve conflict
* Build collaborative teams
* Teach and mentor
* Communicate and listen
* Plan and forward think.
* Be patient, empathetic, flexible and open-minded. (I could go on but you get my point.)
Worth Remembering...
"Leadership cannot simply delegate management; instead of distinguishing managers from leaders, we should be seeing managers as leaders, and leadership as management practiced well" - Henry Mintzberg (b. 1939-)
I’m with Henry on this one. Forget about being a leader -- practice managing well and people will want to follow you. You may be given the title of manager, or people may refer to you as their leader, but if no one is buying into what you are saying or taking you seriously -- then it really doesn’t matter what title you have.
CONFESSION NUMBER ONE
There is No Such Thing as Common Sense
Worth Remembering...
"Common Sense is the best distributed commodity in the world, for every man is convinced that he is well supplied with it." - René Descartes (1596-1650)
Don’t rely on common sense as part of your training program. If you haven’t taught someone how to complete the task the way you want it done, then don’t assume they know how. Remember -- common sense is not common practice.
Your role as a supervisor, department head or manager is to teach your people what they need to know to be able to do the job you’ve hired them to do. All too often we make the mistake of assuming a person’s level of knowledge matches our own. (Especially if they have been working for the organization a number of years.) To our minds, common sense makes perfect sense. However, that’s not always the case.
In this chapter we’ll dispel some of the myths surrounding common sense (Common Sense Revisited) and give you some valuable insights into how adults like to learn (You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks). Adults can learn new things given the right set of circumstances in an environment that is conducive to learning. But, we all don’t learn the same way. One teaching style -- like one management style -- does not fit all.
*
Common Sense Revisited
Students will never learn if the teacher doesn’t teach.
Worth Remembering...
"We seldom attribute common sense except to those who agree with us." - François La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680)
Have you ever asked yourself where common sense comes from? How do we get it? Are we just born with it? Why do some people seem to have more of it than others? If something makes perfectly good sense to you, shouldn’t it make perfectly good sense to everyone else? I’ve been doing some research on the subject and here’s what I’ve discovered so far. I’ve discovered that the only thing common about common sense is that it’s not very prevalent in most people.
Common sense is not common practice. What makes perfect sense to you will most likely not make perfect sense to everyone else. I’m not sure who first coined the phrase there is no such thing as common sense
, but the more I observe the people around me and witness the strange things they do, the more I’m convinced the saying is true.
I think it was Michael Dillon who defined common sense as "a rather uncommon ability to do the right