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Cerebration Of A Corporate Assassin

Barney is definitely in the wrong profession, You can see that he just merely loves the social attributes of being an engineer. Same thing with Fred - I'm sure that he's here because he hasn't yet got anything better yet. Arnold definitely is here because his dad owns this company. I mean, it is the "family business", and he feels compelled to follow it. I suspect that he would have made a fantastic golfer. Joan's been here since she left college seventeen years ago, and she'll probably retire here. it doesn't take a genius to figure out why nothing is going right in any department of this company - not when these guys are the key managers. They are all typical examples of problem managers that you commonly find in companies these days..

You can really see from very far away that these people, even though it is all unintentional, will only succeed in significantly decreasing production and staff morale. They will also greatly contribute to cost increase - and I'm quite certain that the company objectives are exactly the opposite. They are the stuff of company nightmares - they make a large company an unpleasant place to work, and will almost certainly destroy a small company. The scary thing is that they don't realise this.

Now, you've probably got one or two of your own and I'll tell you how to spot them. The classical example is the guy, who has the general impression that the entire world rests on his shoulder, and will come crashing down to pieces, if he is not more efficient than he presently is. Barney, Fred, Arnold and Joan have not reached that megalomaniac stage yet but they are certainly on the way. Barney for example constantly bullies his subordinates; Fred is constantly creating division within his team instead of harmony; Arnold condescends to talk to the individuals in his group but really doesn't give a damn about what they think. He seriously considers himself better than everyone else, and makes sure that everyone else knows this. Joan would "get the job done even if she has to do it by herself." Really tough hardworking people they all are.

Most companies are full of managers like these, who do not understand the first things about management. But seriously folks, management is not about working hard; it is really about working easy. From my unofficial Management Cheat Sheet, I can give the following as the identikit of a true manager:
* He is the guy who likes not doing anything
* He is the guy who has no trouble telling others what to do
* He is the guy who is absolutely fascinated by work - likes to sit and watch work for hours
* He is the guy who likes sweating the small stuff
* He's the guy who always is seen as something of a loner
* He's the guy who enjoys having people hate his guts just for doing his job

Never mind the gender specific description - it might as well apply to a woman also. These may perhaps look like extracts from the resume of a loafer, but the bottom line is that management is not about working hard, but assisting a team to use their individual strengths more effectively.

How do you identify a problem manager without creating the impression of a corporate witch-hunt exercise? Yes, there is really no rule of thumb, and that's why I have been hired - like a cold hearted assassin to do the bloody job. They really won't get much more from me of course, than they would by having a senior manager have a heart to heart with a few of the junior staff. I am sure there a lot of those guy who will be really pleased to tell a good story over a pint or two at the pub. But like I said, I am just here to do the dirty job so that none in senior management get blood on their Saville Row suits. Now if you can't find any of the junior employees who would talk that might just show the extent of their distrust of senior management - or their fear of their supervisors. Really heavy scene that one. Do you want to dig deeper ? Look at the overhead costs of the department. Overheard increase, which is not linked, to increase in productivity in a department should immediately tell you that there is a problem. Look also at staff turnover - when one department has more people quitting (or retiring) than others; when there have been instances where several individuals from the same unit have left the company in a short period of time; when one department has higher overtime costs than the others; when the employees in a particular section have been using up all their vacation and more of their sick days than the average - you will almost certainly find a problem manager in charge.

Okay,maybe you've now found the culprit, how do you go ahead to apprehend and correct him? I mean, none of these guys have like Arnold just suddenly inherited the family business. They are unlikely to have got where they are without being good at something. If they weren't good, they would quite certainly have been fired long ago. So, how do you assess the value of the manager in question to the company and weigh it against how much they are costing the company. I'll give you some tips. If Barney has for example increased productivity, by fifteen percent over the past year, I'm sure you ain't gonna be sore that the turnover rate in his department is higher than average. However, if the books show that the cost of sale has increased by ten percent during the same period, because of increased training costs, payment to recruiters, sickie costs, and increased overtime, I wouldn't blame you if you become concerned. As a fast rule however and as much as possible always attempt to quantify the impact of every manager's performance in monetary terms - or in terms directly related to the objectives of the firm.

A bigger question however is: now that you have caught the culprit; and he's been found guilty on all counts, what are you gonna do to him? I would personally recommend coaching or advanced training. Sometimes, all you may need to do is to transfer the guy to a position with less responsibility for people. This is quite important because many problem managers are actually a result of company policy. Many are running with unreachable goals set for them by the company and that is why they similarly demand the impossible from those around including themselves. To fix the guy, first fix those goals; fix those job specs. Again very many company chiefs are quite insensitive to the skills of employees, resulting in people being placed in positions in which their ability to perform is not stimulated. The results are quite easily predictable. Fred for example is a dreamer and should do better at R&D; why is he in the audit department? Joan has little to expect from working in strategic planning. She's too detail-oriented and would do better in a position that handles tasks with more structure. Arnold is , an introverted loner ; he is is not likely to go very far in customer service.

Before you try and change the guy however, you need to show him in hard figures how he is hurting the company. It is important to leave out Intangible faults. Never tell him what you heard, but show him what is clearly visible. The use of overhead expenses, as well as direct costs should demonstrate true bottom line impacts. The same measurements should be used to quantify the benefit to the firm when the action taken, resolves the problem. An honestly implemented manager reorientation policy has the ability to produce more productive satisfied managers. And when this is achieved, the big picture - achieving greater profitability, becomes much clearer. Yeah, I'm quite certain about that.

Article Source: http://www.uberarticles.com/articles

Timi Ogunjobi is an engineer and writer. This article is free to republish, but a generous donation will be appreciated. Email: timi@ensap.com Web: www.hardmenu.net
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