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THE EVOLUTION OF THE TURKEY MANAGERSHandling the Beast Responding by choice or reacting?
What is your dominant style?
Going with the flow…
Steven’s
story – Getting it right Steven
was always brought up in a highly competitive environment where it
wasn’t how you play the game but rather if you won or lost. When
he became a manager, he realised that his authority was the
quickest and surest way to get cooperation from his people.
Whilst most of his staff have been conditioned to accept
his view point unconditionally,
a new staff member, Jack, had different ideas.
Jack
certainly built up credibility and trust with Steven by following
his instruction and delivering on results and deadlines.
Once Jack has established this trust with Steven that he
would build a full-proof alternative scenario when it was obvious
that Steven’s approach would not work.
When selling his new idea to Steven, he couched his opening
comment to address the need for power and outcome. “I
like what you’ve done with your proposal.
It has really helped me to develop the idea further and I
have used your suggestions to make sure we’ll get the outcome
you want.”
Steven’s
story – the wrong way Another
staff member, June, was also highly creative and enthusiastic in
making a difference in the workplace.
When she was first confronted with Steven’s coercive
behaviour, she was shocked and uncomfortable with his approach.
She immediately sought the advice of another manager and
bypassed Steven in that process.
She then made an appointment with Steven and started the
conversation in the following way. “I know I am only new here, but I am really uncomfortable with your idea. It could have some really disastrous consequences for the staff. I have thought of an alternative that could iron out some of the issues.” Steven
took offense to her comments and from that day on, June’s input
was never sought.
PUSHER
-
Observable behaviourq
Blunt
and to the point q
Inconsiderable
of feelings and personality differences q
Continuing
reminding others of commitments q
Always
say what is on their mind q
Blinkered
and tunnel-vision Needs
: q
To
get thing done my way Means
: q
Focus
on results not feelings Underlying
belief ; q
I
know best.
Do(s)
& Don’t(s)
Belinda
Story – The right way Belinda
is a manager in a manufacturing plant.
Her company has been undergoing significant changes in
technology and work processes. She is a very hands-on and pragmatic individual with an
emphasis on tried and proven methods.
One
of her staff, Catherine, realises that the way to get Belinda’s
support for any new initiative is to come up with practical
solutions without criticising her ideas. The conversation went like this : “I
have thought about your suggestions in regard to the IT project,
and I’d really like to hear your thoughts about outsourcing the
system design to an external consultant.
I have a lot of experience in implementing a similar system
with my previous company and I learnt a lot about the pitfalls
along the way. If
money is an issue, I’ll be happy to be involved in implementing
it if it would help you to get a good result.” Belinda’s
story – the wrong way Recently,
Carole was employed to help oversee the introduction of
technology. Carole
has a degree in IT and was employed because of her methodical and
analytical approach to her work.
Belinda has just advised Carole of her proposed method of
implementing the change. This
seems to be in direct contrast with Carole’s experience.
Carole sat down with Belinda and expressed her concerns in
the following way “Based
on my studies in IT processes, I think your suggestion is
inappropriate as it seems to be based on an out-dated model of
business reengineering. I
have talked to other people in the area and they agreed.” PRETENDER, PERSUADER Observable behaviours q
Very
sociable q
Good
networker q
Image
conscious q
Impulsive
q
Likes
variety and fun q
Inattentive
to details q
Convincing
in selling ideas Needs
: q
For
acceptance and approval Means
: q
Increasing
visibility and profile q
To
sound and look good at all times q
Underlying
belief : q
Perception
is more important than reality
Do(s)
& Don’t(s)
Paul’s
story – the right way Paul
was the manager of an advertising agency.
He was well known among his peers and was known to have the
gift of the gab. He constantly talked about his achievements and contacts.
On one occasion he had assigned an advertising client to
Melissa, a young, up and coming sales executive.
Each
week, Melissa would inform him of her progress and client’s
reaction, even if this was simply taking a few minutes of Paul’s
time along the corridor. Her
conversation went something like : “Paul,
thank you for the opportunity to work with Client X.
They always speak very highly of you.
They are really happy with our initial ideas, and I am sure
we’ll get a great result. I’ll
keep you posted.” Paul’s
story – the wrong way Mark
has only recently started working with Paul. Mark is very
gregarious and flamboyant in his mannerism and dress sense.
When he sees Paul in the corridor, he immediately inundates
Paul with an overview of his latest project including some
financial projections. Paul
was very often irritated by this
level of details. However,
Paul was most annoyed to find out from the grape vine about how
Mark bragged about his personal achievement, without acknowledging
Paul’s support and his previous work he has done with the
client.
PREMEDITATORObservable behavioursq
Disclose
limited information q
Say
one thing and do another q
Calculated
in what they say q
Give
little away in their body language q
Spend
considerable time planning Needs
: q
Order
and control of information Means
: q
Withhold
and release information as deemed appropriate q
Being
unpredictable q
Underlying
beliefs : q
Knowledge
is power q
Trust
no one
Do(s)
& Don’t(s)
Michael’s
story – the right way Micheal
is seen as a private and aloof person, who gives little away about
his personal feelings and inner thoughts.
He sticks to the topic at hand and believes that he needs
to control his environment to be successful.
Sharon
has reported to Michael for the past two years and has developed a
strong working relationship with him by reinforcing his decision,
cooperating and promoting his ability through other staff.
Each week Sharon provides Michael with an update on all of
her activities and also keeps him informed of the happening on the
grape vine. She is
loyal and trusting. Michael
story – the wrong way Bob
on the other hand is a real talker who always tells it like it is.
If he does not have the appropriate resources to do the
job, he will be forthright in requesting the level of support from
Michael. Bob finds
that he is continually left out of the circle of influence and his
weaknesses are often highlighted by Michael as a cause for
concern. Bob finds it
very difficult to elicit information and often the last one to
hear about changes within the division.
He does things by the book and expects Michael to do the
same. He has tried to
establish a closer relationship with Michael by being open about
his personal views and details.
However this information has often been used against him.
Other
perspectives… It is sometimes helpful to look at the manager’s behaviour in terms of roles or power games that they play. Few of the managers described would ever assume the role of the victim because it is perceived to be weak. However, the common stance assumed by these managers are that of either Persecutor or Rescuer. Both trying to gain control or to defend their positions. Let’s examine the characteristics that are associated with these two power bases. Persecutor
When
we look at our 4 categories of managers, it is suggested that the
predators would play the most obvious role within the power game,
that is, the persecutor. Their
mindset is definitely one of “I’m more important than you and
therefore I would react aggressively and powerfully to ensure the
total control of my environment.” “Like
parents, persecutors frequently use their power to solve problem (do
it because I said so). To
protect themselves from uncertainty and their fear of their own
powerlessness, persecutors demand obedience, relying heavily on
rewards, punishment and their position of authority.” When
we reflect on our case studies, the examples of the Shark,
Crocodile, Hawk, Bull, Mantra-eel and the Black Panther exhibit many
of these traits by using their power and authority to coerce others
into submission. For
these managers, they must ultimately make the transition to becoming
a teacher and showing the other person what will work best for
everyone and explain why. They
must respect the other person’s point of view on blame and
threats. In light of
this statement, perhaps our best strategy is to channel their energy
into playing the role of teacher, coach and mentor.
However, until they are ready and willing to change, the do(s)
and don’t(s) outlined above will help you cope with such strong
personalities. Rescuer
In
a different way a rescuer adopts the attitude of “I am better than
you and therefore you need my help.”
“The
rescuer needs to be needed. At
their best, rescuer gives a lot of support ….. with the tendency
of making the choice for the other person. Some rescuer becomes
addicted to the role and feed off conflict, running from one party
to another with nasty reports about each.” Whilst
the rescuer may not be as overtly aggressive as the persecutor, they
can still cause significant damage as demonstrated in our case
studies. The case
studies that illustrate ‘rescuing’ tendencies include the
Penguin, Weasel, and Rat. For
these managers, they must ultimately make the transition to becoming
a mediator and encouraging people to settle their own differences by
supporting people to take personal responsibility and limit their
intervention and advice giving behaviour.
In view of this, our
suggestion is to encourage these rescuers to reduce their direct
involvement in shaping an outcome and praise them when they allow us
to take the initiative. A
common thread…
The
are a number of common drivers that we have identified for all
managers which include political bias, self serving and territorial
nature and absolute focus. There
are some general guidelines for responding to these common drivers. Self serving When
communicating with them, must
address What’s In It For Me.
Forget about your personal issues or objectives and focus
solely on their needs. Political Never
say anything that could embarrassed them in front of their peers or
managers because they are politically driven and therefore sensitive
to negative and public feedback.
Similarly, try to give as much credit to them as managers
when interacting with their peers or managers.
Territorial Work
within your strict boundary or authority.
Ask permission if you ever need to venture outside these
boundary. The old
saying of “ it is better to ask for forgiveness rather than
permission” definitely doesn’t apply here. Focus All these managers are single minded in their pursuit of their self interest whether this interest be to remain powerful and in control (predatorial), being understood and acknowledged (forceful), being socially accepted and recognised (persuasive), to preserve their exclusivity and autonomy. |