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Don’t Just Add, Replace. Own the 100%

February 15, 2011 by Rosa Say

The phrase, Don’t Just Add, Replace is probably one of the best productivity tips I have been able to give crazy-busy managers over the years. I recently mentioned it within the discussion we had on the challenges when you adopt the D5M: Can you fail with The Daily Five Minutes?

In wrapping my arms around the Big Picture thinking all managers must embrace, percentages have always appealed to me. I first wrote about the strategy of owning the 100% in a posting I had done for Lifehack.org several years ago. Here is a reprint for our Talking Story reference.

Don’t Just Add, Replace. Own the 100%

Here’s a sample snippet of a coaching conversation I have often had with executives. To set the scene for you, it usually happens after we’ve discussed a project or strategic initiative and its value alignment for their organization.

Exec: “This is terrific; I can see how it will make a big difference for us. I’m anxious to get started; we could probably introduce the plan at our next staff meeting.”

Me: “I agree, it is a terrific plan. However let me ask you something before you move on to how you’ll communicate it, or to the campaign you’ll subsequently run with it. What are you assuming this additional project will replace in your existing operation?”

Exec: “What will it replace? Well, the old way we’ve been approaching things; we all agree that our present tactics aren’t all that effective.”

Me: “When you say ‘present tactics,’ how much are you referring to? Are you completely confident that everyone will make the same assumptions you are, and not continue trying to handle both the old and the new? What are the reasons they might want to hold on to the comfortable, tried and true way they’ve always approached this?”

Exec: “Listen, I don’t want to micromanage the thing. I’m sure they can figure it out.”

Another potential stress factor lobbed into the organization. Unless” we continue the conversation to figure out how without micromanaging, the Exec can articulate some suggestions whereby he gives them the gift of reasonableness, not adding to their sense of overwhelm.

You may be underestimating your influence

The reality of most organizations, is that pleasing the boss, in handling directives both old and new, contributes to the significant, and rampant proliferation of auto-pilot, sacred cows, stressful overload, and productivity slowdowns. Like it or not, and whether you want to admit it or not, when you are the boss, people are very selective about the questions they’ll ask you, fearing they are exposing their own shortcomings or lack of self-confidence. If they perceive “the old way” was one of your once-favored pet projects, they’ll hold on to their practice of it, even when they might think better of it otherwise.

When you are about to add to someone’s workload, you should own the 100%. What I mean by that, is that the responsible thing to do, is to own the productivity equilibrium in the operation when you contribute to it.

The one assumption you should make, giving them the benefit of the doubt, is that everyone is already working at 100% of what they feel they can handle. If you add another 10%, you can’t expect them to be equally productive now at 110%. Thus, 10% somewhere else has got to go, and suggestions from you on what that old stuff you are expecting to (or willing to) replace, can really help.

This doesn’t just apply to executives, but to leaders and managers at every level of an organization. Adding versus replacing is contributing to workplace overwhelm every day, and in small ways that add up to BIG drags on overall productivity.

When I coach clients to do audits for process duplication within their organizations, it is amazing how much they find, and how much “Listen, I don’t want to micromanage the thing” turns into “I can’t believe we still do this!”

Even with unanimous agreement on its breakthrough merits, no matter how extraordinary your new idea or captivating project might be, it will add to workload. Excitement dims quickly when the pep rally is over, and reality sets in. You’ve got to reckon with the domino effect any new project or strategic initiative can create, by always seeking to replace, and not just add. Own the 100% and help your organization realize the full benefit of your breakthrough ideas.

(Photo courtesy of Andrew B. on Flickr)

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Reduce your Leadership to a Part-time Gig in 2010

December 8, 2009 by Rosa Say for Say “Alaka‘i”

Here is a personal goal I ask you to think about adopting in 2010 with me, as part of your Ho”›ohana [intention for worthwhile work], especially if you are in that “assumed leadership” strata on your company org chart: Reduce your leadership to a part-time gig.

Leading need not be a solo proposition

Reduce your leadership with a two-part strategy:

  1. Share it. Leadership is not something anyone need do by themselves. In fact, they probably shouldn’t.
  2. Return to the deliberate work ethic of a better-defined management style. Manage more than you lead, and in the process, accomplish them both. Accomplish them better.

Back in July, I posted an article about The 30-70 Rule in Leading and Managing, and reviewing it can help you think about this in both a practical and intentional way. Besides the productivity slant of it, the article covers the intentions we bring to leading (and creating workplace energies) and managing (to channel those newly available energies).

10 zero 1010 zero 10 by Jeremy Brooks on Flickr

Value-driven by Ho”›ohana and Ka lā hiki ola

I am thinking of this again because I am working on penning the strategic initiatives I will bring to my own businesses in 2010, and I am realizing just how much that 30-70 Rule will help me make my chosen initiatives happen.

I have my leadership ideas creating the energy I want and the energy I need, and I am quite excited about them, yet I realize that I truly do not need to be stirring the pot any more than that. I want the Ka lā hiki ola energy within the “dawning of a new day” and not the wind-whipping tempest of a hurricane. There is a lot within my 30 —it is an ambitious, robust 30.

Therefore, I will need the other 70 —my 70% management intentions within my Strong Week Planning— to make those leadership ideas happen: To get them to come true by the time this yearend season rolls around again twelve months from now.

A quick review of the Role of the Manager the Alaka‘i way, and as a calling: From How Managers Matter in a Healthy Culture:

1. People: Managers concentrate on strengths and make weaknesses irrelevant.

Managers discover what strengths each of the people they manage possess. They then place people where they are called on to employ those strengths and capitalize on them, giving them the authority to completely own their responsibilities and perform brilliantly.

2. Place: Managers create great workplaces where people thrive.

Managers focus on creating an environment where rewarding work happens. They continually work to remove obstacles (such as negativity), barriers, and excuses, while adding the needed support, tools and resources. Great managers are the stewards of healthy organizational cultures.

3. Mission: Managers get the work to make perfect sense.

Managers connect the work to be done with the meaning why. They plan to succeed with a viable business model, so people always see realistic possibility, and they encourage people to work on the enterprise with them, not just within it.

4. Vision: Managers expect and promote the exceptional.

Great managers never settle for mediocrity; they champion excellence so people rise to the occasion. Managers lead too; they mentor and coach, harnessing energy and driving action. They foster sequential and consequential learning so people continue to grow.

I am Manager, hear me roar

In 2010, dare to call yourself a manager, and be a great manager instead of a “leader.”

I am not saying to stop leading, not at all. I am saying to put leadership in better perspective as another thing that great managers do, and do well. Do it better than most self-proclaimed leaders do.

Think about the definition we have been using, where simply said, management is about channeling available energies into optimal productivity, a productivity aimed at whatever mission or vision (or strategic objectives) we have set our sights on. If only we had more of that!

People continue to write books about leadership, touting “more leadership” as what we desperately need. I admit that I have been thinking that way too, but 2009 and the challenges we still face have illustrated something to me: What is working best for those in the success stories we see unfolding, is a return to more management concentration, but in that reinvention that management still needs to achieve. You can expect that is where my attentions will now be as I continue to share my writing with you.

I will still keep my posting loosely organized here as “Tuesdays for leading” and “Thursdays from managing” because it is easier for us to remember as one of our connections and two days touchpoints. However they are just blog posts: the real work to be done is in our daily practice every day of the week, isn’t it.

Could Ho”›ohana and Ka lā hiki ola be value-drivers for you?

Where is your thinking on what 2010 can achieve for you?

A few related posts which can help:

  • The 30-70 Rule in Leading and Managing
  • 3 Ways Managers Create Energetic Workplaces
  • Alaka‘i ABCs: What do you stand for?
  • Is it Time for Your Alaka‘i Abundance?
  • Leading encourages Making. Embrace the Mess

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RSS Current Articles at Managing with Aloha:

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