One Minute Manager
Good management rests on the implementation of three simple ideas, namely; the need to establish clear-cut goals, the need to praise good performance, and the need to reprimand people when their performance fails to contribute to the attainment of commonly agreed goals.
Step One: Goals
All good performance starts with clear goals. If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there. If you were going to improve the performance of your team, the simplest and easiest way would be to make sure your staff has a clear goal.
It is amazing how often people are told about the power of goal setting, yet how few times there is agreement between what a person says their job involves and what their manager says it involves. Goals still tend to be set in organizations after someone does something wrong or doesn’t do what is expected. Then the goal is made clear.
The secret of Goals is simply to agree on your goals upfront so that you know what good behavior looks like. Make sure you write out each of the goals on a single sheet of paper or index card. Limit the number of goals to three or up to five. Identify what the present level of performance is on each goal and then what level is desired. The discrepancy between the actual and the desired goal becomes an area for improvement. Choose a deadline for reaching that new level. Make several copies of your goals for you and the employee so you can both refer to them daily. Look at the goals, then look at the behavior and see if your behavior matches the goals.
Goal setting starts behavior, but what makes the biggest difference is what you do after the goals are set to observe, monitor, and provide feedback for your people so that they can be at their very best. All good performance starts with clear goals, but what really keeps it going is what happens after the goals are set.
Step Two: Praisings
Of all the things I’ve taught over the years, I can’t say enough about the importance of praising. The key to developing people will always be to concentrate on catching them doing something right instead of doing something wrong. Yet most people are still managed by being basically left alone until they make a mistake that is noticeable and then their boss criticizes them. I call that a “leave-alone zap” management style or “sea gull management” sea gull managers fly in, make a lot of noise, dump on everyone, and then fly out.
Tell people upfront that you are going to let them know how they are doing. Then there are three main things you need to emphasize with praisings.
First, be immediate. don’t save praisings for the holiday.
Second, be specific. Just saying to someone, “Good job” is nice but it is not very helpful because they don’t know specifically what is good so that they can do it again.
Third, share your feelings about their work. Tell people how good you feel about what they did that was right, and how it helps the organization and the other people who work there. Stop for a moment of silence to let them enjoy “feeling” how good you feel. End with reaffirmation and encourage them to keep up the good work.
Remember to praise progress even if it is only approximately right. Perfect behavior is a journey that happens one step at a time. A manager’s job is to manage the progress toward the goal. A good manager thus constantly looks for opportunities to praise progress or to redirect.
Step Three: Reprimands
What do you do when people do not perform well or make limited or no progress toward their goals? You have to hold them accountable.
The first alternative for poor performance should be redirection, which means going back to goal setting trying to find out what went wrong, and getting them back on track. Never reprimand or punish a learner - you’ll immobilize them. If you are dealing with somebody who knows better, and who performed a similar task well in the past, then a reprimand might be appropriate.
Tell people beforehand that you are going to let them know in no uncertain terms how they are doing. Reprimand people immediately. Tell people exactly how you feel about what they did wrong. Pause to help your transition from your feelings to set up the last and probably the most important part of a reprimand: reaffirmation. Reaffirm that you think well of them but not of their performance in this situation. Your intent is to get them back on course, not to try to make them feel bad. Remind them how much you value them. Realize that when the reprimand is over, it’s over.
One of my favorite statements of late is from Dan Ferguson, chairman of the board of the Newell Company, a billion-dollar manufacturing company in the home supply field. He told me he is most effective as a manager when he thinks of himself as the sixth man on a basketball team. When they want to call him into the game he is happy to play, but if they don’t need him he is also happy to stay on the sideline and cheer.
To me, these techniques can help you be the coach in the workplace, at home, or on the playing field. Share these techniques with your people, use them as needed, and get your people to use them as well. You’ll all perform better as a result.
