Middle managers have one foot in the senior management door, with the other firmly planted at the supervisory level; they are part of neither, yet they must advocate for both-all while striving for upward mobility. In Making It in Management, Lawrence Anderson provides advice to ensure success for middle managers and middle-managers-to-be. Anderson, a seasoned organization change consultant with more than thirty years of experience, seeks to help managers looking for an edge to move them up the career ladder toward top management. Through anecdotes gained from on-the-job experience, he outlines three key areas: Where managers fit into the organization, the purpose of the organization, and the key roles that need to be executed What credible managers have to know and do to maintain the organization's health How middle managers can enhance their career mobility by finding a good mentor, managing the boss, getting the best from consultants, and managing mind thoughts Making It in Management helps managers develop the kind of thinking they need to move up the corporate ladder and stay at the top.

Making It in Management

Developing the Thinking You Need to Move Up the Organization Ladder ... and Stay ThereBy Lawrence Anderson

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 Lawrence Anderson
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4620-3520-5

Contents

Foreword...............................................................ixWhere You Fit in the Organization......................................1Chapter 1 The Purpose of Your Organization.............................3Chapter 2 How Your Organization Should Work............................9Chapter 3 Your Job as a Manager........................................15Chapter 4 Multiple Roles You Must Know How to Play.....................21Chapter 5 What Having Credibility Means for You........................25Where Credible Managers Spend Their Time...............................37Chapter 6 Creating Strategy............................................39Chapter 7 Providing Structure..........................................47Chapter 8 Use Processes that Drive Efficiency..........................56Chapter 9 Managing Others to Want to Do Their Best.....................59Chapter 10 Human Performance Challenges................................66Chapter 11 Maintaining a Great Work Climate............................80Chapter 12 Living Core Values..........................................86Chapter 13 Learning to Learn to Learn..................................93Chapter 14 Advocating Well-Managed Change..............................98Bonus Strategies that Accelerate Success...............................103Chapter 15 Finding a Good Mentor.......................................105Chapter 16 Managing Your Boss..........................................109Chapter 17 Mastering Your Mind Thoughts................................114Chapter 18 Getting the Best from Consultants...........................124Chapter 19 Managing Cynicism...........................................129Chapter 20 Deciding to Move Up or Out?.................................134Summary................................................................138Acknowledgements.......................................................144

Chapter One

The Purpose of Your Organization

Key Points for this Chapter: 1. Start with a clear picture of the external results that represent real success for your specific organization and use them as the framework for business decisions and effort; 2. Establish the cause-and-effect relationship between the desired external results and the significant management functions that will achieve them; 3. Institutionalize the discipline of innovation to keep the organization renewed and flourishing.

The higher you go, or hope to, in an organization, the more conceptual knowledge you will need, starting with the big picture of why your organization exists and how it can succeed and grow. Once this conceptual model is clear, your purpose in the organization becomes clearer. It helps you and others to appreciate how you each fit in the organizational setting and enables you to act in a purposeful way.

Each year, for as long as I can remember, Fortune magazine has published its annual report, "The Best Companies in America." To be chosen is great press and a mark of distinction. Whether you call them 'Best of Class' or use some other superlative, the pride that these companies must feel is unimaginable. Or, it could be one of "Canada's Top 50 Employers," another distinction worthy of note. Underlying such distinction is a successful organization and the public recognition must be incalculable in terms of image and, presumably, reward.

Private companies have the objective of creating and keeping customers and government organizations have the objective of providing cost-effective services that are needed and valued by their captive audience, the public. Economic downturns notwithstanding, there is a high correlation between organizational excellence and success. Years back, Peters and Waterman accelerated interest in the characteristics of successful companies with their classic book, In Search of Excellence. Even now, Jim Collin's books, Good to Great and Built to Last, reinforce interest in, and enthusiasm for, the secrets of organizational excellence.

For an Organizational Change Consultant (OCC) like me, these and other authors did us the favor of convincing senior managers that there were universal metrics and strategies to be used to measure and attain organizational excellence and that there are valid practices that need to be a part of a manager's makeup that help her or him to work on the organization and not just in it. This interest in organizational excellence has never ebbed. Nor will it. This is the ultimate challenge for all managers. Creating a better organization increases in importance as managers move up the organizational ladder.

Although I was a full-time OC sole-practitioner for thirty-five years and served many clients, I always found time to teach Organizational Behavior at local universities where I either lived or worked. Business students preparing for careers were naturally keen on learning the secrets of successful companies. Thus, when I began each semester, I asked them to ponder, discuss and agree on the answer to three basic questions:

1. Looking from the outside-in, what do excellent organizations achieve that makes them successful? 2. Looking inside these successful companies, what functions must they excel at to drive their external success? 3. How do these organizations continue to excel and grow?

In relatively short order, these bright and eager students typically arrived at opinions that looked similar to the findings shown in Figure 1. These were fourth year students about to graduate. We then talked about the implication of their conclusions as it applied to their imminent entry into management. In the diagram, Figure 1, they quickly saw the cause-and-effect relationship between the organization's activities and the business results it achieves. Now, they had a context for the remainder of the syllabus: learning how each of the key management functions on the left-side of Figure 1 are learned and performed. Questions 1 and 2, above, were answered in the exercise. Question 3 was answered intuitively: by enhancing existing products or services and by innovating and bringing new products to existing and new markets. Arriving at their conclusions through self-examination, their conclusions were practical and owned by them.

Johnson & Johnson regularly made the 'Top 100 Companies' in the annual Fortune magazine awards. Even though they recently had negative press because of product recalls in 2010 they typically exemplified the characteristics shown in Figure 1. They lived their published credo, or promise, and became a time-honored company. Now it is Apple or Microsoft or Amazon. Amazon started selling books on-line in 1995. Almost each year since, Amazon has used innovation to boost its success. In 2009 its colored E-reader kindle Dx was introduced with great success. Imagine at the time having access to the editorial content of major dailies each day, starting at 4:00am! Business media estimate sales of Kindle at $3.8 billion by 2012! I've read several articles extolling Amazon's virtues including how it focuses on selection, low price and product reliability. One of these countless articles described how Amazon starts with the customer in mind and works backwards from there to provide them with what they want. In my OC profession this is called "backwards thinking," a useful tool for first deciding what the customer wants and building organizational dimensions from there. Amazon's ongoing growth also appears to reply on innovation, just as Figure 1 suggests. And what about Apple's I-Pod and I-Phone and I-What's-next? Innovation is part of a successful company's DNA.

Even in industries where costs are high and innovation isn't easy, some companies are able to distinguish themselves from the competition. A case in point: Canada's employee-owned domestic and spreading airline, WestJet. Originating in Western Canada as a local airline growing out of Pacific Western Airlines, WestJet has experienced remarkable growth at the expense of Air Canada, the country's premier carrier. The airline industry has suffered huge losses since 2000 caused by rising fuel and operating costs and less-than-full passenger loads. Competition is fierce; many airlines are in the red, Air Canada included. But not WestJet! It is profitable and growing. In 2009, seeking to differentiate itself from other carriers, primarily Air Canada, WestJet seized on a powerful marketing strategy called Perkonomics. The term, like perks at the office, meant added-value—at no extra cost! WestJet released its new (read innovative) Perkonomics in its widely-publicized 'Care-antee' as shown in Figure 2.

Not only was 'Care-antee' innovative, it was timely. In an article in Canada's MacLean's magazine, (October 2010) a Time equivalent in Canada, the lead-in to the article read: "WestJet's Plan to Crush Air Canada, the Country's Premier Airline'. 'Care-antee' was innovative and bold. Air Canada was, and still is, in the red and losing more whereas WestJet is consistently profitable. 'Care-antee' was timely. It came at a time when North American and international airlines had all but removed free services and were now charging all kinds of add-on fees for on-board snacks, ear phones, etc., as well as on-ground services for reservations, seat selection and the dreaded changing of booked flights. Not WestJet. Check them on their website for the company history. Track their success. They epitomize the organizational characteristics the students noted in Figure 1. Not to take away from Air Canada. They were voted the 'Best Airline in North America' on a number of service-related metrics but they are unprofitable! And WestJet is gaining much more of the domestic market that Air Canada once dominated.

So, for The Purpose of Your Organization, the title of this chapter, I used Figure 1 to focus on the big picture or strategic view that managers need to keep in mind. And, as a constant reminder, I urge them to retain a mental image of this picture as a reminder to work on and not just in their organizations.

Personal Exercise for Chapter 1

1. Spend time on Figure 1. Does it identify the main internal and external factors related to your organization's success? Create a similar chart, one that represents, in your best judgment, the right metrics for your organization's intended cause-and-effect variables. A single page should suffice. 2. Compare your organization's current performance against these metrics. Write down the improvements/changes this exercise prompts. Park them for now. 3. Look at the left-hand column in Figure 1. How well does your organization perform these key management functions? Do they apply to your organization's purpose? Are there other functions that you feel should be added to reflect your uniqueness? Can you see areas (causes) where greater skills are required? List them. Looking at your organization from this broad perspective is the starting point for getting ready to take on a top-down perspective, one that you'll need to move up in your organization, or up and out in someone else's

Chapter Two

How Your Organization Should Work

Key Points for this Chapter: 1. Shift away from thinking only about your role and start working on your organization, not just in it; 2. Devote time to learning how your organization ticks; use the six universal elements that greatly influence an organization's effectiveness 3. Make adjustments, as necessary, to bring these organizational elements into a healthy balance.

"Work on your business, not just in it." I can't remember where I read this quote, or who penned it, but it's worth repeating that managers need a sound conceptual knowledge of what makes an organization work! They must pay attention to the overall health of the organization itself and not just what their people and physical resources are achieving within their unit. Functional expertise is assumed, but organizational expertise is a bonus for aspiring managers.

To put this in context, here's a question I was once asked by my very best mentor: "If all your people were performing their jobs satisfactorily, what would your unique contribution look like ... your added-value role?" I can say that it caused me to ponder for quite a while. So, if the answer doesn't come quickly to mind, this chapter is for you.

As an Organization Change Consultant (OCC) I have been asked many times what it is I do for a living and how one becomes an OCC. I use a medical metaphor to try to respond. When you go to a doctor for your bi-annual medical exam, you are subjected to a series of tests to determine your overall health: heart, lungs, bones, brain, eyes, ears, blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, ear, nose, throat, colon and, depending on the basic findings, maybe even more tests. It's great to get a positive result but often there are a few areas you need to work on. For those, you get advice on what to do and maybe some prescriptions. That's what an OC consultant does only the patient is the client organization and the OCC is the 'doctor' who checks the vital signs that make a difference.

What are these vital signs? Look at Figure 3.

Organizational effectiveness, or, as I sometimes call it, 'organizational health', has been studied with results significant enough that managers can increase their knowledge of how organizations should work. Yet, it is mostly given a minor role in the curricula of university/college programs and then left to chance once employment begins. Each of the main elements in Figure 3 is important for good organizational health but, as an interdependent system, it's clear that unless all elements are healthy, the negative effects of one or two can reduce the overall health of the rest. Think about the human body: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, gastro-intestinal ailments ... all add stress and put a person's overall health at risk. Metaphorically, one or more of the main elements in Figure 3 can do likewise to an organization.

So, the answer to the opening question is, simply: you work on your organization, not just in it. If you keep your organization healthy in all six elements, you experience peak performance. Try the following health test for your current organization as shown in Figure 4, using the elements from Figure 3.

I have been using similar instruments with clients for thirty years. There is always some element of organizational performance that needs improvement in organizations, however big or small. I have been challenged by clients, usually senior management, with the argument, "How can we be expected to achieve a 4 rating in each element? That would be perfection! And, besides, how realistic is that in this competitive business, the economy and employee relations climate?" Fair enough. But, when I hear this, I hear the word 'rationalization' yelling in my ear. I want to use another medical metaphor and say, "I'm only your doctor; the test results came back and they are what they are. I can't take the pill for you.... that's your responsibility." But, I can't say that. Instead I might say, "You're right. Maybe perfection isn't likely in a complex organization; there are lots of variables working against it. But, getting the best possible organization performance is a suitable, alternative standard!"

Personal Exercise for Chapter 2

Your job as a manager includes keeping your unit, section, department, division, or whatever the correct title is, as healthy as your best efforts can make it. So, as you look at your ratings using the criteria in Figure 4, reflect and answer the following questions:

1. What are we doing that seems to be working okay and we should continue as-is? 2. What do we obviously need to start doing, or do more of, in order to improve? 3. What do we obviously need to stop doing, or do less of, in order to improve?

If you end up with a list of actions from this exercise, use it as your organizational health strategy. You will benefit from additional assessments of your unit by your Peers and employees providing the climate is trusting, open and honest. If it isn't, your own assessment will do for now. Remember, the elements in Figure 4 are interdependent; a change in one or more will have an impact on the others. Until they are all working to the best of peoples' abilities, and working in sync, you're not quite done yet. So, the message in this chapter is: work on your organization, not just in it! That's how your organization should work!

Chapter Three

Your Job as a Manager

Key Points for this Chapter: 1. Know the key responsibility areas of your position that will have the greatest impact on results; 2. Know the precise results expected of you in these areas that demonstrate you are meeting your responsibilities; 3. Implement the same rules with your employees.

In the previous chapter, you were encouraged to begin working on your organization ... not just in it. Once you know the broader picture shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4 (go back and look at them as often as required), you know the context for your own responsibilities. In this chapter, you will personalize your own responsibilities more in line with what you are supposed to be achieving, only we'll go a little deeper because of its importance.

(Continues...)

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