Great working relationships

Managers who want to establish great working relationships with their direct reports. It can be done. It is easy if you know where and how to tap.
be well,
Dwika-ExecuTrain




How Easy Is All This?
by : Steven Cerri
(10 minute read)

As you read my blogs and my Newsletters/E-zines, you might be thinking, "Oh sure. You say it as if it's so easy, but what I want to know Steven is, How easy is it to keep my manager from micromanaging me? How easy is it for me, a direct report, to control my managers' perception and behavior. It's got to be easier said than done."

Well, those are important questions and I'm sure many of you are wondering the same thing. Well, my answer is that it is very easy to manage your managers' behavior if you know what to do and how to do it.

It's very much like the story of the ship that had a problem with its steam engine. You may have heard this story before but it bears repeating in this instance.

There was a ship that was in the harbor and it was discovered that it's steam engine wasn't working. No one seemed to know what to do to get it to work. "Expert" after "Expert" was brought in and none of them knew what to do to fix it.

Finally, the owner of the ship hired an old man who specialized in steam engines. He looked over the steam engine, put his ear against the boiler here and there, then in one spot on the steam engine he used his hammer and gave it a "tap". The steam engine fired up and began to work perfectly.

The old man presented the owner with a bill for $10,000. The owner was flabbergasted. "How can you present me with a bill of $10,000. You just gave the steam engine a little tap with your hammer and you want $10,000 for that?"

The old man replied, "It's $500 for the tap and $9,500 for knowing where and how to tap."

The same applies to what I've been talking about with micromanagement and managing your manager. Let me give you an example.

Several months back, I was having dinner with a prospective client. In casual conversation she was bemoaning her manager's behavior. She indicated that he didn't give her independence. He wasn't really allowing her to contribute the way she could. He wasn't taking her advice in areas where she had significant experience compared to everyone else in the office. And with the economy beginning to affect her company's revenues, she feared the situation would only get more intense and more restrictive. She feared she would not get a good review which was coming up and things seemed gloomy as far as she was concerned.

So I gave her specific suggestions. I explained a new way for her to think about her manager. I explained a new way for her to think about his motives. Then I gave her specific behaviors to exhibit. I explained how to talk to her manager. What to say. Questions to ask. I gave her new ways to be in partnership with her manager; ways to behave that would allow him to recognize that she was indeed attempting to help the organization and him. And we continued to have an enjoyable dinner.

She apparently went back and implemented my suggestions. The results of which are as follows:

1. Her relationship with her manager has changed completely and changed for the better.
2. He did conduct her performance review, and he gave her the highest rating possible and the highest pay raise allowed.
3. He has given her much more autonomy resulting in her proposing a new program for the group.

The point of this case is that working effectively with your manager doesn't take a miracle. It's takes knowledge and a willingness to be flexible enough to implement that knowledge.

And, by the way, the same applies to managers who want to establish great working relationships with their direct reports. It can be done. It is easy... if you know where and how to tap.

Be well,

Steven