The One Minute Manager
by Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson
"The One Minute Manager" by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson is
an extraordinary book.
If you have problems managing your team then I highly recommend this
short, simple, easy to read The One Minute Manager.
The One Minute Manager - Simple Ideas May A Profound
Difference
Like many common sense ideas, it's only common sense when you know it so the One Minute Manager
book could have the impact of being hit on the head with a baseball bat wielded by world super
heavyweight boxer Lennox Lewis.
Yes I think The One Minute Manager is that good and powerful for anyone who has problems getting
the most out of their staff.
The critical ideas in the One Minute Manager all comes down to three simple techniques:1. One Minute Goal Setting
2. One Minute Praisings
3. One Minute Reprimands
That's right. That is all there is to it.
Let's go through and have a look at how the One Minute Manager works in a little more detail.
One Minute Goal Setting
The core idea behind One Minute Goal Setting is so simple.
You just have to tell your staff what you want them to achieve and what you want them to do.
I told you it was obvious but surveys often show that many employees are uncertain of what it is that
they should do, what their responsibilities are, what their goals are.
Perhaps you should try a little experiment.
Pick two members of your team - a star and an average performer.
Ask them to write down what their main goals for their job are, what their responsibilities and
accountabilities are and what are the important tasks they do that contribute to those goals.
Then you do the exercise yourself for their roles and compare the lists.
There's a good chance that the two lists for your high performer are much more similar than the lists for
your average performer.
Isn't that interesting.
It makes sense.
How can anyone do a good job if they don't know what's expected on them?
Yes they could ask but they don't want to look stupid in front of the boss and aren't you always busy
rushing here and there anyway. So instead they will try to find their own answers or lose enthusiasm
because they don't understand the rules of the game.
There's no getting away from it.
It is your responsibility to clarify the goals of each and every person who reports directly to you and to
approve the goals for the employees at the next level down.
What you don't have time? That's the other great thing about this system - it only takes one minute when
you are a One Minute Manager.
One Minute Praisings
Do you know a simple, low cost way to improve the morale of your team of employees and help them to
do a better job?
Give them a one minute praising - tell them that they are doing a great job. But only if you mean it otherwise it comes across as false and insincere.
Virtually everyone likes to be recognised and especially if the person has made a special effort to
overcome problems or maintains impeccably high standards.
Incidentally I always think that it's the sign of a great employee if their standards for their work are
higher than yours.
But how do you know when to give people praise?
You have to keep your eyes open and catch them doing something right.
When you see something good - behaviour or results then tell the person, congratulate them and thank
them for their efforts.
A one minute praising shows that you care about performance so they care.
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It shows that you believe in giving recognition when it's earned so they will strive harder to earn it.
But sometimes you see more problems than things going right. That's where the third leg of the One
Minute Manager system comes in.
One Minute Reprimands
Most staff will hear some form of rant from their boss from time to time although there are some who
won't say anything and just store things up until the formal appraisal.
Often it's water off a duck's back. Because they don't have clear responsibilities and duties and because
they don't receive one minute praisings, they assume that criticism is just the way bosses act.
That's no way to manage.
The One Minute Manager recognises that there are better ways and that people have to learn from their
mistakes or unsuitable behaviour. It can only happen if people are told about it quickly and in a way that
encourages them to learn and do better next time.
Your Responsibility As A Manager
If you employ staff then your responsibility is simple.
To get the highest and best performance out of each member of your team that they can deliver and to
manage the team so that the overall performance is excellent.
The One Minute Manager is a remarkably simple system to learn and apply and will help you improve
employee performance.
It will make your feel that you are a better manager because you have become proactive rather than
reactive. You are setting goals and providing quick feedback on performance - whether good or bad.
It will make your staff feel better about their work. Yes even those that receive a few One Minute
Reprimands. They will finally know what is expected of them and through the reinforcement of
praisings and reprimands they begin to understand their role and the consequences.
Each of these three ideas - One Minute Goal Setting, One Minute Praisings and One Minute Reprimands
are covered in more detail in the book and there are specific techniques for making each of them work
effectively.
To find out more you will have to read the One Minute Manager book by Ken Blanchard and Spencer
Johnson but I am sure that you will be glad that you did.
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