A manager will not be successful if he does not set priorities. Success comes in many colors and flavors, but if you measure it by the number of your employees who wish to remain your employees, a person who does not set priorities will not be successful. A manager who refuses to point the way is the antithesis of a leader; he is a bureaucrat.
The corollary to this is that a good manager needs a good boss who is willing and able to set priorities. A weasel boss will not set priorities and then blame you when you fail to deliver.
We will try to walk the fine line here, since we’re all middle managers, of managing versus leading. In some work dialects, they are synonymous. In some they have vastly different meanings. The fine line we’ll walk is that we will try to do more leading than managing. Leading is setting the way, finding the right path, being the good example, complimenting the good and coaching the bad, etc. Managing is ensuring report b-27 is complete, monitoring the absence report, and making sure the vendors take you to lunch. We occupy positions where all the tasks belong to us.
Setting the way is choosing the priorities. If you are lucky you have a boss who sets the priorities vaguely enough that you have some room to maneuver. For example, where I work the first priority is to make sure people work safely. My boss may say to me, “We will not have any [OSHA] recordable injuries this quarter. Make sure everyone knows that safety is number one.”
Not great direction, but we can work with it. You as middle manager can put the rubber to the road in any number of ways, but make sure it fully communicates that safety is your first priority. I might say to our supervisors, “BEFORE you send the guys out to work in the morning, make sure you review the safe work plans.” Or, “Everyone will complete their safety training this week on Monday. We’ll start on the new project after the training record is perfect.” Or, “Yes, I understand this is a process emergency, but we will not start the repair until the crafts are clear on their safety expectations.” Banners are great, but it is the constant reinforcement of the priorities that keep attention.
Something to consider is framing your staff meeting (if you have one) around your priorities. The agenda should mirror your priorities at the time. Our meetings are always led by safety issues, then production issues, and then the dreaded budget issues. Actually the Britney Spears jokes come before the budget most days. If you would ask any of our supervisors what their priorities are, they will get the broad outlines well enough. Unfortunately it is the details that do you in. When you get into the details you will find that you have conflicts.
You have undoubtedly found that life is conflict. People who deal with it well tend to have bedrock beliefs in themselves to make good choices. These are innate priorities, drilled into us by our parents and/or the social mores of the society of our childhoods. It’s for this reason that I cannot end a sentence with a preposition. My mother just would not have allowed it, and she was quick with the belt. Yes, I hear you I will get on with it. Priorities give you the bedrock that guides the decisions you will need to make every day. Better yet, it gives your subordinates the bedrock that guides the decisions they make every day. And don’t you want them to make decisions based on your guidance?
The corollary to this is that a good manager needs a good boss who is willing and able to set priorities. A weasel boss will not set priorities and then blame you when you fail to deliver.
We will try to walk the fine line here, since we’re all middle managers, of managing versus leading. In some work dialects, they are synonymous. In some they have vastly different meanings. The fine line we’ll walk is that we will try to do more leading than managing. Leading is setting the way, finding the right path, being the good example, complimenting the good and coaching the bad, etc. Managing is ensuring report b-27 is complete, monitoring the absence report, and making sure the vendors take you to lunch. We occupy positions where all the tasks belong to us.
Setting the way is choosing the priorities. If you are lucky you have a boss who sets the priorities vaguely enough that you have some room to maneuver. For example, where I work the first priority is to make sure people work safely. My boss may say to me, “We will not have any [OSHA] recordable injuries this quarter. Make sure everyone knows that safety is number one.”
Not great direction, but we can work with it. You as middle manager can put the rubber to the road in any number of ways, but make sure it fully communicates that safety is your first priority. I might say to our supervisors, “BEFORE you send the guys out to work in the morning, make sure you review the safe work plans.” Or, “Everyone will complete their safety training this week on Monday. We’ll start on the new project after the training record is perfect.” Or, “Yes, I understand this is a process emergency, but we will not start the repair until the crafts are clear on their safety expectations.” Banners are great, but it is the constant reinforcement of the priorities that keep attention.
Something to consider is framing your staff meeting (if you have one) around your priorities. The agenda should mirror your priorities at the time. Our meetings are always led by safety issues, then production issues, and then the dreaded budget issues. Actually the Britney Spears jokes come before the budget most days. If you would ask any of our supervisors what their priorities are, they will get the broad outlines well enough. Unfortunately it is the details that do you in. When you get into the details you will find that you have conflicts.
You have undoubtedly found that life is conflict. People who deal with it well tend to have bedrock beliefs in themselves to make good choices. These are innate priorities, drilled into us by our parents and/or the social mores of the society of our childhoods. It’s for this reason that I cannot end a sentence with a preposition. My mother just would not have allowed it, and she was quick with the belt. Yes, I hear you I will get on with it. Priorities give you the bedrock that guides the decisions you will need to make every day. Better yet, it gives your subordinates the bedrock that guides the decisions they make every day. And don’t you want them to make decisions based on your guidance?
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