Issue 2 · Thursday, 30 October 2008

Did you see me in The People Bulletin?

As I’m sure you can imagine, I was delighted when the editor of The People Bulletin told me they wanted to use one of the articles from Newsletter One, People Don’t Actually Like Being Managed Do They? in their e-zine published 16th October. They tell me they send the bulletin to 20,000 people and 4,000 of those are ‘active readers’. Just a handful more than Ladder News then. Gosh, today ‘The People Bulletin’ tomorrow…? But enough already of the self congratulation, let’s move on to the practical stuff.

Managing by numbers is easy – but how do I manage behaviours?

Managers often tell me that they focus most of their managerial attention on the “numbers” part of their staff’s performance. They set objectives for producing the right amount of work on time, meeting a deadline, achieving the % increase in sales or the £ of savings. They monitor the numbers and, sometimes, they give feedback to their staff about their performance against those numbers. It makes some sense. But what about the behaviours?

I've been meaning to clarify with you what I meant by "assertive behaviour"

Well the theory is, according to the managers, that they can’t effectively manage the behavioural element of a person’s work e.g. the way the person manages their time, the way they build and maintain relationships, their ability to be solution-focussed, because these behaviours are subjective and unquantifiable. Therefore they cannot be measured and subsequently managed. But here’s the rub:

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You might have to fight for the right to party, but do you need to fight for the right to manage?

So frequently the managers I work with seem to feel the need to gain permission to undertake probably the most important part of their role - managing their staff’s performance. They clearly know there are expectations of them as managers but they don’t feel they have somehow earned the right to manage.

Here’s an example:

I don’t feel managing performance is appropriate for my staff, some of them are more experienced than I am—who am I to say what good performance in their job looks like?

Employees’ rights at work are a well debated and largely well understood concept. Most managers have some understanding of the organisation’s legal duties with regard to the care of employees. And rightly so. Many managers, however, spend little time thinking about their rights as managers of people’s performance.

Here are some of the rights I believe managers must have:

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Joan Henshaw publishes her monthly Ladder newsletter for business owners and managers. If you want ideas on how to improve your practical people management practices, get your free tips now at www.ladderconsulting.com.

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