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Are You the Pointy-Haired Boss?
February 25, 2008
By Jeff Schmitt
Here he comes again. In Dilbert cartoons, you know him as the pointy-haired boss. He will parade up to your cubicle to dispense self-serving advice. His logic is as arbitrary as his deadlines. He may sprinkle his language with the latest acronyms, but you know the truth. He is oblivious to day-to-day operations, like Mr. Magoo wandering through a minefield.
Behind your corporate Pollyanna, you resent him sometimes. Still, you follow the drill: stroke his ego and don't make waves. You may have started to tune him out, but he still holds sway over your career. It may be dispiriting, but you have come to accept your situation: your boss is not equipped to help you and you are on your own.
Demonizing then Becoming the Boss
In the cubicle culture, it is easy to caricature or demonize the boss. The dizzying speed of business sometimes makes corporate decision-making seem capricious. When you step into management—and become responsible for the livelihoods of others—your words and actions become instantly magnified. Your world accelerates and expectations are high. Your credibility is constantly on the line.
In this environment, you can quickly become overwhelmed. Some managers choose to insulate themselves; others overcompensate. Either way, you may morph into that person who once made you snicker. You may not even realize it. Then, like a blinding light on the road to Damascus, it hits you:
I have become the pointy-haired boss.
Time for Some Self Review
When this happens, it is time to review the management fundamentals. Employees want to contribute. They crave leaders who instill a sense of purpose, direction and optimism. They want someone who listens, who cares about them professionally and personally. They demand someone who can get things done now.
In short, they want someone who is more interested in doing good than looking good—the antithesis of the pointy-haired boss.
Are you still that person?
If you are no longer sure, it is time to ask yourself the following questions:
Goal-Setting:
• How clear are employees on their role and your expectations?
• What goals have you set for team members? Have you set timelines and benchmarks to measure progress? How often do you follow up to hold your team accountable? What types of career paths have you established?
Values:
• How aware are your employees of the big picture? How strongly do they buy into the organization's long-term vision and strategic direction? What have you done to show them how they fit into this plan and bring value to the organization? Do they have a stake beyond a paycheck?
• How have you forged a sense of belonging and shared mission? How are you getting your team to pull in the same direction?
Engagement:
• Do you know what your employees want and what drives them? What have you done to guide them towards attaining their individual goals?
• How much voice does your team have in decisions? Do they have a sense of control? Ownership? Do they have real choices? Do they have the freedom to use their talent and grow?
• How much time are you budgeting each week with each team member? What are your specific objectives during this time – and how do they align with your long-term vision for each employee?
• How do you facilitate relationships between your team with other departments? What have you done to expose your team to upper management and foster potential collaborations?
• How do you ensure your employees don’t feel taken for granted? How often do you use your employees' ideas (and give them credit)?
Growth:
• How are you adding value to your employees? What types of training do you provide to keep their skills sharp?
• What have you done to challenge individual employees recently? Are you always on the look out for potential growth opportunities?
• Does your team have all the tools to do their job? If not, what have done to get them?
Interpersonal Relationships:
• What do you do to ensure team members feel comfortable talking to you? How do you promote an environment of trust and openness?
• How do you ensure all communication is two-way and employees' ideas and opinions matter? Do employees feel like you are their advocate? Are you flexible enough to modify your stances based on employee input?
• Do you embrace feedback—even criticism—or do you avoid it? How do you proactively address grievances to keep resentment from simmering?
• Do you have a personal touch? Do you remember to follow up on employee birthdays, interests, special occasions and ongoing events in their lives?
• How do you ensure employees are treated the same way? Is your feedback constructive and non-judgmental?
Motivation:
• How do you reward your employees? What types of recognition do you provide?
• How often do team members hear praise? Do you also tell them why their performance was stellar?
• How do you break up the routine? What types of surprises, such as an on-site catered lunch, do you use to build camaraderie and show appreciation?
Personal Example:
• How do you exemplify and model your company's ideals?
• Do you have a working knowledge of each employee's responsibilities, and what constitutes quality work in their role?
• Are you willing to step up and get in the trenches when deadlines or workload overwhelm your team?
• How current are you on technology? What skills do you need to augment or refresh?
• Are you staying current with industry trends? Do you understand how these developments will change your team's roles and responsibilities? Are you preparing your staff for these alterations?
• Do you harness workplace energy or deplete it?
The Results
In today's workplace, employees are always asking, "what's in it for me?" They want to be working towards something. Conversely, the pointy-haired boss relishes the status quo and the short-term. They fear growth, relationships, change and the unknown. In other words, they fear life. It is this mindset that eventually corrupts a company culture and the human spirit.
Are you the pointy-haired boss?
Jeff Schmitt has spent 15 years in marketing, training, legal compliance, management, sales and editing. He lives in Dubuque, Iowa and his e-mail is jschmittdbq@mchsi.com.
Sales & Marketing Management Magazine
This article is brought to you by Sales & Marketing Management, the leading authority for executives in the sales and marketing field.
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