Lessons and Struggles

Warning: Avoid Managerial Hubris at All Costs

2007-08-12T10:40:00.000-07:00

Hubris is defined as a state of overconfident pride and arrogance. Hubris origin descends from the ancient Greeks in describing a belief that one was more powerful then the Gods thus leading to a fatal result. One such example of hubris is Achilles treatment of Hector's body after his defeat in Homer's Iliad (long time ago) by not allowing for a proper ascension to the Gods and claiming the body as his thus defying the Gods. The Gods revealed to the Trojans that Achilles weakness was a arrow to the heal.

The Greek example that has always struck a chord with me in references to hubris is the story of Icarus. His father created a pair of wings made from wax as so his son could escape from King Minos prison. The father told his son to use this tool just for the purposes of escape. Icarus escaped but did not want to heed his fathers advice. As he climbed higher and higher Icarus thought that he was above advice, logic and became increasingly arrogant. However his hubrisitic attitude led to him getting too close to the son thus melting the wings and causing Icarus to fall and perish into the sea...and it now bears his name the Icarian Sea.

Let's use some creativity and examine both of these Greek myths in a modern business sense:

Achilles is now a middle manager...in charge of let's say $5 million in contract value. His senior management gives him direction to accomplish a certain set of guidelines. Achilles feels that he is the"best performer" at the firm and decides that he is above the VP and blows him/her off and goes golfing. The tasks assigned goes unaccomplished and the a serious breach in leadership/command is compromised. As with Achilles being struck down by a arrow (the secret weakness being released by the God/VP) a manager must always strive for success but understand their place in the hierarchy of the firm or be felled by the arrow...

Let's state that Icarus is a new team lead and his PM decides to give him a task that requires strict direction for completion. The period of performance is tight and budget is even tighter...Since wax and budgets do not have the strength or consistency to stand long periods of stress the task (escape or monthly revenue goals) must be met. If they are not the belief that you can keep going without a solid plan( or fly on wax wings) will always cause you to fall...The younger you are as a manager and the less you heed this lesson (i.e. the more arrogant you are) the harder you will fall!

In Management, especially as a young Manager, hubris can be a catastrophic career killer or at the minimum allow for the offender to find another job.

In my opinion there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. A Manager needs to be confident to reassure his team that he is the leader and that the path forward is achievable. However to spit in the face of other Managers or company leadership is arrogant and will most likely cost you your job or at the very least delay your ascension....regardless of the lame brain ideas that senior management comes up with...The solution you ask? Become senior management...keep growing, keep innovating and if necessary find your own niche and form your own company.
Greatest piece of advice I can give you: In a managerial aspect one must never be perceived as being hubristic or arrogant...this is the first nail in your managerial coffin...Be humble yet confident...continue to grow and be successful but plan for the time when you are in the drivers seat...and once you get there remain humble and confident and successful!

Take care of your Folks...and they will take care of you!

2007-08-12T06:02:00.000-07:00

Once you have received the title Manager, or Lead, you are responsible for a whole lot more then your average worker. You are now responsible for managing the program towards success, you are definitely responsible for maintaining, if not increasing profitability, and you are responsible for being the ethical steward of company resources.

However the most important responsibility is usually downplayed, mishandled, or flat out ignored...and that is taking care of your people! A thought often forgotten by managers, consciously or sub-consciously, is that as a manager you have direct control over someone elses life. In as such you control what their salaries are, you control what tasks they accomplish during the day and you directly control their career progression, either upwards or downwards.

Direct Control is clearly a overt form of power. People see you as the boss. From that identification of the source of power the decisions that are made directly intensify feelings of satisfaction, both positive and negative. Positive work environments that have a manager who works to express a positive message should have greater retention, job satisfaction and more positive growth. I ask you, rhetorically, wouldn't it be better to have a staff of people who are positively motivated towards success rather then having people work and live in fear and dread?

Managers also have indirect control over their team members lives. In other words decisions that you make as a manager can affect your teams motivation and emotional state. This indirect action has a effect of when the employee leaves that night for home the way that they drive home, their actions towards family members when they get home and that nights sleep are effected by your management actions. People who say that they leave work at work are nothing more then in denial...because work is always on your mind...whether you want it to be or not!

A third and often not spoken form of control is that of retention. A USA Today study shows that when a employee decides to apply for and move on to a new job 70% of that is due to a poor, ineffective or incompetent manager. I heard this statement many moons ago and it rings true today...People don't leave Companies...They leave Managers.

As a Manager there are 5 major steps that are easy to implement and will allow you take care of your team:

1. Express Gratitude: Management author Marshall Goldsmith states that " Thanking people works because it expresses one of our most basic emotions, gratitude". As a manager I can clearly tell that when ever a thank you is issued to a team member there is a true spark of happiness. The employee feels that their efforts meant something. That satisfaction will reverberate through their performance, attitude and outlook. Small, but company/team oriented gifts, that are given as rewards will also allow for improved outlook. Some of these include company shirts which allow the employee to show pride in the company and the team.

2. Always Follow Thru and Then Follow Up: If you say that you are going to do something ...Do It. Then let the employee know the results. This can be a learning experience for both parties and will demonstrate a true sense of leadership. Leaders always complete tasks and report results, good bad or ugly.

3. Stop Talking and Listen!: Too many times managers want to give advice or solve a problem without fully listening to the employee. Interrupting before the employee is finished talking is not only rude but it is part of ineffectually communicating the problem or issue. Let them speak...listen to what they are saying...think about several answers and convey them to the employee as options. Always allow the employee to choose the option thus the solution that you help derive fits the problem that they perceive.

4. Share your Vision...oh yeah and the Companies too: A managers vision can always be more intense or contain additional goals that are add-ons to the corporate vision. In other words if the company goal is to make a $25 million a year the manager can instill the fact that his/her team be a major contributor to that and perhaps push the company over $30 million. This leads to a sense of empowerment by showing the team that they are part of the strategic solution for the company...an not just a worker bee.

5. Feed Back and Feed Forward: Feed back on a job well done or positive reinforcement for improvements is required for future growth and team satisfaction. Feed Forward is another concept that Goldsmith espouses in his book "What You Here Won't Get You There" (2007). Feed Forward consists of 4 steps.
a. Focus on 1 area of improvement and what the positive difference would accomplish
b. Describe this objective in a one on one setting
c. Ask the person for two suggestions to help achieve this positive change
d. Implement, Review and Repeat as necessary.

This will be a recurring topic of this Blog as it is my passion...Building great teams and achieving success with them. Hopefully over the course time I will be able to impart my knowledge and lessons learned so that other folks, especially younger managers can learn and achieve success.

Welcome all Xers and Y's to my Blog!!!

2007-08-11T13:17:00.000-07:00

I humbly thank you for visiting my Blog "Lessons and Struggles". This Blog will be a site of reference, entertainment and information sharing. The lessons that a 35 year old Program Manager will be documented and shared with the world. Lessons in life, love and management will be the theme and topics. Struggles and their eventual defeat shall be illustrated, documented and displayed for all to see.