Let's (not) get rid of all the managers!

Editor's Notes

• #2: improvement coach …What that means natural extension gained an appreciation for the puzzles of people and process … inner geek … finding ideas Fluke? more than a job … changed the future. love with process … without that catalyst.
• #3: one tiny example Companies significant enough shift Once I realized that this “movement” wasn’t going anywhere Reference URL: http://www.inc.com/ilya-pozin/want-happier-employees-get-rid-of-the-bosses.html
• #4: feeling great about my team … doing pretty darn well in MY job stupid movement … felt hurt … identity crisis that grew pity party, I considered the adage … should reflect first understand why … context to properly consider my findings Look at management history. 
• #5: distilling into three eras of sorts. 1850s: org chart, line and staff mgmt, divisional organization. Frederick W Taylor -- Scientific Management, focuses on workflows in order to improve efficiency and productivity. Sensible for early manufacturing. insulting views of workers, self-serving, compensation. 1930s: Elton Mayo : Hawthorne Studies questioned the behavioral assumptions… human factors more than physical conditions. 1. consult workers about change 2.take note of their views 3.show concern for their physical and mental health. Maslow 1954 Now Motivation mindset, same org structure Now :: dawn of the creative economy .. realizing that creating value for customers Peter Drucker 1970 purpose of firm. Creative economy needs quick adaptation to keep up with demands of the customer … bureacracy slow == friction. More companies are away from bureacratic structures to structures that resemble networks. All in all, the current economy requires workers to be enabled, not just motivated, to keep companies at the front of the pack.
• #6: Bureacracy still in place. Not much changed since 1850s. Thought moves faster than glacial pace of the organizational establishment. So, going back to “what about me?”… system creates the friction. Some managers bad. Many compromised by the system. so what do I do about it?
• #7: Understanding what the context demands + analyzing success in mgmt roles over past 6 years = 7 tips
• #8: Tip 1: Don’t put yourself above the team be part of it. Forget org chart. … isn’t more or less important, just different. My job is to make sure they can do their job effectively. Need Feedback. Don’t just tell, show. Words mean nothing Be a good example of what leading from within looks like.
• #9: Please stop calling people resources. HR Dept Dehumanizes, disconnect, pawns. Call them ... Hear it all the time. Swear jar
• #10: Authentic .. Not across desk … Not about tasks Needs? Doing? What should you do? This will be short… going over time … therapy Left better than they arrived.
• #11: “andon” cord in a manufacturing plant. The two boxes on the slide represent two sides of a physical card Authority & responsibility need to feel safe. Whose job? Also encourage ppl by words and example
• #12: What is cognitive safety? Anzeneering protects? people (CLICK 1) by establishing anzen (safety) in everything from relationships to workspaces, codebases to processes, products to services. Joshua CLICK 2. emphasis not on the negative business consequences but on the ppl. External conditions can cause ppl to perform poorly. work weekends … do things the hard way … work around the bugs in the code be cognizant … do things in their power … lobby for rest … allow people to stand up … correct faulty conditions.
• #13: The new economy demands adaptive organizations. Over-control doesn’t’ allow it. Not just about micromanagement. Its how we structure decisions. Bureacracy not scalable or quick. Why we slow down. Decentralize executional decisions by clearly stating intent/goals. Give boundaries. Confirm understanding. Visibility/back brief. Not only works in military (marines example) where lives are at stake, but it makes sense in business where our viability is at stake. Calling from battlefield for every minute decision makes as little sense as trying to have all work decisions go through a few managers or executives. Especially when we work across distributed time zones. Decisions can take days just from the complexity of waiting for each response. God forbid there is back and forth before a decision is made. Not looking for decision making with wild abandon by the masses. Looking to decentralizing decision making by using clearly stated intent to enable disciplined initiative. Empowers agile and adaptive leaders Better handles conditions of uncertainty, & fleeting opportunities Drives unity of effort / alignment not seen when decision making is hidden away and intent is not shared. Don’t make yourself a single point of failure to preserve your authority when you can enable organizational adaptability instead. General George S. Patton said – Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity. (Commander’s intent) Plans are useless but planning is indispensible – eisenhower
• #14: Effect of metrics on behavior. vanity metrics. interesting not meaningful... lines of code. What do we really think that metric tells us? … fool ourselves that it shows value … confuses activity for progress. when we measure activity rather than value or progress, people worry more about showing activity … that affects their behaviors. Eli Goldratt said “tell me how you’ll measure me and I’ll tell you how I’ll behave. If you measure me in an illogical way, do not complain about illogical behavior.” pass the “So What?” test
• #15: Don’t measure individuals it rarely works out in the way you think it will. First, do you care if Johnny is #1 or if the team is #1? dashboard … list of shame Think what you would do, what could go wrong. … Too few managers really think past the “oh, this sounds like a good metric” find out what you’re saying to the team. Measuring means you value it ... If you don’t value it, don’t measure it. If you measure it, don’t be surprised when people adjust to optimize System problem, not people problem.
• #16: hone in on the few show them altogether w/ coaching advice, Gaming works out in your favor b/c impact is clear. Telling people how you read these metrics and what to do when it is trending in the wrong direction. Don’t use metrics as a sharp weapon
• #17: Be your team’s CMO
• #18: Reconnect to the main thesis statement of the talk.
• #19: As long as this is still needed, management, in one form or another, will be alive and well in the workplace. Citation: http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB113192826302796041 http://www.inc.com/leigh-buchanan/10-traits-of-a-drucker-like-leader.html
• #20: What questions can I answer?
• #21: Now, you’re all here at the conference to learn about things, become enlightened. I want to encourage you, to think about this session and any other session that you see here at Confoo and challenge yourself to do something different on Monday as a result. Thanks for coming!