How to Be a Great Boss
Number of Pages: 184
Estimated Read Time
Slow Reader: 3 Hours 25 Minutes
Average Reader: 2 Hours 44 Minutes
Fast Reader: 2 Hours 16 Minutes
Estimated Listen Time: 3 Hours 37 Minutes
Amazon Description
If your employees brought their “A-Game” to work every day, what would it mean for your company’s performance?
Studies have repeatedly shown that the majority of employees are disengaged at work. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Often, the difference between a group of indifferent employees and a fully engaged team comes down to one simple thing—a great boss.
In How to Be a Great Boss, Gino Wickman and Rene Boer present a straightforward, practical approach to help bosses at all levels of an organization get the most from their people. They share time-tested tools that have worked for more than 30,000 bosses in every industry. You can learn to be a great boss—and dramatically improve both your organization’s performance and your team’s excitement about their work.
In this book, you will discover:
How to surround yourself with great people.
How to make more effective use of your time.
The difference between leadership and management and why they’re equally important.
The five leadership practices and five management practices of all great bosses.
How to create accountability.
How to develop productive, relationships with each of your people.
How to deal with direct reports that don’t meet your expectations.
How to Be a Great Boss provides practical tools that you can apply immediately with your people, allowing you to focus on improving and growing your organization and truly enjoy what you do.
Being a Great Boss
Chapter 1 – Being a Great Boss, page 1.
“If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.” – Goethe
The word “boss” comes from the Dutch word “baas,” originally a term of respect used to address a person in charge.
EOS’s definition of “Boss” goes as follows: someone in charge, who leads and manages people.
In this book, you will discover how to:
Effectively delegate work and free yourself up to lead and manage.
Assess your team and surround yourself with great people.
Apply the five leadership practices and five management practices of all great bosses.
Communicate powerfully with each of your employees.
Deal with employees that don’t meet your expectations.
This book is for you if:
You are a leader, manager, or supervisor of people in a privately held, 10 to 250-person entrepreneurial company, or…
You want to get the most out of your people and seek a simple, effective, and impactful way to become a great boss.
WARNING: This book is also written to help the “not-so-good bosses” get out of the way – to help them acknowledge that they lack the understanding, desire, and capacity to develop the skills that will make them great.
State of the American Workforce
2000 Gallup Annual Survey
Only 31.5% of American workers are “engaged” in their jobs.
These are the employees who show up early, leave late, come up with creative solutions, attract and retain customers, and bring energy to the workplace.
Unfortunately, 17.5% of American workers are “actively disengaged” at work.
This group likely works for a boss that makes them miserable, and as a result, they spread discontent throughout the organization.
Sadly, the remaining 51% of American workers are “not engaged” at work.
These employees meet the minimum requirements, but they don’t view their jobs as a major component of their daily lives.
Gallup CEO, Jim Clifton, states that the single most important decision that business owners make is deciding whom to hire or promote to management positions.
2015 Harris Poll
39% of employees have no idea of their company’s goals and objectives.
47% are unfamiliar with the state of their company’s performance.
44% don’t understand how the role they play helps the organization meet its goals.
If everyone were actively engaged at work, what could you achieve?
The first, and most important step, in this journey is acknowledging and taking responsibility for your role in poor employee performance and engagement.
You cannot expect to hit your goals when half your team is sitting on the bench – and 17.5% are actually heckling you.
Do You Have What It Takes?
Chapter 2 – Do You Have What It Takes? page 9.
“Most people work just hard enough not to get fired and get paid just enough money not to quit.” – George Carlin
You can react in one of two ways to comedian George Carlin’s joke:
Not-so-great bosses will laugh and nod their heads, accepting the words as status quo. These bosses are found saying things like:
“Good people are hard to find.”
“I don’t pass out many compliments, because when I do they expect a raise.”
“Why invest in training when they’ll leave us in a heartbeat for more money.”
By contrast, great bosses see beyond the intended humor and realize the problem isn’t with the people, it’s with the not-so-good bosses who lead those people.
In this chapter, we ask you to evaluate whether you’re truly up for the challenge of being a great boss. We will explain that to fill that role, you must:
Get it
“Get it is aptitude; the natural ability for something. An intuitive feel or grasp of what the job is, how it works, and how to do it. Natural feel: biochemistry.” – Ken Robinson, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything
Want it
Sincerely desire the role.
Have the Capacity to do it.
Possess the emotional, intellectual, physical, and time capacity to do the job.
The first two assets -“get it” and “want it” are essential for becoming a great boss. No one can help you “get it” or want it.”
The third asset – “capacity to do it”-can be acquired if you are willing to invest the time and effort to excel in the role.
The bosses that don’t get it, want it, or have the capacity to do it are often the root cause of their company’s organizational dysfunction and poor performance.
These bosses:
Drive their best employees and customers away.
Feel threatened by people who are smart, capable, and motivated.
Run from conflict.
Are unwilling to confront real issues.
Are uncomfortable making unpopular decisions.
Are quick to point out the flaws of others.
Ignore their own flaws and weaknesses.
Understanding “Get It”
For a normal seat in the organization, “Getting It” means you have a thorough grasp of the role, the organization’s systems, pace, and culture, and the ins and outs of the job.
To be a great boss, you must honestly ask yourself if you truly get it – that you thoroughly grasp the job (of being a boss).
“Get It” Questions:
Are your actions as a boss showing others that you truly get it?
Do you use the same approach to motivate every employee?
Do you have a deeper understanding and appreciation of each employee as a unique individual?
Do you have that instinctive feel for rallying everyone according to the way they work best?
How would your employees describe you to their friends or fellow workers?
Understanding “Want It”
Next, you must ask yourself if you truly want it – that you genuinely desire the job of being a great boss.
Even when people receive great training and have great mentors, those things likely will not stick unless the really “want it.”
It’s gratifying to work with people who truly want it and are willing to put in the effort necessary to achieve it.
“Want It” Questions:
Do you have the fire in your belly for the trials and tribulations of being a great boss?
Do your actions show others that you truly want it?
Are you willing to go the extra mile to get a project completed on time, or do you leave work early regardless of how it affects your team or customers?
How would your employees describe your “want it” to friends or fellow workers?
Both “Getting It” And “Wanting It”
Many bosses don’t get it or want it – yet both are crucial.
You could absolutely “get” the role of being a great boss but just not “want it” or vice versa.
In either scenario, you’ll never be a great boss.
Assuming you that you “get it” and “want it, the next question is, “Do you have the capacity to do it?”
Understanding “Capacity To Do It”
While not getting it or wanting it are deal breakers, some problems of capacity can be solved.
If you lack any of the following aspects of capacity but are willing to invest the time, resources, and energy to gain them, you can become a great boss.
Question: Do you have the emotional, intellectual, physical, and time capacity to be a great boss?
Emotional Capacity
The heart to feel what others are feeling.
The ability to walk a mile in their shoes.
To be open and honest with yourself and others.
A willingness to be real and connect with others.
To be both humble and confident.
To be self-aware enough to know how you are influencing people.
Intellectual Capacity
The ability to solve complex problems and think critically.
The ability to predict, prioritize, and plan.
The ability to conceptualize, strategize, and systemize the best way to do things while orchestrating human resources.
The ability to hold two opposing ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.
Physical Capacity
The stamina, energy, and tenacity to do what it takes to finish what you start.
The ability to “pour it on” when necessary.
The willingness to devote the time and effort to master your craft.
To do the work, and to get your hands dirty when necessary.
Time Capacity
The self-discipline to use your time effectively.
To avoid the tyranny of urgency.
To structure, prioritize, organize, and delegate in a way that frees up and optimizes the most precious resource of all – your time.
In conclusion…
If, after reading this chapter, you realize that you don’t get it, want it, or have the capacity to fill the role of boss, do yourself a favor and step down.
Do something that truly inspires you!
Life is too short to spend it doing something that makes you miserable and leaves you feeling unfulfilled and continuously frustrated.
Delegate and Elevate
Chapter 3 – Delegate and Elevate, page 21.
If you’re like many bosses, you’re frustrated by a lack of time to do your job well.
Completing the Delegate and Elevate exercise helps you discover whether you truly want to do boss-related activities focused on leading and managing people.
This exercise will help you identify those activities that energize you and those you should delegate to others.
This tool will help put your true gifts in perspective so you can focus your energy and time on your strengths.
The Delegate and Elevate exercise is a five-step process that should not be hurried.
The Delegate and Elevate Exercise
Step 1 – List all business-related activities
List all of the business-related activities you do during the course of a day, a week, and a month.
This may take several hours or even a week (or longer). Don’t rush. Be patient and detailed.
Step 2 – List all boss-related activities
After completing your list of business-related activities, review the list of boss-related activities below. Add any boss-related activities you may have overlooked to your list.
Step 3 – Place each activity in one of four quadrants
When you are satisfied your list is complete, place each activity into one of the four quadrants below.
Step 4 – Assess the location of boss-related activities
In the four quadrants, examine where you placed the activities that were boss-related and specific to dealing with direct reports.
A minimum of 80 percent of those activities from the boss-related list in the third column should be in the top two quadrants.
Step 5 – Build a plan to delegate business-related activities
If you cannot complete all of the boss-related activities you listed in the time you have, then you have a time capacity issue.
You need to “delegate and elevate” the activities in the bottom two quadrants that are occupying too much of your time.
Analyzing Your Four Quadrants
If you are a person who loves and is great at boss-related activities but hasn’t mastered business-related activities, you may be a great people person, but those skills alone are not enough to make you a great boss.
Conversely, if you are someone who loves and is great at business-related activities, but dreads boss-related activities, you may be a technically competent manager of things – just not people. Technical skills alone won’t make you a great boss.
Words of Encouragement
Great bosses aren’t born; they develop.
You may have placed many of the boss-related activities in the bottom two quadrants because you failed at doing them well in the past.
The reason(s) why you failed may be unrelated to your capacity to be a great boss.
Like you, many bosses find themselves consumed with the business-related activities they do every day.
If you are willing to develop the skills to become a great boss and delegate the rest, there’s hope.
If not, don’t kid yourself. You’ll struggle to fulfill the role of a great boss and you’ll continue to frustrate yourself and those you’re trying to lead.
Delegation
You don’t always have the luxury of delegating everything in the bottom two quadrants.
However, to leverage your emotional, intellectual, physical, and time capacity to do your job, you must develop a plan to delegate items in the bottom two quadrants.
Ideally, you should delegate as many activities as it takes to get down to 90% of your weekly total capacity.
This will free up extra capacity to prepare you to grow, recharge, and, worst case, handle the emergencies that inevitably come up every week.
Elevation
By delegating the activities in the bottom two quadrants, you’re actually doing yourself and your team a big favor.
You are elevating yourself to do what you love and what you do well.
You make yourself more valuable to the organization, not to mention being happier and more energetic.
You will free up more of your time to spend with your team, making them feel more valued.
You are giving them more responsibility, autonomy, and authority.
Best of all, your people may be more competent at the activities in the bottom two quadrants than you are.
Most common reasons bosses give for not delegating (“personal head trash”):
Being good at these activities got me promoted in the first place.
I have no one to delegate to.
It takes me too much time for me to train someone.
I find that it’s faster and easier to do it myself.
I wouldn’t ask anyone to do something I wouldn’t do myself.
No one can do it as well as me.
It’s too complicated to explain it to them.
I spend too much time fixing their mistakes.
Conclusion
You must get past the excuses not to delegate or you are destined to stagnate or find yourself replaced by a great boss.
Employees need to know you trust them.
You must be willing to delegate those activities you’ve become good at doing but are not the best use of your time.
You must delegate to create the time capacity to grow yourself.
Leading and managing people is your number one role as a boss.
The more direct reports you have and the more diverse their roles, the more time a boss must devote to leading and managing.
Surrounding Yourself with Great People
Chapter 4 – Surrounding Yourself with Great People, page 35.
“The best executive is the one who has the sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” – Theodore Roosevelt
Common Pain Point
You were growing your small business and felt overwhelmed.
You hired new people to help distribute the increased workload.
You found yourself losing patience with the time it took to get new people up to speed.
You continued to do some of their work.
You figured doing it yourself was easier than training people or correcting their mistakes.
You then end up working even more hours and getting the same results, all while making less money.
Your Choice
As a new boss, you have the opportunity and responsibility to choose the people that you want on your team.
Even if you inherited several direct reports, remember that you must choose whether or not you want them on your team.
Choosing your team is a privilege that bears great responsibility.
Great bosses take the time to continuously (re)evaluate their team.
How to Surround Yourself with Great People
The first step in surrounding yourself with great people is to define what you mean by great.
Each organization will have a different definition of “Great People.”
“Great People” are the Right People in the Right Seats.
Defining “Right People”
In Built to Last, Jim Collins discovered that enduring companies have a culture that defines who they are, what they value, and what attracts like-minded individuals to the team.
Your Core Values drive your culture and define the soul of your organization.
Core Values should be “discovered” by the leadership team.
Core Values have strong benefits– they define a culture that attracts people who have similar values and repel those who don’t.
Discovering Your Core Values:
The People Analyzer
Once you have clearly defined your Core Values, you can determine if someone is the Right Person for your organization by using a simple tool called the People Analyzer.
Begin by listing the people on your team down the left-hand column and your Core Values across the top row:
Plus (+) means they live the core value “most of the time.”
A Plus/Minus (+/-) means that “sometimes they do and sometimes they do not” live the core value.
A Minus (-) means that “most of the time” they do not live that core value.
Defining “Right Seat”
A “seat” is a function that reports to you as the boss.
What makes it a seat is that you have clearly defined exactly what you expect of the person who is going to fill it
To define a seat:
Give the seat a name.
List the five major roles that summarize the accountability or job description for that seat.
Next, look ahead to the next six to twelve months, and determine all the seats reporting to you that are critical to your organization’s growth.
With all your seats defined, you are now ready to assess whether or not all of your people are in the Right Seat.
For each member of your team, ask yourself, do they get it, want it, and have the capacity (GWC) to perform (within their seat)?
Answer either yes or no for “Q, W, and C.” There are no maybes.
The Bar
To complete the People Analyzer, you must first establish The Bar.
The Bar is your minimum acceptable standard for Right People and Right Seat.
We recommend that a company with five core values set The Bar at any combination of three plus ratings, two plus/minus ratings, and zero minus ratings.
The Bar for GWC ratings must be all yesses.
Anyone at or above The Bar is the Right Person in the Right Seat.
After completing the People Analyzer and establishing The Bar, you’ll be prepared for the Four People Issues that you will have to deal with as a boss:
Right Person, Right seat
Right Person, Wrong Seat
Wrong Person, Right Seat
Wrong person, Wrong Seat
Most bosses end up spending the most time on wrong seat issues.
While, wrong people are undermining everything you are trying to do.
And unfortunately, right people in the right seats get very little of your time.
As you go forward and build a strong team, we urge you to be relentless and inflexible when it comes to The Bar.
Leadership, Management, Accountability (LMA)
Chapter 5 – Leadership, Management, and Accountability (LMA), page 53.
Opening
In chapters one through four we laid a foundation for the next three chapters, which are the crux of the entire book.
This chapter sets up a baseline for everything that comes next.
A great boss creates a work environment where people are fully engaged and highly accountable.
How would you rate the level of accountability in your organization on a scale of 1-10 (where 10 is high)?
Most bosses interviewed rated accountability low, usually a 4.
The Four Truths
Truth 1: Being a Great Boss Can Be Simple
There have been thousands of books written on leadership and management.
They can be confusing and contradictory and can tie you up in knots with theory and complexity.
The truth is, if you do five things consistently as a leader and five things consistently as a manager, you will be a great boss.
Truth 2: Your Style Does Not Have to Change
It doesn’t matter if you are nice or tough, introverted or extroverted, charismatic or reserved. Just be yourself!
When you are authentic, you are more believable and you will build trust.
Truth 3: You Must Genuinely Care About Your People
You’re people know whether care about them or not.
There’s an old saying: people don’t care what you know until they know that you care.
If you don’t care, you’ll never be great.
Truth 4: You Must Want to Be Great
There’s no middle ground. You must genuinely desire to become a great boss.
That means that you must be willing to invest the time necessary to continuously improve yourself.
For your business to grow, you must grow.
Leadership + Management = Accountability (L+M=A)
There is a distinct difference between leadership and management.
Being a great leader does not make you a great manager or vice versa.
Leadership involves working “on” the business:
Providing clear direction
Creating an opening for people
Taking time to think
Management involves working “in” the business:
Creating clear expectations
Communicating well
Ensuring things get done
Leadership consists of creating a vision, and Management consists of gaining the traction to achieve it.
To become a great boss, you must consistently do five things as a leader and five things as a manager.
The Five Leadership Practices
Chapter 6 – The Five Leadership Practices, page 59.
“The essence of leadership is to get others to do something because they think you want it done and because they think it is worthwhile doing.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
Practice 1. Giving Clear Direction
Great leaders are masterful at providing clear direction and providing a clear opening for their people.
When you create an opening, it produces a vacuum that is always filled.
The best way to create an opening and provide clear direction for your people is by sharing a compelling vision.
A clear vision has three primary components:
Clarity around your culture
Clarity around your Core Focus
Clarity around your goals
Creating a compelling vision is a collaborative effort by an organization’s leadership team to answer the following eight key questions:
What are the Core Values that define who you are – your company culture?
What is your Core Focus that articulates why you exist and what you do best?
What is the 10-Year Target that creates an opening to inspire and motivate your company?
What is your Marketing Strategy that defines your ideal customer and the message that attracts them to you?
What is the 3-Year Picture that creates an image of what your organization will look like in the not-too-distant future?
What is your 1-Year Plan that clearly establishes your financial objectives and your three to seven goals for the year?
What are the Quarterly Rocks – the three to seven most important priorities that must get done in the next ninety days to ensure that your yearly goals will be met?
What are the Issues – the ideas, opportunities, obstacles, and barriers that need to be addressed and resolved in both the long-term and short-term?
Sharing the answers to these questions with your team every ninety days will provide your people with clear direction.
A tried and proven method to do this is through the Quarterly State-of-the-Company Meeting. The agenda follows:
Where you’ve been?
Where you are?
Where you are going?
Practice 2. Providing the Necessary Tools
Once you’ve provided clear direction for your people, you must give them the tools and support they need to succeed.
Necessary tools include:
Training
Technology
Additional people
Your personal time and attention
Practice 3. Letting Go of the Vine
Now that you’ve provided clear direction and given your team the necessary tools to succeed, it’s time to get the heck out of their way and let them run with it.
Important Disclaimer: You cannot let go until you are certain you have the Right People in the Right Seats.
Your people want the freedom to do what you’ve hired them to do, and they can get frustrated when you meddle with them while they are trying to do it.
Give them some rope – the freedom to succeed and to show you what they can do.
Practice 4. Acting with the Greater Good in Mind
The compelling vision that you conveyed to your people in Leadership Practice 1 is the greater good that we are describing here.
Once you have completed the previous practices, all of your actions must align with the greater good.
All the words in the world mean nothing to your people if you don’t back them up with your actions.
Your people are watching you, and before they commit to change, they will evaluate how well you walk the talk.
As you go, so they go.
Practice 5. Taking Clarity Breaks
To stay sharp, confident, and at your best for your people, you must take Clarity Breaks.
By definition, a Clarity Break is time that you schedule away from the office. You must be off the daily grind of running the business, in order to think and work “on” your business, department, or self.
Stephen R. Covey calls it “Sharpening the Saw.”
Bill Gates calls it “Think Weeks.”
All great leaders have their own formula. You must choose yours.
Decide the time, place, and frequency that works best for you.
Schedule an appointment with yourself (away from the office).
Here are some questions you can ask yourself during a Clarity Break:
Are the Vision and Plan for the business/department on track?
What is the number one goal?
Am I focusing on the most important things?
Do I have the Right People in the Right Seats to grow?
What is the one “people move” that I must make this quarter?
How strong is my bench?
If I lose a key player, do I have someone ready to fill the seat?
Are my processes working well?
What seems overly complicated that must be simplified?
Do I understand what my direct reports truly love to do and are great at doing?
Am I leveraging their strengths?
What can I delegate to others to use my time more effectively?
What can we do to be more proactive versus being reactive?
What can I do to improve communication?
What’s my top priority this week? This Month? This Quarter? This Year
The Leadership Self-Assessment
Now that you have a clear understanding of the Five Leadership Practices, we’ve created a one-page self-assessment so you can do a quick checkup on yourself.
The Five Leadership Practices – Next Steps
Schedule a date on your calendar for when you will be able to answer yes to all of your no’s.
Schedule a date, time, and place on your calendar to take your next Clarity Break. Right now.
The Five Management Practices
Chapter 7 – The Five Management Practices, page 79.
“Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective Management is discipline, carrying it out.” – Stephen R. Covey
“The moment you feel like you have to manage someone, you’ve made a hiring mistake.” – Jim Collins
Practice 1. Keeping Expectations Clear
You can’t hold your people accountable until you have clear expectations.
When you keep your expectations clear, you will rarely have to fire anyone that does not meet them. They will usually quit because they realize they can’t live up to your expectations.
There are four areas where you must keep expectations clear:
1. Roles
You must clearly articulate at a high level the work and outcomes for which they’re being held accountable.
Boil it down to five major roles.
2. Core Values
You must teach your people the Company’s Core Values so that they know exactly how you expect them to act and make good decisions in your absence.
3. Rocks
These are the quarterly key priorities (often referred to as goals, objectives, or initiatives).
You and your direct reports must agree on the one to seven most important priorities that they must complete in the next ninety days.
Have your direct report work on Rocks that are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely).
Set Rocks with your people, not for your people.
Set Rocks in light of your company’s goals and issues.
4. Measurables
Also known as metrics or key performance indicators.
When each person has one or more numbers to measure their performance, it gives them a clear picture of whether or not they’re winning.
When each person has a number to hit, it is the essence of pure accountability and clear expectations.
Measurables add a level of objectivity, enabling us to cut through assumptions, egos, opinions, and emotions.
Think carefully about which numbers could predict success or failure.
How can we expect to get the most from our people if we don’t provide them with a number(s) that they are held accountable for delivering each week?
Practice 2. Communicating Well
Now that expectations are clear, communication is vital.
A great litmus test to prove you are communicating well is that you know what is on each other’s mind. There are no assumptions in the relationship.
Don’t assume how people are feeling. Ask!!!
Here are four methods that have helped bosses eliminate assumptions and greatly improve their communication.
1. Two Emotions
A discipline that will help you avoid making assumptions about how someone is feeling and instead better understand them is called “two emotions.”
If you are unsure how someone is thinking or feeling, ask!
“If you could share two emotions about how you are feeling right now, one positive and one negative, what would they be?”
2. Question-to-Statement Ratio
A great communication discipline is to monitor your question-to-statement ratio when having a conversation with your direct reports.
Your job is to ensure that the dialogue is 80/20, where your direct report is doing 80 percent of the talking and you’re doing 20 percent.
You’ll be amazed what happens when an issue is brought to you, and instead of making a “you should have…” statement, you ask a person a question along the lines of, “Knowing what you know now, what would you do differently next time?” Or, “What would you do?”
Get them to answer the question. They’ll become more independent.
By asking them what they would do, you are in effect asking them to commit to their own plan.
3. Echoing
When you are in a situation where you told your direct report something and you’re not entirely certain that they understood you, ask the following question…
“Just to make sure that I am communicating well, could you please tell me what I just told you?”
Or, if you’re not sure you understood something they just told you, ask:
“Here’s what I just heard you say. Did I hear you correctly?”
These become great opportunities for both of you to restate your message until you’ve eliminated any miscommunication and have gotten yourselves in sync.
4. “Thump-Thump”
When a person is tapping a song (like “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”) on a table, they hear the song perfectly in their head, but that’s not what the listener is hearing. Instead, the listener is hearing a series of monotone thumps on a table
When we share a verbal message with direct reports, we assume we are doing a great job of communicating – it’s pitch-perfect in our heads. However, all our direct report(s) are hearing is, “Thump-Thump.”
The lesson is, don’t assume your message is being clearly received. Ask, “Could you tell me what you heard me say?”
Practice 3. Maintaining the Right Meeting Pulse
You can leverage effective communication by instituting a rock-solid Meeting Pulse
We recommend pulling your team of direct reports together every week for sixty to ninety minutes.
What gives weekly meetings a great pulse is that they are on the same day every week, start at the same time, have the same agenda, and they begin and end on time.
Each meeting:
Has an even exchange of dialogue.
Each person should report measurables and results.
The team should identify, discuss, and solve issues.
Watch this video at www.eosworldwide.com/level-10.
Here’s a sample from the hundreds of excuses that we hear from bosses before they finally commit to a weekly Meeting Pulse:
I don’t have time for meetings.
Meetings are a waste of time.
Meetings are boring.
We don’t have that many issues every week.
It’s impossible to get everyone together for a meeting every week.
I have an open-door policy, so we talk all the time.
If they need to talk to me, they know where they can find me.
I meet with my people when necessary.
What bosses say just a few weeks after they begin a weekly Meeting Pulse:
We’re communicating better.
We’re coming together as a team, being more open.
We are finally solving issues that have lingered for months.
We are better at doing what we say we will do.
In total, I am spending less time in meetings.
We’re getting more things done.
We’re beginning to hold each other accountable.
Everyone is being heard.
I have a better feel for what’s happening and why.
We’re having more fun.
The team is more energized.
My direct reports have a better understanding of our overall goals.
If you are resisting a weekly Meeting Pulse, we urge you to try it for ninety days and see for yourself.
Some direct reports may also require one-on-ones. If so, determine the appropriate Meeting Pulse and agenda to ensure that each person receives enough of your time and that your circles stay connected.
Practice 4. Having “Quarterly Conversations”
To truly manage and continue to improve your relationship with each of your direct reports, you need to connect at a higher level in addition to the weekly Meeting Pulse.
To do this, you must have a face-to-face Quarterly Conversation with each direct report.
Conduct the conversation once a quarter because, in our experience, relationships begin to fray and goals tend to get off track about every ninety days. It’s human nature.
The Quarterly Conversation should focus on what we call “The 5-5-5.”
We call it the “5-5-5” because there are usually three to seven Core Values, one to seven Rocks, and four to six roles (the average for each is about five).
Ninety percent of what you expect of your people falls into the categories of Core Values, Rocks, or Roles.
The objective is to discuss what’s working and what’s not working in these three areas.
Practice 5. Rewarding and Recognizing
Whether they give a pat on the back or a kick in the butt, great managers reward and recognize their people quickly.
Studies show that people work harder for recognition than they do for money.
Don’t underestimate the power of recognition and the effectiveness of feedback, both positive and negative.
Here are three recognition disciplines that will help:
1. The 24-Hour Rule
Always give positive or negative feedback quickly, ideally within twenty-four hours.
2. Public and Private Recognition
As you give positive and negative feedback, you should always criticize in private and praise in public.
3. Boss Versus Buddy
You must understand the fine line between being in charge and being in the trenches. Don’t cross the line.
When the line is blurred and you consider them more of a friend, you can never fully apply these practices due to potential hurt feelings, or having to tiptoe around tough issues and dilute the real message.
The Three-Strike Rule
Sometimes, despite your best efforts to create clear expectations, communicate effectively, have Quarterly Conversations, and provide positive or negative feedback quickly, things don’t work out.
Your direct report fails to deliver and doesn’t see or admit they are not delivering.
Prework:
Make sure expectations were clear.
IMPORTANT: You should have at least three data points (specific examples) for each issue that you intend to raise during each meeting in the Three-Strike Process.
Strike One:
Meet with the person.
Utilize the People Analyzer.
Identify the Issue(s).
Make sure the person acknowledges and agrees that they are below The Bar before determining an appropriate action plan.
Agree on a course correction.
Clarify expectations by putting feedback in writing.
Set a time to meet again in one month.
Strike Two:
Meet with the person and review the prior thirty day’s performance.
Consider having a third-party witness.
If expectations are still not being met, identify remaining issues, and agree on a plan to address them.
Put your feedback in writing.
Set a time to meet again in one month.
Strike Three:
If the issue isn’t resolved by the third meeting, terminate them.
Most will quit before the third meeting.
Management Self-Assessment
Now that you have a clear understanding of the Five Management Practices, we’ve created a one-page self-assessment so you can do a quick checkup on yourself.
The Five Management Practices – Next Steps
Schedule a date on your calendar for when you will be able to answer yes to all of your no’s.
Review this management self-assessment one on one with each direct report immediately. Ask them how you are doing with each of the five practices.
The Quarterly Conversation
Chapter 8 – The Quarterly Conversation, page 111.
To the degree that you master Quarterly Conversations, you will improve your relationships with your direct reports, and ensure you are continually on the same page.
When we ask our clients to begin scheduling Quarterly Conversations with their direct reports, we’re met with some skepticism and resistance. Here’s what we hear:
“I talk to my people all the time.”
“I’m already meeting with my people every day.”
“I don’t know when I’ll find time to meet.”
“I don’t want them bringing me problems, I want solutions.”
“I’ve been talking, but they’re not listening to me.”
“Every ninety days. Are you serious?”
We’ve been asked lots of questions regarding Quarterly Conversations. Here are some concise statements that will address most of them:
Schedule the conversations well in advance.
Ideally, meet face-to-face.
You and your direct reports need to take time to prepare.
Let the 5-5-5 be your guide, not your master
Core Values
Roles
Rocks
Check-in on “What’s Working and What’s Not Working.”
The conversation is mutually beneficial; you’ll each walk away with constructive feedback that will make you both better.
A quarterly timeframe works best because an understanding of shared objectives begins to fray around the ninetieth day. The business climate changes, the industry shifts, and you’re continually challenged to meet customer expectations.
When you schedule Quarterly Conversations for the first time put your direct reports mind at ease.
Say something like, “To make sure you and I are always on the same page and keeping expectations clear, I want to meet with you every three months.”
What’s Working and Not Working
The primary purpose of the Quarterly Conversation is to discuss two questions:
What’s Working?
What’s Not Working?
What’s Working
Begin by asking them what is working.
Let them share their accomplishments, tasks, or procedures that they feel are going well within the organization and with you as their boss.
You should listen and try to understand the following:
What are they most proud of accomplishing during the last quarter?
How did they accomplish this?
What process or procedure worked well?
What obstacles did they overcome?
Who was most helpful to them?
Do they feel they are working on things that matter?
Do they feel appreciated for the work they do?
Did you provide them with the tools they needed?
Did you keep expectations clear?
After they’ve shared what is working, it’s your turn to share what you feel is working.
This is an opportunity to recognize and thank them for their accomplishments, behaviors, and progress.
Be prepared with specific examples.
Don’t confuse excellence with perfection. You can still heap praise on someone and still expect improvement.
What’s Not Working
When asking this question, take time to create a safe harbor for flushing out issues and getting to the root cause.
Just listen. Don’t fill the silence.
In her book, Willful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril, Margaret Heffernan defines willful blindness as “something we could know and should know but don’t know because it makes us feel better not to know.”
Experts who researched “Willful Blindness” discovered that when employees are asked the question, “Are there issues at work that people are afraid to raise?” Eighty-five percent responded yes.
Great People, those at or above The Bar, are likely to be the most willing to tell you, “What’s not working.”
While they share what’s not working, you should be listening and trying to understand the following:
What process or procedure is broken?
How well do they understand the root cause of the issue?
Was the solution to their problem directly within their control?
Did they have the responsibility, accountability, and autonomy to act?
Did they plan well and fail to execute?
Did you fail them in any way?
Did you provide them with the necessary tools to succeed?
When they are finished sharing what’s not working, don’t respond with your solutions yet. Just list the issues.
Next is your turn to share what you feel is not working. Be sure to:
Come prepared.
Articulate in bullet-point fashion.
Provide some explanation for each bullet.
With their list and your list now in front of you, it’s now time to go into “solution mode”:
Decide what can and can’t be solved.
Be prepared to help but remember to keep the monkey from ending up on your back.
Use the following to frame your questions:
Given how things turned out, what could they have done differently?
When did they realize there was a problem?
What action did they take?
What is their plan to address it so the issue won’t recur?
What resources will they need?
How do they think you can help?
Should they take action first and then let you know what they did, or should they make a recommendation first so you can then decide together what action they should take?
How will you both know that you corrected the issue?
To be great you must know about all the issues (real or not); second, to reduce your anxiety, put the issues into the following three categories:
Ones that can’t be solved
Most of the issues on the list during a Quarterly Conversation fall into this category.
These just need a response, answer, or acknowledgment.
To be a great boss, you have to get good at saying something along the lines of, “I hear you and know it’s an issue that’s driving you crazy. What I need you to understand is that the issue that you are describing exists for the following reason [state the reasons] and it’s not going to change. I just hope you can live with it even though I know you don’t agree with it.”
Ones that you must solve
Unfortunately, you have to take on and solve these issues, either by working with other bosses in the organization or with the owner.
First, agree on a timeframe for solving it (day, week, month, or year).
Then, agree on the exact plan of attack for solving it so that you can effectively manage your direct report’s expectations.
Ones that they must solve
Ideally, you want to push as many of these issues down to them, especially when they are truly their monkeys.
First, agree on a timeframe for solving it (day, week, month, or year).
Then, agree on a plan of attack for how your direct report will solve it.
The Annual Review Versus the Quarterly Conversation
The Quarterly Conversation and the Annual Review should complement each other.
The Annual Review should be documented, signed by both parties, and placed in the employee’s file.
An employee should have three Quarterly Conversations and one Annual Review each year.
We recommend you do not discuss pay raises and other changes in compensation during the Annual Review.
Here’s an example of a simple Annual Review form:
Special Note:
You should never wait for a Quarterly Conversation or Annual Review to address behaviors or performance that you feel hurts the organization or your relationship.
Remember the 24-Hour Rule that we discussed in the management practice of rewarding and recognizing in chapter seven.
The Four People Issues
Chapter 9 – The Four People Issues, page 131.
“To see what is right and not do it is want of courage.” – Confucius
Even if you apply everything that we’ve shared with you in the previous chapters, and despite your best efforts, you’ll occasionally have a direct report that isn’t behaving or performing at our above The Bar.
When we don’t address people issues, there are consequences for us, our department, and our organization.
Your people issues are already hurting you, and there’s no way to hide them.
You have to trust your gut and do what’s right for the good of all.
The Four People Issues
Right Person, Right Seat
It will become an issue if you are not giving these individuals your time and attention.
These people are rowing harder to compensate for others who aren’t rowing.
When you spend time what precious time you have for your people focused solely on resolving “wrong seat” and “wrong people” issues, the Great People may feel that you’re taking them for granted.
Why should they continue to work for you if you don’t spend time helping them get better?
The Right Person in the Right Seat is actively engaged at work, they energize you, challenge your thinking, and make you a better boss.
When asking, “What’s working and not working?” ask:
What you can do to make them more effective?
What they would do to make the company or department even better?
If you were running the department [or company], what would you do differently?
What process or procedure should change or could be simplified?
Where are the breakdowns happening, why are they happening, and what would you do to correct them?
Right Person, Wrong Seat
Although they’re a role model for your Core Values and fit your organization’s culture, they’re not producing.
And despite your quarterly conversations, they’re not responding.
This is a difficult issue and one you’re avoiding because you genuinely like this person.
This person has been with you through thick and thin, but they’re in over their head and have become a bottleneck. They can’t keep up with the volume and are stressed out most of the time.
Everyone loves this person, but they aren’t completing their tasks on time and are struggling in their role. Others are picking up the slack and letting their own responsibilities slide.
This situation is especially tough when you are a small organization. These people have been with you since the beginning, and you don’t have another “seat” where this Right Person can fit.
However, you cannot keep someone on the payroll just because you like them.
Ideally, if your organization is large enough, you might have another seat for them. And this should be your first choice.
However, if there are no other seats available, how you handle this situation speaks volumes about how much you care about your people:
First, ensure that you’ve created awareness through your Quarterly Conversations and completed the Three Strikes.
Schedule a meeting at a time and place where you won’t be interrupted.
Follow your company’s termination policy, and if it offers a severance package, have that and your documentation completed before the meeting.
State the issue clearly and get to the point quickly.
Keep the rest of the conversation focused on answering questions they might have about their severance and how you’ll help them find the right opportunity elsewhere.
Wrong Person, Right Seat
These people are exceptional at production and output but are getting results in ways that are damaging your company’s reputation, aggravating fellow team members, and undermining everything you’re trying to accomplish for the long term.
These are usually me-first people who put their interests before the Core Values of the organization.
Highly productive in the short term, but killing your company in the long term.
You can’t let them hold you hostage.
When you ignore this issue, you’re telling your organization that the Core Values don’t matter.
How you handle these situations are moments of truth for your Core Values.
Often times these people are blind to their behaviors and/or are rationalizing them against getting results.
If this person’s behavior does not change despite having Quarterly Conversations and applying two of the three strikes, they must go.
You must be prepared for how you handle this situation:
Assuming Quarterly Conversations occurred and two of the three strikes have been given…
Ensure that you and your boss are on the same page about terminating this person’s employment.
If you have an HR professional, make sure they concur and that all documentation is completed.
Schedule the meeting and follow your company’s termination policy.
Meet the person, state the issue clearly, and get to the point quickly.
This type of termination can be difficult, but the impact on your company’s culture can be huge.
Wrong Person, Wrong Seat
This issue is the most obvious and hopefully is discovered within the first ninety days of hiring (or inheriting) someone.
If you are doing a good job of keeping the circle connected with a weekly Meeting Pulse, the deficiency will be glaring within weeks.
It is better to have an empty seat than a Wrong Person, Wrong Seat.
When you realize before, during, and after Quarterly Conversations and weekly meetings that the person is clearly below The Bar for Core Values and GWC and hasn’t improved after Two Strikes, you must let the person go. Follow the same procedure outlined in People Issue Number 3.
Sometimes, however, the issue is so blatant that you should skip Strikes One and Two and move directly to Strike Three and terminate the employee.
In all of the employee situations, you should realize that you must take the lead. Though termination may make you uncomfortable, it’s also part of being a boss.
You cannot abdicate your role as boss to HR.
A Final Word On People
Chapter 10 – A Final Word on People, page 147.
People are your number one competitive advantage.
Whether you’ve hired or inherited them, you must take responsibility for them, because they are your most valuable resource.
You are accountable for their performance.
Great bosses get the most out of their people.
Great bosses continually raise the expectations of their people.
Great bosses hold their people accountable to high standards.
Great bosses “walk the shop floor” to see first hand what is happening.
Great bosses invest time in their people.
Good Turnover. Bad Turnover: A Reality Check
When going on the Great Boss journey, turnover at the one-year mark is common.
This turnover is usually “Good Turnover.”
“Good Turnover” is when people go away because they are the Wrong Person, they are in the Wrong Seat, or they can’t live up to the new expectations.
“Bad Turnover” is when the Right People are leaving because of poor leadership and management.
Whenever your vision for growth is crystal clear, the right structure is in place to support that growth, and you push to get Right People into the Right Seats – leading, managing, and holding accountable to execute the vision – there will be fallout.
20-50% employee turnover is typical.
80% of the time, the company’s Leadership Team changes.
Many companies have turned over their entire leadership team.
Intuitively any kind of turnover doesn’t feel good. However, think of the benefits when you replace the wrong people with the right people.
When you have the right people in the right seats, you will gain more of what you want from your business: productivity, growth, profit, enjoyment, peace of mind, and a thriving culture.
Often people feel that becoming a great boss is going to take a lot of work. The fact is, having mediocre people in place and having Great People in place take equal amounts of hard work, but as a boss, you get to choose which – enjoyable hard work or frustrating hard work.
Tool Summary
Tool Summary, page 155.
Delegate and Elevate – pages 25-27
Core Values Exercise – page 42
The People Analyzer – pages 43-48
Quarterly State of the Company Agenda – page 62
Clarity Break – pages 73-76
The Leadership Self-Assessment – page 77
Rocks – pages 81-82
The Meeting Pulse – page 93
The 5-5-5 – page 98
The Three-Strike Rule – pages 104-105
The Management Self-Assessment – page 107
The Annual Review – page 127