Management
The Invisible Spotlight: Your Priorities Are their Priorities
Your employees are constantly watching your behavior watching for clues to what’s important and what isn’t. In order to change your staff’s priorities, work begins with management.
Craig Wasserman and Doug Katz
Marvin is a successful district manager for a medium size metropolitan hauling company. When our consulting relationship began, I asked him what the secret was to his team’s track record. Being a humble man, he attributed it to many things—the talent of his subordinate managers and their employees, the support of his bosses, the culture and policies of the company, the loyalty of his customers.
When I pressed him about his own role in the district’s success, he cited three things: (1) his commitment to keeping his employees well informed, (2) his belief in soliciting and using his employees’ ideas and (3) the obligation he felt to teach his managers how to be capable, respected leaders.
That’s why Marvin was mystified by the growing tension among his department managers. He knew conflict is an unavoidable part of a busy, customer-driven organization. And he knew the holiday season is always particularly stressful for his district. But none of this really explained it, and he couldn’t put his finger on the causes. All he knew was what his eyes and ears were telling him. For example:
Out of the blue one morning, he heard his Operations Manager rudely deny a request from the Accounting Manager within earshot of a group of drivers
Marvin was in one of the maintenance shops when his normally unexcitable Maintenance Manager complained out on the floor about having been kept in the dark on a routing change that disrupted his department’s tightly controlled PM routines
Marvin passed by a group of employees whispering among themselves about the Sales Department’s spotty performance while the group’s own manager stood by without intervening.
Other signs of friction were more subtle but unmistakable.
The Puzzle
Marvin called in each of his department heads to get a handle on what was going on. He was concerned, he was disappointed, but more than anything he was puzzled. He began each meeting with questions:
Had the Operations Manager realized he had an audience of drivers when he so abruptly dismissed the Accounting Manager’s request? What had gotten under his skin to be so cantankerous in the first place? Could he have handled the situation more privately?
Had the Maintenance Manager’s outburst solved the problem or just agitated his colleague and his own staff? Weren’t there more professional ways to communicate his displeasure and make sure the oversight wasn’t repeated?
Did the Support Services Manager who overheard her employees badmouthing the Sales Department intend to do something about it? Did she understand that unchecked complaints like that are destructive for the entire district? In what way could she have stepped in?
These conversations all went down the same path. Each manager was at first defensive, but ultimately regretful and each apologized. While it was satisfying that his managers didn’t want to let him down, Marvin remained disturbed that they were oblivious to their real-time impact and unsure how to respond more constructively.
As Marvin and I discussed the situation, he realized that his managers were focused almost exclusively on their own departments. The relationships between departments were simply not a priority for them. As a result, they were fumbling the interactions and the handoffs, paying short shrift to how critical these are to the organization’s internal goodwill and operational effectiveness.
The Mirror
From that insight forward, Marvin was way ahead of me. He turned his questioning mind on himself before I could, acutely aware that district priorities began with him. He knew he was the one who established the tone; his words and deeds defined the expectations. So he began to ask himself what he was doing to foster the inter-department problems he was trying to solve. Here’s what he came up with:
In his staff meetings, one-on-one meetings, and casual tours through the district, Marvin always steered the discussion to each department’s productivity measures, morale and plans. He could not recall ever focusing on why or how the departments coordinated their efforts or jointly solved problems.
When he congratulated an individual or a department, it would be for a contribution within the silo. He never praised managers or line employees for their responsiveness to other departments or the support they provided to other areas of the district.
In other words, although Marvin preached cooperation across the district in broad rhetorical terms at quarterly meetings, his day-to-day words and actions invariably emphasized the primacy of the individual departments. He was virtually silent on the importance of collaboration. It stood to reason that his managers were doing nothing more than following his lead. They were following the compliments. It’s what we all do.
The Fix
In the days and weeks that followed, Marvin began asking his managers a different kind of question as he made his rounds. Did you get the Sales Department’s input on this change? You’ll need the support of Maintenance on this—how will you get it? Which other departments will you need to coordinate this with?
Marvin felt the glare of the invisible spotlight as he changed gears. The department heads were soon comparing notes on his new emphasis. Eventually they were anticipating his questions, focusing on his expectations and engineering a more collaborative, integrated organization. They held Marvin in high esteem and wanted to please him.
Over time, the improvements presented opportunities for Marvin to recognize and reinforce his managers’ successes. And the gradual change in his managers’ strategies began to transform staff priorities in turn. It became a positive spiral.
When I met Marvin again, almost a year after this episode, I asked him what he thought the secret was to shifting the culture of his district. Right on cue, he told me it was many things—the talent of his subordinate managers and their employees, the support of his bosses, the culture and policies of the company, the loyalty of his customers. But this time I knew better. This time I knew Marvin himself was at the center of the change.
Marvin understood the invisible spotlight. He understood that his employees were watching his behavior … watching for clues to what’s important and what isn’t. If he wanted to change his staff’s priorities, he knew the work would have to begin with him.
Craig Wasserman and Doug Katz have been consulting to managers and organizations for 35 years. Over that time, they’ve worked extensively with the waste industry. You can reach them at [email protected] and [email protected]. This article was adapted from their book, The Invisible Spotlight: Why Managers Can’t Hide, available on www.amazon.com. For more information, visit www.invisiblespotlight.com.