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发帖数: 7315 | 1 http://blogs.msdn.com/b/eric_brechner/archive/2009/11/01/sponta
Spontaneous combustion of rancid management
ericbrec 31 Oct 2009 11:00 PM Comments 4
What's good for you isn't always good for your group. Obvious, right? You
can call it local versus global optimization. You can get geek philosophical
about it and say, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few…or
the one." Or you can simply notice the difference you feel between zany
ideas from the intern (cool) versus zany ideas from your general manager (
scary).
For example, spontaneity in an individual is a good thing and unvarying
predictability makes Jack a dull boy. But when Jack is running a large
enterprise, unpredictability can wreak havoc. There are managers who grow up
and learn this lesson, and there are managers who are Randomizing Ambiguous
Nimrods Causing Incessant Distraction, or rancid for short.
I despise rancid managers. They think they are responsive and flexible when
in reality they are the fastest means to team dysfunction and failure. If
you are a manager and you tell your team, "Hey, I've got a great idea," and
they look back at you seemingly saying, "Does it involve tying yourself to a
tractor and driving off a bridge?", then you might be rancid.
It's not that bad
What's so bad about being a rancid manager? Isn't consistency and
predictability boring? The answer lies in Brownian motion, which describes
the movement of particles under random bombardment. Particle movement in
Brownian motion could best be described as erratic.
Consider a large team of engineers who are constantly being pushed in
different directions at random intervals by their general manager. You'd
expect the same erratic movement from that team. Their chances of actually
accomplishing anything as an organization are negligible.
Alternatively, if the team is consistently pushed in the same direction they
will gather momentum and make significant progress toward their goal.
Therefore, a successful manager sets a clear direction, points the team in
that direction, and consistently pushes in that same direction until their
goal is achieved. Course corrections that naturally come along should
translate to gradual team nudges, until the correction is made. Only severe
circumstances should prompt major changes in course.
I’m talking about high-level direction, not the day-to-day details which
require more agility and flexibility. The key is aligning the day-to-day
detailed decisions to the high-level direction. You can’t do that if your
high-level direction constantly changes.
Do I look all rancid and clotted?
If teams run by rancid managers are erratic and make little progress, why
are there so many rancid managers? Here are three reasons:
§ Being rancid seems responsive. Instead of always pushing in the same
direction, rancid managers respond quickly to outside influences, giving
their management a nice warm phony feeling of agility.
§ Being rancid means never having to achieve anything. Since the world of
a rancid manager's team is always changing, there's a self-fulfilling excuse
for why nothing gets accomplished ("Hey, a bunch of stuff happened!"). If
these managers weren't rancid they'd risk being accountable. They'd have to
do the hard work of setting an achievable vision and direction for their
team and then achieve it.
§ Being rancid keeps you occupied. Where's the fun in consistency? What do
you do all day to stay busy? What value do you bring to the team if you're
always saying the same things? Making a call and sticking to it is difficult
. It's scary and you might need to do real work to support it.
Of course, rancid upper management breeds rancid middle management. It's
hard to escape. Often people don't even know how good consistent management
can be until they finally experience it.
It's a path made of principle
When managers stop being rancid and start being consistent, a number of
wonderful things happen. First and foremost, teams start achieving results.
Managers move from creating havoc to preventing havoc. And team members
actually understand what they are supposed to do each day, and know they
have to do it because it won't be different tomorrow.
All this leads to a higher sense of purpose and higher morale. At first, the
team may struggle to get fully aligned, but soon the job of a manager
becomes easier. You're not always changing your story. Once the team is
aligned there are fewer problems to resolve. It's easier to track and show
progress.
What challenges does this leave for managers? The biggest is to paint the
picture of where the team is going. You need to be clear and understand it
deeply in order to describe it consistently and repeatedly to the team. Once
you have your story of the future, the challenge is to stay on course at a
high level as team members and external factors change. You must discover
and communicate adjustments as needed, and prevent upper management from
inappropriately disrupting your course.
It's not easy. You need confidence in your convictions and strong thinking
behind your direction. It helps to have principles you follow and
communicate. They let people know what you expect and how you make decisions
. Doing so helps them align their decisions with yours and gets the whole
team behind you.
Upper management edicts can sometimes be hard to discern. Are they
appropriate customer or business driven changes worth disrupting your team’
s course, or are they inappropriate distractions you should filter from
randomizing your team? The best way to find out is to ask your manager or a
trusted mentor within your organization. Be direct. Find out the background
and thinking behind the change. Even if the change is distasteful it might
be the right thing to do. Even if the change is alluring it might be wrong
to follow.
Picking your battles is a critical skill to master if you hope for a long
and prosperous career. Understand the context. Learn who you’d have to
fight, how tough it would be, and how much you’d stand to gain or lose.
Then make an informed decision about whether the battle is worth engaging.
Discretion can add years to your valor.
Oh, the noise! Noise! Noise! Noise!
"But things change!" protest the rancid managers, "Is your team supposed to
blindly follow some ancient plan? Our agile competitors will beat us every
time." Of course things change and plans, architectures, and designs must
adjust. Details and understanding constantly evolve, driving continuous
iteration of our work. But if your goal today is to build a social computing
experience, no detail or external influence should be switching you to
build tractor tires.
Strong managers know that all kinds of variation in team structure,
competitive landscape, market fluctuations, and technical challenges
precipitate changes to the best laid plans and designs. However, it's rare
for those variations to necessitate a complete shift of direction. A strong
manager welcomes change and contextualizes it for their team so that their
momentum toward a shared goal stays strong through many corrections in
course.
Great managers directly confront distractions to keep them from disrupting
their teams. Some have a regular "rumor mill" portion of their staff
meetings to discuss the latest gossip. Shining a light on these issues and
nipping them early keeps teams focused.
All progress has resulted from people who took unpopular positions
Being consistent as a manager may seem dull, but it's the kind of dull teams
truly appreciate—the kind of dull that leads to results. While it sounds
easy to be consistent, it requires courage. Courage to stand your ground and
stand behind your words. Courage to be accountable for the direction you've
set.
I'm talking about commitment. I'm talking about integrity. I'm talking about
shaping the world to fit your vision rather than mindlessly following the
latest trend or circumstance.
Our vision should be shaped by the needs and aspirations of our customers
and the imagination of our collective minds, but in the end our vision
belongs to our leaders as individuals. Our success depends on them having
the courage to speak it and steadfastly pursue it. Do you have that courage? |
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