Leaders Must Show Up
Chaos at your office? Your staff takes its best clues about how work gets done “around here” from the folks who are leading the way. You’re stressed? They’re even more stressed.
In the previous column, I suggested that you use the “Management by Walking Around” model, developed by Ken Blanchard a few decades ago. Simplicity still works, especially when your systems are overloaded.
Only do this if you want to reduce your chaos factor.
Here are the top 10 tips for walking around, taking the time to talk about what’s happening on the front lines.
Show Up! Plain and simple. Show Up. Make this your mantra.
MBWA isn’t an event. Don’t take a clipboard or your laptop for notes. Get to know people and their jobs – the upsides and downsides – at a personal level.
Meet people on their own turf. Naturally.
Praise in public. Give feedback in private.
Build bridges between departments. Does “sales” know – really know – what production does?
Listen twice as much as you talk. Learn “appreciative inquiry”.
Roll up your sleeves and pitch in.
Find out what rumors are circulating. Give the facts, address the feelings.
Appreciation takes no time, and costs nothing. Praise is valuable and memorable.
Play, have fun. Teams that laugh together, create results beyond the paper statistics.
I suggest that for the next week, track the amount of time as well as the key conversation points you have with your staff. You might be surprised at how little actual relationship time you are investing.
Relationships are the heart of any leadership and organizational transaction. Build some walk around time into your system for all of your leaders. Show up. Just show up.
Chaos at your office? Your staff takes its best clues about how work gets done “around here” from the folks who are leading the way. You’re stressed? They’re even more stressed.
In the previous column, I suggested that you use the “Management by Walking Around” model, developed by Ken Blanchard a few decades ago. Simplicity still works, especially when your systems are overloaded.
Only do this if you want to reduce your chaos factor.
Here are the top 10 tips for walking around, taking the time to talk about what’s happening on the front lines.
Show Up! Plain and simple. Show Up. Make this your mantra.
MBWA isn’t an event. Don’t take a clipboard or your laptop for notes. Get to know people and their jobs – the upsides and downsides – at a personal level.
Meet people on their own turf. Naturally.
Praise in public. Give feedback in private.
Build bridges between departments. Does “sales” know – really know – what production does?
Listen twice as much as you talk. Learn “appreciative inquiry”.
Roll up your sleeves and pitch in.
Find out what rumors are circulating. Give the facts, address the feelings.
Appreciation takes no time, and costs nothing. Praise is valuable and memorable.
Play, have fun. Teams that laugh together, create results beyond the paper statistics.
I suggest that for the next week, track the amount of time as well as the key conversation points you have with your staff. You might be surprised at how little actual relationship time you are investing.
Relationships are the heart of any leadership and organizational transaction. Build some walk around time into your system for all of your leaders. Show up. Just show up.
Want to know more about Appreciative Inquiry? MBWA? Send me an email, call or post a comment! I'll do a walk about with you.
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