Managing People: What are we going to do about Joe?
We are continuing our series based on The Goal by Eliyahu M Goldratt and the Theory of Constraints. {This series was co-written with Brad Stillahn.}
Dr. Lisa: “That’s true. In almost all of our client companies, when we started working with them, the management team was dysfunctional. And a dysfunctional management team will inhibit or block almost every kind of improvement. It’s a problem that needs to be addressed.”
Brad: “What’s the way out? Is there a solution?”
Dr. Lisa: “Dr. Goldratt suggests that when the policies, procedures, and measures that drive behavior aren’t appropriate—and they never are when a company is managed conventionally—then people are captured in conflicts for which there is no good solution. For example, you see this with managers of different organizational silos having different goals and measures. So, production is almost always at odds with sales. The organization ends up continually renegotiating unhappy compromises.”
Brad: “Of course, TOC is holistic. One of the first steps for improvement is to change the measures. There are operational measures that help guide silos to do what is good for the company as a whole. Anyone that has read The Goal was introduced to them, but rarely has anyone implemented them. Next, we align the organization with the company’s strategy and tactics. Then the silos are not at odds with each other.”
Dr. Lisa: “TOC also has the Thinking Processes for dealing with all kinds of issues, including thorny issues between people. The ‘Management Skills’ were developed just for that. There are five Management Skills workshops dealing with different topics:
1. Day-to-Day Conflicts,
2. Half-Baked Solutions,
3. Chronic Conflicts,
4. The Lieutenant’s Dilemma (about whether to delegate or just do it yourself), and
5. Reaching an Ambitious Target.
I’d recommend these to the leader of any management team. Developing skills for dealing with these issues will go a long way to reducing conflict, and improving communication.”
...to be continued.
Here's to maximizing YOUR profits!
Dr Lisa Lang
(c)Copyright 2009, Dr Lisa, Inc. All rights reserved.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
A Process Of On-Going Improvement (POOGI) - Part 44
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
A Process Of On-Going Improvement (POOGI) - Part 43
Managing People: What are we going to do about Joe?
We are continuing our series based on The Goal by Eliyahu M Goldratt and the Theory of Constraints. {This series was co-written with Brad Stillahn.}
Dr. Lisa: “Who’s Joe? You’d better tell them right away.”
Brad: “Joe is that problem personality you have in your organization. Joe’s just a nickname. It could be anyone, man or woman, exempt or non-exempt employee. People have to put up with Joe, have confrontations with Joe, avoid Joe, hope that the company leader will deal with Joe, etc.”
Dr. Lisa: “Sounds toxic. Why put up with that poison in the organization?”
Brad: “There’s generally a good reason. The person has special skills, or has built dependency in the organization around his or her silo, or has choked off information flow so no one else knows what’s going on. So, there is a risk and/or cost with taking action. We business owners can tell ourselves scary stories about what could go wrong if we try to deal with it, so we generally avoid dealing with it.”
Dr. Lisa: “Yeah, and if you don’t have a plan in place, and/or his or her replacement lined up, there is a real likelihood of things going wrong. The logic is clear. Still, it can’t be good for the morale of the organization to be tiptoeing around Joe.”
Brad: “Action is required. Occasionally, Joe has to go. But not always, it depends on the leader of the organization. Managing people is ultimately the leader’s responsibility. Most of the time, in small businesses, the leader is not good at or doesn’t know how to manage people. It’s not that they aren’t capable, they just don’t know how. They are very frustrated about it, too. They need help.”
...to be continued.
Here's to maximizing YOUR profits!
Dr Lisa Lang
(c)Copyright 2009, Dr Lisa, Inc. All rights reserved.
