Modern Management: Create a Culture of Business Agility

Agile approaches promise more innovation and easier leadership. However, most agile approaches don’t discuss the role of managers at all. Do we even need managers when we use an agile approach?

Yes, we do.

Managers offer two valuable services to the organization. First, managers can support everyone as each person learns to lead—regardless of their role or title. Second, managers create and refine the agile (or not) culture.

And, because managers create and refine the culture, they can work across the organization to create a culture of business agility.

Learn to invite managers to change their behaviors. Create your agile culture and enable business agility.

Transcript

1. Johanna Rothman @johannarothman www.jrothman.com Modern Management: Agile Leadership for Leading and Serving Others & Innovation
2. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Too much of what passes for “agile management” has little to do with leadership and everything to do with control. 2
3. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman How can we enable a culture of business agility? 3
4. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Business Agility Depends on Managers • Because they create and refine the culture • Manage themselves before they manage anyone else (not in this presentation) • Create a harmonic whole by leading and serving others • Every organization exists for one reason: Innovation 4
5. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Principles for Business Agility 1. Clarify purpose, for you, your team, your organization. 2. Build empathy with the people who do the work. 3. Build a safe environment. 4. Seek outcomes by optimizing for an overarching goal. 5. Encourage experiments and learning. 6. Catch people succeeding. 7. Exercise your value-based integrity. Note: I did not add transparency or communication. If you manage with these principles, you will be as transparent as is possible and you will communicate effectively. 5
6. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Culture Drives Behaviors • Kurt Lewin said: B = f(P, E) • People (P) perceive the environment (E) • We choose to Behave (B) in ways that fit the environment • What does your organization reward? • Individual work (resource efficiency) • Team-based work (flow efficiency) 6
7. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Change words: From “Management” to “Leading and Serving” 7
8. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman What do People Remember About Their Managers? • Think back to the best manager you had. How did you feel when you worked there? • Do you remember the work or the teams? • Take just one of your terrible managers. How did you feel when you worked there? • Do you remember any of the work, except to remember how you felt about it? 8
9. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Outdated Management Assumptions Color Management Actions • People can do the job • People can master the challenges • People can take responsibility for the work and the relationships • … and more • People might need support or training, but they can. • People live up or down to your expectations of them 9
10. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Lead & Serve Others Myths • No limit to the number of people you can manage. • People don’t need feedback. • Measure busy-ness, not outcomes. • Managers want to know the people are engaged. • Thinking isn't work. • Performance reviews or other evaluations are useful. (They are not. They damage relationships and performance.) • People don’t need credit for their work. • Hiring shortcuts are fine. • People are resources. (No, they are not.) • We need experts for this work. • Promote the best technical person to be a manager • You can keep even marginally-useful people on a team. 10
11. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Common Root Cause • Current management practices focus on the individual (resource efficiency) • Business agility requires a focus on the team (or workgroup) • How do you change the focus? 11
12. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Two Myths That Prevent Serving and Leading Well • Performance reviews/evaluations are useful • We can’t fire anyone (Warm bodies are better than no bodies. Even when they actively harm the teamwork.) 12 It was good enough for me…
13. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Performance Evaluations “Considered Harmful” • Feedback is useful • People require feedback from their peers • People might need feedback from manager • People might want coaching from peers/manager regularly • Reinforcing feedback and appreciations more useful than change-focused feedback 13
14. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Options Instead of Performance Evaluations • Performance reviews don’t work because of Lewin’s Equation: B = f(P, E) • Environment shapes everyone’s behavior • Create and run feedback labs and coaching labs • Build relationships (thru one-on-ones) with each person • Create a career ladder that works for everyone, including managers 14
15. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Should You Keep Warm Bodies Around? • Un-jellers • Personality prevents success • People who can’t do the job • Insufficient technical expertise and can’t learn 15
16. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Options to Serve People to Leave • Make sure you’ve offered specific feedback • Does the person need coaching or training? Make that happen • Ask if the person wants to work here? • If not, ask, “How can I support you to find a job elsewhere?” • If so, start a PIP and make sure it’s a one-and- out • If you can’t help a person leave, separate them from the team. Explain they will no longer get any raise at all and might see a salary decrease. 16
17. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman When Managers Don’t Lead & Serve… • Insufficient respect and empathy for the people doing the work • Work feels like drudgery 17
18. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Lead and Serve Others: From Individual Focus to Team Focus 18
19. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Great Managers Lead for Innovation 19 “...every organization---not just businesses--- needs one core competence: innovation.” — Peter Drucker
20. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Where Do Managers Spend Time? 20
21. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Organizational Leadership Myths • Great management looks easy so it is easy • Treat everyone the same way • Performance management creates employee engagement (It does not!) • Comparing teams is useful • “Friendly” competition is constructive • 100% utilization works • No time for training • It’s okay to move people wherever they need to go, whenever the manager wants. • Lower salaries means lower project cost • Manage by spreadsheet • It’s a great idea to standardize on how people work (especially their agile approach.) 21
22. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Two Myths That Prevent Innovation • 100% Utilization of people • Standardizing how anyone works 22 It was good enough for me…
23. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Options to Prevent 100% Utilization • Manage the project portfolio • Make sure every project has a team and that team only works on one project • Flow work through teams • Encourage management teams so everyone has a common overarching goal 23
24. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman 24
25. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Options to Prevent Managers from Deciding for Others • Often about power in the organization • What problems do they want to avoid? • What outcomes do they want to see? • Remember the Rule of Three 25
26. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Lead an Innovative Organization: From Change Management to Managing for Change 26
27. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Managers Create & Refine the Culture • For everyone as individuals, in teams, and in groups • (Schein discusses artifacts, values, and assumptions) • How people treat each other • What people can discuss • How the manager and organization rewards people 27
28. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman “The Culture of any organization is shaped by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate.” — Steve Gruenert and Todd Whitaker, School Culture Rewired, ch.3 (2015) 28
29. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Huge Personal and Managerial Cultural Shift • From resource efficiency to flow efficiency 29
30. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Build Your Agile Management Habits • Progress, not perfection!! • Behaviors before beliefs • Start with yourself • Remember that people remember how you make them feel • If you don’t know the “why” nothing else matters. 30
31. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Let’s Stay in Touch • Pragmatic Manager: • www.jrothman.com/ pragmaticmanager • Please link with me on LinkedIn • Modern Management Made Easy (in- progress): • https://leanpub.com/b/ modernmanagementmadeeasy 31