Hello!
English is not my native language, so be warned.
I've been listening on the subject on one-on-ones for a while and I have decided to try this in my small team of 6 guys. I recently got promoted, so I have gone from "one of the guys" to "boss", with all the nice twists with that. Almost like a check-list...
The team is split up, with 3 of the guys close to me in the same office, and the other 3 in a different town about 400 km from my site. One of the 3 remotes has the "foreman" function, and I use him to assign tasks for the guys and him.
Now, I have talked about the topic of one-on-ones and I have sent an email to the guys that i could not get confirmation from face-to-face or by the phone, inviting them to respond with suggestions on day and time in the week for the meetings. Since I'm 400 km away from them, I want to do this over the phone and maybe once a month face-to-face.
As you might imagine, I get major pushback from the foreman, with arguments like "I talked to the guys, and they don't like the idea with 30 mins a week, there is no time for this nonsense" and similar.
Now, of course i want to get all of them involved in this, and i have tried to hint him about the good stuff that will come out of these talks.
This guy is around 50+, blue collar to the bone, born with a wrench in his right hand, and i am arond my 30:s.with a degree and ask ppl how they feel about things. I KNOW him. I have worked with him for years and this is the guy that has teached me about the basics of my work. I'm as fresh as i can be for a manager, and i lost the leverage i had at the same moment the CEO told me "you're the new manager".
If i would just throw something out on the table, i would guess that he is not really exited about this change and dont like the fact that he is about to lose the influence over the other 2 guys, even though the CEO has given the "go" for this re-org. The fact is that he is still responsible to plan and lead the 2 guys in his team, but the "formal" boss, is me. I still want to keep using him as the informal leader in this team, but i dont know if it will work out, or if i can trust him to report back with results.
I would really like some input in this from guys that have been in the same situation.
Major pushback from foreman in remote team
My first instinct is to say: "find the time to visit him/ them."
My second instinct is to say: "you need to find a way to earn this guy's respect." Someone who taught you the ropes may still see you that way, which doesn't fit your new position. For guys like this, respect isn't based on position - and you either have it or you don't. If you don't, everything is really hard. If you do, people like this are your greatest allies.
You have an advantage, since you have known him for some time. What would it take to have him respect and appreciate you?
That may sound like a strange question for a boss to be asking about a subordinate. But if you're a good boss, you'll realize that it's a question worth asking every day, and not just about him. There are other imperatives, too. I'm not saying be a pushover. I am saying, never forget that this goal matters, because your title alone is a thin beam to be standing on.
Something to think about...
Major pushback from foreman in remote team
I had a similar situation. At one time I managed 5 out posted teams across Australia. Some of the managers were older than me and they were all ex-Police Officers (as I am). By their nature they (we) are suspicious people. I think a key is to go face to face in the first instance to explain what your trying to do, in short get to know them better so work and communication can be simpler and linked easily to the key goals of the organisation. You can also use the approach that you want to understand issues in a deeper way and in short want to learn from their on the ground wisdom and experience.
Steve Prothero
Truetoyou
Thanks for the input I will
Thanks for the input
I will probably see to that i can visit the guys a bit more often and "listen in" a bit on their issues. It also gives me an excuse to get some politics done with the other managers...
Abdicating management responsibilities
You can't abdicate your management responsibilities just because you face resistance from those you are responsible for managing. And your team knows it, even if the change is hard to swallow.
My advice, humbly insist on doing the one-on-ones. I agree with the above recommendations to emphasize face-to-face initially. Otherwise, don't rock the boat. "Fit in," as they say. This change may be a bitter pill to swallow for your foreman, and if so the best way to come through this is to be a manager who cares about the relationship.
You were promoted for a reason, but as Mark says: "good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement." Obviously don't go looking for mistakes, but you'll never get to the level of respected, experienced manager if you don't take your lumps as a new manager when everyone knows you have no idea what you're doing (a bit of an overstatement). Slow and steady.
Respect is key
Respect is key in working (and any) relationships. It's a lesson I've learned the hard way. If your reports don't respect you than it interferes with the work significantly. If you don't respect them, they will know it and may do their jobs but not perform as well as they could.
If one of the guys is the foreman and the other guys respect him, just do one on ones with him to start. They are probably right in that half hour meetings with all three is a bit much considering one guy decides who does what -- and I'm guessing these are people who are motivated by getting things done, rather than talking about getting things done. So if you feel fairly confident that the other two respect him, consider them his reports, and respect him enough to manage him as he sees fit. Use the O3s to develop respect and trust with him first.
Delegation and metrics
@ Applejack: I have considered regarding the two techs in his team as his reports. I will probably start with weekly O3s for the guys I have close by and with my foreman in the remote team. I could start to give the others a "casual" call or two each week to check on them and ask how they are doing.
I have done a clear and transparent delegation to my foreman taking care of the daily chores in his geographical area. This single thing, though kind of self-explained, made him react instantly in a positive way.
There is a small disappointment from the customer-care manager for "letting him off the hook". I know that there is criticism for not planning and assigning proper tasks and meeting deadlines for installations and maintenance. Which is true, and always trigger the "not enough resources/manpower-discussion" by default in that particular team.
There is a bit of urgency making this team to step up on the boring stuff, like reporting and showing what they do every day. I have planted a small seed by listing a couple of good things that will happen, if we only did "this and that for the guys", meaning getting them to report completed tasks, show the actual time it took for them to do it, and making them step away from things that has nothing to do with the actual job they set out to do. In short, making the "not enough resources" argument go away by itself or to actually be relevant and taken care of properly.
The little training I have regarding management is the mission-based leadership I aquired in the Army, and I'm telling you. They don't teach politics in the Army (or I just nodded off when we went through the "workplace-politics" chapter). That's why I like MT so much. It's like a brand new world.