It has always amazed me how many entrepreneurs honestly believe that the people they hire will morph into a creative, productive team with no management effort.

They class themselves as “leaders,” but see “management” as a need and function of large/old companies—not startups.

They say they hire self-starters and these people don’t need to be managed; as long as they understand the vision they are self-propelled.

They talk about connecting their people through social networks, Twitter, texting and other modern tools.

And if (when) that doesn’t work they term them fools and dump them.

But the old adage “give a fool a tool and you still have a fool” still applies.

First, for them to actually be fools means you hired fools.

If you don’t believe that you are guilty of hiring fools then what you have are talented lost souls looking for a path to productivity and personal satisfaction.

People want to do their work well and they want to feel good about what they do; they care about their company’s success.

It’s not simple or easy or even much fun, but your real job as a founder is guiding your people out of fooldom and into becoming a powerful team.

Not every startup succeeds, but no startup succeeds sans management—whether you call it that or not.

Flickr image credit: PUBLISYST Comunicaciones

Great managers hire the best people available—even when managing them is outside their comfort zone. One of the most challenging differences happens when introverts hire extroverts and vice versa, but there is more information available for the latter than the former. That said, here is something for all you introverts stressing over managing those noisy, pushy extroverts you were smart enough to hire despite the discomfort.

You’re a quiet introvert leading or managing others at your company. Odds are, then, you have a couple of not-so-quiet extroverts on your team. So how can you get the very best from these “too talky” types? Know what makes them tick and help give it to them.

Does your manager on a given project constantly touch base to see how things are going? Does it annoy you? Would you be surprised to know that the technique works, especially when managing non-direct reports?

Managers who are deliberately redundant as communicators move their projects forward more quickly and smoothly than those who are not.

Just how much difference does a middle manager make to the success of a knowledge-based company? Especially as compared to the innovators who do the actual work and the executives who set vision and strategy? Quite a bit according to Wharton management professor Ethan Mollick.

Managers accounted for 22.3% of the variation in revenue among projects, as opposed to just over 7% explained by innovators and 21.3% explained by the organization itself – including firm strategy, leadership and practices.

I find it very annoying when excellent advice is so specifically targeted in title language that those who aren’t part of the designated group skip it because they assume it is valuable only to the reference in the title. So as you read the next few offerings ignore the focus and consider how to adapt the information to your own situation.

Have you ever wondered which skills to hone to further your career or to develop in your people to help them grow? Skills that also can benefit people who may not want management, but still want to have more influence?

These C.E.O.’s offered myriad lessons and insights on the art of managing and leading, but they all shared five qualities: Passionate curiosity. Battle-hardened confidence. Team smarts. A simple mind-set. Fearlessness.

Last today (and my favorite) is the advice to go to the dogs. It’s aimed at entrepreneurs, sales and customer service, but if you embrace it as a manager I guarantee that your group’s productivity, innovation, retention and all around performance will skyrocket.

Is it possible most things we need to learn about business success we can learn from a dog? … They can be brilliant business instructors. … The next time you seek business advice try walking a mile in your dog’s tracks instead.

Enjoy!

Image credit: MykReeve on flickr

Study Richard Branson as an entrepreneur.

Study him as a leader.

Study him as a manager.

Study him as an example of how to live your life.

Don’t just study Branson; study those around him, such as Stephen Murphy, Virgin CEO since 2006.

Studying both allows you to see how Branson differs from so many of his counterparts.

According to Murphy, “He [Branson] is a listener. He will say ‘I hired you to listen to you. I am not hiring you to tell you what to do’.”

Branson is known as Doctor Yes while Murphy is nicknamed Mr. No; together they make Virgin far stronger than either could separately.

Murphy balances Branson’s “screw it, let’s do it” attitude, but recognizes Branson’s positive mindset, “When there are nine good reasons not to do something, Richard is always the person who focuses on the one reason to do it.”

Branson is a master delegator, not just the responsibility, but the authority and once he delegates he lets go.

Study Branson to learn the value of controlling your ego or, better yet, being confident enough to let your people shine, knowing that giving them the spotlight doesn’t reduce your own place in the sun.

Last year I wrote a very short post on following and Branson seems to fit.

So when you are deciding whom to follow, who’s vision to trust, skip the shiny baubles and silken words and look to see who keeps turning the spotlight on others.

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gulltaggen/4564600916/

People, especially those in management/leadership roles, have advisors, mentors and other people they consult; they read blogs, attend seminars, access company training and all these sources constantly inundate them with management advice.

Everybody listens, especially when the technique is coupled with a brand name, usually a CEO.

And that’s OK as long as you remember that you are not a copy of the person giving the advice.

Their advice is a result of their MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™) as formed by their upbringing and their experiences.

If the shoe fits, wear it.

You have different MAP, different upbringing and different experiences, so to use what you learn to your best advantage you need to know you.

Duff Goldman, who parleyed his passion for cake into a multimillion dollar business, including a show on the food channel and celebrity status, knows he is fallible, but has turned that fallibility into an asset.

“I kind of know what works, and I kind of know what doesn’t work. I have a good idea for how to make money and how to hold onto it — how to hopefully not make too many mistakes. But I know I’m going to make mistakes. My confidence comes from the fact that I’m very comfortable with being nervous. I’m very comfortable with my fear, because my fear comes from a very real place. It comes from a place that will make me perform above and beyond what I think I’m capable of doing.”

Duff Goldman knows himself.

If the shoe fits, wear it.

Along with the personal aspect of advice is the cultural one, both local and company.

Just as you don’t manage in China as you do in the US as you do in Russia you don’t manage in Groupon as you do in Apple as you do in Intel.

Management ranks (and divorce courts) are littered with those who tried to lever themselves into situations that didn’t fit or force everyone else into their worldview.

If the shoe doesn’t fit you get blisters and bunions; if the fit is bad enough you end up lame.

The take away is simple.

If the shoe fits, wear it; if it doesn’t fit, adjust it; if it isn’t adjustable, find shoes that fit.

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ganymedes1985/3749273976/

In a speech to company managers, reprinted in The HP Way, Dave Packard perfectly summed up what makes Jane or Johnny run.

“People work to make a contribution and they do this best when they have a real objective, when they know what they are trying to achieve and are able to use their own capabilities to the greatest extent.”

I would add that “their own capabilities” means

• being given full information and authority to get the job done, as opposed to
• being forced to return again and again for clarification or having to constantly run to the boss to get something authorized.

The first approach is the one chosen by managers so confident and powerful that they work to hire people smarter than themselves, empower them and spend their energy developing them—knowing that they will either be promoted or leave.

The second approach is the choice of mangers who are weak and insecure.

Which are you?

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zedbee/103147140/

Last week we talked about the importance of good hiring to insure the success of your organization and I gave you a copy of RampUp’s CheatSheet for InterviewERS.

Tuesday I shared information on how to use your culture to screen candidates.

However, when it comes to the actual interview many managers and candidates view it as an adversarial function, which is, in fact, ridiculous.

Managers and candidates have the same goal—or they should have.

Interviews are occasions to find out if a candidate is right for the hiring manager, the team and the company; just as important is for the candidate to find out if she will be challenged and thrive in that environment.

In other words

• Managers want a person who shares the company’s values, will strengthen the team and can make real contributions to its success.
• Candidates want a place to contribute meaningfully, where the culture is synergistic with their own values and where they will continue to grow.

Same goal, different perspectives.

One part of the problem is that candidates are nervous and today’s economic turmoil increases normal interview jitters.

The other part is that the people doing the interviewing may not be very good at it or, worse, actively dislike doing it.

Here is one thing you do to help your candidates be comfortable enough to openly discuss who they are, what they can do and contribute and why they want to do it in your company.

Share RampUp’s CheatSheet for InterviewEEs before the interview.

Be sure to take the time to explain that you sent it because you want them to have the best interview possible.

You may be surprised at how much your candidates appreciate that attitude.

Plus there’s a hidden bonus, because you’ll know in the interview if they 1) took time to read it or 2) made use of any of the ideas.

Image credit: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1007380

Do you agree with the following statement?

“The most fundamental job of a leader is to recruit, mobilize, inspire, focus, direct, and regularly refuel the energy of those they lead.”

I do with one glaring exception—the words “leader” and “lead.”

That sentence is just as valid if you substitute ‘manager’ for ‘leader’ and ‘manage’ for ‘lead’.

The quote is from a Harvard Business Review post called The CEO Is the Chief Energy Officer and although it’s a cute play on ‘CEO’ the lessons it imparts apply to every manager at every level in every company—even if that manager is the only person in the company.

If you are in a position where you manage anyone and you skip any of the actions mentioned above then you are doing a major disservice to your people and yourself.

Even more so if you are your own manager, which, in the end, we all are.

This is a great time to institute change—not with great fanfare, but through sustainable actions.

So every day get out there and “recruit, mobilize, inspire, focus, direct, and regularly refuel the energy.”

You’ll be glad you did.

Flickr image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zedbee/103147140/

Its studies show that [word deleted] workers are looking for flexible jobs that have “a climate of respect, work-life fit, supervisor support and learning opportunities.”

Would reading this sentence lead you to expect yet another story about the work expectations of Millennials?

If so, you would be wrong.

The sentence comes from a Wharton article called The Silver Tsunami that discusses the value older workers bring to employers.

Now consider these ten points on how to manage from a recent BNET post

1. Don’t be the boss. At least, don’t appear to be
2. Don’t be dismissive, help them learn new skills.
3. Use their experience.
4. Understand differences in lifestyle.
5. Validate them.
6. Know what motivates them.
7. Talk to your employees.
8. Don’t’ be intimidated by them.
9. Introduce a mentorship program…
10. If [word deleted] employees do step out of line, reel them…

Sounds a lot like advice on managing Gen Y, doesn’t it?

But it’s not; it’s advice on how to manage when employees are older than the manager.

Do you see where I’m going here?

Boomers, Gen Xers, Millennials.

They are all people; people with similar desires and foibles, although usually expressed in different terms.

And they all want similar things from their managers: respect, challenge, opportunities to grow, work/life balance—the same things you probably want from your boss.

And it’s your job to provide them to everyone.

Flickr image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zedbee/103147140/

Rumors are the fastest way to destroy trust and culture, not to mention your team’s morale, productivity, longevity—the list goes on and on.

Managers who stick their head in the sand in the hopes that the rumor will die a natural death are in for a rude awakening.

The only way to deal with rumors is head on and publicly.

Call your group together, state the rumor and tell them the truth. If something in the rumor response is confidential level with them and explain why it is.

For example, if there is a layoff rumor it’s either true or false. If true, admit it and explain as much as possible. If you can identify specifics—when, which departments, who, etc.,—and be honest! Or tell them when you don’t have information or that you can’t share it.

People aren’t stupid, if you say there is no layoff coming and it happens two days later they will know you lied and lies cast a long shadow. People will understand that you can’t give details, but lies are something else.

The only way to deal with the rumor mongers is privately and only if you are positive that you have the right person.

If you are sure start by asking why they said what they said.

You may find that it was innocent and actually started in another group or department. In that case make them feel safe in coming to you first if they hear something in the future.

If they deny it and you are still absolutely sure thank them and then watch them like a hawk. If they are real rumor mongers they do it for kicks; thinking they got away with it usually makes them careless and you will catch them the next time.

You need proof to act and that may take time, but the more confident they are the easier it is to catch them; just remember to document everything.

Flickr image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zedbee/103147140/

Flickr image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/notionscapital/2883224652/