Manager's Minute 

When you've only got a minute for management you haven't got a minute to waste.

Have you ever had the experience where you get started with a new project, and then you suddenly become uncertain if you are doing it right so off you go to get some feedback. You want someone to tell you how you are doing. You want to know if you are doing it properly. Well, this is normal behaviour. We all want to do well at what we do but without feedback we cannot be sure so this week we'll deal with the 4^th need. "Let me know how I am doing"

Remember that the art of management is getting things done, and to get things done you need to know what needs to be done, how it must be done, by when it must be done and who must do it. Then you must ensure that the "doer" knows how to do it and has the resources to do it. Then you must let the doer know how they are doing so that they keep doing the right thing the right way.

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The Cry of The Managed

4. Let me know how I am doing

Feedback is the staple diet of champions. This is something that everyone who ever has to work with anyone else should learn. Let people know how they are doing. To let anyone just get going and then keep going without checking if they are on course or not is a recipe for getting lost.

Without feedback there is uncertainty and ultimately loss of enthusiasm. When you are uncertain if you are doing the right thing or doing it the right way the chances are that you will eventually stop doing it. The thinking here is that it is better to do nothing than to do the wrong thing or to do the thing wrong.

Just think about your management style, and the management styles of those you report to, are "mistakes" tolerated. are the perpetrators coached and guided or are they berated? In far too many instances there is no tolerance of mistakes.

Feedback creates the opportunity for change. Feedback keeps you on course. Feedback is the observation of the results of your actions and lets you know if what you are doing is taking you in the right direction. If the feedback shows that you are off course then you can make adjustments. The more often you receive feedback the smaller the adjustments and the smoother the progress.

Just like a rally driver has a navigator who constantly gives feedback so you should be the navigator for your team.

I'd like to tell you of a personal experience regarding lack of feedback.

Many years ago I joined John Deere as the Territory Manager of KZN. I was exited at this opportunity to work with and learn from this prestigious international organisation. Anyway off I go to my area expecting to be introduced to all the dealers (which were scattered all over the province from Kokstad to Kwambonambi. No such luck, I had a cursory introduction to the dealer in Pmb and was told to find my way around to the others. This I did and with gusto fell into my role.

However I soon became a bit concerned. No news from Head Office. I knew that I was still employed as I got paid every month but I did not know how they felt about my work. So I phoned my manager and got a management lesson in how not to manage that I will never forget. I said to him that I had now been in the field for 6 months and had received no feedback regarding my work. I told him that I had been dropped in the deep end and was swimming but I wasn't sure if I was swimming in the right direction or using the right style. The answer. "If you had been doing it wrong we'd have let you know."

While it is important to let people know if that are doing it wrong it is more important to let them know when they have done it right, and that's the subject of our next message, "Need 5 Acknowledge my achievements"

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That's it for today, I look forward to your comments and experiences related to this message. Mail them to me at johan@motivate.co.za

You could help by letting me know what your most pressing/puzzling/frustrating management problems are. Just send a mail to johan@motivate.co.za

If you would like to dramatically improve your "Performance Management" skills then you should ensure that you order "A Practical Guide to Performance Management" today. Just click here => A Practical Guide to Performance Management <= to get an order form.

Regards

Johan (JAHBATBU)(QBE)(UOL)

PS: Please pass this message on to any of your business colleagues you feel may benefit from it.

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