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Dispatches from The Ideosphere

Building Authentic Business Relationships
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In one organization, I had seven team leaders reporting to me. Each of us had from five to 10 peers and customers in the enterprise who we reached out to in the liaison program. This liaison feedback was discussed in our weekly management meetings. We established and nurtured a strong network of business relationships, which served as our organization’s nervous system. We purposely met with people critical of our organization to better understand their concerns. We wanted them inside the tent solving issues with us, not outside throwing rocks. We gathered good and bad feedback, garnered input on team leader performance, and defused rumors that we could address. We also built up goodwill by getting out of our offices and letting people know that we gave a damn.

 

Just as I did for my one-on-one meetings with my manager, I would solicit topics for my liaison meetings with high-level executives. Often I would invite my team leads to my liaison meetings to give them greater executive-level visibility and to help them hear firsthand about those executive leaders’ needs, concerns, and priorities. This inclusive approach helped to improve communication countless times and fostered executive-level trust and confidence in my management team’s ability to deliver outstanding service.

 

Rumors can also be quickly addressed. One of my team leaders was falsely accused of not supporting a new program, and misinformation was quickly spreading about her views. I reached out to my peer liaison executive responsible for this program and said, “Sara has been working tirelessly to make sure your program is successful for both of our organizations. She and I are disappointed about the rumors.” My peer executive agreed and put a stop to the rumors.

 

You and your team leaders must establish and nurture authentic business relationships with peers and customers throughout the enterprise. The liaison program establishes a nervous system for your organization and builds trust and goodwill.

Eight-Year War for Water
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Soon after some gut-wrenching right-sizing of the organization, I met with my supervisor, who was the chief financial officer. The painful elimination of layers of management freed up millions of dollars in recurring savings, which were redirected to the first-ever capital budget. We also saved more than six million dollars when replacing a major mission-critical piece of equipment. When he suggested that I should no longer expense bottled water or coffee for my office, I laughed because I thought he was joking. He was dead serious. This small expense was deemed too excessive. My office was located in a building built in 1962, so there were concerns about the quality of the water due to the lead pipes. So, for the next eight years, I paid for and personally delivered the bottled water and coffee for the staff, customers, and strategic vendor partners who came to meet with me.

 

You don’t always win, but you have to try. The war for water escalated over the years. He wanted me to stop expensing the $700 monthly water service for the rest of my staff. About 330 employees in the organization were officed in buildings built in 1932, 1951, 1960, and 1962. The tap water in the 1951 building was cloudy and contained floating rust-colored particles. The CFO also had staff in the 1932 building, but his other direct report, Frank, established a water club for his team. Staff had to pay into the water club account to be able to drink safe, purified water. Instead of paying for monthly water service for their staff, Frank wanted to bring my department down to his miserly level of staff support to make it “fair.”

 

I deflected multiple requests from the CFO to cut this cost and intentionally dragged my feet for eight years. We fought this stupid water war until the next CFO finally squashed approval of the water funding out of spite. My last expense request had this justification: “This is a health-related expense, especially in the legacy buildings. Denial of this small, health-related benefit will be seen by staff as mean-spirited and would further reduce employee morale, especially in light of many years with no salary increases. Also, productivity will be lost as 330 staff will need to leave the workplace to purchase their own safe-to-drink water.” My heartfelt request was summarily denied.

 

At my retirement party, my staff presented me with a water cooler and a jug of purified water to memorialize this eight-year internecine water war, and we all had a good laugh. Later, filtered water fountains were installed in some—but not all—of the buildings.

 

As the leader of your organization, you are responsible for creating a safe work ecosystem, and although I didn’t win the multiyear water crusade, my team knew I was fighting for them. That increased trust and showed them that I genuinely valued them and their health. Demonstrate that you truly care for your employees above yourself.

 

When I retired, Susan said, “You showed up at an interesting time, full of upheaval, and it’s true that I didn’t think much of the ‘new administration’ when you arrived. The years that followed showed me differently, and I’ve come to understand that you care about this place and the people as much or more than anyone around here.”

Deal Swiftly with Dishonesty
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You need to give your direct reports opportunities to be great; however, you also need to act if they are not honest. I learned later in my career to act sooner than later in these situations. Six months into a new role leading a large organization, one of my team leaders was withholding critical budgetary information on a $32 million construction project. I assigned Maggie, an experienced project manager, to help this team leader organize the financial data. When I confronted him, he admitted to concealing the data from me. Worse, he was not a team player. His team would randomly make changes without notice, which would negatively impact the work of customers, my other team leads, and my peer colleagues in other departments. On multiple occasions, I directed him to act, and he did not follow through. I then asked him to tell me beforehand if he did not understand what I was asking him to do, but he never did. Finally, I said, “You need to tell me if you are not going to do what is asked, so I can get someone else to do it.”

 

This was the first and only time I fired someone right before the winter holidays. Afterward, several startling gaffes emerged from his lack of oversight of the construction project and his team’s operations. The replacement team leader was light years more capable and always a straight shooter.

 

Be open and honest with your team leads, and encourage two-way communication. Establishing values, setting expectations, and instituting mutual accountability can be achieved by articulating the values of the organization, making sure your direct reports understand what is expected of them, providing timely feedback, and letting them know this relationship is a two-way street. When encountering dishonesty, take swift action. These are the steps to become an effective leader, and your direct reports will appreciate it.

Just Say, “Whoa!”
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Naomi Karten’s book Managing Expectations: Working with People Who Want More, Better, Faster, Sooner, NOW! offers pragmatic advice on how to manage expectations and dramatically improve your effectiveness. After reading her book, I was able to better set expectations and maintain a greater balance between my professional and personal life. For example, when appropriate, say “Whoa!” to your supervisor. Saying no is usually not well-received. Saying “whoa,” however, creates some time and space to truly understand what the boss is asking you to do. Slow the conversation down, and make sure you understand what is being asked.

 

One of my bosses had a type A personality: She worked fast, liked control, was highly competitive, and had a strong desire to succeed. Nine times out of ten, when you were called to her office, you were anticipating that something was wrong, and you steeled yourself for some verbal tough love.

 

One day she called me at five p.m. with what, at first, appeared to be an urgent request. I was actually trying to leave the office on time for once to meet my wife for dinner. She sputtered, “I need a white paper—A WHITE PAPER on function point analysis! Do you know what that is?”

 

After taking a deep breath, I literally said, “Whoa!” and asked, “When do you need this?”

 

She abruptly stopped and paused to check her calendar: “Um, let’s see, I need it in two weeks. Yes, I meet with the client again in two weeks.”

 

I was thinking she needed it the next day. Taking the time to clarify expectations gave us both some much-needed mental space and reduced the stress of an imaginary tight deadline.

 

Then I asked, “How many pages should this white paper be?”

 

“Three to five,” she replied.

 

I was thinking 10 pages, so again, saying “whoa” made the request clearer.

 

“Do you have an example of what you are looking for?”

 

“Yes. Ask Daniel for a copy of a white paper on XYZ corporation that I wrote ten years ago.”

 

I smiled and left the office on time knowing that I would be able to enlist my staff to help the next morning. We had plenty of time to conduct the research and draft the white paper for the boss’s review well before the client meeting.

 

Before I learned how to manage my supervisor’s expectations by saying “whoa,” I would have cancelled dinner with my wife, frustrating her and upsetting me, worked all night to develop a 10-page white paper, and the next day gotten yelled at for not meeting my boss’s expectations. That’s a lose–lose–lose proposition all the way around.

 

Instead, with all that information, my supervisor’s request was more manageable, I had an example to follow, and the deadline was further out than I had first imagined. I never would have known what was expected if I hadn’t had the courage to say “whoa.” This was a turning point in the relationship with my supervisor, which also gave me insight into how I needed to be clear on setting and managing expectations and deadlines when I became the boss.

Setting and Managing Expectations — Part 2
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The firm once asked to lead a massive administrative reengineering program at a top public research university. The program was behind schedule and over budget. However, based on an independent consultant’s review and assessment, we had all the elements for success. I was asked to lead the program restart, which would begin in October and take at least a year.

 

When I had lunch at the faculty club with the provost and the chief financial officer, I said, “This role is a wonderful opportunity, and I’m certain we will be successful. However, I promised my wife and two boys that we would take a three-week vacation in June to Australia, where I was an exchange student in high school. I cancelled the trip last year because of work obligations and missed my 25th class reunion. Now passports are in hand, plane tickets have been purchased, and I cannot cancel again or risk another disappointment at home.” The CFO and provost said they understood and agreed.

 

By April the following year, the team had successfully achieved another major milestone, and the program was on budget and on schedule. During the monthly status meeting in May with the president, the CFO, and the provost, I reported that the program was on track and going well, reminding the president that I would be out of the country in June and that Debbie, one of my direct reports, would be in charge.

 

The president’s face blanched, and his hands started shaking. As I opened my mouth in slow motion to cancel my vacation, the CFO interrupted me and said, “Hold on, Brad. Mr. President, when Brad joined us, the provost and I agreed that he would be able to take this long-planned vacation. It is very important to him and his family. He says this is the best time to be away from the program, and we trust him. We should honor our commitment.”

 

The president agreed, and Debbie did a great job. Nine years later, at dinner with the CFO and our spouses, we recounted that story. He shared, “The provost and I were scared to death while you were away!”

 

In order to meet the expectations of executive leaders, you need to agree on the objectives, scope, timing, staffing, and budget at the beginning of an initiative. Use your words to set expectations to establish work–life balance.

To meet the expectations of leaders, you need to agree on the objectives, scope, timing, staffing, and budget at the beginning of an initiative to establish work–life balance.

Setting and Managing Expectations
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One of my new supervisors had a direct report peer of mine, Frank, who was the boss’s close and trusted confidant. They had worked together for 13 years, and I was new. Early on, my boss would clearly seek and often take the advice from Frank on many aspects of my department: budget, personnel, and policies. Frank would give advice that he didn’t have the expertise to give, and he started to create conflict where there wasn’t any.

 

Some of my boss’s emails giving me direction were clearly ghostwritten by Frank. Emails actually written by my supervisor, often via his smart phone, were short, all caps, with no subject line. Frank’s ghostly emails were confusing clouds of words, sent by my supervisor minutes after the two of them had met. (I would check Frank’s calendar to confirm the timing.) One email from my manager actually said, “I am not sending you this note because someone has whispered this in my ear.” This dysfunctional work dynamic was both hilarious and sad. I always wondered if I would have an opportunity to ghostwrite email orders from the boss to Frank, but that never happened.

 

In a one-on-one meeting with my boss, I drew on a sheet of paper three heads with headsets all connected with coiled wires. Below the first head, I wrote, “offensive coordinator.” Below the middle head, I wrote, “head coach.” And below the third head, I wrote, “defensive coordinator.” Then I said, “You are the head coach. Frank is your long-time, trusted offensive coordinator, and I am the new defensive coordinator. Your job is to hold Frank accountable for the offense (his department) and to hold me accountable for the defense (my department). When I get Frank’s orders through your headset, you no longer need me. So, I expect that from now on you will hold Frank accountable for his domain and me accountable for my domain.” My supervisor understood and thanked me for the “open and honest feedback.” I set expectations for what I was comfortable with, and my boss embraced the feedback.

 

You are responsible for setting clear expectations with your supervisor from the outset, especially if you find yourself in a dysfunctional relationship. You must stand up for yourself in a professional and respectful way.