Honeymoon Manager: Part 3
So, it is time to complete the analysis of the case "Honeymoon Manager or Action Plan, when you were appointed as the team leader."
In the previous parts ( 1 , 2 ) we talked about that. what is born in the minds of people in this org.menting, how to build conversations with those affected by this situation and about 9 universal recipes that make it easier to pass this difficult period.
Today we will talk about meetings with the customer, colleagues-managers and what the 1: 1 meetings are for.
The first 5 conversations we have dismantled in our previous articles ( part 1 , part 2 ).
The customer - in my opinion, one of the most offensive roles. They are often dissatisfied with everything: this villain changes requirements on the fly, then tries to cram his Wishlist in the middle of an iteration, then he demands strange reports. In general, it interferes with how to work!
')
As a result, the customer is often called “inadequate”, which seems to me rather annoying for a person who pays for this entire banquet. (In grocery companies, marketing often plays the role of a customer, whom everyone is unhappy about.)
Incidentally, 7 years ago, I discovered a terrific recipe for how to put myself in the place of a customer and begin to understand his behavior. It turns out that once it is enough to make repairs to your own apartment with the help of a contractor, your world will change forever. An inexhaustible source of managerial experience, yes ... (I once wrote about one of the episodes here .)
Let's return to the customer. Since this is a person who holds in his hands a cash flow tap of a project, it is necessary to manage his expectations / concerns / questions with particular care. After several years of communication with managers, we came up with the following conversation pattern:
According to the results of the conversation, you traditionally have the date of the next conversation + list of actions that you heroically take on.
As you already know, when a team is re-formed, a certain dynamics starts - the team starts to storm a bit (it goes from the Forming stage to the Storming phase, and you still have to go to Norming and Performing). To quickly go through the stage of the storm, we can recommend something like the following:
Put down. If this is appropriate (and you can find out in a conversation with the previous manager and your new boss): at the first team meeting of managers, you can ask: “Since I’m a new manager, please tell us how it’s customary for us to be put down now or later?”
If appropriate, then you have the chance to quickly get acquainted with the whole team of managers in an informal setting in an extended communication channel. You will learn a little more about these people, they will learn about you, there will be common points of contact and reasons for further discussion.
And for the future it would be good to start having lunch with these colleagues.
The fact is that during lunch people get kinder and begin to communicate a little more openly and informally. That is, the stage of the storm gives way to satiety and contentment.
Hold 1: 1 meetings with each of your colleagues. Your colleagues after your appointment may worry about a variety of things. At the same time, it’s not a fact that they will come to discuss these things one-on-one - they are not yet accustomed to such a format of communication with you.
Therefore, some of the questions may be submitted to the general managerial meeting or to the general postal alias. And to discuss publicly difficult questions is difficult. Better speak proactively and ask each colleague about a 1: 1 meeting to discuss:
Nobody forces you to promise something right away. You can hide behind the “status of the new manager” and take a pause for a while, while you understand the situation. But it is important to listen to all this as early as possible so that the colleagues have a feeling that you are ready to listen to them. Then there will be no need to hold public rearing sessions for the new manager.
Ask for advice. You can also use universal tricks from the 2nd part of our article . For example, ask for advice on any matter. Thereby, you will show a person that you do not encroach on his authority, but on the contrary, you are ready to listen to him and learn from him.
Become a Chip and Dale Help when others are silent. Repeatedly seen the picture at managerial meetings. Someone says: “Colleagues, we do not have time to do this and that ...” There is a pause for a long time - no one wants to take on extra work. This may be just your way out - go out and help the next manager. Yes, you take the time. But it will be a very good investment in relationships with this person.
Offer only those useful changes that YOU are willing to make. Since you have been working in this environment for a long time, you have probably accumulated a lot of ideas on how to improve the life of your unit. For some reason, the ideas that need to be implemented by the neighboring teams are especially well accumulated:
If this is an idea for you, then for someone to embody it - an extra smut. And if you start to get these ideas at the managerial meeting, will it help reduce the storms in the team? Hardly. Therefore, at the first stage, propose ideas for improving the life of the unit, which you are ready to implement. In this case, you don’t bring a smut, but bring improvement, and it becomes clear why this team of managers needs you.
To the second (as well as to any other) meeting with the head it would be good to prepare:
And then you have the courage to move into the lair of Ivan Ivanovich for the first feedback - both positive and constructive. And yes, these meetings, like all other 1: 1 meetings, should be part of the regular work process - which is discussed below.
At our recent conference PRO + People just had a one-on-one report: 10 basic mistakes, how to do it and what to do right now. It turned out almost at 2 o'clock - probably no one will master such a long article at all :) Therefore, briefly about the main thing:
Please note that there are two facts in this story: our month ago we suggested using our own framework, these now suggest using another. But around this and you hypothesis: "they did not understand it," and you estimated judgments: "they are not competent" and in general "goats" - what just not!
It always happens when we stop communicating personally and often. Because the text is too narrow a channel to transmit information. Somewhere across the study of psychologists (as they measure - it is not clear), about the fact that the text conveys about 10% of the information. Another 20% -30% is transmitted by emotions (tone of voice) and the remaining 70% through nonverbalism (posture, gestures, eyes, etc.)
By the way, using emoticons has become easier. Here, for example, we write to our colleagues: “Well, you give a damn,” and by what smiley we put at the end of the phrase, colleagues conclude:
So, if we do not communicate one on one and do not clarify what has accumulated in our heads, then different things will begin to accumulate there:
In one form or another, this is expressed in words (personal or for all). And once words are not voiced, but it is said by actions: by increasing or decreasing productivity, and sometimes by leaving the company.
In my opinion, 1: 1 meetings are necessary for everyone and everyone, especially managers for 3 goals:
(Since we once again fall outside the scope of the article and the availability of free time, such a revolutionary thought came to mind - to hold a free webinar on the topic of 1: 1 meetings. For us, this is easier - because the script and slides are ready).
Date: November 26, 20:00 GMT
Subject: 10 mistakes when meeting 1: 1
Cost: Free with registration
Link to the broadcast: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6907206075679454977 (they will ask you to enter a first name, last name and an e-mail)
(Attention, the broadcast works on Windows, MacOS and tablets, but not on Unix).
PS If you have questions about working with people. which you would like to parse in the webinar - write them in the comments. We do not promise to answer all, but we will try to cover the most interesting situations.
PPS Record webinar try to do, but do not promise to post quickly.
PPPS Blog Stratoplana moved to a separate site: http://blog.stratoplan.ru - see you there!
In the previous parts ( 1 , 2 ) we talked about that. what is born in the minds of people in this org.menting, how to build conversations with those affected by this situation and about 9 universal recipes that make it easier to pass this difficult period.
Today we will talk about meetings with the customer, colleagues-managers and what the 1: 1 meetings are for.
- Recall the conversation pattern:
- Conversation with the departed manager
- Conversation with HR
- Conversation with the boss
- Conversation with the team
- Conversation with team members 1: 1
- Conversation with the customer
- Conversation with new colleagues
- Conversation with the boss
The first 5 conversations we have dismantled in our previous articles ( part 1 , part 2 ).
6. Conversation with the customer
The customer - in my opinion, one of the most offensive roles. They are often dissatisfied with everything: this villain changes requirements on the fly, then tries to cram his Wishlist in the middle of an iteration, then he demands strange reports. In general, it interferes with how to work!
')
As a result, the customer is often called “inadequate”, which seems to me rather annoying for a person who pays for this entire banquet. (In grocery companies, marketing often plays the role of a customer, whom everyone is unhappy about.)
Incidentally, 7 years ago, I discovered a terrific recipe for how to put myself in the place of a customer and begin to understand his behavior. It turns out that once it is enough to make repairs to your own apartment with the help of a contractor, your world will change forever. An inexhaustible source of managerial experience, yes ... (I once wrote about one of the episodes here .)
Let's return to the customer. Since this is a person who holds in his hands a cash flow tap of a project, it is necessary to manage his expectations / concerns / questions with particular care. After several years of communication with managers, we came up with the following conversation pattern:
- Where and why did the previous manager go
- To say that everything is fine, I get on top of things, I understand
- Set up a personal meeting if possible
- Do you like the current format of work - communication, reporting, what else?
- What were the arrangements with the previous manager
- Are there any problems - which ones and what can we change?
- What is burning right now?
- Document circulation (contracts, additional agreements, accounts, acts)
- Opinion about the project - how and why is it the way the project evaluates?
- Replacing the engineer and the money question - how will this affect the project budget?
- Customer Contacts
- Ask about long-term plans
- Speak key points
- What have we not yet spoken?
According to the results of the conversation, you traditionally have the date of the next conversation + list of actions that you heroically take on.
7. Conversation with new colleagues
As you already know, when a team is re-formed, a certain dynamics starts - the team starts to storm a bit (it goes from the Forming stage to the Storming phase, and you still have to go to Norming and Performing). To quickly go through the stage of the storm, we can recommend something like the following:
Put down. If this is appropriate (and you can find out in a conversation with the previous manager and your new boss): at the first team meeting of managers, you can ask: “Since I’m a new manager, please tell us how it’s customary for us to be put down now or later?”
If appropriate, then you have the chance to quickly get acquainted with the whole team of managers in an informal setting in an extended communication channel. You will learn a little more about these people, they will learn about you, there will be common points of contact and reasons for further discussion.
And for the future it would be good to start having lunch with these colleagues.
An example from life. When I worked at Intel, my dinners were almost strictly scheduled. I usually had lunch with the team, and tried every team member at least once a week to pull out for a joint dinner.
On Mondays, we had a managerial lunch, when all branch managers from our unit went to some cafe and ate there. At the same time discussing news, rumors, scandals, intrigues and investigations.
Joint lunches helped a lot, not only in terms of sharing information, but also in terms of introducing newcomers to the team (both in my team and the management team).
The fact is that during lunch people get kinder and begin to communicate a little more openly and informally. That is, the stage of the storm gives way to satiety and contentment.
Hold 1: 1 meetings with each of your colleagues. Your colleagues after your appointment may worry about a variety of things. At the same time, it’s not a fact that they will come to discuss these things one-on-one - they are not yet accustomed to such a format of communication with you.
Therefore, some of the questions may be submitted to the general managerial meeting or to the general postal alias. And to discuss publicly difficult questions is difficult. Better speak proactively and ask each colleague about a 1: 1 meeting to discuss:
- Their agreement with the previous manager
- What suits and does not suit in the work of your team
- What is the best focus right now
- ...
Nobody forces you to promise something right away. You can hide behind the “status of the new manager” and take a pause for a while, while you understand the situation. But it is important to listen to all this as early as possible so that the colleagues have a feeling that you are ready to listen to them. Then there will be no need to hold public rearing sessions for the new manager.
Ask for advice. You can also use universal tricks from the 2nd part of our article . For example, ask for advice on any matter. Thereby, you will show a person that you do not encroach on his authority, but on the contrary, you are ready to listen to him and learn from him.
Offer only those useful changes that YOU are willing to make. Since you have been working in this environment for a long time, you have probably accumulated a lot of ideas on how to improve the life of your unit. For some reason, the ideas that need to be implemented by the neighboring teams are especially well accumulated:
- "I wish our testing team ..."
- "I wish system analysts ..."
- "I wish the customer ..."
If this is an idea for you, then for someone to embody it - an extra smut. And if you start to get these ideas at the managerial meeting, will it help reduce the storms in the team? Hardly. Therefore, at the first stage, propose ideas for improving the life of the unit, which you are ready to implement. In this case, you don’t bring a smut, but bring improvement, and it becomes clear why this team of managers needs you.
8. Second conversation with the boss
To the second (as well as to any other) meeting with the head it would be good to prepare:
- By what you promised to do at the first meeting (including according to his expectations from you at this stage)
- According to the status of the project (what is good, what's the problem, how you plan to solve them)
- For questions on which you may need support + what else would you like to discuss with the head
- Think what else he might ask you at this meeting.
And then you have the courage to move into the lair of Ivan Ivanovich for the first feedback - both positive and constructive. And yes, these meetings, like all other 1: 1 meetings, should be part of the regular work process - which is discussed below.
Meetings 1: 1
At our recent conference PRO + People just had a one-on-one report: 10 basic mistakes, how to do it and what to do right now. It turned out almost at 2 o'clock - probably no one will master such a long article at all :) Therefore, briefly about the main thing:
An example from life. I go somehow to the office to my technical member, and I get him in a strong agitation: Fyodor is waving his hands, trying to write a caustic and sarcastic answer to our overseas colleagues. Further about such a dialogue:
- Fedya, what are you doing?
- Sasha, you see what kind of goats they are!
- Uh, what happened?
- Yes, that's ...
Shows a letter from colleagues: "Good afternoon! We suggest using the framework STZ »
- And what?
- Sasha, you do not understand! Remember, a month ago we suggested using the RYS framework?
Unwinding in the head back for a month. I remember that there was something like that, yes ...:
- Well?
- They didn’t understand our framework then, because they are not competent! And now push your own! Well, not goats?
Please note that there are two facts in this story: our month ago we suggested using our own framework, these now suggest using another. But around this and you hypothesis: "they did not understand it," and you estimated judgments: "they are not competent" and in general "goats" - what just not!
It always happens when we stop communicating personally and often. Because the text is too narrow a channel to transmit information. Somewhere across the study of psychologists (as they measure - it is not clear), about the fact that the text conveys about 10% of the information. Another 20% -30% is transmitted by emotions (tone of voice) and the remaining 70% through nonverbalism (posture, gestures, eyes, etc.)
By the way, using emoticons has become easier. Here, for example, we write to our colleagues: “Well, you give a damn,” and by what smiley we put at the end of the phrase, colleagues conclude:
- :) - ok, so we give!
- :( - not really giving ...
- no smile - it is not clear how to give
So, if we do not communicate one on one and do not clarify what has accumulated in our heads, then different things will begin to accumulate there:
- Waiting, how your work should be assessed - in your head
- Evaluation of your work - in the head of the head
- Your opinion about what is happening in the company, the behavior of management and the customer
- Interest and motivation to work - growing or falling
- ...
In one form or another, this is expressed in words (personal or for all). And once words are not voiced, but it is said by actions: by increasing or decreasing productivity, and sometimes by leaving the company.
In my opinion, 1: 1 meetings are necessary for everyone and everyone, especially managers for 3 goals:
- Report and receive feedback on work
- Clarification of accumulated problems
- Clarification of the human condition
(Since we once again fall outside the scope of the article and the availability of free time, such a revolutionary thought came to mind - to hold a free webinar on the topic of 1: 1 meetings. For us, this is easier - because the script and slides are ready).
Date: November 26, 20:00 GMT
Subject: 10 mistakes when meeting 1: 1
- 10 basic mistakes that are made in meetings 1: 1, and why this tool does not take root
- How to implement 1: 1 meetings in your work practice
- Meeting plan 1: 1
- Additional meeting tools 1: 1
- First steps on 1: 1 meetings immediately after the webinar
Cost: Free with registration
Link to the broadcast: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6907206075679454977 (they will ask you to enter a first name, last name and an e-mail)
(Attention, the broadcast works on Windows, MacOS and tablets, but not on Unix).
PS If you have questions about working with people. which you would like to parse in the webinar - write them in the comments. We do not promise to answer all, but we will try to cover the most interesting situations.
PPS Record webinar try to do, but do not promise to post quickly.
PPPS Blog Stratoplana moved to a separate site: http://blog.stratoplan.ru - see you there!
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/244061/
All Articles