There are many benefits in spending quality time with your team members. However, like with many other things in this world, there are challenges.
• Your team feel uncomfortable.
• They think they’re going to get a reprimand.
• They think your doing it just because you have to.
• You don’t feel comfortable.
• You don’t want to be seen as prying.
• It’s seen as checking up.
• You don’t want to handle personal issues.
• You don’t have the answer to business problems.
• The team works at different locations.
• You don’t have the time.
• You don’t see the benefits.
Let’s look at these challenges in detail.
Challenge 1 – They feel uncomfortable
Some people may feel uncomfortable when you sit down and spend time with them, particularly if they’re not used to it. They might not be used to you or perhaps a previous manager didn’t do it either. It’s often the case
that people are uncomfortable because they associate their man- ager sitting down with them as a prelude to a reprimand.
As Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson say in their book, The One-Minute Manager, ‘Catch people doing something right.’
It’s often the case that people are uncomfortable because they associate their manager sitting
down with them as a prelude to a reprimand.
Too many managers think that their job is to catch people doing something wrong.
Do you remember how I talked in Chapter 1 about managers who thought their job was to check up on what their people were doing and ‘sort things’ as required? Many employees today feel that’s still the situation. If a manager comes close to you then they’re checking up. If you’ve got that culture among your team members, then you’ve got to change it.
Think of it this way: are you the kind of manager who spends time with your team to find out whatthey’re doing or to find out howthey’re doing? Make sure it’s the latter.
Some of your people may even be a bit scared of you, particu- larly when they first join the team. You may think that you’re much too nice a person; how could anybody be scared of little old you? However, I used to think that also.
One day I was discussing a new salesman with John, one of the more experienced guys. ‘Young Patrick’s scared of you,’ he said.
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ was my reply. ‘What have I ever done to make him scared of me, I’m always really nice to him.’ ‘Well he is scared of you and just wants to please you,’ said John. This was something that really made me think because there was no way I wanted any of my team to be scared of me. Once I was aware of it I took more care in my dealings with Patrick and our working relationship worked out okay.
So always be aware of the impact you’re having on your people; you may think that you’re the nicest, most reasonable person in the world but how do they see it? Sadly, there are some managers who quite like the fact that their people are a bit scared of them and they see it as a positive situation. These are also the managers who spend a lot of time recruiting new people.
I can remember times when I’ve taken over a new team. I’ve had many strange looks and defensive body language when I’ve stopped to have a chat with some of the team.
Always be aware of the impact you’re having on your people.
Some field sales people would get extremely uncomfortable when I told them I’d be spending some time with them visiting customers. However, I realised that I was getting it right when at a later date a sales person would ask, ‘When are you coming out with me again, Alan, to see some customers?’
There are always going to be members of your team who are really keen to spend time with you and others who are less so.
However, you must spend time with everyone – more with some and less with others. If you do it right (and I’m about to show you how), then your people will start to get used to it and start to see the benefits to themselves.
Challenge 2 – You’re doing it because you have to
When you start spending more quality time with your people, they sometimes think you’re only doing it because you have to.
This often happens when managers come back from a course.
Team members think, ‘Here we go again, another new manage- ment theory that means nothing to us.’ Again, it’s important to persevere and show your team that there are benefits for them.
A manager who attended one of my seminars returned to work and called one of his team on the phone who worked at another location. ‘I’ll come down and see you this week instead of you bringing the reports to me,’ he told her. (He had suddenly realised that he never did this and it would be a good idea to visit his team member ‘on the job’.) ‘What do you want to do that for?
You never do that,’ was her incredulous reply. Sadly, the manager backed down. ‘Okay, you just come and see me as usual,’ he replied. This was a missed opportunity for this manager to speak with the team member on her territory, to show that he cared enough to get out of his office to go and see her.
Challenge 3 – You don’t feel comfortable
A big challenge for many managers in spending time with their people is the fact that they don’t feel comfortable. Most man- agers are okay when it comes to communicating instructions to their team or the usual ‘How’s the job going?’ They are often not so comfortable when it comes to asking personal questions or delving into job performance a bit more.
They are terrified of being perceived as prying. They are also concerned that someone might say something that they have dif- ficulty in dealing with. Responses like ‘My husband has cancer’
or ‘My wife is leaving me for another man’ can be difficult for any manager to handle. However, that’s no reason for a manager to run away from asking the question.
Do you remember the Fifth Factor of Success – Courage? As I said at the time, a manager needs lots of it if they want to be suc- cessful and often it’s just the courage to ask the question.
Challenge 4 – You don’t have the answer to business problems
Some managers don’t spend too much time with people because they’re concerned they don’t know how to answer the responses and comments that may come up. Questions such as ‘How’s the job going?’ can result in a whole cacophony of moans and groans. ‘Why are we being asked to do this? What’s happening to the company? These targets are ridiculous.’
If these questions come up then they have to be dealt with.
You’re not always going to be able to give people the answers they’re looking for. However, there are things you can do. Stay with me on this.
Challenge 5 – Team members at different locations
Some managers have teams that are spread all over the country.
The obvious answer is to get out and see them as often as you can.
However, I accept this isn’t always easy. I’ve managed teams who were spread over the country and I appreciate the challenge it cre- ates. Of course, there is always the telephone and in these days of mobile phones it is much easier to keep in touch. The new video mobile phones that are coming onto the market will also help the communications you have with your remote team members.
Challenge 6 – You don’t have the time
Lack of time is one of the main reasons cited by managers for not spending time with their people. This is a bit of a red herring.
A manager will say that they don’t have the time to spend with their people mainly because they don’t see the value in it.
Can you imagine a top sports coach saying that he doesn’t have much time to spend with his team? I don’t think that team will win the championship!
This book is about achieving your outcomes and making life easier for you. If you spend more quality time with your people then that’s what will happen. All of us can find that bit more time.
Remember what I said about successful managers – they run their own minds and they don’t let anyone else do it for them.
I know the challenges you face particularly with your own man- ager. I’ve been about to leave the office to visit one of my team at another location. My boss stops me: ‘I need to talk to you Alan. Can you come into my office?’ I’m sure you’ve been in this situation or something similar; your boss is making demands on you that keep you from working with your team.
It’s back to what I said about courage. You need to communicate to your manager that what you’re doing is for the good of the team and ultimately the good of the business. Ask the boss if you
can reschedule the meeting; as I’m sure you’ve experienced, these
‘meetings’ with the boss are often not about anything too impor- tant. In the situation above I suggested to my boss that we could talk on the phone as I drove to meet my team member. I let the boss know that this visit was important to the success of the team and would contribute to an increase in sales. What you’re trying to get across is that if you ‘go into the boss’s office’ it is detrimen- tal to the success of the business. As I’ve said before, you don’t win them all but the Motivational Manager never gives up.
Before we look at all the ins and outs of spending quality time with the members of your team, I want you to consider a factor that is really important to human beings.