DEVELOP

GREAT

MANAGERS

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OFFICE POLITICS

Introduction

How to Be Successful

Managing Your Team

"A GOOD MANAGER DOESN'T TRY TO ELIMINATE CONFLICT; HE TRIES TO KEEP IT FROM WASTING THE ENERGIES OF HIS PEOPLE.

IF YOU'RE THE BOSS AND YOUR PEOPLE FIGHT YOU (DISAGREE) OPENLY WHEN THEY THINK THAT YOU ARE WRONG--THAT'S HEALTHY.“

ROBERT TOWNSEND

MANAGING YOUR TEAM - TOPICS

Refresher -Introduction

Definition

Reality

Spectrum

Examples

Refresher -How You Can Be Successful

Read the System

Build a Good Reputation

Find Common Ground

Be a Role Model

Minimize Politics in Your Team

Align and Support

Company Culture

Champion Members of Your Team

Recognize and Support

Diversity

Provide Positive

Transparency

BE A ROLE MODEL

Demonstrate confidence and leadership.

Don’t be afraid to be unique. Communicate and interact with everyone.

Show respect and concern for others.

Be knowledgeable and well rounded.

Have humility and willingness to admit mistakes.

Do good things outside the job.

MINIMIZE POLITICS IN YOUR TEAM

Discuss Discuss approaches to dealing with political issues

Open and Honest Make sure communication is open and honest

Zero Tolerance Show no tolerance for divisive behavior (gossip, “he said, she said” , unwillingness to work together, etc.)

Fair Treat everyone fairly

Align Align your team (provide a clear vision with supporting goals)

Hire Hire the right people (right kind of ambition)

ALIGN AND SUPPORT COMPANY CULTURE

“You Are Either With Us or Against Us”

CHAMPION YOUR TEAM

Check in frequently

Ask them how they are doing and what you can do to help

Then do it☺

Go beyond the surface, understand details

Share your thoughts, ask for theirs

Orchestrate wins

Communicate their successes with your peers and leadership

Provide them with projects and tasks that will help them grow

Give them time for development (classes, projects, etc.)

Support their career aspirations (even if it might mean they leave your group or the company)

RECOGNIZE AND SUPPORT DIVERSITY

Diversity improves a team’s problem-solving abilities

There’s never one way to solve a problem. Each person’s unique problem-

solving approach is based on a blend of our different backgrounds,

experiences, personality and the different ways we process information. The

more diverse your team is, the more opportunities you’ll have to approach a

problem from different angles.

McKinsey and Co

POSITIVE TRANSPARENCY

It is easy to say that managers should be transparent. Communicate what you know and hear to their teams.

But that is not always the best approach.

What…?

I agree that this is important.

But you must provide context. You must fit it into a larger narrative with respect to the organization or companies' vision, mission and goals.

An example is worth 1000 words.

An organization reduces investment in a product that is important to your customers

Two organizations are merged

EXAMPLEDELIVERING AN INNOVATIVE SOLUTION

Status Quo

Traditional break-fix support model

Very high NPS score

Customer first leader with support from executives

Large, worldwide, well trained and committed organization

Not scaling to the complexity of the new products

Expensive to continue to scale

Innovation

Move from reactive to proactive support model

Based on collecting telemetry data from customers

Change workflow for support staff

Risk NPS

Uncomfortable for leader

Well aligned to new products

Inexpensive to scale

Drove change with key influencers, primarily executives. Most importantly, the CEO. Leveraged some top down help in aligning those who were not fully bought in.

TAKE ACTION

What will you do differently TOMORROW based on listening to

this. Here are a few options.

Spend time with your team aligning on the vision, mission

and/or goals.

Identify divisive behavior in your team and address it.

Put in place a plan to increase diversity in your team.