I have been reading Seth Godin’s blog as of late.  His book Tribes which came out several months may be considered by some as a marketing book.  But actually, I as many other consider it as a leadership development book.

Take a look at your facility.  Are there tribes?

I remember when I worked at one multi-national, there was a group of finance people that evaluated the risk of taking on a new customer.  They were part of the finance team - but at the same time they moved slightly different than the rigid finance folks.  They had to balance the sales teams requests of approving every customer with the finance’s manager to mitigate risk.

These guys had a secret language - heck they probably had some sort of secret hand shake.  They would sit together at lunch and talk about finance stuff.  How would you evaluate this issue, etc.

They wrote their own sort of rules.  They did not need to be managed.  They were not sticking it to each other so that they could get the next job.  Instead, they helped each other so that they could be the best.

A saw a similar example in my most recent gig.  This team of raw material handlers again managed their own rules.  They tested each other and held each other accountable.  They new the code, the standards, the safety requirements, everything about the raw materials.

In each of these cases there was a leader of the tribe.  One person that the others followed.

As a manager of the facility, you have to figure out how to get the natural work groups to work as a tribes.  And then, you need to figure out how to get all of these tribes to work together for a common cause.

If you think people are showing up just to collect a paycheck.  You are sadly mistaken.  People want to be inspired.  They want to belong.  They want to wear the silly hats.

Take a look at your organization and see if you see the hidden tribes.  Watch them… listen to them… engage them.  And just maybe you they will let you know what the secret handshake is.

Which is worse?

• Working for a boss that is an idiot, or
• Having a bunch of subordinates that are smarter than you

So in the one case, you constantly have to help your boss look good… even if it is next to impossible.  And in the other case, you have to worry about all of your subordinates showing you up.

I am sure the following things are running through your head…

• Once again, my boss is going to get all of the credit
• He is making our whole department look like a bunch of idiots
• Which one of my subordinates are going behind my back
• Why aren’t my subordinates giving me all of the data… they want me to fail

First, as a leader, you need to put the greater need or the organization to the forefront.

Next, shouldn’t it feel great when you can help your boss succeed.

And isn’t great that you were able to help develop and mentor your subordinates.

Ok, I will cut to the punchline.

When you make leadership about you and not others, you really aren’t leading.

Ok, I am probably going to get shot for this one.  I don’t mind working with a collective bargaining unit.

Since most of my career has been spent in management and leadership development, readers probably wouldn’t expect me to be a huge union proponent.  Well this brief post is about having a set of rules and also being able to have the hard conversations.

Actually, I think having a union makes the management of facility easier.

Huh?

Well, let’s think about this.

There is a consistent set of rules that is applied to all people within a business that were mutually agreed upon management and the represented people.  These rules are based upon a negotiated contract in which there is representation from both sides.

So why is that a bad thing?

In a non-union plant, aren’t rules being put into place all of the time to ensure that things are done consistently?

Oh, I am sure I am going to hear about why it is fair for a union person to get paid $70 per hour, have lifetime benefits, and be protected to the 10th degree prior to being fired, etc.  And the unions are the downfall of our company’s etc.  They are the reason why jobs are going overseas.

Did I forget any?

Well management team, you made the bed and now you must sleep in it.  Making concessions on your part because you were afraid of a strike is your own fault.

So a little story to illustrate the point…

I am will hold my breath until you give in!

I remember my cousin being mad at my aunt because she would not let her ride her bicycle outside in the rain.  My cousin begged, she pleaded, she said everyone else gets to do it.  My cousin got mad.  She yelled and even cried about it.

My aunt did not budge.  Her answer was still no. (The reason for the answer ‘no’ for those interested was that the road was slick and two other kids took a header from previous rides in the rain.  No helmet laws back then!)

Then my cousin said ‘If you don’t let me go outside, I am going to hold my breath until I die and then you will be in big trouble and will be sorry about it for a very long time.’

My aunt’s response was ‘go ahead and hold your breath’.  After several shades of red, purple, and eventually blue, my little cousin actually passed out.

I let out a scream and whimper (ok I was only 10) thinking my aunt just let her daughter die.  Then I saw my cousin’s chest go up and down - her breathing was fine and her normal color quickly returned.

Several years later I asked my aunt ‘How in the world could you let your daughter do that? Weren’t you scared that she was going to die.’

My aunt knew my cousin wasn’t going to die by holding her breath.  She also knew that if she let her daughter pull this one over on her, then it would be hell to pay later (especially in the teen age years.)

Ok, so what the heck does this have to do with the union.

Well, as a manager your job is to ensure that you are making the best business decisions for both the short and long term health of the business.

Is the union requirements something that contradicts the company’s value system?

Does it some how setup a death spiral on costs or productivity.  If so, let them strike.

Boy that sure is scary.  Wouldn’t be easier to accept the 4% increase instead of the 3%.  And the sharing of the health care costs… so what if they are still 40% below the industry average.  We are making enough money now that it won’t hurt us.  Then I don’t have to think about it for 3 more years.

If this your approach, your company is going to have problems.  Not because of the 4 vs 3% raise.  You are right, it probably won’t kill your profits this year or even five years from now.  But it will kill the respect that you get from your leadership team and the union.

Your goal should be to make the offer good enough that the final vote is 51% to 49% in favor of the contract.  Heck, I would even give you a 60/40.  The point is that if you walk away with a vote that was 90% in favor of the contract then you should just move on.

Now if it something that is fair to the company and fair to the employee, then let them have it.

The whole point of this is establishing a set of rules and guidelines that can be adapted over time based upon business conditions.  Yep, I have union contracts written like this.

Just because you were not able to write it into your contract, don’t blame the union.

You can not blame the union for trying to get the best thing for their people.  Stop using excuses for why you can’t get things done and have the hard conversation with the union today.  Bring them in and let them know - even if it isn’t a contract year!

Every union that I have worked with (and there have been some pretty tough ones) have been very consistent on one item.

Use the rules that we both agreed upon to treat everyone equally.

Recently over at LinkedIn, I asked this question:

Just curious what people think about hiring a coach to do leadership development for line managers, supervisors, or high potential (hourly) workers.

Realizing that every individuals has different needs, what would be some of the general coaching topics that should be given (if any) for the above mentioned people.

What concerns, barriers, or road blocks would there be from:
a) the person selected to be coached
b) the manager of the person being coached
c) the peer group of the person being coached.

The intent of the question was whether the Management Team would invest in their Line Managers with an external resource.

Interestingly enough nearly most responses came back that it was a great idea to mentor and coach line managers.  There were several different opinions on who should be doing the coaching:

Internal versus External resources

Shouldn’t it be the responsibility of the Line Manager’ boss to mentor them?

In a perfect world, yes.

Unfortunately sometimes the Boss does not have the ability or maybe the time to do it.  So the Line Manager is left to figure it out by themselves.

They watch, they learn, they test.  And hopefully they make it.

What your thoughts about the positives and negatives of having a coach for a new Line Manager?