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How to Excel as a Manager

Posted: 15 Sep 2019 08:00 AM PDT

  • Autocratic managers make every decision.
  • Consultor managers make decisions after consulting with others.
  • Laissez-faire managers act as mentors as others decide.
  • Democratic managers listen to majority rule.
  • Persuader managers seek the input of others; they can be persuaded.
  • Listener managers jump into the trenches to listen to solutions.
  • Good managers adapt their style depending on circumstance and employees.

More or less every single manager out there was an employee at some point. We're not bees, after all. Workers can and do grab the management brass ring.

Workers who have been around the block a few times have likely run into one than one type of managerial style. Some fit the circumstances; others, not so much.

Depending on whom you talk to, there can be four management styles, or seven, or even more. Here are seven well-known, classic styles.

The autocrat

Where do decisions come from? Why, the manager, of course.

The biggest advantage of this style is fast decision-making. With no one to consult and get buy-in from, everything sails through. During a crisis, it's likely a company's best bet.

Let's say you're a food manufacturer. People have gotten sick from listeria in your prize product. Time is of the essence; otherwise, your business could lose all of its goodwill. In the direst situations, your business could fail. In this case, fast decisions are the only thing that will work. It's not the time for deliberations.

Once the crisis subsides, then there is time to weigh decisions. As a result, one of the biggest disadvantages of this style is also its biggest upside: With no sharing in the decision-making, there's no buy-in. This can be a big turnoff to employees who want more autonomy.

As a corollary, this style can be a problem for the manager. Because if the project fails, then it's their decisions that led straight to failure. This style can be called dictatorial or authoritative. One very well-known practitioner ("You can have it in any color you want, as long as it is black.") was Henry Ford.

The consultor

The consultor is the autocrat's little brother or sister. The consultor manager consults with people under him or her when making a decision. Yet, the ultimate decision still sits with the manager. This can create a dynamic wherein the consulted employees are loyal, but those who are left out of the decision-making process feel undervalued.

Under the best of circumstances, the consultor has the best interests of the workers at heart. The downside is it creates a dependency. If the consultor is out of the office, when a new issue crops up, everyone is at a loss. Or they have to try to be clairvoyant and figure out what the consultor would have wanted.

One practitioner ("What you always do before you make a decision is consult.") of this style is Elizabeth Dole.

The laissez-faire manager

As you might expect, the manager who adopts the laissez-faire approach steps back. This person acts more like a mentor. Rather than being an autocrat, it is the employees who make the decisions, although management will step in if necessary.

The biggest upside is this style embraces risk. In a startup environment where anything can happen, laissez-faire management can be empowering. However, because everyone needs to provide buy-in, decisions may take a while. But once they are made, they are hard to argue with.

The downsides, though, extend beyond delayed decision-making. With so many cooks in the kitchen, decisions can sometimes be chaotic. Employees could be whacking away at dozens of little trees while the manager sees the forest.

A corollary issue is the various personalities of the employees. More assertive workers are most likely to be heard and more often. Some employees might resent having to do what they feel is management's job. So much freedom might baffle others who crave a road map.

A well-known practitioner of this style ("… find the .400 hitters and then [do] not tell them how to swing.") is Warren Buffett.

The democratic manager

The democratic (not the political party) manager is a cousin to the laissez-faire manager. Here, the decisions are more of a two-way street, and the majority rules. Hence, it's like the laissez-faire style in that the more assertive are more likely to get their way.

It's another style where decisions can take a while to be reached. Yet, there's one big upside: For decisions comprising  complexity, it can work like a charm. More brains on the problem can uncover more ideas and potential outcomes.

A well-known practitioner of this style  ("The best way to go along is to get along with others." ) was John F. Kennedy.

The persuader

Like the consultor, the persuader is the one who makes the final decisions. Like the democrat, the persuader seeks input from workers; the persuader can be persuaded. That's when management makes decisions based on input from workers.

This can go in the opposite direction in which case management persuades workers of the rightness of a decision.

This is a terrific system when the manager trusts the workers and vice versa. It is particularly effective when the employees are experts. An IT department is a place where workers can all be specialists. Persuasion may be the only way for management to decide on new software to buy.

One downside, though, which it shares with the democratic and laissez-faire approach is that the more assertive will inherit the earth. Or, at least, they will own the decision-making process. Yet, at the same time, there is an upside: If employees see that others get their way more often than others, they could complain or leave. Or they could work to become more assertive and persuasive. Those are great skills to have, no matter where you work.

A more problematic drawback is when management and workers don't trust each other. That brings up a different issue, though. If you cannot trust either side, why are they still working there?

Martin Luther King, Jr. may be the most persuasive leader of all time.

The listener

This is often known as MBWA, or management by walking around. A manager who embodies this style doesn't hesitate to get into the trenches with employees and fact-find. They listen to employees' ideas for how to nip problems in the bud. Here, the manager offers counseling as opposed to direction.

The downside is when employees do not support management, then the manager's suggestions will likely go nowhere. Besides, if an autocrat tries to pretend to be a listener, employees are going to know. As a result, they will clam up and pepper the manager with happy talk. Why speak up if management ignores your solutions and tells you what to do anyway?

The best-known practitioner of this style was Steve Jobs.

Which style is best if you want to be a good manager?

The answer is any of them. The kicker is knowing when they're useful and positive, and when they aren't.

Managers with expert employees will likely do best as persuaders, consultors or listeners. Higher-skilled workers or those with specialized knowledge generally want to be heard, hence an autocratic style will only frustrate them. At the same time, so will democratic and laissez-faire styles. These employees don't want to spend an inordinate amount of their time deciding on things – they want to be working.

Managers with unskilled and semiskilled workers may do well as autocrats or consultors. This is particularly so when employees are new. They want to hit the ground running and be working.

For managers with a small staff, democracy could work well. If there are only three people in an office, then buy-in is a must. For managers with a very large staff, or managers of managers, listening can work well. These are the people near the top of the organizational chart.

The best managers glide from one style to another, depending on the situation.  The persuasive manager can and should turn into an autocrat during a crisis, and they should become laissez faire or democratic when planning the office holiday party.

For the best managers, doffing one hat in favor of another one should be natural. Management is a form of communication –you change your communication style when you are talking with your doctor, your friends, work colleagues and your family.  You should change your managerial style to suit your employees and circumstances.

Being a good manager is about more than decisions and progress reports and projects – it's about adapting to the needs of those you lead.

5 Proven Steps for Building an Evergreen Employee Training Program

Posted: 15 Sep 2019 06:00 AM PDT

The first time I spoke with someone about the term evergreen in the business sense, she thought I was talking about greenwashing. When I refer to something being evergreen, I'm not talking about strategically placing succulents throughout your office (although that seems in vogue these days).

What I mean by evergreen is something that is self-renewing, up to date and helpful. Evergreen plants retain leaves around the year, evergreen business operations are always relevant and don't require constant updating.

Many company leaders fail to fully understand employee training and how it can be an evergreen business activity. Most training programs quickly become outdated; however, organizations can craft a program that stays interesting and useful for employees for years to come.

Before jumping into building an evergreen employee training program, it's important to assess if you need an evergreen employee training program in the first place.

If you do not train your employees effectively, 40% will abandon their positions within the first year. Year after year, employees from various generations say that job-related training greatly influences their decision to stay in their current position.

Additionally, training engages your employees, and engaged workers outperform unengaged employees by up to 202%.

There's a lot more information than what's listed above that explains why every company –regardless of size, industry, etc.– can greatly benefit from establishing an evergreen employee training program.

Without further ado, here's how you make it happen.

1. Assess the message you're transmitting.

Take a step back and examine the bigger picture. You need to come up with answers to the following questions:

  • Who are you speaking to?
  • What information do you want to convey?
  • When will milestones take place?
  • When will employees have future training?
  • Where can employees go to have their questions answered?
  • Why does this training matter to the employees and the business?

Answering these six questions may seem silly, but it's a really good way to begin.

The questions surrounding 'the why' are especially key. Employees want to understand why you're having them do something. They also want to know how the activity will allow them to contribute to the overall goals of the company.

Communicate to your employees that good training programs are useful for their personal development, happiness and growth. Explain that from a business perspective, you want to invest in their growth because it's good for them and good for the business. Be open about the fact that the program is beneficial for all parties involved.

During the planning phase, it's also smart to ask current and future employees about their interests. You might already know what subject you need to provide training on, but what about your employees' thoughts?

The people doing the work every day can help you understand what skills and tools they need to improve their job performance and what they want to learn to become a more productive employee.

Similarly, potential employees can tell you what development programs and trainings are of interest to them. You can then take this information to better attract and hire future employees.

2. Consider the psychology of adult learning.

There are three types of learning styles: visual, auditory and kinesthetic. Visual learners thrive when they can see and watch information. A visual learner may study nonverbal or other visual happenings to better absorb information. Auditory learners like to listen and speak. Lectures and discussions are the bread and butter of auditory learning. Kinesthetic learners are tactile learners; they learn by doing.

Chances are you will have a combination of visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners in your employment base. Therefore, you need to create a training program that incorporates elements of all three learning styles so everyone can get the most out of the content.

Planning a training program that implements the three types of learning is somewhat stressful. It may seem like you'll never communicate your key points. Luckily, adult learners share some characteristics.

First, adults like to learn new concepts by seeing how they relate to things they already know. Since they have years of experience, they know many academic and social things.

Teaching them something that seems completely new may seem scary or threatening.

Humans don't like things that are foreign or unknown. We are slow to accept new things. Make sure your trainings relate to their life experience to avoid frustration and improve chances of success.

In addition, if you have good employees, they want to learn. Unlike kids, you shouldn't have to spend much time convincing your adult employees to pay attention, do their homework or otherwise be involved.

Most adults are open to learning, so don't treat them as if they're not. Give them useful information, help them succeed, don't talk down to them or make them feel like they aren't ready to tackle additional information.

3. Create a plan, then implement it.

With steps one and two in mind, you're ready to create your training program. As you develop your plan, it's helpful to think of the acronym SMART. I use SMART goals in both my personal and professional endeavors, and training programs greatly benefit from this structure.

SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timebound.

As you create your program or evaluate prepackaged learning solutions, make sure they meet the criteria above. Training needs to be specific to clearly explain what will be taught. It also needs to convey information clearly. A good program has internal and external measurements built into its foundation.

If you have no way to measure the results, you can't develop an evergreen program. Of course, the goals and objects outlined in the training program need to be achievable. Setting goals or learning objectives that are too lofty is only going to overwhelm employees.

Think about relevance, too.

Don't train your engineers on marketing and vice versa. Stay within an employee's scope. Finally, things need to be timebound. Here, I'm not saying they need a specific date, but a general guideline is fine. For example, don't say that someone needs to hit a specific sales metric by XX/XX/XXXX. Instead, tell them they should achieve the desired result X months after starting.

4. Put pen to paper.

At this step in the process, you should already have some ideas and concepts on paper.

Now, you must build out the program. If you're like me, the last sentence made you feel like there is a pit in your stomach. Starting something this important from scratch is stressful, but it can be done well and pay off in the long run.

There are lots of available programs that can aid you in your training program creation. For companies who don't want to create all, or any, materials, this is the step where you will need to find and secure an e-learning or other training platform.

5. Test, test, test.

A chef doesn't create an award-winning recipe on the first attempt, and your employee training program won't be evergreen to start. Unless you're inordinately lucky or a genius, you can't create an evergreen program on your first try. Creating a training program that withstands the test of time requires a lot of planning and even more revision.

If the above paragraph spiked your blood pressure again, know this: You can start with an imperfect program. Although it might feel uncomfortable at first, start with a prototype. Once you have a good, not perfect, program, roll it out.

After employees interact with your materials, ask them about their initial impressions. See what they liked and didn't like. Create quizzes that your employees can take so you can gauge how much information from your training they gained, retained and can use.

To go above and beyond, you can administer pre- and post-training assessments, so you have a better grasp of the true effectiveness of your program.

Look outside the training itself. Has employee involvement improved? Are workers more engaged? Have your business results changed? Real training progress is sometimes seen in metrics that appear to be unrelated to the untrained eye.

Dive in headfirst!

You can spend hours more researching and looking up information on how to start an employee training program, but why would you? Knowledge is power, but too much information can be crippling.

As someone who's created employee training programs in the past, I can tell you that the information above represents a comprehensive guide that can help you create, launch and test a program. The information in this article isn't exhaustive, but it's absolutely what you need to get started today.
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