If there is anything we have learned in my more than twenty years in business it is that most managers and executives really do care about the people in their team, department, or organization. Oh, they may talk tough and even steel themselves against the pain when they must take administrative steps to discipline, correct, or terminate, or "rightsize" but they feel the pain nonetheless. I have also learned the inescapable truth is that the pain is largely from feeling powerless. If you have ever wanted deep in your heart to do something well and just didn’t know how and didn’t know where to turn for help, you understand what I am saying.
The problem for many managers is that they simply find it hard to trust internal HR people or outside consultants enough to entrust them with their people. In a strange paradoxical fashion they would rather have the situation go slowly around the drain all on their own than share the experience with a stranger. I guess that when we are afraid we might fail and we are doing something as incredibly important as management, it is better to not have an audience.
Some years ago a management scholar discovered that a surprising number of managers, in particular those that had moved up rapidly, lived in constant fear that they might be discovered for the fraud that they believed inside that they were. Perhaps not so many managers feel that way today as did years ago, but I rather doubt it. I suspect that an important reason that professionals like me are called in when it is way too late is that same fear of discovery. After all, to ask for help involves risk. What if the helper is a fraud too? What if the manager’s ineptitude really is the root problem? What if intervention actually makes things worse? These are all legitimate questions and I would never suggest that managers and executives ignore their fears and concerns and move ahead blindly with something as crucial as people problems. Rather I would suggest that the manager or executive do their shopping in a way that dispels the concerns and fears before making a decision to “open the kimono” and try the latest fad.
Informed selection of helping professionals depends upon getting the right information and the right information is not what program they are selling or what games they play, but what kind of person are they. If you are going to put your people, your very livelihood in the hands of someone else he had better be ethical and trustworthy and as committed to your success and to your people as you are. So don’t simply visit the web site and interview him. You will find that most practitioners can sound competent and can dazzle you with their socio-technical system analysis talk. Fewer can show you what you really need to know without a different selection strategy.
Do something with him that gives you a chance to see the person and not the sales pitch. Playing golf or tennis with the person is one of my favorites. It will reveal character in ways that an interview cannot. Both sports are really good because the play and the scoring depend upon an honor system. I prefer golf only because it is easier on my knees and allows more time for conversation. Most importantly, it is a game that demands character and that is what you must select for. A person that will improve a bad lie or fail to count a stroke or let you win is not likely to tell you the truth about what is going on in your organization or give you the feedback that you need to realize your potential. It is also true that if you play your cards right you can probably get him to pay for the round. You should include a couple of your key people as well so that they can do their own measuring of the person to see if he is a fit with your organization. Of course some other activity might work as well. Just make sure that it reveals the person and not the elevator speech.
This is not about brain surgery, it is about common sense. If you need your helping professional to be the right person with the right character and the right skills, expose them to you and your people before the billable hours begin; and trust your gut about which candidate can really help you with that “soft stuff” that drives you crazy.
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