Avoiding Managing
by Miki Saxon
Too many managers (of all ages and at all levels) tell me they are using texting, Twitter and email to manage their people. They’re even using them for performance reviews, layoffs and terminations.
When I ask why they use them I’m told some variation of ‘saves time’, ‘more immediate’, ‘modern way to manage’, ‘cool’ or the worst one, ‘lets me focus on what’s important.’
I may be a digital dinosaur, but I’m here to tell them (and you if you are on the receiving end) that that isn’t managing; it’s avoidance pure and simple.
It’s having the title while avoiding every single action required to lead a high-performing organization. It trashes careers and shows enormous disrespect for people.
In short, it’s a total copout; unfair to the team, the company and the investors.
What’s important are the people, because without the people there is no company and if there is no company you have no job.
Flickr image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/danzen/4137160631/
October 1st, 2010 at 7:27 am
Miki, great point! Some “digital” tools can make managers better and their teams more engaged, but only if they’re used together with regular face-to-face interaction. How much helpful feedback is lost when we don’t have an easy way to share it when it’s top of mind? Stuff like: “great presentation, next time don’t include so many slides.” Usually we’re off to our next meeting and forget to share later. If we have an easy, quick way to capture and share feedback and ideas, 1-on-1 meetings can be much more relevant – and even performance reviews might be less painful.
The two challenges managers face with email and social tools are:
1. Finding an easy way to organize all the info shared so it’s actually useful later on;
2. Being sure to actually use this info to create more open and constructive dialogue with employees – face-to-face dialogue.
October 1st, 2010 at 11:55 am
Hi Jesse, I agree with the instant feedback, but take issue with your example. An text like, “great presentation, next time don’t include so many slides” would come as a kick in the stomach to many and have little effect on the rest. The ‘great presentation’ comes over as a meaningless intro to the specific criticism for the kick, while the rest would see only the praise and never notice the ‘too many slides’.
Fast feedback should be along these lines, “Great presentation! Let’s sit down and look at how to make it even better.”
Perhaps we can add a third challenge for using social and email:
Criticism, negatives and potentially hurtful or damaging stuff requires face-to-face contact.