Tag: the ideal workplace

Fixer-Upper Leadership

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col. (ret)

Follow @procrnatom on Twitter

 

In the popular HGTV reality TV show Fixer upper, Chip and Joanna Gaines work with buyers to select a run-down and under-valued home and then using vision combined with hard work, turn it into a showplace. The Gaines walk the buyers through three potential homes, all in need of repair.   Typically, the buyers are openly disappointed with the current state of the property whereas Chip and Jo look at the same mess focusing on the potential beauty that it could become.  The remodeling experts ask the buyers about features that are most important to them and listen carefully to preferences that are stated during the walk-through.  The show progresses with the buyers selecting a property, establishing a budget, reiterate the items that are most important to them, and then turning the project over to the experts for remodeling.  Midway through the project, Jo meets with the buyers, updates them on the progress and ensures that everybody agrees with the final design.  The show ends with the amazed buyers walking through the newly remodeled home in disbelief that it could be the same property that they selected weeks earlier.

 

In the reality of the work world, some teams are run-down, underproductive and in need of a leader who will transform the current workplace into an employment showplace.  Like doing a fixer-upper on a home, transforming a low-achieving workplace into an environment where people want to spend the day involves listening, developing a shared vision, leveraging resources and motivating team members to work hard to implement change.  Be a fixer upper leader and create a workplace where employees are stimulated, motivated and want to spend their day.

 

Establish your goal

Your team must share your vision as well as your commitment to make things better.  Encourage your team to share your vision by openly discussing the status quo, including the things that currently drain team spirit from the group.  Ask them to describe their ideal workplace and the behavioral changes needed to move the ball in that direction.  As in the TV show, listen attentively to reveal the most important needs and make a list of behavior changes needed to improve the morale of the group.  Next, tune in to the group’s order of preference.  After identifying 1-3 items for immediate focus, develop a plan and hold team members accountable for its implementation.

 

Identify your resources

Once the Gaineses have a solid vision for repairing the property, they quickly assess the resources at hand and make plans to obtain additional supplies that are needed.   Likewise, take the lead in the remodeling of your team and how they interact with one another.  Ensure that it has the resources needed to make the desired changes.  You may need to modify work schedules, implement a streamlined method for communication or even place an absolute ban on gossip in order to get the job done.  Do everything within your control to activate the priorities identified by your team.

 

Demo day

Chip’s favorite day on any project is demo day.  Everything that is not necessary for structural integrity is ripped out and carted off to make room for reconfiguring the house and to allow for a make-over.   To make room for your new way of conducting business, old thoughts and habits will have to be “ripped out and carted off.”  During demo, be prepared to rid the construction site of behavior and of things that prevent the group from achieving their collective goal.  Ultimately, the leadership goal is to guide your team to the promised land while keeping it intact.

 

Rebuild

Once the old thoughts and habits have been removed, the vacant space is fertile ground for new and fresh ways to conduct business.  Keep your hands on the wheel and make sure that the void you created draws in feelings of collaboration and commitment.   Remind team members frequently about their consensus of creating a preferred workplace and encourage only positive thoughts and creative energy to exist among teammates while on the job.  Implement a spirit of accountability in which shared responsibility creates positive outcome.

 

Give frequent updates

Keep your team members in the game by meeting with them frequently and openly sharing the overall progress.  Discuss both the areas in which the team is doing well and areas that lack progress. Routinely review the original goals, tweak the plan, and motivate individuals by sharing your anticipation of success.  Toward the end of the HGTV show, excitement grows as the project nears completion.  The children deliver food in preparation of Joanna’s all-nighter to ensure that the property is perfect for the grand showing the next day.  Likewise, as your preferred workplace becomes a reality, be inclusive and harness the excitement of team members by having them participate in the planning of a celebration in honor of the changes that have been made.

 

Celebrate success

HGTV Fixer Upper ends each show with a segment where the finished project is presented to the buyer.   The new residents of the house high-five in near disbelief as they walk through a structure that only vaguely resembles the structure they selected to recreate.  As part of your leadership, celebrate with your team when attitudes and behaviors have changed and your workplace has been upgraded to become a magnet for fully engaged workers.  Carve out time for a team meeting complete with treats and high-fives for those on your team who most aggressively pushed colleagues to a new and better place.

 

By challenging your team to fixer upper restoration, you no longer need to lead a team that’s at at the low end of productivity.  Choose a reconstruction plan and get consensus, develop a strategy that’s inclusive and hold one another accountable for implementation.   You too can restore, repurpose and lead a team that delivers the best possible service to clients and the organization.

 

Thomas Davis is a noted leader, educator, speaker and clinical anesthetist. 

Let go and Empower your team

Let go and Empower your Team

By Thomas Davis, CRNA, MAE, Lt. Col. (ret)

Follow@procrnatom on Twitter

Micromanaging is a manifestation of the Authoritarian style of leadership in which the manager closely observes the details and controls the work of subordinates to an unnecessary extent.  It is an aggressive form of management that places workers in a fishbowl where every action is watched, and any infraction of the leader’s vision is quickly corrected.  Those who work for a micromanager seldom feel as if their opinions count and are in constant fear of repercussions for having expressed original thoughts or attempting new ways of accomplishing tasks.

Micromanagers were not necessarily born to be bullies; instead, according to an article by Andy Molinsky, the practice of usurping the power of others arises from the leader’s own personal fear and insecurity.   High achieving workers are commonly selected as leaders, but once in place, they may realize that they lack background and training as a leader.  Insecurity soon arises because despite being successful as a worker, they are fearful of not meeting the leadership expectations of the team or the organization. To reduce the chance of failure, a fearful, but highly competitive manager becomes an authoritarian who takes rigid control of every aspect of the job, insisting on giving approval before any action is taken.

The cost of Micromanaging

Micromanagers take pride in setting a high standard by producing perfect results.  Perfection comes with a cost to both the team and the organization and eventually the drain on team morale and company resources may cost you your job.  Here are some of the costs associated with micromanaging.

Workers may become fearful.  When every independent thought provokes the ire of the controlling leader, workers tend to do only as told.  Rather than putting their energy into creating the best experience for the clients, workers focus on NOT making mistakes and follow rules without exception. Over time, the insecurity of the leader spreads to the team and everybody walks on egg shells.

Creativity and innovation are lost.  The insecure micromanaging leader who takes control of projects and insists on absolute compliance to his/her demands quickly puts an end to independent thoughts that may arise from team members.

Staff turnover is high.  When subdued by a micromanager, creative workers feel stifled and look elsewhere for more fulfilling work and those who remain acquire an attitude of robotic compliance to the manager’s demands. Resources of the organization are drained as the cost of employee replacement grows and morale plunges.

Are you a micromanager?

Most leaders want to do a good job, and few would describe themselves as micromanagers.  If the question were put to your team, how would they describe you?  Self-awareness is the first step to overcoming your controlling tendencies and here are some signs that you may be a micromanager.

  • You are rarely satisfied with the work of others.
  • You rarely delegate and when you do, you tend to take the work back.
  • You must be involved with every aspect of a project.
  • Projects run behind schedule because you are bogged down in the details.
  • You expect to be copied on every email message.
  • Subordinates hesitate to act or refuse to move ahead without your approval.
  • You need to know what everybody is doing and where everyone is at all times.
  • You feel as if the only way to get it done right is to do it yourself.
  • Your team has unexplained high turnover.

Breaking the Micromanaging habit

If some of the signs above describe your leadership style, you and your team may have some tough times ahead.   At some point, your team will either surrender and become low-producing zombies, or they will revolt and stage a mutiny.  Either way, you will fail as a leader.  Here are some tips for letting go of MICROMAGEMENT and laying the foundation for EMPOWERMENT.

Assess your own insecurity.  Because the foundational emotion that drives micromanagers is insecurity, your management behavior will not change in a meaningful way until you address your own doubts.  In most cases, you have more support than you realize, and people really do want you to succeed.  View yourself as being a competent rather than competitive leader, leverage your resources and confidently lead your team by empowering each team member.

Let go of perfection.  Perfection is in the eye of the beholder and those you assign to complete a task may visualize the final product differently than you.  If the result meets the criteria established up front and benefits the organization, congratulate the team and celebrate their success.  The sense of validation and accomplishment that team members feel when projects come to completion are more important than the project perfectly matching your vision.

Resist checking-in.  Rather than demanding constant updates, arrange to check in at milestones or pre-arranged time intervals.  Agree on goals in advance of the project, provide necessary resources then allow workers time and space to solve problems.

Require cc on only certain types of email. Take time to review the messages in which you have been included.   Determine the type of information that you really need and that which is extraneous.  Reduce your involvement further by requesting that your team NOT include you in every email exchange.

Designate a point person.  Give total control of a project to a top performer and stand back.  If releasing control makes you uneasy, start with a project that is easily within the capability of the point person.  Based on your history as a micromanager, the person may be skeptical and you must give him/her a reason to believe that this is not a gimmick and, in fact, it is their project to complete.

Don’t get bogged down with the small stuff.  As the leader your most important duties are defining goals, providing resources and motivating team members to accomplish tasks.  Don’t get mired in the nitty gritty. If the project is staying on the timeline and progressing toward the goal as anticipated, keep your fingers out of the pot.

Micromanaging seldom works and is often associated with toxic work environments in which both morale and productivity suffer.  Instead of tightening the screws on your team, empower them.  Support your organization, improve relationships, build trust and elevate your position as a leader by loosening your grip on the reins and allowing your team to demonstrate its worth.

Special thanks to my wife and editor, Liz Sanner Davis.

Thomas Davis is a noted leader, educator, speaker and clinical anesthetist. 

Build a preferred workplace.  Join Tom and a group of healthcare leaders for the values-based leadership webinar.  Click here for information.