Taking Care of Middle Manager Bounce Off

How many times have the management consultants been 'in' and after leaving, have left little or no trace of their passing?

Despite massive investment there is no discernable performance improvement, the retention figures still look as if we are running a call centre and our safety record is second to everyone.

Why is it that what seemed a logical and progressive implementation model failed to have any lasting impact on our business?

Could it have anything to do with 'Middle Manager Bounce Off'?

'Middle Manager Bounce Off' is a little understood phenomenon that appears most frequently in the wake of a management initiative or a consultant driven implementation.

'Middle Manager Bounce Off' is the name that has been given to the unwillingness of middle management to pursue or implement change.

The impetus for change is generally driven by the corporate decision makers in response to stakeholder pressure. The decision to change is made at this level and is then transmitted down the chain of command to the shop floor.

At every level the need for change is retransmitted to the next level down, who in their turn retransmit.

In each case this has the same effect.

Each individual experiences an aversion to implementing the change. This aversion is not driven because the change is wrong or because it will not have the desired effect. It is simply because the person being directed to implement the change does not like being told what to do. This resistance is not necessarily even conscious and may not even involve a negative reaction, just a failure to act positively.

In a social situation we understand this aversion and will seldom deliberately create a situation whose outcome is to tell someone else what to do.

There will always be the exception but it is generally understood that it is more effective to ask for something than it is to order someone to give it.

In a domestic situation, if a husband decided that he never wanted his wife to iron his shirts, all he has to do is catch her when she is doing the ironing, and order her to iron his shirt.

Instinctively we cringe at this scenario because we know how the wife will react. Not only has the husband made it almost physically impossible for his wife to iron his shirts, we know that even if she did iron them there is a very good chance that he will end up with an iron shaped burn on his shirt, which did not necessarily occur by accident.

This scenario is not a comment on the husband and wife relationship. It is a comment on the fact that the wife is a human being and that human beings always react the same way to being told what to do.

At work we are not allowed the same extreme reaction that the wife produces but we still feel the same resistance to being told what to do. The resistance manifests itself in ways that may not be directly attributed to the order. Late orders, broken machines, poor timekeeping, poor safety performance, bad treatment of the customers. After all, when we are at work we have to appear to be doing what we are told.

The alternative to telling people what to do is thought to be 'Asking' for something. This is a valid alternative in a social situation where there is a real choice.

If the husband asked for his shirt to be ironed we would all defend the right of the wife to tell him to go and iron it himself.

At work there is seldom a choice other than 'Do what I want or get your coat'. We are often asked to do things that sound like a question but the reality is that in the work situation we seldom have a choice.

This dynamic means that at work, even if a question is asked, the effect is just the same as if an order has been issued, because of the lack of choice that asking the question provides.

The manager faces this resistance when he retransmits the initiative or change to the workforce and, without necessarily realising it, he is also building up his own resistance to the change. He may pay lip service to it but will have a great deal of difficulty giving any enthusiasm to something that he has been told to do.

Is it any wonder that as soon as the corporate foot is taken off the gas pedal the initiative or change disappears without a murmur?

We do appear to be having trouble with 'Middle Manager Bounce Off'.

There is however a third solution to the problem of the ironed shirt. We have seen the perfectly natural reaction when the wife is ordered to iron the shirt and we have seen the possibility of being told to go and do it yourself when the wife is asked.

What however would happen if she were allowed to care about the result?

If she cared about the way her husband looked then there would always be an ironed shirt. She would take pride in the way he looked. She would make sure that there was always a shirt ready,

What if she found that a button had come off?

The shirt would go straight into the mending basket and a new button would be sewn on before it was returned to the wardrobe, because she cared.

In the same way if the husband cared about his car it would always be clean, it would be maintained and he would look after it, because he cared

This idea of allowing people to care for what they do sounds like the right thing to do but at first glance it does not seem to have a place in a business conversation. We want to be talking about percentages and changes to the bottom line, big numbers with real values. That is the sort of conversation that businessmen have, not talking about caring.

But wait a minute, caring does have a value, we can place an almost exact value on the caring that we give our cars.

After two years our new car still has a finite value, depending on the vehicle it could be £10,000 or £12,000. This is the residual value of our car that we can realise by selling it, or we can hold on to the car and use it reliably for another 10 years, it is our choice.

After those same two years a hire car has zero residual value. Nobody will buy a car that they know has been driven for the last 2 years by people who don't care for it. With no market for ex hire cars they are scrapped after two years.

This makes the financial value of the care we give to our own car equal to the residual value of the car.

Now we have a number that makes caring start to look very cost effective. If £10,000 or £12,000 is the value of us taking care of a car, what then is the potential that can be realised at work by allowing people to start caring about what they do at work?

If our middle manager were allowed to care about what he did, if he were allowed to care instead of being told, how much more effective could he be?

If the workforce were allowed to care about what they do, how much more effective would they be?

If they were allowed to care there would be no resistance to the change just an understanding of what was required to achieve corporate goals and an innate desire to get there.

'Middle Manager Bounce Off' ceases to be an issue because the defensive shield that goes up to cause 'Bounce off' is only deployed when he is told what to do.

Changing the way that people feel about their work, to allow them to care, is a complicated business but can be summed up with a few general rules.

First we have to stop doing the things that prevent people from caring.

The biggest stopper is telling people what to do.

Second we have to start to do the things that will help people to start caring.

Give them support, give them recognition for their efforts and start to value them for their experience and individuality.

These sound like small things but their cumulative effect is enormous.

The change in performance that occurs when people are allowed to start caring is huge but that is not the whole story. If we care about what we do we become proud of what we do. And if we are proud we are unlikely to want to change our job. This has a huge effect on retention and recruitment.

If we take care of what we do then there are no boundaries to that care. We take care of the whole workplace proactively, maintaining and attending to safety standards at the same time, for no other reason except that we care.

Care also has no time limits. If nothing happens to make us cease caring then that care will continue unabated making any change sustainable in the long term.

For all of these reasons we deserve to understand how we can create the conditions to allow people to care for their work. How to allow them to become proud of what they do so that they can start to enjoy themselves at work while they become even more effective producers of profit.

It is almost a heresy to suggest that such a thing is possible but we know that it has been done before and we will almost all be able to recall instances in which a workforce has excelled because it cared about the product.

Caring about our work is not a new concept. In the past it has been called ownership and we have been under the mistaken impression that ownership is a commodity that we can give to people and then profit from the results of their ownership.

Ownership is the way we feel about something that allows us to care. It is the way we feel about what we do and our attitudes and behaviour towards what we do.

Ownership is most certainly not a commodity and cannot therefore be given to anyone. I can give someone a car but I cannot give them ownership. That is something that only the recipient can do for himself. If the car is the wrong colour, has too few doors or the wrong size of engine, then the recipient will not take ownership of it.

If however we are allowed to make all of our own choices about the colour of the car and the model and the engine then those choices will be our choices and will therefore be the correct ones for us. Having been allowed to make them we will then also be able to take ownership.

It is still the same car but because we have been allowed to make our own choices we are able to take ownership.

We have come a long way from Henry Ford who told us that we could have any colour as long as it was black. The car companies now realise that the customer has to be allowed to make choices. If the customers cannot make choices then they cannot take ownership and therefore will not buy the car.

What we can do in the workplace is to create the conditions to allow others to care, to be proud of what they do, to allow them to take ownership.

We have to start to allow the workforce to make choices about their environment and the way they deliver goods or services.

To do this the managers' role changes from one of managing, to one of support.

Perhaps the real problem is that Managers were ever called Managers.

If they had been called Supporters in the first place we might never have heard of 'Middle Manager Bounce Off'.

Peter Hunter's career started on a nautical theme. After leaving school he spent six years as a navigating officer in the Merchant Navy working within a strict hierarchy. It was not until he joined the Royal Navy in 1988 that he began to realize how valuable people really were when they were allowed to be. Peter studied for his master's degree at Cranfield Institute of Technology before going to Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth as an Instructor Office in the Royal Navy. He rose to become Head of Department at the RN Strategic Systems School, Faslane where he further developed the concept that "management is a two way thing". After 8 years with other consultancies Peter formed his own company on the West Coast of Scotland. Hunter Business Consultancy associates are now based all over the United Kingdom and are expanding into Europe. Peter is the Author of the book "Breaking the Mould".

http://www.breakingthemould.co.uk

and at

http://www.hunter-consultants.co.uk.

---

Google News Updated : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:50:53 GMT This week in Apple: New notebooks, new writers, and more Woz - Ars Technica Canada.com This week in Apple: New notebooks, new writers, and more Woz Ars Technica - 3 hours ago By Jacqui Cheng | Published: October 11, 2008 - 09:30AM CT This week's most-read Apple news was all over the map, but in a good way. Don't Buy A Mac Laptop* Washington Post Apple may launch new laptop United Press International Forbes - CNNMoney.com - Computerworld - Macworld all 182 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 14:43:05 GMT Obama Aims for Electoral Edge, Block by Block - New York Times Sydney Morning Herald Obama Aims for Electoral Edge, Block by Block New York Times - 29 minutes ago Lukas McGowan is focused on getting voters out on Election Day. “Once we register them,â€� he says, “that’s only half the job. Obama thanks McCain for remarks, presses attack Reuters FOX News poll: Obama leads McCain United Press International Voice of America - CBS News - The Associated Press - Washington Post all 2,330 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:21:34 GMT GM Is Said to Be in Preliminary Talks With Chrysler (Update2) - Bloomberg BBC News GM Is Said to Be in Preliminary Talks With Chrysler (Update2) Bloomberg - 2 hours ago By Jeff Green Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp. is in preliminary talks with Cerberus Capital Management LP's Chrysler LLC about a possible merger or other partnership, people with direct knowledge of the talks said. Source: Chrysler, GM discuss merger, acquisition The Associated Press GM mulled Chrysler acquisition: Huh? BloggingStocks DetNews.com - Right Pundits - Fox 28 - Forbes all 1,000 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:39:15 GMT Marriage ruling not the end of debate in Conn. - The Associated Press ABC News Marriage ruling not the end of debate in Conn. The Associated Press - 1 hour ago HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Now that the Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled same-sex couples have the right to wed, opponents of gay marriage are pinning their hopes on an infrequent ballot question in a longshot bid to block the unions. Video: Connecticut Court Allows Gay Marriage AssociatedPress Conn. Ban On Gay Marriage Reversed Washington Post New York Times - Boston Globe - Reuters - San Jose Mercury News all 1,674 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 16:41:18 GMT Stevens's Reputation 'Sterling,' Powell Says - Washington Post Boston Globe Stevens's Reputation 'Sterling,' Powell Says Washington Post - 14 hours ago By Del Quentin Wilber Former secretary of state Colin L. Powell told jurors in the corruption trial of Sen. Ted Stevens yesterday that the powerful Alaska Republican had a "sterling" reputation among the nation's military and political leaders. Reporter's Notebook: Powell Takes the Stand for Stevens FOXNews Powell says Sen. Stevens' integrity "sterling" Reuters CNN - The Miami Herald - ABC News - Anchorage Daily News (subscription) all 2,873 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 03:13:53 GMT Palin hammers Obama on the abortion issue in Johnstown - CNN Boston Globe Palin hammers Obama on the abortion issue in Johnstown CNN - 44 minutes ago (CNN) -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin took her message to voters in the battleground state of Pennsylvania on Saturday, lashing out at Sen. Barack Obama for his views on abortion. Palin drubs Obama on abortion during Pa. rally The Associated Press Palin Gets Personal On Abortion Issue CBS News MSNBC - New York Times Blogs - Pittsburgh Post Gazette - The Tribune-Democrat all 95 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:06:21 GMT Nobel Peace Prize winner wants jobs for the young - International Herald Tribune BBC News Nobel Peace Prize winner wants jobs for the young International Herald Tribune - 4 hours ago AP HELSINKI, Finland: Nobel Peace Prize winner Martti Ahtisaari said Saturday that finding jobs for more than 1 billion young people in the Middle East and Asia will be a major challenge to peacebuilding in the next decade. Ex-President Of Finland Is Awarded Peace Prize Washington Post Nobel Finn Wall Street Journal Voice of America - findingDulcinea - Burlington Hawk Eye all 1,468 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:12:07 GMT RSS to HTML More Web Site Traffic

PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

What is Data Visualization?

Data Visualization is InteractiveHave you ever booked your flight plans... Read More

How to Reject a Job Applicant

A Nightmare That Really HappenedOver 10 years ago, when I... Read More

Succession Planning for Your Business - 7 Key Benefits

A core activity in many successful businesses, Succession Planning is... Read More

Time Management - How to Have Productive Meetings

One of the greatest time wasters of all are unnecessary... Read More

A Management Strategy

I witnessed some interesting behaviour from one of our premier... Read More

Have You Fixed the Broken Window?

Left alone it doesn't take long for a building with... Read More

Knowledge Management - Learning Whilst Doing - Facilitating an After Action Review

Introducing a learning culture into organisations can be difficult at... Read More

Recruitment - Pick People Who Think

Old style management doesn't encourage personal mind control, employees aren't... Read More

Lawyers With 2 Hands And Everything Else

I heard this back a few years ago. The boss... Read More

Dont Let Your Measurements Mislead You

Don't Let Your Measurements Mislead You ... Read More

Assertive Communication - 6 Tips For Effective Use

What IS assertive communication? Assertive communication is the... Read More

Importance of Just-In-Time Inventory System

In today's competitive world shorter product life cycles, customers rapid... Read More

Performance Evaluations Can Be Beneficial

THE PERFORMANCE REVIEW MEETING: It's a fact - most supervisors... Read More

Tales From the Corporate Frontlines: Team Dynamics and Communication

This article relates to the Team Dynamics competency, which evaluates... Read More

Its All In The Systems

Have you ever noticed french fries taste the same at... Read More

Help Your Employees Prepare for a Performance Appraisal

PREPARING EMPLOYEES FOR THE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL INTERVIEWS: Remind employees to... Read More

4 Tips on How to Avoid Communication Lines Breakdown

For example, in a small, two-person company, there is often... Read More

Leading Bad Actors To Be Good Performers

A successful leader told me, "The biggest challenge I've had... Read More

Difficult Staff - It Pays To Get To Know Them Better

It's very easy for a business owner or manager to... Read More

6 Simple Steps to Dealing with Difficult Managers

The challenge of managing difficult managers can be rather daunting,... Read More

Knowledge Management - Leadership Behaviours Which Encourage Knowledge-Sharing

The concept of knowledge management or knowledge sharing makes intellectual... Read More

Five Strategies for Profitable Services Growth

In today's era of Professional and IT Services competition and... Read More

What is the Most Difficult Part of an Improvement Program?

Answer: Starting one.Most of us realize that there is probably... Read More

The Changing Boss-Secretary Relationship

THE CHANGING BOSS-SECRETARY RELATIONSHIP: Imagine a partnership at work. One... Read More

Dialogue vs. Discussion

Have you ever sat in a meeting where everyone is... Read More