Seems absurd but ponder this: When are workers like hamburger joints? Answer: When workers stand out with unique, above average qualities — like great hamburger joints — they survive. In the January 24, 2012 New York Times article, “Average Is Over,” Thomas L. Friedman spoke to this new reality. With above average opportunities to use cheap foreign labor in addition to globalization, low priced robotics and software it is little wonder why doing an average job no longer gets you what it did before. Accelerating advances in automation and technology have been eliminating jobs for decades. Friedman also noted the best jobs will require employees to have more education to become above average. Research agrees. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment rates for Americans over 25 years old: those with less than a high school diploma, 13.8 percent; high school degree and no college, 8.7 percent ; some college or associate degree, 7.7%; bachelor’s degree or higher, 4.1 percent. In short, depending on the average or less than average group you fall into, the higher the unemployment rate is for that group.

Unemployment is only part of the picture — what about the impact being average has on being a manager? As a manager, why should you care about being above average? Countless reasons apply but let’s hit the top three that come to mind. Above average managers are more likely to: 1) keep their job, 2) keep the best employees, 3) stay in business. Sum it up in one word – survive. Over the next several weeks we’ll look at the obvious importance in each of these factors and despite this, why so many managers continue to lead in an inept and below average manner. What’s even more disappointing is these sub-standard management practices may go unchecked and unrestricted for extended periods of time.

What above average management experiences have you encountered or — even better — been able to implement? Write a comment and share your input. I’ll be back in a couple weeks to begin discussing the three items mentioned above that are hallmarks of the above average manager.*

*excerpted in part and reprinted from Mary Elston management column with permission from Soundings Publications, LLC.

In the last few weeks we have covered the fine points on bringing your new employee up to speed through the onboarding process and swimming or getting them into a productive work rhythm. By the way “swimming” must include making you’re your new team member aware of specific tasks, goals and programs which they own and can accomplish. You’d be surprised how many managers miss this simple step – telling the new hire what their priorities are and what they should be getting done. Today we’re going to walk through the final portion of this equation … checking in.

It’s far too easy, as a busy manager, to think once you get your new employee off to a good start you’ve done your job well —- you’re almost right. Every employee hits speed bumps along the way even after they’ve been with the company for a few weeks or months, which makes checking in incredibly important. As a manager, you’ll need to continue to check in with each employee – especially your new hire — through one on one meetings. These sessions help you stay on top of small problems before they become big ones, enable new employee growth and coaching and continue to encourage success. There are a huge number of managers who fail in any one of or all of these areas. The result is taking the talent you took the time and energy to hire and pouring at least part of it down the drain.

What constitutes checking in by the manager? I have heard several managers over the years provide the excuse for not regularly staying in touch with each employee as “leaving them alone to do their job.” Fair enough but this is valid only to a limited degree.

Yes – let them do their job. No — ignoring, putting them on auto pilot or micro managing are extremes which are not the answer. Leaving an employee alone to do their job should not be something that occurs for months at a time. Checking with each employee – including the new hire — should take place weekly or at least every two weeks. Build a family too. This means engage in a regular team call or group meeting for everyone to attend, share and learn. Have fun together as well.

By the way, how do you, the manager know that you’re doing a good job checking in with your new hire? You are NOT doing most of the talking! Bring an open mind and an open floor to one on one sessions, engage your employee on their work effort as well as insert some friendly conversation. When you onboard your new hire effectively you’re quickly executing counter measures against new hire hazing, you’ll get them swimming with their new duties and you’ll keep them on a path to productivity by regularly checking in with one on one meetings. As a manager, what do you get from the onboarding, swimming and checking in formula? A new hire who is making great progress and contributing the value you intended — which is the same value they are eager to give. Well done!

How do you manage your newly hired employees to help make them productive? Write to me and let me know. Join me again in a couple of weeks for a new Management Secrets blog series, see you then.

In my previous blog installment in this series, I mentioned the importance of you, the manager, giving your new hire great onboarding input in the form of one on one meetings. In these sessions you need to share performance expectations, provide direction as to where priorities should be focused, connect your new hire with an onboarding buddy and several other tidbits essential for getting started on the right path. See the details in the entry immediately below this one.

Swimming. Once you’ve given your new team member the appropriate onboarding coaching or “swimming lessons” you’re ready to let them leap into the proverbial ocean of work and start power stroking their way through the corporate current. As your freshly acclimated employee starts swimming, what should the manager do next? Walk the other way and assume your new kid will be just fine or something more? Yes — something more. Ongoing, weekly one on one meetings should be scheduled and held. Emphasis on “held.” It’s far too easy to cancel these sessions when you’re a busy manager but don’t. Encourage your new employee to keep track of all their manager-oriented questions during the week and address these topics at their regular session with you. Answer these questions directly or provide other, reliable resources your new employee can go to. Big no-no – do not send them down a black hole looking for answers you have no idea exist or not, refer them to a resource who can help them get what they need.

External Impact
Changes at the top create distraction. Don’t doubt for a minute that your competitor’s love it when your company is distracted by executive departures. In fact, this is often the time when many companies lose previously loyal customers – the biggest vulnerability when managing the external impact of departing leaders. While you are deciding your next move as the new leader or manager, competitors are having a great time wooing away your best customers. That brings us to two questions customers typically ask when an executive leaves a company.

The first question: How will this affect my service and the quality of the company’s products? Unfortunately, far too many new leaders come in and throw out the good with the bad – dumping service programs that were working well in favor of programs that may not be effective. Most customers consider service quality to be a significant factor in making a purchase decision. New leaders must always remember: When it comes to what’s keeping customers happy and is cost effective to provide, go ahead and make improvements but don’t fix what isn’t broken!

The second question customers ask when a CEO or other executive departs: Will my trusted sales or service contact stay on with the new leader or leave for another company? And add to that … Will the promises made to me by my former contacts still be honored under new management? Countless studies show that customers like to buy from people they trust; people who know and understand them. They want to make purchase decisions with sales persons that are knowledgeable and won’t rip them off. As the new leader, you need to make sure the integrity of the staff, sales and customer service force is maintained, and more importantly, that the trust customers have in those people is consistently reinforced. When executive shake ups occur, competitors are just as eager to steal star sales and service persons as they are to steal the customers those top performers may bring with them. The new leader must protect his team from being lured away by other dealers.

As you can readily appreciate, when a CEO or other executive leaves a company the new executive has his or her hands full. They must watch their flanks on both an internal and external basis, and above all, remember that satisfied and happy customers are of utmost importance, as are contented and appreciated employees. A quote from Edward Flom, CEO of Florida Steel provides another point worth noting …”One of the hardest tasks of leadership is understanding that you are not what you are, but what you’re perceived to be by others.” This is particularly true when a new leader takes on a high level post and people are watching their every move.

What should your goal be as the manager who is managing around an executive’s departure? Maintain the high quality of products and services which your customers expect to consistently receive. This will bolster the likelihood they’ll remain loyal, satisfied patrons of your company – the end game you’re always working to win.

Have you experienced any unique impact from a departing executive? Write to me and share your story as well as how you managed any related challenges. I’ll see you in a couple of weeks with another new Management Secrets series. *

*excerpted in part and reprinted from Mary Elston management column with permission from Soundings Publications, LLC.

Internal Impact
When a CEO or other leader leaves the company, what’s the first question every employee asks? Come on, you know. They ask: “How does this affect my job?” They’re concerned with job security and the new leader’s expectations. Anxiety can occur whether the new CEO is someone already with the company or someone from the outside; either way insecurity quickly begins raging. Compounding this effect is the trickle down changes a new CEO brings with them as they take a seat in their new chair. You know what that looks like too. New lieutenants begin appearing as the fresh leader brings in his or hers trusted team. This always creates a certain amount of uneasiness for employees which the manager must recognize and address through reassurance and open communication to the team.

If the former CEO was abrasive and had a negative leadership style, the really good people may already be heading for their next job at a competitor’s company. The new leader as well as you, the manager, needs to make sure they hang on to star performers and take steps to correct what may have prompted the desire to leave. Conversely, mediocre employees may be hanging back, hoping they won’t be noticed. The new leader must be cognizant of this factor too, determine who the slackers are, and take appropriate action.

That leads us to the second question employees ask when an executive departs: Why did he or she leave? Were they asked to go or did they quit? If a CEO or other leader was asked to leave it is usually involves one or all of three issues: a) money and how well they hit their performance targets for revenue, cost cutting, etc., b) people and how well they hired the right talent and managed their team and, c) politics. Whatever the reason for departure, if you’re the new leader or manager in charge, you must be sensitive to this and to employee’s feelings.

As the new person in charge you’ll want to thank the departing leader for his contribution, reassure employees as to your good intentions, and let the workforce know you are enthusiastic about your new position and new team. As the new executive you must always exhibit diplomacy and not disparage the departing leader. At the same time, as mentioned earlier, you must confidently, reassuringly, and frequently communicate with employees. You should immediately calm fears and uncertainty by coming across as knowledgeable and approachable and as a leader who appreciates your staff.

Just as important is another question that should be asked when an executive leaves: How will this change impact our customers? This is the external perspective we’ll look at in my next blog installment. See you then.*

*excerpted in part and reprinted from Mary Elston management column with permission from Soundings Publications, LLC.

Translate the above to an even bigger sense of uncertainty when a CEO, VP or other person in a leadership position leaves a company and now you’re getting a feel for what I’ll be covering in this latest Management Secrets blog series. I have lived through the exiting executive scenario a few times in my career and I’m sure you have too. In one instance, I could have sworn I saw someone dancing down the hall when they heard a nasty boss was leaving. I know that sounds tacky but its reality. Just as real, in fact, is how many employees can be saddened when they hear a great boss is departing. Every industry is periodically impacted by executive turnover.

But hold on there! The job market is still uncertain in several sectors, are executives actually leaving companies again? Yes, they are. Believe it or not, it’s beginning to happen in industries where earnings are looking shiny and startups are peeking out from around the corner of free enterprise U.S.A. Think about it. Business recovery tends to start on the American coasts – east and west – where major financial activity and trends take shape. From the coast, the recovery typically works its way inward to the rest of the nation. This is where exiting executives are starting to pop up – in the west and Silicon Valley where startup fever is starting to heat up again too. As well as in the east where companies are moving executives around and making room for the new regime.

What does this mean to you, the manager? Whether it’s a CEO or other high level executive; the departure of a leader means one thing for sure — change. Change can be good, bad, or barely recognizable. It’s critical that new leaders and managers effectively manage both the internal and external impact caused by exiting executives. In my next installment in this series, we’ll take a look at a few of the most pressing factors this brings to mind. In the meantime, send me your comments on changes which affected you – both positive and negative — when an executive departed. I always value hearing what the real world is serving up to hard working managers like you. *

*excerpted in part and reprinted from Mary Elston management column with permission from Soundings Publications, LLC.

That’s what we’ve been discussing over the last few weeks in my Management Secrets blog as I’ve walked you through a January 2012 article by Eric Jackson at Forbes: “The Seven Habits of Spectacularly Unsuccessful Executives.” The article covered research conducted in 2004 by Sydney Finkelstein, Steve Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. With this blog installment we’re going to look at the final two habits in the seven habit line up. Review the first five covered earlier in my blog entries immediately preceding this one. Let’s dive in …

Habit #6: They underestimate obstacles –Part of the allure of being a CEO is the opportunity to share a vision. Yet, when CEOs become so enamored with their vision, they often overlook or underestimate the difficulty of actually getting there. And when it turns out the obstacles they casually waved aside are more challenging than they anticipated, these CEO have a habit of plunging full-steam into the abyss. An example of this scenario would be when a company’s business is racking up huge losses, yet they are busy expanding operations at an amazing rate.

Why don’t CEOs in this situation re-evaluate their course of action, or at least hold back for a while until it becomes clearer whether their latest programs will pan out? Some feel an enormous need to be right in every important decision they make, because if they admit to being fallible, their position as CEO might seem tainted or precarious. Once a CEO admits he or she made the wrong call, there will always be people who say the CEO wasn’t up to the job. These unrealistic expectations make it exceedingly hard for a CEO to pull back from any chosen course of action, which not surprisingly causes them to push that much harder. That’s why leaders at Iridium and Motorola (MMI) kept investing billions of dollars to launch satellites even after it had become apparent that land-based cellphones were a better alternative.

Warning Sign of #6: Excessive hype Side note – A manager can become sucked into “believing their own press releases” just as easily as a CEO. A few accolades too many from the corner office or lack of oversight and some managers begin to think they can do no wrong even if they don’t really know what they are doing in the first place. If a new policy or idea has merit excess hype isn’t needed because the idea generates its own validity by virtue of its success.

Habit #7: They stubbornly rely on what worked for them in the past — Many CEOs on their way to becoming spectacularly unsuccessful accelerate their company’s decline by reverting to what they regard as tried-and-true methods. In their desire to make the most of what they regard as their core strengths, they cling to a static business model. Guess what? Doing the same thing every time usually doesn’t work every time! The dynamic and ever-changing nature of products and markets makes this a given. These CEOs may insist on providing a product to a market that no longer exists, or they fail to consider innovations in areas other than those that made the company successful in the past.

Instead of considering a range of options that fit new circumstances, they use their own careers as the only point of reference and do the things that made them previously successful. For example, when Jill Barad was trying to promote educational software at Mattel, she used the promotional techniques that had been effective for her when she was promoting Barbie dolls, despite the fact that software is not distributed or bought the way dolls are.

Often CEOs who fall prey to this habit owe their careers to some “defining moment,” a critical decision or policy choice that resulted in their most notable success. It’s usually the one thing that they’re most known for and the key achievement that gets them all of their subsequent jobs. The problem is that after people have had the experience of that defining moment, if they become the CEO of a large company, they allow their defining moment to define the company as well – no matter how outdated or unrealistic it has become.

Warning Sign of #7: Constantly referring to what worked in the past Side note – particularly for managers, this can be a crushing fault that is exhibited with painful frequency. Consider the individual contributor who is promoted to manager due to their outstanding independent achievements but those achievements don’t translate into outstanding management decisions or contributions. The result is incredibly frustrating for the team who works for the unqualified manager who is a “one hit wonder” with no other ideas in their briefcase.

The bottom line: If you exhibit several of these traits, now is the time to dump them from your repertoire. If your boss or several senior executives at your company exhibit several of these traits, now is the time to start looking for a new job.
I would sum up these seven undesirable habits of highly unsuccessful executives by describing them as: leaders who believe they are better than they really are, have big egos which need to be regularly stroked, don’t stay in touch with reality and don’t engage the skills of their team to make their business continuously successful. Now you know. These are management traits to avoid as well.

What’s the opposite of this? The successful executive or manager who has people who are excited to be working for them and knows how to inspire and keep talented employees. Sounds like a much better formula to which we can all aspire as we continue to pursue improving our own management skills. How are you doing this now? Write to me and let me know! That wraps this blog series …. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks with a new Management Secrets series topic. See you then.

Last time around we covered bad habits one and two – leaders who think they dominate their environment, and leaders who cannot delineate boundaries between personal and corporate interests. Read the details in my blog entry immediately below this one. With this blog installment we’ll look at a few more.

Habit #3: They think they have all the answers Here’s the image of executive competence that we’ve seen admired throughout history: a dynamic leader making dozens of quick decisions, dealing with multiple crises, and taking only seconds to size up the situation and provide a solution. Big problem with this picture – it’s a total fake. Crisp and decisive leaders tend to move so quickly they don’t grasp the ramifications of fast decisions. Worse, these leaders often have huge egos which won’t let them learn new answers. These leaders who know it all shut down other points of view and often make a series of bad decisions that take the company down the tubes.

Warning Sign for #3: A leader without followers — the executive or manager who has no team members who are allowed to follow him is hogging the glory and all the decision making – bad formula. Side note – at the management level the person with this habit often refuses to recognize his team’s accomplishments in front of upper management – they hog all the glory and keep their team from having any visibility with leadership. This charade can only last so long before their true lack of skill comes out –or worse – they’re being protected by someone higher up and they hang on for years.

Habit #4: They ruthlessly eliminate anyone who isn’t completely behind themCEOs who think their job is to instill belief in their vision also think it’s their job to get everyone to buy into it. If you don’t rally to the cause you’re considered to be against it. Hesitant managers have a choice: Get with the plan or get out. This approach is unnecessary and destructive. CEOs don’t need to have everyone unanimously endorse their vision, in fact, eliminating contrasting points of view cuts them off from seeing problems and correcting them. Eventually those executives being stifled decide to leave and no one is left to warn the CEO when disaster is in hovering in the wings.

Warning Sign for #4: Executive departures Side note – at the management level, departures can take the form of leaving the company or moving to other departments to get away from destructive leaders — from another perspective, employees who seek other jobs to get away from bad managers are sending the same message. If you’re a manager with this kind of negative track record, stop and think about what you’re doing to your team.

Habit #5: They are consummate spokespersons, obsessed with the company imageYou know these CEOs: high-profile executives, constantly in the public eye. The problem is that amid all the media frenzy these leaders’ management efforts become shallow and ineffective. Instead of actually accomplishing things, they often settle for the appearance of accomplishing things. When CEOs are obsessed with their image, they have little time for operational details. As a final negative twist, when CEOs make the company’s image their top priority, they run the risk of using financial-reporting practices to promote that image. In their eyes, everything that the company does is public relations.

Warning Sign of #5: Blatant attention-seeking Side note – for a manager, the same dangers are apparent; managers constantly seeking attention are simply doing a lousy job being a manager and may be faking results, eventually it bites them in the back end.

When have you worked in an environment where leaders or managers exhibited habits 3, 4, or 5? How did you deal with it? As a manager, have you ever fallen into these negative behavior habits? Or better yet, risen above them? Drop me a line and let me know your experiences, good and bad, with these challenging, potentially stress-packed issues. I’ll see you in a couple of weeks with the final two habits in this blog series. Till then, take care.

Not long after hosting that dinner I came across a January 2012 article by Eric Jackson at Forbes: “The Seven Habits of Spectacularly Unsuccessful Executives.” The article covered research conducted in 2004 by Sydney Finkelstein, Steve Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. In a number of ways, the professor’s study resonated nicely with the job stress conversation mentioned above which, in turn, made me want to share Finkelstein’s research in this latest Management Secrets blog series. Finkelstein examined what was done by over 50 former high-flying companies – like Enron, Tyco, WorldCom, Rubbermaid, and Schwinn – to become complete failures. As you read this list, consider how these seven nasty habits look at the executive C-level and how they look at the next management level down as well.

Unsuccessful Executive Habit # 1: They see themselves and their companies as dominating their environmentThis first habit appears to be the most insidious, since it seems to be highly desirable. Shouldn’t a company dominate its business environment in order to shape the future of its markets? Yes, but there’s a big catch. Unlike successful leaders, failed leaders who never question their dominance fail to recognize they are at the mercy of changing circumstances. They greatly overestimate the extent to which they control events and greatly underestimate the role of chance in their success.

To coin a phrase – they start believing their own press releases. Or put another way, their ego starts writing checks their body can’t cash. These CEOs suffer from an illusion of personal grandeur: Like certain movie directors, they see themselves as God-like creators of their companies. As far as they’re concerned, everyone else in the company is there to execute their personal vision for the organization. Samsung’s CEO Kun-Hee Lee was so successful with electronics he believed he could repeat his success with cars. He invested $5 billion in a saturated market with no business case. Why? He loved cars, had dreamed of being in the auto business and just assumed that’s all he needed. Wrong assumption.

Warning Sign for #1: A lack of respect – Side Note – at the management level, these managers may see themselves as dominating and having sovereign control of their team, humility is in short supply, ego is often profuse, as is lack of respect for the skills their employees bring to the table.

Habit #2: They identify so completely with the company that there is no clear boundary between their personal interests and their corporation’s interestsLike the first habit, this one seems innocent enough, perhaps even beneficial. But “don’t worry” said the spider to the fly. We want business leaders to be completely committed to their companies, with their interests aligned with those of the company. Turns out after digging deeper it was found that failed executives weren’t identifying too little with the company, but rather too much. Instead of treating companies as enterprises that they needed to nurture, failed leaders treated them as their personal offspring — extensions of themselves. With that, a “private empire” mentality was locked in.

CEOs with this outlook often use their companies to carry out personal ambitions. The most slippery slope of all for these leaders is to use corporate funds for personal reasons. CEOs with an impressive track record may come to feel they’ve made so much money for the company that the expenditures they make on themselves, even if extravagant, are trivial by comparison. This twisted reasoning was one of the factors that shaped the behavior of Dennis Kozlowski of Tyco and was exhibited in both his pride in his company and his personal extravagance. This is why he could sound so sincere making speeches about ethics while unethically using corporate funds for personal purposes. Being the CEO of a sizable corporation is the closest thing to being king of your own country, and that’s a dangerous title to assume.

Warning Sign for #2: A question of character – Side Note – at the management level, is it all about how things benefit the manager with no concern for the team? The manager who isn’t regularly concerned with his team’s welfare and will throw them under the bus if needed, falls closely in line with Habit Number 2, “character missing.”

Can you take the first two unsuccessful traits above and recall finding these traits in a manager you have worked for in the past — or worse – a manager YOU may have been? Think it over … drop me a line and let me know what answers you come up with. I’ll see you in a couple weeks with another Management Secrets blog installment and a few more bad habits to chew on.