Best Practices: Management Development

Management Development Overview

According to TEC speakers and management development experts Bob Thomson and Lawrence King, now more than ever companies need to focus their energies and resources on nurturing and developing their employees. In a world where competitors can knock off products and services overnight, the only remaining competitive advantage is the quality of your people, especially your management team. Companies that make management development a strategic priority will quickly move to the head of the pack. Those that don't will fall farther and farther behind.

Making people development a strategic priority offers a number of benefits, including:

• Ability to attract and retain talent
  
  
• Improved "CEO return on investment"
  
  
• Increased ability to adapt to change
  
  
• Competitive advantage that compounds itself every year

Change is running rampant through everyone's industry and marketplace. The companies with strong management teams will face the change and thrive on it. They will use it to differentiate themselves and gain a position of market leadership, while other companies struggle to keep up.

Principles of Development

Thomson identifies the fundamental principles of management development that apply to companies of all shapes and sizes:

• People development is the CEO's job.
  
  
• Management development must be a priority.
  
  
• People development must become part of the culture.
  
  
• Growing people requires change.
  
  
• Everyone -- even your A+ performers -- can improve.
  
  
• Everyone must become the expert at his or her job.
  
  
• People must take responsibility for their own development.
  
  
• Focus your development efforts on your best people, not the problem employees.
  
  
• People development is not a quick fix.

According to Thomson, companies that make people development a priority gain a powerful "five-percent edge" on the competition. This doesn't happen overnight and it may not be apparent at first. But over time, you will begin to notice a gap in the talent level between your employees and your competitors' employees. As you continue to focus on people development, the gap widens until it becomes an insurmountable competitive gulf.

Creating Individual Developmental Plans

Growing your managers requires a customized developmental plan for each manager. Thomson outlines five essential steps for creating individual developmental plans:

• Introduce the idea of a developmental plan.
  
  
• Identify the developmental priorities.
  
  
• Create the action plan.
  
  
• Conduct monthly progress meetings.
  
  
• Have your key managers engage in this process with their people.

To help implement the plan:

• Make sure you have buy-in from the manager. You can't force development on someone who doesn't see the need for it.
  
  
  
• Pull, don't push. Development works best by leading people into the process, not by dragging them kicking and screaming.
  
  
• Start out slowly. Select a couple of your best managers and start working on a plan with them. Once they are fully on board, extend the process to others in the organization.
  
  
• Model the behavior. The best way to demonstrate your commitment to development is to start with your own development.
  
  
• Keep your plan visible. Sharing your action plan with an objective third party and keeping it visible (so you can refer to it frequently) will greatly increase your chances of accomplishing your developmental goals.

To survive and thrive in a digital world, says TEC speaker and team building expert Lawrence King, you need a top-notch management team. He offers a ten-step process for developing a world-class management team:

• Profile the winning team.
  
  
• Assess your current team.
  
  
• Identify your role on the team.
  
  
• Identify your personal barriers to building a 9+ team.
  
  
• Conduct a team-centered strategic planning session.
  
  
• Develop measurement and reward systems to support the plan.
  
  
• Create your "CEO Stump Speech."
  
  
• Create a culture of learning and creativity.
  
  
• Coach your key executives.
  
  
• Conduct regular team audits.

Building a 9+ team can easily take three years. But by the time you get there, you will have become a lot more effective in your role of CEO. The team will regularly accomplish things that seemed impossible in the past, and your company will attain a position of leadership in the marketplace.

Developing a Second-in-Command

When done properly, says TEC speaker Steve Coffey, bringing on a #2 person can provide a host of benefits to the CEO, set the stage for a stronger management team and help propel the business to a new level of growth. The process, however, is fraught with potential pitfalls. Before hiring or promoting anyone to a position of second in command, ask:

• How will the company be different with a #2 in place?
  
  
• What is not happening that would be improved with a #2?
  
  
• What, specifically, do I expect from a #2?
  
  
• What will a new executive provide that the current management team doesn't? Why?
  
  
• How will my life be different with a #2? What will change for me personally?

To successfully install a #2:

• Get very clear on your new role, which must involve something that only you can bring to the company.
  
  
• Clearly define your goals and expectations for the #2.
  
  
• Create a profile of the ideal #2, in particular, deciding whether you want a leader or manager.
  
  
• Identify potential barriers to success.
  
  
• Create an integration plan.

How to Conduct Developmental One-to-Ones

A former TEC Chair, King firmly believes in the power of one-to-ones as developmental tools. Accordingly, he strongly recommends that CEOs meet with each direct report for a monthly one-to-one meeting. To conduct effective one-to-ones with your direct reports, King recommends a four-step process:

1. Schedule your one-to-one meetings in indelible ink. Schedule one hour per month of quality, protected time with each direct report. Set up the meetings six months to a year out and write them in indelible ink.
   
   
2. Work the executive's agenda, not yours. Direct reports must prepare an agenda for each one-to-one that:
   
   
• Contains four to eight items
  
  
• Focuses at least 25 percent on strategy and long-term developmental issues
  
  
• Contains at least one opportunity
  
  
3. Listen, listen, listen. In the one-to-one, let the direct report do 80 percent of the talking. With an 80/20 split, the direct report will perceive the "air time" as just about equal.
   
   
4. Create an action plan. Each one-to-one should lead to mutually agreed upon action steps, with deadlines and expected outcomes.

Coaching Resistors and Mediocre Performers

Not everyone takes kindly to the notion that they need to improve their performance. According to Thomson and King, these types of managers generally fall into two categories -- resistors and chronic under-performers. In terms of management development, each requires a different approach.

When working with resistors, suggests Thomson:

• Start with the winners.
  
  
• Show resistors the writing on the wall.
  
  
• Let resistors test their own ideas first.
  
  
• Isolate resistors so they don't drag others down with them.
  
  
• Fire them if they refuse to get with the program.

To help turn mediocre managers into quality performers, King recommends the following steps:

• Create a 90-day developmental plan with the under-performing manager.
  
  
• Meet with the manager on a weekly basis to review progress.
  
  
• Provide feedback, coaching and mentoring as needed.
  
  
• Provide praise and recognition for improved performance.

Developing the CEO Position

One of the best ways to develop others in your organization is to model the behavior yourself. King offers four techniques for increasing your effectiveness as CEO.

1. Time auditing. This technique involves identifying the most critical functions/activities you need to perform and comparing them against how you actually spend your time.
   
   
2. Self one-to-ones. These involve scheduling uninterrupted time by yourself each month to focus on the most important things you need to do to fulfill your role as CEO.
   
   
3. Delegation. This frees you up to focus on activities that only the CEO can perform. To delegate with minimum risk:
   
   
• Identify something important you are currently doing that could be delegated to someone on your team.
  
  
• Select the manager you will delegate to and choose a date to do it.
  
  
• Clearly specify the results you want, how the manager should accomplish those results and by when.
  
  
• Set up a schedule of short progress reports with the manager and provide coaching and feedback as necessary.
  
  
4. CEO Success Profile. A success profile helps you focus on outcomes first and activities second. To create a CEO success profile:
   
   
   • Identify the key results that you need to accomplish in your role as CEO.
     
     
   • Write a one-page, bullet-point success profile.
     
     
   • Print your success profile, keep it visible and use it to make decisions on a daily basis.

Managing the Managerial Work Mix

Three factors play an essential role in managerial success:

1. Have the right person in the right job.
   
   
2. Make sure the manager/leader understands the key elements of the job.
   
   
3. Make sure the manager/leader does the right work.

What is the right kind of work for a manager/leader? According to TEC speaker Bill Scherer, all managers and supervisors engage in three different kinds of work:

1. Administrative work. The paper-processing, approving and checking that comes with the job.
   
   
2. Operating work. Activities that relate directly to the work the supervisor oversees.
   
   
3. Managing work. This includes five broad categories:
   
   
1. Planning
   
   
2. Leading
   
   
3. Organizing
   
   
4. Controlling
   
   
5. Motivating

The key to success is making sure your manager/leaders spend an appropriate amount of time in each area. Although he hasn't found the perfect formula for allocating time between operating and managing work, Scherer offers the following guidelines:

• Front-line supervisors will likely spend the majority of their time doing operating work because they are closest to the primary work of the company.
  
  
• Mid-level supervisors should strive for an equal balance between operating and managing/leading work.
  
  
• Senior managers should spend the majority of their time planning, leading, organizing, controlling and motivating.

Watch out for middle and senior-level managers who spend too much time doing operating work. To promote the development of your supervisors -- and get the level of performance you need from all managerial levels -- Scherer recommends five action items:

1. Set clear expectations for top managerial/leadership performance.
   
   
2. Adjust job descriptions to minimize operating work and emphasize managing work.
   
   
3. Evaluate managers for managing, not operating, results.
   
   
4. Adjust your compensation plan to reward manager/leaders for doing managing work.
   
   
5. Serve as a role model by spending the majority of your time doing managing work.

Better Teams Through Better Meetings

According to King, meetings offer a powerful tool for developing your management team. You can dramatically increase the quality of your meetings by understanding four fundamental principles:

1. Quality. Go for quality, not quantity. If you can't identify a specific outcome from a meeting and why it adds value, cancel the meeting.
   
   
2. Structure. Never conduct a meeting without some type of structure. Meetings without structure give meetings a bad name.
   
   
3. Ownership. In successful meetings, someone takes ownership for the process and the outcome.
   
   
4. Variety. To keep meetings fresh and interesting, break up the routine every once in a while. Use techniques such as brainstorming, role-play and breakout groups to raise energy levels and promote creativity.

To turn your management team meetings into crisp, fast-paced sessions that accomplish meaningful outcomes, King recommends the following steps:

• Set a designated time for starting and ending the meeting.
  
  
• Prepare an agenda for every meeting.
  
  
• Clearly state the desired outcomes for every meeting.
  
  
• Distribute written assignments prior to the meeting.
  
  
• Allow only those who can contribute to the solution(s) to attend.
  
  
• Require everyone who attends to participate.
  
  
• Publicly record all agreements and decisions and distribute them to the entire team.
  
  
• Rotate the meeting leadership.
  
  
• Review prior decisions and actions taken.
  
  
• Increase the speed and pace of your meetings.
  
  
• The CEO speaks last.
  
  
• Critique each meeting for process and the outcome.

Avoiding the Developmental Potholes

To avoid derailing your management development efforts, watch out for these common mistakes:

• Failure to communicate expectations.
  
  
• Failure to make people development a priority.
  
  
• Unrealistic expectations.
  
  
• Inappropriate leadership style.
  
  
• Failure to get buy-in.

Contributing Experts:

Steve Coffey

Coffey Management Company
9 Glen Eagles
Coto de Caza, CA 92679
(949) 858-0462
(949) 858-0764 fax
e-mail: scoffey@home.com

Steve Coffey is president of Coffey Management Company, a consulting firm providing growth management services for CEOs of dynamic companies. A former CEO, president, COO and CFO for companies experiencing growth rates of 100 to 300 percent, he now coaches CEOs on growth issues and helps them develop strategic, marketing and operational plans, budgets, corporate organizational design, management development processes and operating policies. Steve addresses TEC and other business groups on "Growing Pains: Successfully Transforming Your Company to Support Your Sales Growth Potential," "Hiring a Strong #2 Executive," and "Corporate Renewal." He serves on several corporate advisory boards and is a former TEC Chair in Orange County, Calif.

Lawrence King, Ph.D.

Lawrence King, Ph.D.
840 20th Ave., #3
Santa Monica, CA 90403
(310) 829-9164
(310) 829-3015 fax
e-mail: drlking@earthlink.net

One of TEC's all-time most popular speakers, Lawrence King has given more than 400 presentations to TEC groups around the world. His TEC presentations, "Entrepreneurial Team Building for Strategic Success" and "The Entrepreneurial Coaching Lab" provide CEOs with the vision, methods and skills to build a top-flight entrepreneurial team. A former TEC Chair, King created two of TEC's most innovative programs: the Key Executive Program, which provides a TEC-like experience for the key managers of the CEO's team, and TEC On Campus, which provides the same kind of challenging experience for M.B.A. students at UCLA's Anderson Graduate School of Management. A member of the elite "TEC 200 Club," King is the only person to receive both of TEC's most prestigious awards: the Maurice Mascarenhas Award (1994), presented to the top speaker of the year, and the Donald Cope Memorial Award (1991) for his career contribution to the TEC community.

William Scherer

Scherer & Associates Inc.
28092 San Lucas
Mission Viejo, CA 92692
(949) 768-1940
(949) 768-9097 fax
email: schererassociates@earthlink.net

Bill Scherer is a nationally recognized expert on the subjects of performance appraisals and management development. Since forming Scherer & Associates Inc. in 1977, he has served the human resource development and performance effectiveness needs of more than 500 private-sector and government organizations. A prolific author, Scherer has published more than 350 articles on management effectiveness and is a widely traveled speaker for all types of business and professional groups. In addition, he serves as a technical advisor to several management development organizations and serves in an advisory role on the boards of several major corporations.

A popular and highly rated TEC speaker, Scherer regularly addresses TEC groups on the subjects of performance appraisal and management development. For the past eight years, he also has been a TEC Chair, facilitating two TEC groups in Orange County, Calif.

Bob Thomson

Bob Thomson
697 Sandringham Drive
Jacksonville, FL 32225
(904) 220-5001
e-mail: umfan1@compuserve.com

Bob Thomson has spent most of his 38-year career working with CEOs, senior managers and their key employees in the areas of growth and development. He has served as director of management development programs at Virginia Tech University and corporate secretary of Clark Equipment Co., and has held various senior human resource positions with Clark, Bendix, Ford and General Motors. From 1986 to 1992 he served as a TEC regional manager and was responsible for growing and managing TEC's operations throughout the eastern half of the United States. Currently one of TEC's most in-demand speakers, he speaks on the subject of "Growing Your Company by Growing Your People."

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