"Life's too short to work with jerks"

Continuing my series uncovering the skills needed to be  a successful manager, I was lucky enough to speak to +Jill Geisler about her book, ‘Work Happy – What Great Bosses Know’, ahead of the paperback launch in January 2014. 

It’s one of the most insightful guides you’ll ever read on the subject and if like me, it’s an area that interests you, make sure you buy the book, it really is that good. We all have had bosses that we’ve admired and those that have been, well, a waste of space. We also know that individual and team success is inextricably linked despite everything we hear about building our personal brands. As Jill says, “You can build a great personal brand by being known for developing a high-performing team.”

The idea for Jill’s book came from the incredible response to her and the Poynter Institute’s [Jill heads up their leadership management programmes] “What Great Bosses Know” free podcast series on iTunes U, which began in 2010 and boast over 12 million downloads worldwide. 

That wasn’t the only source of inspiration though, “So often, at the end of a seminar or workshop, people would ask me to recommend just one book that would help them continue growing in the key management areas: communication, collaboration, change management, performance management, emotional intelligence – and I couldn’t identify just one. So I wrote it!”

Follow the leader

Peter Drucker, the most famous management thinker of the 20th century famously said that managers ‘do things right’ while leaders ‘do the right things’. Much has also been written about the differences between management and leadership although I think we’d all agree that there is a crossover between the two. 

I wanted to know where Jill stood on the definitional debate and she raised an interesting point which we can all relate to, “I like to say that the real difference between managers and leaders is simply this: people are required to follow managers. They choose to follow leaders. That means a person who is a manager can also be a leader and a person can be a leader regardless of title in the organisation.” 

Although her book takes the standpoint of what good bosses know, it’s as much about what bad bosses don’t know and so I was eager to ask Jill about some of those attributes that we should avoid have attributed to us.  

‘Being a great boss is hard work’

“The worst bosses focus on the product at the expense of the people,” explains Jill. “They fail to understand what truly keeps employees engaged at work. Some take the ‘You’re lucky to have a job’ approach that builds neither trust nor staff performance. Make no mistake, being a great boss is hard work: you have to learn skills that are entirely different from those that made you good at pre-management work. You can’t just give orders or presume that everyone should do things just the way you did when you were on the front lines.”

Jill makes an interesting point and one which is just as pertinent to us as people or to businesses as they seek to engage with their customers. In other words, put yourself in the other person’s shoes and don’t just assume that the way you do things is the right way. That then led me to ask about training, as quite often newly appointed, inexperienced managers can get thrown into the deep end of the management maize. 

So how do we navigate our way out of it?  “Look for good training opportunities and wise mentors. If those aren’t easily available to you, read worthwhile management materials to help you understand how to get the best out of others.” 

The importance of research [as a former journalist and TV anchor this is something close to Jill’s heart] cannot be underestimated, “Managers tell me the reason they’ve found my writings and podcasts helpful is that I translate theories and research into practical lessons they can put to use immediately.” 

Million Dollar Question

We move on to discuss practical strategies that managers can apply on a daily basis. One particularly effective approach is to ask a simple question and that is, “Is there anything you need more of – or less of – from me?” aka the Million Dollar Question. 

“The reason this is so effective is that managers get very little feedback from staff. They may be hesitant to complain, for fear of retribution or to compliment, for fear of looking like sycophants. So the messages go unsaid. I am always amazed at the reaction of managers in my seminars to the 360 degree feedback they get from staff [‘ViewPoynt’ feedback is not anonymous].”  

So, in the absence of a formal feedback process, what can a boss do? “Managers might feel awkward saying, ‘How am I doing?’ for fear of seeming insecure or fishing for compliments. But the Million Dollar Question asks for measurable information. A military supervisor told me he really appreciated that question because it let him, as a ranking officer, solicit input while maintaining his position of strength.”

Continuing the feedback theme, I’m keen to learn the secrets of performance management. “Understanding of your staff as individuals, communicating clear expectations to them, coaching rather than fixing and providing sincere, specific and ongoing feedback about their strengths and challenges,” is Jill’s straightforward advice.

Dwelling on the positives

Another topic on my ‘hit list’ is the 360 degree feedback model, “I believe it should be used as a developmental, not an evaluative tool. The model I developed for our programme belongs to the participant.  It’s a ‘free peek’ at what people perceive and believe about them, for their use only, not for their HR files. Our model also uses narrative format. People don’t get numeric grades, instead they get specific details from colleagues, often with concrete examples, so they don’t have to guess at ambiguous responses.”

And what about strengths and weaknesses – which should we prioritise? “Both, really,” is Jill’s answer but with a very clear caveat, “Before handing people their 360 degree feedback reports, I give them highlighters and make them pledge to highlight the positives. Why? Because too many people disregard the positive comments and dwell on the negatives – especially high performers and perfectionists. 

That’s a mistake, according to Jill, because it is precisely this “base of credibility and social capital” will help them improve on the negative comments. “If you’re known as a great ideas person with a short temper, just imagine how much more your ideas will be valued when you learn to be cool under pressure. Of course, from the feedback they also discover they are doing many things well and had no idea how much people appreciate them.”

I wonder what the first thing she’d do if she were CEO for the day. “Go on a listening tour.  Look for quick wins, issues that matter to people that can I resolve right now. Identify buried treasure, people or ideas that have been overlooked.  Finally, I’d ask people what’s worth celebrating right now and how they’d like to do it. Then I’d delegate that duty to the folks with the most unselfish and creative ideas.”

And to conclude, I ask Jill what she would really want to be known for, her legacy, “I hope that people might say, ‘She loved to learn, to lead and to laugh – and to help others succeed.’”

You'd expect nothing less from someone whose management mantra is, "Life’s too short to work with jerks".  

Jill’s top management tips for 2014
How to become a better delegator

You can find out more Jill and her work at jillgeisler.com and her columns on the Poynter Institute’s website. Her iTunes U podcasts have been incredibly successful with over 12 million downloads to date. Jill can also be followed on Twitter @jillgeisler.