HEADLINES from Business Mentors, Inc.
What
is HEADLINES?
HEADLINE: LEARNING TO LEAD!
One morning I received a call
from a corporate client with concerns about the performance of one of their
organization’s recently promoted Vice Presidents. The EVP of Human Resources asked me to
anticipate a call from the employee’s boss.
In that call, I came to learn that Carl had been promoted into the role
of Vice President of Technical Operations for the company less than a year ago based on his technical expertise, his
ability to manage large technical projects and his demonstrated skills at
turning around technical initiatives that were “in trouble”. Unfortunately, things were not going well,
and I was asked to work with him from a developmental perspective to see if we
could alter some of his behaviors to improve
the situation.
SO WHAT WAS REALLY GOING ON?
It seemed that Carl had
inherited a sizeable technical operations group with a team of 36 individuals,
seven direct reports and a cadre of contractors and vendors to support the
group’s project efforts. Since stepping
into the new role, Carl had already lost half of his direct reports to other
roles outside of the company. Of course,
the excuses were believable enough, “I left for a better opportunity”, “I
couldn’t resist their financial offer”, “The new role will allow me to work
only two miles from my house”, etc; however, the real truth of the matter was
that his direct reports couldn’t take working
for Carl. In their exit interviews
with HR, an entirely different picture was painted as they explained they
couldn’t take the micro-management and the demanding style that Carl
displayed. A key contracting firm had
chosen not to renew their annual contract due to their contractors’ complaints
regarding Carl’s management style. In
addition, there had been turnover in over a quarter of the department employee
force since Carl assumed the reigns for the division.
POOR CARL…
Carl’s reaction to all of the chaos was to “hunker down” even more in the trenches, become more demanding of his direct reports, and become more involved in the minutia when dealing with the multiple technical projects in play. As he realized that he was losing control over the situation, he assumed more of a controlling, dictatorial style, leading to an even greater number of desertions within his troops. He retreated rather than moving forward!
COUNSEL FROM
THE COACH
While the situation was a
very serious one, it wasn’t entirely
Carl’s fault. The management team
that had selected Carl for this promotional opportunity had been short-sighted
in their selection criteria. Carl did
possess a vast array of technical expertise to perform in the role, but he was
sorely lacking in leadership skills. And, no one had even considered that in his
selection. A natural assumption was
made: If he was a good performer in a
technical role, then he’ll be a good technical manager. A BIG HUMAN RESOURCES MISTAKE - but Carl also needed to learn to lead.
Carl had to:
Reframe his definition of his job – His new role required him to see that the job was done
and done correctly without doing the work himself.
Find the right people to fill in the organization
chart and let them do their jobs – With
the right people in the job roles, Carl could rest comfortably knowing that he
had the talent in place to perform with the ability to contribute to the
process.
Understand that he was no longer responsible in his
role, but that he was accountable – In his new role, he was accountable to the leadership team for the
results, not responsible for doing those tasks himself.
I am pleased to report that today, one year later, Carl is performing quite well in his leadership role. In fact, he has recently made the succession planning list for the corporation. Why? Carl decided to learn a new set of skills that are critical for success in the leadership ranks. It wasn’t easy for him; and it took some time for him to incorporate them as a part of his management style. But, the proof is in the results!
Invest in Yourself,
Al Stewart
President/Owner
Business
Mentors, Inc. is a career management organization that was founded in 1995 by
Al Stewart, a former corporate executive with background in the transportation
and communications industries with such industry leaders as Eastern Airlines,
AT&T, GTE and Sprint and an educational background in Adult Education. His firm, Business Mentors, Inc., offers a
broad range of services focused on successful management of professional careers
including: Career Exploration, Career
Transition, Career Outplacement, Becoming an Entrepreneur, Executive
Development and International Transition.
With a powerful record of success using counseling, consulting and
motivation of over 3500 executives in the past ten years, the firm founded the
executive coaching movement and continues
to enhance its reputation as one of the leading and most highly regarded career management firms in
the country. For more information about
our services or questions regarding how we can assist you, please consult our
website: www.business-mentors.com Or,
you can choose to email us at alstewart@business-mentors.com
or call our offices (Atlanta, Fort
Lauderdale or Paris, France) at our global number: 404.644.8618.
Our associates are available in person at one of our three offices or
via teleconference worldwide.
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