Efficient Human Resources Management

A successful business depends to a great extent on the competent management of staff. These skills may be developed and studied. It may be a plus to have a intuitive affinity for people, but there are a few things you can learn to make the process simpler. Build relationships: Remembering co-workers by name should be a beginning. Speak to people; look employees in the eye as you’re talking. Show respect, and be sure to do pay attention to everything the other person says, even if you disagree or have another point of view. Listening to what staff say is one of the best human resources management skills in your arsenal. Show an interest in what people can give to the business.

Live up to your word: Keeping your word is key. When you don’t keep your word, the delicate bond of trust is broken, and without trust employees will not offer their best. Each time you make a statement or make a promise about something, ensure you can deliver or it would be more sensible not to give your word at all. The truth is, if you can’t be depended upon, they will not be there if you truly need them. Feedback is essential: Feedback should be a two-way process. Human Resources management skills mean being open to all feedback. Being approachable and open demonstrates that you respect your co-worker’s feedback, and they should listen to yours. Promoting discussion in addition encourages creative problem solving, innovative methods of accomplishing the mission of the team, and strengthens the team dynamic. By allowing the employees a voice, the success of the company will become important to every team member.

Encourage all sorts of communication: Dealing with individuals boils down to one concept - good communication. Keeping an open door policy, listen intently to your co-workers, be open minded, and permit all of your staff an equal voice. Inspire staff not only to communicate to you, but also with each other. The exchange of thoughts is critical in the creative process, if the team communicate openly, it’s easy to spot any problems swiftly, and corrective measures may be implemented before things get out of hand. A little work is required, nevertheless the rewards are worth it. By promoting a good team dynamic and listening to your team’s opinions, you can achieve a successful business.

So You’re Looking for Some Pointers about Risk Assessment Process, Hm?

Given the current economic state, minimising outgoings and optimizing your employees is the surest way to boost profits. Which brings us to the benefits of that great secret of successful companies, business performance management software. It is common knowledge that a profitable company tailors its procedures to the abilities of each member of staff to get the best out of them. While this data is useful, it isn’t easy to get your hands on it. Just tracking employee performance and identifying development in that performance rapidly becomes a huge hassle. The first step is to bring employee evaluation systems into play. This allows you to appraise the work of each member of staff. And if you’re using conventional approaches, you’ll need to analyze all of this information by eye just to set goals, and track further advancement. With performance appraisal software, all you need to do is examine the different analyses and factors to deduce the ideal goals and subsequently track the employee’s advancement. This eliminates the need to spend time on analysis and may even be more accurate. If you choose to you can instead make your own assessment, simply using the software to produce and maintain a full record to use as a basis. Performance management software doesn’t just work for employees. You can also use the software to scrutinize your suppliers & clients. You’ll have a data analysis that will highlight which suppliers provide higher quality products, at the lowest prices and also highlight those with bad damage records or poor delivery times.

Clients have their own metrics associated with them, and once again it’s possible to streamline your processes and benefit your bank balance. This information is useful in minimizing expenses and boosting profits. In addition to this, it’ll be less trouble to plan marketing campaigns due to your deeper insight into your ideal demographic. Performance appraisal software can keep track of your suppliers to save money and scrutinze the market to customize plans and boost your profits. It renders staff performance management quicker and more effective when motivating staff by presenting tangible achievements greatly. With all that taken into account, the real benefits of this system are endless and depend solely on your ability to use the information to your advantage…

A Tip Apropos What Is Performance Management

Please inspect this super website for performance reviews guidelines!

In the current economy, minimising outgoings and getting the best from what you have is the most effective way to increase profitability. This brings us on to the many benefits of that best-kept secret of successful companies, performance appraisal software. As we all know that making the most out of your company necessitates knowing in what areas your employees work best, and knowing how to customize your procedures to match that. While this information is important, it is not really easy to get hold of. Determining and tracking development through employee performance appraisal on its own can be a huge amount of work. You first put employee performance appraisal techniques together in order to evaluate all work done by each worker. Should you be employing established approaches, the next move is to analyze all the raw data you will have obtained just to track future progress and set goals. Using performance appraisal software you know that this analysis is taken care of and you only need to examine the different metrics to determine what an appropriate set of goals for this member of staff would be. It also makes following the member of staff’s progress much less effort. Thus you eliminate a significant demand on your time and probably also find yourself with more precise information as an added bonus. It’s of course also possible just to use the software to keep track of raw data like performance review forms and to examine these items yourself.

Not only that, but making your employees more efficient is only one improvement that can be implemented using performance appraisal software. It’s also worth studying clients and suppliers to be better able to reduce costs by precision buying. Knowing the suppliers that carry the better quality or best priced products can cut costs significantly.

Clients can be scrutinized with relation to your own business, and just as with suppliers and internal questions this information can be used to help your bottom line. This information is useful in minimizing expenses and boosting profits. Who couldn’t benefit from that? In addition to this, it’ll be simpler to plan marketing campaigns because you’ll have a clear view of your ideal demographic. Keeping an eye on both market and sources is effortless with performance management software. In tandem with regular talent assessment and employee assessment such software can help accelerate staff performance management extremely. It seems the sky honestly can be the limit with performance management software backing you up…

What People Who Actually Know Point out Touching on Health and Act

It’s thought in many businesses that, by offering each employee training in health and safety, they now have all the knowledge needed to cope with a disaster. In reality though, staff need more than the basics in health and safety regulatory affairs. Equipping your staff, choosing good supervision and encouraging regular practise are essential to the safety of employees. All teams must have a professional supervisor to oversee the work area, but this individual must also fulfill a greater role. A supervisor really needs to exhibit enthusiasm, they should also see health and safety training as essential.

As well as observing all of the rules and regulations, the function of a supervisor also includes supervising employee efficiency. This isn’t a simple task. Extensive industry knowledge is an essential in a supervisory job in addition to an in depth comprehension of the safety laws, risk assessment, and first aid. Just having health and safety training really is not sufficient for your workers. To positively spot a risk they require to put their new-found knowledge to the test. They have to know how to eliminate hazards and also how to act when the unexpected happens. Workers are only totally protected when their training and procedures have become routine.

Training is ineffective if you don’t provide safety equipment. When they don’t have the correct gear or alternatively if workers find that equipment is damaged in an emergency situation, the safety training they have undergone is wasted. You need to examine every last item frequently to verify that you have all the required gear and also that all the supplies are being properly looked after. If you find your equipment is not in good working order, make sure it is fixed or call out a maintenance engineer as soon as you can.

Your staff need to receive proper health and safety instruction, but they also require the right apparatus, the chance to practise, and a supervisor with infectious enthusiasm. If you take this advice you will find health and safety legislation will before long be ingrained in your business culture not something troublesome for everyone to remember.

Please hop over to our marvelous site for health & safety policy infos.

Don’t Panic with Your Interview Preparation

You have graduated from high school or college and now youre set for your first genuine job. You have mailed out resumes and have been called in for your opening interview. How can you do well at the job interview so you wind up being presented the situation? It is always worth considering going for a medical interview course

Dress professionally. No midriff shirts, low-cut blouses or flip-flops as you are going to work and not the beach. While its not necessary to buy a suit, it is very important to look professional. If you are trying to get a post in a old school office such as an accounting firm, do not dress as if you were departing to a gig. If you are applying for a retail situation, you have a little more looseness. Rather than list what clothing is and is not pleasing, I would tell you to dress as if you were going to meet one of the most important persons in your life- since you are!

There are many other paths in which you could get yourself better groomed for your upcoming interview. You could insure that you know how to get to the venue so that you wont be late. You could research the department so that you can ask pertinent questions and try to appear keen and knowledgeable. You could ask the current employees what they think of the place. That way, you will not only be able to better valuate whether the post is suitable for you, but also learn some valuable insights that could help you secure the post.

First impressions make a difference, and you desire to let the interviewer know you want the situation, are willing to work hard and will do your best. You might not necessarily be the most qualified candidate, but still land the situation since you were the most outstanding one. Best of luck with your job interview!

Staff Retention - is It a Big Issue for Employers?

A Big Issue

Big Issues are those that cost your organisation money - lots of money. On that criterion, staff retention is, for many companies, right up there with the biggest of their big issues. And, given the current vacancy and staff turnover levels in many organisations, it has the potential to become an ever bigger issue. Unless you do something positive about it now.

Let’s look at some numbers;

Our ‘typical’ business services firm employs around 1,000 people and has a staff turnover of 15% per annum. We have developed a Financial Impact Model which enables us to assess the impact of losing and replacing staff. This is clearly most accurate when using specific company figures, but still gives useful input at a more generalised level.

Applying the model, we estimate that the total costs (direct and indirect) of 15% staff turnover to this company are around £1,300,000. Or somewhere between 20% to 50% of its annual profits!

Of course this is an oversimplification. Indeed, some level of staff turnover is both expected and required. But what level? What cost is acceptable? And, assuming that it is lower than the current level, what can be done to improve staff retention so that the desired level is achieved?

Mitigating the challenge of staff attrition.

We suggest that managers;

1. Recognise that staff retention is a Big Issue. This can be achieved by ensuring it is measured. And in sufficient detail across the various functions, roles and levels within your organisation. Put the business management spotlight on retention. Don’t sideline it as an ‘HR issue’. It isn’t. It is an issue for general management as well as HR.

2. Calculate the financial implications. They are likely to vary significantly between organisations and indeed between departments and teams e.g. the organisational and costs structure and profit drivers of an outsourcing function will result in different loss and replace costs to those of a management consulting unit. Consider using a specialist to help you work through this.

3. Understand why people leave. Survey after survey show similar results. People don’t generally leave because of pay; in fact salary is generally considered less important than career progression, seeking new challenges and achieving greater recognition. Again you may wish to explore the specific reasons that affect your organisation. If so, how about exit surveys and structured interviews?

4. Establish a programme to improve staff engagement and enthusiasm. These same surveys also point out the solution to improving retention rates. Provide your key staff with the means to continually improve the impact and contribution they make to your business and to their own personal development. Help them to understand how they can have frequent ‘Career Bests’ in their daily work. Help them to understand how they can improve their performance over time, taking on greater challenges, building their capabilities and matching their skills and passions with the organisations needs. Help them recognise that career development doesn’t just mean a promotion into a more senior role. Rather it means moving through different stages of contribution, each one adding more value to themselves and to the business.

Build the coaching competencies of all your supervisory and managerial staff. Our research has shown just how important it is that supervisors and managers know how to enable high performance and commitment.

5. Set clear expectations. Employers and employees have shared responsibilities for personal development. Be clear as to what they are and how they are agreed. Build this into your development management system and link it to your performance management process.

6. Measure it. Once you’ve built a programme, make sure that its impact and value is measured against costs and results. Above all measure all your supervisory staff on their ability to reduce staff turnover and to build teams of committed, effective, engaged and enthusiastic staff.

And if you would like to discuss any of these issues with a specialist, talk to me on +44 (0)1252 727980 or email info@new-frontiers.co.uk

John Schonegevel is a Director of New Frontiers.

New Frontiers helps employers retain and develop great people. We specialise in developing and sustaining high performing people at work. High performance comes from skilled and motivated staff, working smoothly towards achieving clear goals.

We work to change peoples’ behaviours enabling them to increase their impact and value at work and significantly grow the contribution they make to their employer’s business results.

Our role is to support people in taking responsibility for meeting both their employers goals and their own, increasing their capabilities and so leading to sustained high performance, full engagement and ongoing enthusiasm at work.

New Frontiers is a Novations Consulting Partner

Diversity Increases Group Decision-Making Ability

A recent study by Tufts University scientists looked into the impact of diversity relative to juries. As reported by the United Press International, the study looked at decisions made by all-white juries in decisions made by a diverse jury of blacks and whites.

The study looked strictly at all-white versus black-and-white juries and made no apparent attempt to involve other national or racial cultures.

According to the study, diverse groups made fewer factual errors relative to the evidence in when errors were made they were more likely to be identified as errors.

The Multicultural Business Council (www.mbc-usa.org)has long supported the body of knowledge that states diversity will enhance decision-making ability.

“The more diversity you can get in any decision-making team will increase your chances arriving at the best possible decision,” points out Rick Weaver, Chief Operations Officer of the Multicultural Business Council. “By involving people with different life experiences, you’re most likely get people to look at different possibilities when examining conclusions and solutions. This is not to say that you want a large group, it is simply to say that the more diversity you can recruit the more likely you are to consider options that a single cultural group may not even have considered.”

The Multicultural Business Council has always included diversity exercises when training organizations on team building skills, decision-making skills, and problem-solving skills. In these classes participants quickly understand the need for diversity if they are to be successful. Experiential learning methods prove to the participants that it is not simply necessary to work together as a team, but to make sure the team is comprised of a solid blend of unique backgrounds and experiences.

Rick Weaver is an accomplished business executive with a wealth of experience in retail, market analysis, supply chain enhancement, project management, team building, and process improvement.

Rick career began in retailing as a stockclerk, eventually becoming the Director of Vendor Development at Kmart Corporation during it’s heyday. In this position he worked with hundreds of Kmart’s suppliers to improve mutual processes, procedures, and profits.

As a consultant, Rick has worked with companies in various industries to develop leadership and business strategies. As an entrepreneur, Rick has founded or co-founded six successful organizations, including non-profit and for profit. Now in his role as president of MaxImpact, Rick uses his vast experience helping individuals connect to their dreams and teams connect to a common vision.

Rick’s presentation style of blending humor, real life examples, and easy to implement ideas has made him a popular speaker at seminars, workshops, and conferences in in 43 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

Work on Your Business, not in Your Business

Restaurateurs fail to get past one store because of one reason. Restaurateurs fail to make boatloads of money because of one reason.

The one reason…they are too busy working in their business, not on it. How can you possibly expect to have time to manage the store when you are running it? You’re bussing tables, working the bar, helping out in the kitchen. You’re running food, cashing out servers, making schedule changes, covering shifts and dealing with the phone. You’re making table visits; you’re even running an ad in the local paper. But you know what? It’s not enough. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. If you spend everyday working in the business, it will not change. Trust me.

Stephen Covey in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People brilliantly explained the difference between Leadership and Management. It goes something like this….

Imagine yourself in the forest. You have a front line of staff who are swinging machetes, carving a path through the thick underbrush. Behind the staff stand the Managers. The Managers ensure that the staff are working as a team, are getting breaks, are using sharp machetes, and the managers administer first aid as it’s needed. They ensure the staff get massages as needed (preventative maintenance) and the schedule stays on time.

Now the Leader is behind the Managers, but high atop the tallest tree. The Leader is shouting down, “A little to the left. That’s it you’re right on track.”

You see a Leader has the vision. The Leader is the one who knows where we are going and sees the big picture. The Leader has before her a plan of short-term and long-term goals. The Leader is not clearing the underbrush, but ensures the path through the underbrush is the correct one.

In the game we call “Restaurant”; the plan is your budget, your marketing plan, your one week, one month, one quarter, or one year objectives. Whether they are staff based, financial based, service based, kitchen/culinary based, or all of the above; they are objectives nonetheless.

Now if you tell me you don’t have any plans or objectives, that, my friend is your first mistake. The second would be not taking the time to meet them.

But you can’t get decent staff, you don’t feel comfortable leaving your supervisors in charge long enough to work on your business. If you don’t take the time to hire the right people and develop them and train them properly, you will never be able to get out of the “working in the business” stage.

Here’s what you do:

i. Develop policies and procedures for everything. Yes, everything.

ii. Train your staff on all your new policies and procedures. If they don’t like the “new you”, get people who do. Give them 30-40 hours of training. Work them for a shift in the kitchen, on the door, and the bar if they are a server. Train them to sell. Give them product knowledge and test them on it. Cross-train your kitchen staff.

iii. Spend time and effort getting great people. Don’t just hire people to fill positions, hire the right people. If you can’t find them, keep looking. They’re out there.

iv. Once you get some decent, reliable staff who are selling and developing relationships with guests so they return, now you start to plan. Make a list of short and long term objectives you wish to meet.

v. Build a marketing plan based on said objectives.

vi. Execute, execute, execute.

Now that sounds too easy and I know I have simplified it to the extreme, but I will guarantee, a simplified plan is better than no plan. I guarantee that if you start with a simplified plan, a great one will develop. What are you waiting for? Stop managing and start leading.

Top Shelf Consulting has been helping Ontario restaurants increase profits since 2000. Specializing in Menu Engineering, Cost Controls, and Service Selling, Top Shelf offers both one-on-one consultations as well as full-day seminars.

Check us out at http://www.topshelfconsulting.ca

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Does Your Business Plan Ease These Investor Concerns?

Business investors are sensitive to at least three major constraints when evaluating business plans. I call these constraints The Three R’s: reality, readiness, and resources.

Reality

Many creative entrepreneurs with ideas for scientific breakthroughs have ended up frustrated with business investors who just don’t seem to “get it.” The truth is, however, that it’s the entrepreneur who’s not getting it.

Unlike creativity or scientific breakthroughs, starting or expanding a business requires the entrepreneur be keenly aware of their customers, competition, and core competencies.

Creativity and scientific breakthroughs often disregard the customer, the competition, or a company’s core competencies, which is why they are usually risky and often require significant capital over several years before they are monetized. The opposite type of investment most business investors seek.

For example, suppose you had an idea for a new everlasting light bulb. After researching the market, you determine that customers do want such a bulb and are willing to pay a premium for it. Preliminary manufacturing studies show that you can produce the bulb and profit nicely from it. Would business investors be receptive to backing a business plan that puts you up against the likes of General Electric or Westinghouse? But, you say, your plan is to some day sell your idea to these competitors. Again, how receptive would a GE or Westinghouse be to a plan that obsoletes a major product line? What would HP do with a plan that killed its aftermarket in print cartridges? Do you see the flaws in such thinking? Business investors do.

That’s why business investors like to invest in business plans that are grounded in reality. Plans based on reasonable risks that can be monetized quickly and generate a return on their investment. Although the everlasting light bulb strikes a consumer hot button, it fails the reality test by not addressing the distribution network and shelf control of large competitors. More important, the strategy to sell the business to one of these competitors is a flawed exit strategy.

Readiness

The second major consideration that a business investor wants addressed is readiness or timing. Unless the time is right for the proposed business plan, business investors are not likely to support it.

Take for example a business plan to introduce dishwashers in Japan in the early 1970’s. When dishwashers were rapidly becoming popular in other areas of the world, the average Japanese kitchen was too small to accommodate the new appliance. Moreover, the prevailing attitude among homemakers was that dishwashers were for the lazy or the idle rich. It took over a decade of attitude, social, and cultural changes before the timing was right to successfully introduce dishwashers to the Japanese market.

Business plans not only fail to gain support when they are premature, they also fail when they are late. Think how many American and European watch, automotive, or camera manufacturers lost their competitive advantage in their respective international markets because they resisted automation or robotics until it was too late. It is unlikely that investors would support a U.S. business plan based on automation or robotics in one of these markets today.

Resources

It’s amazing how many entrepreneurs ignore or neglect this constraint. Perhaps they believe that this is the entrepreneurial way…to know no obstacles. Although this attitude may impress self-help gurus, it won’t impress business investors.

The business plan graveyard is filled with plans that failed because their entrepreneurs were not sensitive to resource limitations. In most cases, these limitations range from the entrepreneur’s lack of sensitivity to their own internal resources and skills to not fully understanding what it takes to execute the plan itself.

This is especially true of businesses that are trying to expand through diversification. The world markets are filled with food companies that have failed trying to enter pharmaceuticals, chemical companies that have failed trying to enter foods, or electronic component manufacturers that failed trying to enter final assembly.

For start-up companies, entrepreneurs often fail to adequately estimate cash requirements or the time and resources required to build distribution channels, win customers, or to launch or sustain a business.

Business investors, experienced ones anyway, are all too familiar with the importance of resource constraints. So, when business investors zero in on this area and challenge your assumptions, don’t get too defensive. Instead, listen to their concerns with the knowledge that they can help you tighten up your plan and improve your chances of success.

Mike Elia is a chief financial officer and an advisor to venture capitalists and leverage buyout specialists. For more information about business plans and raising capital for your business or to review his business plan manual, visit http://www.business-plan-secrets-revealed.com

Demise of the Lone Ranger Manager: A Lesson in Management Communication Style

When executives see themselves as solely responsible for the overall success of their enterprise, subordinates can hardly be blamed for acting according to predictions.

Let’s look at a familiar scene in classical American - if I
may use the word - mythology.

Panic and terror have brought all normal activity to a
standstill in some pioneering settlement in the Wild
West. A bunch of bad guys have been scaring the pants
off the innocent, helpless and disorganized townsfolk.

Then an imposing masked figure rides up on a white
horse. He arrives just in the nick of time.

With the right blend of courage and cunning, he
vanquishes the bad guys by being just a little quicker,
smarter and tougher than they are. Then, satisfied that
everything is under control, he stoically rides off
into the sunset.

The Lone Ranger has saved the day again.

But as the adrenaline levels of the grateful townsfolk
gradually return to normal and they prepare to resume
their mundane tasks, they may or may not realize that
they are now no wiser or better prepared to deal with the
next big problem.

When faced again with a major crisis, they’ll just have
to hope for a return of the thundering hoofbeats,
signaling another last-minute rescue by the daring hero.

In their book Managing for Excellence, David Bradford
and Allan Cohen write that they often begin their
workshops for managers with an illuminating exercise
that simulates a top-management team.

Bob Young, CEO of a manufacturing company, is faced
with a problem. More and more customers have been
complaining about defective gaskets, a crucial
component in the company’s key product. A worried Bob
has called a special meeting of the operations
committee.

The four other members of the committee are apparently
aware of the source of the problem - a change in
suppliers and inspection procedures. But the strong
feelings - positive and negative - they have about each
other and about Bob Young, prevent them from talking
openly about the subject.

The workshop leaders ask the participants to plan how
they, as Bob Young, could run the meeting so that “the
problem gets solved while building a stronger team”.
Participants then take turns to assume the role of the
CEO.

As each simulated meeting gets under way, Bob Young’s
subordinates - the personnel on the operations
committee - go on the defensive and start sniping at each
other. When he sees this happening, says Bradford and
Young, the “Bob Young” in command almost invariably
begins a heroic attempt to solve the problem single-
handedly.

In the most frequent maneuver, Bob Young takes over the
meeting and starts playing a detective-like version of the
Lone Ranger. He cross-examines each person in turn
about what he knew, what she had done, and what he
saw as the problem. By his tone, posture and questions,
the aspiring CEO conveys the message: “I am going to
get to the bottom of this!.”

But as Bob Young proceeds with his solo-rescue
mission, those playing the four subordinates instinctively
get even cagier and more snide with one another. They
either try to push the blame off on each other or cover up,
so they will not be exposed in front of each other.

Even the odd “Bob Young” who is so good at playing
Lone Ranger that he manages to extract all the facts, is
hard pressed to build any team cooperation to solve the
problem. Once he finally grasps the sequence of events
that led to defective parts slipping through, he is stuck
with trying to find a solution that can be implemented by
estranged and embarrassed subordinates.

Bradford and Cohen surmise that the classic showdown
of the old-fashioned Western movie - in which everything
depends on the hero’s nerves of steel, complete
command of the situation, agility, and guts - still
dominates the fantasies of present-day managers. After
all, they grew up on cowboys and Indians, war movies
and tough, individualistic male heroes - and even many
women who have made it into middle management tend
to think in these heroic terms.

It hardly occurs to these people that their image of the
Western frontier of old may not be historically accurate.

Presumably, the taming of the West demanded a highly
developed collaborative spirit. Mutual assistance and
team work, rather than flamboyant individualism, must
have been the hallmarks of the pioneering communities.
The picture is hardly one of a helpless society.

But when a leader views others as helpless (like the
townspeople), or evil (like the bad guys), his prophecies
may indeed be self-fulfilling.

If a manager sees himself as solely responsible for the
overall success of his enterprise, subordinates will retreat
to their narrow piece of turf. When people a little lower
down in the hierarchy are treated as weak and as unable
to cope, they shrug their shoulders, gradually lose motivation and act in accordance with
the predictions.

This, in turn, only “proves” to the boss that more “help”
is necessary. Those treated as untrustworthy or incompetent
also begin to behave accordingly, since they are excluded
from everything, anyway.

In all these cases, upward communication grinds slowly
and inexorably to a halt.

So what can we do about it?

Well, let’s go back to the case of the defective gaskets,
and see how another Bob Young, with a rather different
management orientation,handles the meeting with his
subordinates of the operations committee. After outlining
the problem, he tells his people:

“You are the guys who best know the situation; you know
what caused it, and you know what the best solution
looks like. Therefore, I want us in this meeting to come
up with the best answer.”

Now, no matter what objections his people might have
had to Bob’s previous style, at least they had learned to
live with (and around) it. Before jumping in and accepting
his new statement, they test the waters very carefully:

“I don’t know, Bob. You know the operations inside and
out. What do you think the best solution is?”

Bob replies:

“This is the kind of issue we need to tackle together,
because then we’ll be sure not only of getting this
problem solved, but we’ll be able to prevent similar
dilemmas in the future.”

A long silence follows. The subordinates hope they can
outlast the CEO and force him to take over. When this
strategy doesn’t seem to be working, the head of
production glances over to the quality control manager
and turns back to Bob:

“Bob you are busy getting us major contracts. We don’t
have to take up valuable meeting time going around and
around on this issue. Roy and I will meet and come up
with the solution, and I’ll let you know tomorrow.”

Bob is not quite satisfied with this. He knows that,
despite its appearance of a willingness to assume
responsibility, it is actually an attempt to hide dirty
linen from him.

He knows that the problem is far more than a technical
one; after all, the complaints about the defective product
isn’t news to any of them. It is also a managerial
problem, for the matter should have been resolved by
now. He therefore responds:

“Don, I’m sure you and Roy could come up with
something, but I also want all of us to improve our
collective ability to solve problems. To do that, we need
to work on it together, since everyone’s involved.”

Eventually, the group manages to uncondition itself from
the defensive approach and settles down in problem-
solving mode. One member proposes a good solution,
another points out logistic difficulties in implementing it,
and they work out ways to get round these difficulties.
Problem solved.

But today, the little group has achieved far more than a
specific solution to a specific problem.And the manager
remains a manager; he has merely adapted to the needs
of the times.

Azriel Winnett is creator of Hodu.com - Your Communication Skills Portal. This popular website helps you improve your communication and relationship skills in your business or professional life, in the family unit and on the social scene. New free articles and tutorials added almost daily.