Manager Focused Skills
Phyllis Nance
Director, Kern County DCSS
Terrie Hardy-Porter
Director, Sacramento County DCSS
Welcome to Manager Focused Skills
“The manager as a supervisor of improvement projects
may be likened to a juggler. At any one point in time
he has a number of balls in the air. Periodically, one
comes down, receives a short burst of energy, and
goes up again. Meanwhile, new balls wait on the
sidelines and, at random intervals, old balls are
discarded and new ones added.”
Mintzberg (1973, p. 81)
There are times when we can feel like this…
The Focus
Dan Thurman on Focus
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf9gru443
aA&feature=share_email
The Focus
• Management Roles
• Management Work
• Leadership Roles
Manager Roles – “People People”
Mintzbergs Managerial Roles
Interpersonal Roles:
• Leader
• Liaison
• Figurehead
Manager Roles – “Know Everything”
Mintzbergs Managerial Roles
Information Processing Roles:
• Monitor
• Disseminator
• Spokesperson
Manager Roles – “The Buck Stops Here”
Mintzbergs Managerial Roles
Decision-Making Roles:
• Entrepreneur
• Disturbance Handler
• Resource Allocator
• Negotiator
The Work Never Ends
Research indicates the following:
• The typical manager works long hours, which
includes taking work home
• The managers day is filled with a variety of
short duration activities
• Many of the activities managers deal with are in
reaction to what others bring them
The Nature of Leadership
The definition of leadership has not easily been
defined by the research.
The assumption most research share with regard
to the subject is that leadership involves using an
influence process to facilitate the performance of a
collective task
Leadership Roles – “Task Master”
Effective leadership behaviors as identified by the
Ohio State University and University of Michigan
Leadership Studies:
Task-oriented behavior:
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Focus on planning and scheduling work
Coordinating staff activities
Providing what the staff need to effectively do
their job
Leadership Roles – “Relation Builder”
Relations-oriented behavior:
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Showing trust and confidence in staff
Acting friendly and considerate
Trying to understand staff problems
Helping to develop staff and further their
careers
Leadership Roles – “Relation Builder”
Relations-oriented behavior (con’t.):
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Keeping staff informed
Showing appreciation for staff ideas
Allowing for staff autonomy to do their work
Providing recognition for staff contributions
and accomplishments
Leadership Roles – “Team Builder”
Participative leadership:
•
Use of group meetings to facilitate
participation in decision-making, improve
communication, create an environment of
cooperation, and facilitate conflict resolution
Role Conflict
With so many roles and demands from all
directions (subordinates and superiors)…there are
times when incompatible demands are made on
the manager, which create role conflicts and you
may feel like this…
Keep Your Focus And…
Stay Calm and Know Your Role
• Understand the demands and constraints of
your position
• Expand your range of choices by changing your
perspective
Stay Calm and Know Your Role Toolbox
Develop a Leadership Philosophy to use as a
guide
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•
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Start With Why You Want To Lead
Understand What You are Leading
Choose How You Lead
Keep Your Focus And…
Stay Calm and Manage Your Time
• Determine what you want to accomplish
• Analyze how you use your time
• Plan daily and weekly activities
• Avoid unnecessary activities
Stay Calm and Manage Your Time
• Conquer procrastination
• Take advantage of reactive activities
• Make time for reflective planning
Stay Calm and Manage Your Time Toolbox
• Time study yourself
•
Identify where you are spending your time
• Create to-do lists
•
Prioritize activities based on importance
• Get professional help
•
Use an organizing/planning product that fits your
style (i.e., Covey organizer/planner)
• Block out time specifically for you
Stay Calm and Manage Your Time Toolbox
• Eat the elephant one bite at a time
•
Break complex/difficult tasks into manageable
pieces
• Increase your IQ
•
Use experts around you to increase your
knowledge and skills
• Spring clean all year long
•
Reduce or eliminate unnecessary activities
• Believe you can
•
Use an affirmation tool
Keep The Focus And…
Stay Calm and Plan
Research indicates that most planning done by
managers is informal and adaptive
•
•
Agendas are developed by managers that
relate directly to their job duties
Implementation of short-term agenda items
are typically made through a managers
influence techniques during their daily
interactions with people
Stay Calm and Plan Toolbox
• Make an appointment with yourself
•
Set aside time
• Know what matters
•
Identify key result areas
• Know what you can control
•
Understand the departmental connections and
interdependence of your strategies
Stay Calm and Plan Toolbox
Set your Guiding Principles
• Ensure your strategies:
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Will not harm the dignity of your staff or cross
ethical boundaries
Will not harm the relationships you’ve built with
your colleagues in order to accomplish a divisional
goal
Will not impair the department’s overall ability to
accomplish its mission and reach the vision
Will not impede the delivery of outstanding
customer service
Keep The Focus And…
Stay Calm and Problem-Solve
• Identify important problems that can be solved
• Look for connections among problems
• Experiment with innovative solutions
•
“do it, fix it, try it” Peters and Waterman (1982, p. 13)
• Take decisive action to deal with crisis
Stay Calm and Problem-Solve Toolbox
Understand what you control, influence, or have
no control over
No Control
Influence
Control
Where are you spending your
time?
Adapted from Covey, S. R. (1989). The 7 habits
of highly effective people. New York: Free
Press.
Stay Calm and Problem-Solve Toolbox
• Have a copy of your emergency management
plan handy
•
Prevention, Preparedness, Response &
Recovery
• Keep an idea bank
Keep The Focus And…
Stay Calm and Make Decisions
The research indicates that managers were
usually observed making decisions without a
model or strategic process for making decisions
•
•
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Decisions weren’t made at a single point in
time
Often managers were unable to recall when a
decision was finally made
Organizational politics play impact decisionmaking
Stay Calm and Make Decisions Toolbox
• Use a decision-making tool that aligns with
organizational vision, mission, and values
•
Lots of Models
• OODA Loop
• Stakeholder Analysis
• Vroom-Yetton-Jago
Stay Calm and Make Decisions Toolbox
Sample Model
Clearly define the issue/concern/suggestion
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clarify the goal(s)
what is the desired outcome
what does it look like fixed
Determine the facts
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research
understand parameters
Develop options
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what are the alternatives
remember to think creatively - stretch
Consider the consequences
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what are the benefits of each option
what are the consequences of each option
Choose
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Things to consider when choosing an option:
• Does the suggestion support the vision, mission, and values of the department?
• Is the suggestion a win/win solution for all parties involved? If not is as close as possible to a win/win for all
parties?
Adapted from Josephson, M. (2002), Making Ethical Decisions, Los Angeles:
Josephson Institute of Ethics.
Stay Calm and Make Decisions Toolbox
Sample model
• Is the decision consistent with carrying out the mission of the
department?
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(No...find another direction)
Does it violate any applicable laws and/or regulations?
(Yes...look for another way)
If implemented will it harm the dignity and/or growth of our employees?
(Yes...there’s a better way, find it)
If implemented will it support outstanding customer service (internal and
external)?
(No...make a different decision)
Does it set an example of what we want see in future decisions?
(No...take another direction)
If we take this path are we addressing the issue in its whole or just parts?
(No...why not…?)
Keep The Focus And…
Stay Calm and Manage
• Know your needs, emotions, abilities, and
behavior
• Develop relevant skills
• Remember that a strength can become a
weakness
• Compensate for weaknesses
• Find your passion
Keep The Focus And…
Stay Calm And Inspire
• Vision - Make Sure Everyone Can See Where
You Are Going And See Themselves Going With
You.
• Inspiration - As A Leader Know That Sustaining
Motivation Comes From Inside Inspiration.
• Accountability - Set The Expectation That
Everyone Shares Accountability
Stay Calm and Inspire Toolbox
Kouzes & Posner
Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership
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Model the Way
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Inspire a Shared Vision
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Challenge the Process
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Enable Other to Act
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Encourage the Heart
Stay Calm and Inspire Toolbox
Model the Way
• Clarify values by finding your voice and
affirming shared goals
• Set the example by aligning actions with shared
values
Kouzes & Posner (2007), pp. 14-26
Stay Calm And Inspire Toolbox
Inspire a Shared Vision
•
Envision the future by imagining exciting and
ennobling possibilities
• Enlist others in a common vision by appealing
to shared aspirations
Kouzes & Posner (2007), pp. 14-26
Stay Calm And Inspire Toolbox
Challenge the Process
• Search for opportunities by seizing the initiative
and by looking outward for innovative ways to
improve
• Experiment and take risks by constantly
generating small wins and learning from
experience
Kouzes & Posner (2007), pp. 14-26
Stay Calm And Inspire Toolbox
Enable Other to Act
• Foster collaboration by building trust and
facilitating relationships
• Strengthen others by increasing selfdetermination and developing competence
Kouzes & Posner (2007), pp. 14-26
Stay Calm And Inspire Toolbox
Encourage the Heart
• Recognize contributions by showing
appreciation for individual excellence (notes:
look for achievement and recognize
• Celebrate the values and victories by creating a
spirit of community
Kouzes & Posner (2007), pp. 14-26
What Tools Will You Use
Bibliography
Covey, S. R. (1989). The 7 habits of highly effective people. New York:
Free Press.
Josephson, M. (2002). Making ethical decisions. Los Angeles: Josephson
Institute of Ethics.
Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2007). The leadership challenge (4th
ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Mintzberg, H. (1973). The nature of managerial work. New York:
Harper & Row.
Peters, T.J., & Waterman, R. H., Jr. (1982). In search of excellence:
Lessons from America’s best-run companies. New York: Harper &
Row.
Yukl, Gary. (2006) Leadership in organizations (6th ed.). New Jersey:
Princeton Hall.
Contact Information:
Phyllis Nance
Pnance@co.kern.ca.us
Terrie Hardy-Porter
Portert@saccounty.net