The Management Consulting Group

I was talking to my daughter last week who seemed to be having a pretty tough time finding a job. I knew times were a little tough, but I had no idea until I talked with her. She had put in applications all over town and nobody seemed to be hiring. That was until she called the California janitorial cleaning service. They were able to hire her the same day she came in, and she started working the next day. She barely missed a week of work, and is now on track to getting her apartment back. Things are looking up now.

I told my friend that I would watch their two dogs for him while he was away on vacation. I have had them over before, but never for an extended amount of time. I didn’t think it would be any different, but boy was I wrong. They made my house a complete wreck. They went potty everywhere, and ended up dragging stuff out of my garage all over the floor in the living room. I called the California janitorial cleaning service to come and clean it up. They got everything back to it’s original condition, but I will never watch those dogs again.

The words “team building” trigger instant images for most of us. Climbing walls, outdoor settings, group hugs, and of course the kum ba ya jokes.

There are reasons why our past experiences were ineffective and a waste of time and money. Not because the workshop was necessarily bad, but because nothing changed when the group went back to work. The activities and metaphors created by these types of sessions do a wonderful job creating insights, but high performance team functioning is a discipline. The bad reputation comes from the inability to turn these insights into applications.

So how does one invest time and money in these programs and get a positive return?

There are basically three opportunities for using “team” types of programs. Actually there are probably more, but here are the most consistent trends:

• Conference workshops

* These sessions are designed to support the concepts and themes for a specific conference. This may include a content speaker and interactive learning sessions that usually last between four and eight hours in length.

* Or participants may be in break out sessions for a few days and it’s nice to have a fun, yet tangible release.

• Performance development

* These are the “roll-up your sleeves”, let’s get at the issues of our organization, types of programs. The may be the result of change, or just dysfunctional team behavior.

* Measurement and assessment, as well as action planning, in conjunction with interactive learning work best. Sessions can be four hours to four days.

• Social interaction

* These are recreational events with little to no insights. They might include corporate olympics, paint ball, or boat building types of activities.

* They are fun and social, but no epiphanies are going to take place.

All three types of programs can be well run with varying degrees of effectiveness. The first two, though, are workshops that can be disappointing if expectations are not met and no positive results have occurred.

The management of expectations is crucial to the success of any team development process. Your odds for success increase dramatically when you address five key components. These include the needs assessment, interactive learning, the debrief, action planning and follow up.

The needs assessment

Basically, putting the custom back into customer. Every organization’s culture is different and so are their needs. So, how do we customize a program to get the largest return on investment? For this we reference Stephen Covey and The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People specifically by “beginning with the end in mind”.

Once the information on the dynamics of the group are understood, which could include organizational or industry changes, specific interpersonal issues, or recent events that have impacted this group, then we can start painting the picture of what an absolutely successful program really looks like. What are participants walking away with? What behavior or process changes will take place? Visualize success…what does it look like? Basically, “begin with the end in mind”.

I have a friend who owns Sandler Sales Institute in Tampa, Florida and he describes this as “defining the pain”. Why have you here today? When the elements of a successful team development program are visualized and verbalized, then a customized program can be designed to accomplish these desired outcomes.

A well executed needs assessment will allow the mapping and customization of an effective team development program. Information and data gathering can happen through:

• Interviewing team leaders and/or participants

• Measurement tools

This data is useful as both a diagnostic and for tracking development. Team development has often been perceived as an intangible. The fact is groups can apply metrics and track a team’s development and hold its members accountable.

By “beginning with the end in mind” facilitators can clearly identify the pain and begin to manage expectations of the outcomes.

Interactive Learning

Whether you chose to call it action learning or experiential learning, these activities can be fun and insightful.

How does one select the appropriate activities for a results driven program and what are the options? There are hundreds of choices to choose including cognitive problem solving activities, board games, philanthropic community projects and of course ROPES courses.

Truly, the purpose of these activities is to create insight. The activities are not “team building” in and of themselves. They are the prompts for discussion. Trust Falls don’t build trust and climbing 60 feet in the air doesn’t make you a risk taker in business.

If you want to be trusted be trustworthy and if you want to be respected be respectful.

What program should provide are experiences to look at individual and group dynamics regardless of the activity. It’s the insights extracted during the conversation after the activity that truly begins the developmental process.

The debrief
Very simply three things should be discussed:

• What?

• So what?

• Now what?

Not to discount the importance of this component, in fact quite the contrary, but it is that simple.

What? - Is the discussion of what just took place.
So what? - Is the transfer back to the day in the life of our business. How does the way we functioned together just now have anything to do with this team, this organization and our objectives?
Now what? - This takes us back to the beginning of this article and why most team development is ineffective. It’s because this question doesn’t get addressed.

Action planning
The question needs to be addressed, “what is going to be doing different on Monday morning as a result of this session together”? How do we turn our insights into applications?

Very often work groups leave these sessions feeling pretty good and even somewhat energized, but it’s just a matter of time before this too will pass.

• Insights must be surfaced

• Changes need to be identified

• Action plans, whether individual or group focused, must be developed

• Group members need to be held accountable

Follow up

A reason for the failure to implement change and experience a successful team development program is the perception that these sessions are events, not a process.

Work groups don’t leave a session and all of a sudden are knighted as high performance teams. Action plans need to be put into action, metrics need to be applied and team members need to be held accountable.

Follow up sessions are crucial to maintaining momentum as well as revisiting and restructuring goals and actions and maintaining top of mind awareness.

If the group goes back to business as usual as opposed to business as unusual, well then shame on them. At the end of the day then the critics are right. Why waste your money on team building? I wish you all the success in your endeavors as you inspire your leaders and develop your teams!

Nicholas D. Conner is Vice President of Program Development and COO of TeamBuilders.

For nearly twenty years he has enjoyed sharing his experience and expertise with organizations that include small business to Fortune 20 Companies.

His unique facilitation style combining humor with knowledge creates workshops that are both entertaining and insightful. Nick is one reason why TeamBuilders’ client list reads like a Who’s Who of global business.

EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE
Nearly twenty years of designing and facilitating sophisticated workshops in Team Synergy - High Performance Teams, Mergers and Acquisitions and Change, Leadership Synergy, Leading & Coaching for High Performance Teams and Self-Managed/Self-Directed Work Teams.

Myers Briggs Type Indicator Level Eight Facilitator-MBTI, MBTI Step II, MBTI Executive Coaching

Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership-Kouzes and Posner

The FiveStar Team Performance Indicator

Key Note Speaker

Human Resource Employee Risk Profile

Is your business at risk? Do you want peace of mind?

Please answer the following question honestly by drawing a circle around or shading in the column. If you can only answer part of the question in the affirmative, then you should select ‘No’ eg in Q1 if you have employment contracts for your employees and not for your management team then select ‘No’.

1. I have up to date employment contracts for all employees and management Yes No

2. I induct all employees into the workplace using a documented process Yes No

3. I have fully documented human resources procedures and policies in place Yes No

4. These policies and procedures are available to all employees and are regularly referred to, used and maintained Yes No

5. I conduct a semi-annual performance management process with all employees Yes No

6. I have documented grievance, discrimination, workplace bullying & sexual harassment policies in place Yes No

7. I have a written termination procedure and policy in place Yes No

8. My employees have been trained and understand that we do not accept discrimination, workplace bullying & sexual harassment Yes No

9. Minor workplace issues are not taking to much of my time Yes No

10. We have low employee turnover compared to our industry average Yes No

11. I provide my employees with regular constructive feedback and reward them where appropriate Yes No

RATINGS

11 from 11 well done

10 from 11 well done, almost there

9 from 11 very good and tie up loose ends

8 from 11 good and you must tighten up these loose ends

7 from 10 you have a high risk profile, take action

6 or less from 11 remedial action urgently required to ‘protect’ your business

Your peace of mind is up to you - your choice my choice.

Visit www.biz-momentum.com

Philip Lye is Director of Biz Momentum Pty Ltd providing professional services in strategic human resource management, employee relations (HR / IR Matters), training your people to work with you and not against you’, ‘coaching you’ to be a better executive and review of commercial documentation, leases and agreements.

Phil holds qualifications in Accounting, Leadership, Human Resource Management & Industrial Relations and is a qualified accountant.

Phil started his working career as the ‘postage clerk’ in banking and finance rising through various business opportunities to CEO and CFO of two companies before leaving to start his own business in 2002.

You can find more information at http://www.biz-momentum.com

There’s nothing automatic about corporate growth, particularly
in the information technology industry; “build it and they will
come” is a myth. In the real world there is either a structured,
process-driven growth cycle, or stagnation and stagnation IS
automatic. Inherent to growth cycles are barriers, real-world
business challenges that put some software companies out of
business and spur others on to break through those barriers to
higher levels of success. Overcoming those barriers is the very
definition of growth; when you break through a barrier, you’ve
achieved growth.

You’re a software or information technology company, prosperous
in 2005, which means that you have a good product, you’ve made
some smart decisions and you’ve already broken through some
growth barriers. You’re successful. Now what?

Any company, regardless of age or size can experience barriers
to growth: if you find it hard to develop and maintain market
momentum; are tied to your entrepreneurial management style and
unable to scale; have reached a level of revenue or income and
stagnation is settling in; or if your revenue is generated from
one product, service, client, or industry, then you’re at the
next growth barrier, you need to be able recognize it, and you
need to prepare to cross it. This overview discusses the typical
growth barriers that confront many IT and software companies,
and how external consultants can be used effectively to break
through those barriers.

Strategy Constrained At this point your company or product is in
the early stages of its evolution. You’ve landed a handful of
key accounts, and you’re encouraged by your early success. Now
you need a plan, a strategy, a concrete agenda that will move
your information technology company from being a collection of
talented people with a common goal, to being a team with a
common goal and a battle-tested strategy for achieving that goal.

This stage is characterized by: •Perpetual realignment of
company strategy By delivering guidance on corporate strategy, a
marketing strategy
consultant may be able to help a company like yours to:
•Define untapped solution areas •Make technological platform
decisions •Select appropriate geographic markets •Write
actionable business plans

Capital Constrained You’ve taken your software company or
product as far as you can on your savings. Or perhaps you’ve
made a few key sales that have kept you afloat. In order to move
your company on to the next phase of development you need an
infusion of capital to hire skilled employees, make key
acquisitions and fuel your growth. Technology is your specialty,
not prospectus writing for venture capitalists.

This stage is characterized by: •Inability to fund business
strategies •Decision-making based upon short-term cash-flow
issues rather than long-term strategy

Through road-show ready business plan development and
introduction to network of VCs and angel investors, a strategy consultant
may be able to help a company like yours to: •Author compelling
investment prospectuses •Define immediate and long-term
financial requirements •Execute successful finance road shows

Skills Constrained Typically a company finds themselves at this
stage of development with a great product built on sound
technology aimed at a particular industry, and their first round
of financing secured. They also find themselves with a weak or
non-existent positioning statement, a reactive product
management process, exhausted or ineffective sales skills, and a
strictly opportunistic business development strategy. Company
growth is limited in part by the notion that the product will
sell itself because it is superior to any other on the
marketindeed, it may be the only offering. Revenue growth is
limited because the product is defined in terms of its
functionality, not its value to the customer.

The offering, and by extension the company, is still being
defined by technologists; it has yet to be married with a solid
business development plan, marketing or sales acumen. More
worrisome is that the very success of your company has brought
you to the attention of major players who do have personnel and
strategies dedicated to driving you out of the market; they view
you as a threat. Your days of flying under the radar are over.

This stage is characterized by: •An attractive market •A
compelling product •Adequate financial resources •An inability
to develop market momentum

Through sales,
marketing, product management and business development
acumen, a sales and
marketing strategy consultant may be able to help a company
like yours to: •Recruit and manage skilled personnel •Craft
compelling product and company positioning •Create effective
sales vehicles and sales strategy •Recruit and manage
appropriate and motivated alliance partners

Process Constrained A company at this stage of development is
typically successful, no longer a start-up, is being run by a
management team, has been accepted in the market, and is
competitive. However, fundamental product development and sales
and marketing management processes have not yet been accepted
within the foundation of the corporate culture. This means that
the solution to most situations are human-based, usually
hand-crafted by the management team; the foundation of proven
processes is absent.

This stage is characterized by: •Market acceptance •Ability to
compete with established players •All actions are hand-crafted,
typically by the senior management team

By introducing repeatable, best-of-breed processes for sales, marketing and
product management specically in the IT and software sector
, a sales and
marketing strategy consultant may help a company like yours
to: •Introduce effective and repeatable IT and software
product management, marketing and sales processes •Reduce
day-to-day reliance on senior management resources

Innovation Constrained Organizations at this stage of
development have achieved a great deal of success; processes are
ingrained, product development is streamlined, and sales and
marketing systems are in place. But by definition the market
keeps shifting: your product is being eclipsed by younger
companies with products that perhaps even capitalize on your R&D
and experience; your market may be saturated to the point that
the double-digit growth rates your investors have come to take
for granted are a thing of the past. You need a new product or a
new market or both.

This stage is characterized by: •The management team no longer
involved in all decisions •Stagnation beginning to creep in with
respect to products and markets

By introducing fresh thinking about new markets, products, and
channels, a business
strategy consultant specializing in software and information
technologymay be able to help a company like yours to:
•Author innovative channel
strategies •Leverage existing products into new vertical and
geographic markets •Capture requirements for nascent product
lines •Embrace change as the source of competitive advantage

Focus is the single most important factor that will determine whether your dreams come true or not. Depending on what your dreams are, there are so many rivers to cross. Some hurdles look quite formidable, and a lot of folks give up at the first sign of a setback.

Focus helps you put your act together. It helps you mobilize your resources and channel them in one direction. That way, you make progress consistently in the direction of your goal or milestones.

Imagine the lamps in the front of your car. Most models use the same size and bulb and wattage. What makes a full beam is focus. Driving on a dark road at midnight, you can see up to a kilometer ahead. If the beam is focussed further, it can generate heat. Focussed further still, it cut through some materials. That is the power of focus.

To fulfil your dreams, you have to break it down into actionable segments, goals. Fulfilling the dream involves achieving the goals that make up the dream. Focus enables you meet your goals.

Without focus, you become distracted. You lose direction. Your priorities get messed up. You start to look in different directions. This may involve beginning other projects, when the one at hand has not been pursued to a logical conclusion. The cycle continues, and the net effect is that you litter the landscape with abandoned projects. If you consider the time, energy and resources committed into these abandoned projects, put together and focussed on one project, results would have been achieved.

This brings to mind a simple experiment we did in junior high. To draw a simple straight line from point A to point B, without using a straight edge. To do that successfully, we were instructed to mark out the two points at two opposite ends of a plain sheet of paper. Then placing our pencil on point A, we were to keep our eyes on point B, as we draw the line. The net effect was a simple (maybe not perfect) straight line from point A to B. We were told to repeat the experiment, this time, place our pencil at point a, and keep our eyes on the pencil as it makes its way to point B. You can guess the result; a wavy line from point A to nowhere. By the time the pencil got to the opposite edge of the paper, we had to look for point B is. We had all gone way off mark.

It was a simple and powerful lesson in focus, though sadly, few of us took it to heart; keep your eyes where you are going, and you will get there. Keep your eyes where you are, and you will get lost.

Have you ever wondered what is the difference between a magnet and a nail? They are both made of carbon steel. It is in its molecular structure. Each has a north and south polarity. In the magnet, all the molecules are in perfect alignment, all north poles pointing in one direction (to make the north pole) and all south poles pointing in the opposite direction (to make the south pole). This is what accumulates to constitute the magnetic force. In the nail, the alignment is haphazard. They point in all directions. The net effect is that the electromagnetic forces cancel themselves and the resultant magnetic force is nil.

If you bring a nail within the magnetic field of a magnet, it sucks it in. While still attached to the magnet, the nail becomes a magnet too, and can magnet other metals. What happens is the magnetic force of the magnet forces the molecules in the nail to put its act together and line up in one direction. If you remove the nail, its molecular array returns to its former state, and it becomes a non-magnet one more time.

The magnet is a focused guy. He pulls its resources together and achieves. The nail is a confused guy, he deploys its resources in all directions, jumps from project to project and cancels out whatever progress he would have made.

As a shrewd manager of or time, energy and resources we need to plan and focus. You may have a thousand ideas. Create an idea bank in your computer and store them for safekeeping. Each idea has its time. Nothing can stop an idea whose time has come. If you run before time, you wear yourself out, and add your idea to your database of abandoned projects. Instead of the idea motivating you, it now becomes a source of discouragement.

Each well-run army knows its strategic strengths, and how many theatres of war it can prosecute simultaneously. If it over stretches itself, it sets itself up for defeat.

It may be time step back review your current ongoing projects. Take a second look at your short term and long term goals. Do you still believe in your dream? If so, look at projects that are on the critical path to the fulfillment of your dream. Suspend projects that distract you from getting to where you are headed. If all your ongoing projects are relevant, assign priorities to them, continue with the most critical, and keep the others in view. Pursue one project to its logical conclusion. It may not necessarily mean staying permanently on one project. You can push it to a stage that it becomes self-sustaining or delegate-able to others, then delegate and move on. It will continue to thrive, as you break new grounds. Also you can take on other projects, if and only if they do not distract you, or slow down your primary thrust.

It does not make sense to complain that you don’t have enough time to do the things you need to do, simply because you got your life cluttered with so many things that are nice, but not absolutely necessary.

It is great to start. Most folks don’t. But starting alone is not enough. Finish what you start. The laurel belongs to those who finish, not to starters. The end of the matter is better than the beginning thereof. If you remain focussed long enough, you will get to the finish line.

Usiere Uko is the webmaster of the Financial Freedom Inspiration website and editor of the monthly Financial Freedom Inspiration Newsletter, a free ezine to inspire you to exit the rat race and fulfill your God given dreams. To subscribe or visit the site, please click on the URL below. http://www.financial-freedom-inspiration.com

There will be at least two presentations you make to a Venture Capitalist. The first is the “elevator pitch” or rather the quick, get their attention and interest presentation that will lead to the sending of the full business plan, if all goes as planned. Then comes the “Get the Money” presentation.

A good bit of time needs to go into creating these presentations. Let us first discuss the “Get Their Attention” presentation.

At this point you have written your business plan and have pulled out the Executive Summary for sending out to the Venture Capitalists, etc. You then need to create a cover letter that will go with that Executive Summary outlining how much money you want, how you want to use it (remember, the Executive Summary, while it will have the financials that outline how the money will be used in a spreadsheet, does not necessarily do so) and what you would look for from the Venture Capitalist after the money. You also ask for a date to do discuss the Executive Summary and to pursue rather they are interested in going forward.

Once the Venture Capitalist accepts your Executive Summary and agrees to meet with you, you should have a presentation that is geared to that Venture Capitalist. This presentation should be from fifteen to twenty slides, and should cover an overview of your product(s), and be sure to show the proof of concept version of the product(s), a rough breakdown of your industry, the market, the competition, and your Executive Staff. You should know enough about the Venture Capitalist to know what the triggers are for this person to peek their interest. In most cases, you can figure this first presentation will be done in less than or about thirty minutes, and leave about five to ten of those minutes for Questions and Answers. You want to be sure to have on hard a copy of your full business plan, should they be interested in going forward to the next steps. Most will request a few days to review your presentation and look at other factors as well before committing to going forward or backing out.

The next presentation is often about one and a half hours to three hours long, depending how long the Venture Capitalist gives you. At this point your presentation will be from thirty to 50 slides, going over the same items as above, but in more detail, and paying strong attention on how the money is going to be spent, your production time line, and your key competition. It should track to the business plan you have already given the Venture Capitalist. Expect to spend at least thirty minutes and probably a lot more on questions from the Venture Capitalist. Be sure to close it off with asking for the money!

Don is a Venture Capitalist with over 15 years of successfully funding early stage Ventures. Information on his fund can be found at http://www.tdbellenterprises.com/fund.html. His company also consults start up companies on business plan development and start up strategies, http://www.tdbellenterprises.com

Are you working a “day job” while building your home-based “dream business”? Do you find it difficult to manage your time? Follow these seven tips to get more done growing your business, and have the time for other important things in your life, too.

(1) Make and use a ‘to-do’ list daily.

It’s easy. Write down the tasks you need to do for today (or for tomorrow). Now, do them. Any that aren’t done are placed at the top of tomorrow’s list. Seeing that list at the end of the day with everything scratched-off is a great feeling.

(2) Schedule your time for the day.

Make note of your ‘free time’ (non-day job time) and set a block for each major thing that you need to do. Save the most involved tasks for your more fresh, alert time of day. Try your best to adhere to the schedule, but be flexible. Don’t stress out when you run out of time and are off schedule. Over time you will know how much time a task will take to complete, and can plan for it better. Remember, this is only a tool for you to set time for what you need to do. It’s not intended to have a negative affect on you, but it could if you don’t be realistic.

(3) Do not disturb.

Make sure that your most productive, task-filled period is free from interruptions. Close your office door if you have to. Plan to use this work time when household distractions will be at a minimum. When the kids go to their grandparent’s house. When your husband shoots pool with the guys. When the wife goes shopping. If you have to hang a sign on your office door, do it. You’ll be surprised how much more you get done.

(4) Make time for the family.

Quality time with your family should not be sacrificed in order to build your home business. If you make time regularly for your spouse and kids, they will be able to deal with your ‘no disturb’ sign without feeling neglected. Don’t be the parent that the kids never see.

(5) Take your work with you.

If your day job leaves you with slow periods when you do little or nothing, use this time to your advantage. Lunch breaks or smoke breaks can add up to some valuable time by the end of the week, too. Always carry the tools that you need to do your work with you. Don’t go anywhere without a notebook and pen, and a small voice memo recorder. Be prepared.

(6) Automate tasks.

Computers and the internet allow you to automate certain tasks that were once time-consuming manual chores. Use autoresponders to deal with repetitive email questions and replies. Use modern accounting and word processing programs that are multi- featured. Use a list management service/program to make it easier to contact and follow-up with your prospects and clients.

(7) Time to relax.

Don’t kill yourself trying to work a day job and build a home-based business at the same time. You need time to totally escape from your daily duties occasionally. Exercise is one of the best things you can do for yourself, while helping to manage stress. Don’t sacrifice your health for business sake. Take that drive to the beach. Play basketball with your friends. Read that new mystery you’ve been wanting to read.

If you try, you’ll see that it ‘is’ possible to solve “the time crunch”. Be organized and know what your total work load includes. Maybe spend less time watching television, or on other useless activities. Don’t forget your family. Even though you are working hard, make sure you are having fun. If you don’t love what you are doing, don’t do it.

Enjoying life is what it’s all about. Right?

You bet.

About The Author

How do YOU get results online with little or no business experience? Get Ken Leonard Jr.’s new mini-course, “7 Ways To Beat The Competition”, a smart first step for YOUR small business. End your frustration, get going in the right direction!

mailto:7waystobeattherest@kljonline.com

http://www.kenleonardjr.com

What exactly are we trying to accomplish by proving to others that we’re right? We might win the argument but ultimately lose the relationship. Perhaps a better, deeper-rooted question is this: Why do we lose sight of success, of our big objective, when we feel challenged or intimidated?

When I prepare to negotiate, provide a service or turn my employees’ talent into performance, I know deep down that if I make people feel valuable they will see my input as having value. But in that moment when they are just hands-down, across-the-board dead wrong, I sometimes can’t stop myself from letting them know how incredibly wrong they are. When that happens, my ability to influence them vaporizes on the spot, and I’m left dealing with the response I created by making them wrong.

I think this is the most consistently counterproductive thing we do in business and, I suspect, in our personal lives too. It may be the foundation of communication breakdown. Maybe this behavior is so prevalent because it’s part of human nature. Could we be natural born jerks? (Jerkdom - nature or nurture?) If so, how do we overcome the urge to prove our point at the expense of our business or relationship?

Wynn Solutions studied thousands of top communicators and saw a common behavior among them: the practice of not making people wrong. We decided to find out how they did it.

We discovered that these top communicators lowered their expectations of other people’s behavior before meeting with them face to face. It seemed to reduce the tendency to overreact in the heat of the moment. Also, they walked in the door with an agenda of not making the other person wrong and of looking for areas where the other person’s knowledge was strong. So when that moment came - when other people made their limited knowledge obvious - top communicators were not so ready to pounce.

This approach may sound a bit condescending to some, but it sure beats dealing with communication issues you create for yourself by having to prove you’re the smartest person in the room. It allows you to be right without making others feel wrong.

© Garrison Wynn,CSP 2005

Garrison Wynn is a nationally known speaker, trainer, and consultant. He is the president and founder of Wynn Solutions, specializing in building profitable business relationships.

888-833-2902
http://www.wynnsolutions.com

Over time, I have heard from several
people who shared their stories of working with
high maintenance managers (HMM). The most interesting
were from people with family businesses whose
spouse or parent is a HMM. That adds some interesting
implications!

What happens when your HMM has crossed lines with you? Ideally
you want all conflict, especially from situations where
you feel beaten down, to cease. If you have years of
experience working with all kinds of people (including
a few HMMs), you know that striving for conflict
resolution with this type of person can sometimes
be rewarding, and is often frustrating. How far you’re
willing to take the process with this person will
depend on what has defined the person as being a
HMM and your current state of affairs (i.e. your
stress level).

Use the Help of an Advocate

Does your HMM respect (and even fear) someone at
the office? Could that person be your advocate?
This is probably the best alternative for getting
the person to change his or her approach and for
reducing the amount of your stress. This is what
I did - and have done a couple times - and it worked
well. It’s important to try to talk with the HMM
first, before going to the advocate. It is also
helpful if you, the HMM, and the advocate can meet
together. If that is not possible, a discussion
between the two of them while you are absent is
the next best thing.

The advocate needs to know and understand the HMM
from experience and needs to understand the issues
at hand. Be brief and to the point when you update
him or her, giving an executive overview” of the
problem. If they talk together in your absence,
get an update from the advocate, noting the points
discussed, the position taken by the advocate
during their meeting, and the advocate’s perceived
response by the HMM.

Then schedule a new meeting with the HMM, making
certain you are no longer steamed when you meet.
If necessary, schedule a meeting for a few days
later.

Meet With the HMM

Whether you have an advocate or not, you will need
to meet with the HMM. Because HMMs tend to talk
very fast and to think while you are talking
(rather than listen to you), remember to speak
slowly. When you take a turn to talk, count 1 or
2 seconds before you start. Be deliberate.
If necessary, write out notes before the meeting,
bring the notes with you to the meeting, and use
them. Notes will help you stay focused.

Start the conversation by mentioning something
positive. For example, “When I heard that you
were selected to manage the project, I was glad
about that because I knew you were bringing a
lot of experience to the project.”

Don’t back down on the issues. Don’t wimp out.
Don’t make excuses for the HMM. Don’t accept his
or her excuses (you can listen without agreeing).

See where the conversation goes as you discuss your
points. Are you getting any agreement? Is there
evidence that you are being manipulated? Is the
HMM trying to fight with you or is she trying to
solve problems? Can the HMM agree to disagree
with you agreeably? Or does he agree to disagree
in a disagreeable fashion?

Getting Pushback

If you don’t have an advocate, and meeting with
the HMM proves to not help very much, you need
to decide how much you can take. What other types
of changes can you make? At what point does life
become too short to deal with the situation?
Some of us put up with way too much for way too
long. After some time that can really wear you
down, making you susceptible to stress and disease.
Is it really worth it? If not, what can you do
to make a change?

~~~~~~~~~

As of this writing, I’ve come up with 18 bad habits
of high maintenance managers. I’ve had some fun
discussions with people who currently work for a
high maintenance manager and they’ve found
it helps to tell stories and
laugh in order to use the laughter to lower the
stress about their situation.

If you are currently in a work situation with a
HMM, can you find an advocate to help you out?
Will you meet with the HMM to discuss your issues?
Are you getting pushback? In the meantime,
can you discuss it with someone and laugh?

© 2005 Borgeson Consulting, Inc.

Glory Borgeson is a business coach and consultant, and the president of
Borgeson Consulting, Inc. She specializes in working with executives in the
“honeymoon phase” of a new position (typically the first two years)
to coach them to success. Glory is the newly appointed executive’s
Secret Weapon!. Top athletes have a coach; why not you?

Click here for Borgeson Consulting, Inc.

This article was originally published in The Business Express, Borgeson’s
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Ezine

There is a struggle for power and everybody is involved.
Everybody is doing everything in his power, at times even over
set limits, to extend what he currently have.

Why?

It is commonly believed that we can only enjoy things that we
control. Because of that, we want more power so that we can
exercise more control over things.

That is the truth — a half of it.

Some people take advantage of others to advance their own
agenda. Others in their way to success lead in their train
people who have their own share of the success as well.

Jesus said, “Give and it will be given to you. Good measure,
pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into
your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back
to you.” (Luke 6:38 ESV)

That is the other half.

If you share the power that is in your stead, people will allow
you to influence their lives more. You will end up having more
control.

You didn’t have it because you are pulling the strings behind
the scenes but because people do willingly submit themselves
under your authority. It’s no longer because they have to, but
because they want to.

Why would they do that?

They understand that you value their success as much as our own.