As I hurried down the hall many years ago I shuddered at the problem I faced. A million questions were racing through my mind. What had happened? How did the budget get so out of whack? The more I looked at the problem, the worse it became. After I walked into Bruce Moyer’s office, my boss, and gave him the bad news, Moyer listened intently to my explanation of the budget problem and asked a couple follow up questions. He grabbed a pad of paper and asked me to join him at a table.
For the next two hours, with Moyer leading the way, we hammered out a strategy to get out of this crisis. He reached into his bag of experiences and found the tools that could solve this dilemma. Throughout the process, he maintained a positive outlook, encouraged comments and checked for understanding. At the conclusion of the work session, he looked at me and told me that this plan was going to work and not to worry about it anymore.
I learned a lot that day about how managers need to be helpful. My expectation (and what I deserved) was to have my head handed to me. I learned later that Moyer had chosen not to go down that road because he knew what I needed at that time.
Being helpful as a manager takes many forms. It is ensuring that the employee has what they need to be successful. For a new project, this starts with a clearly defined outcome. If the manager is unsure of the outcome, how can the employee expect to get the project moving in the right direction? In addition to providing direction, resources are required. This includes such basics as time and equipment. Also, the manager needs to be committed to the project by continuing to be engaged, available and approachable.
In order for managers to be helpful in day-to-day operations they need to be aware of what is going on so they can be there to offer assistance when necessary. One of the ways to accomplish this is to have an on-going dialogue with each employee. This allows for the manager to stay engaged and review the work process and observe the employee. Are things on track? How is the employee morale? By doing this ‘check-in’ employees are more apt to engage the manager when problems arise.
Inevitably using a helpful approach will generate challenges. One of these may be an attempt by an employee to place the task, ‘the monkey’, back on the manager. If this happens, one approach is for the manager to insist that the task remains the employee’s responsibility. Another potential obstacle is the time and flexibility required to tailor the help specifically to the individual. Some employees are risk averse and therefore need more reassurance. Others are independent and want to run with the project so the managers may want to pull back and let this happen.
Employees want to be challenged but they need resources and they don’t want to feel left alone to complete the task. They want to be able to turn to someone and receive help. Not to do their job, but to review the work accomplished so far, answer questions, and offer suggestions and encouragement. Ultimately work results remain with the manager and one of the methods to maximize these results is by being there to assist the employee achieve the best outcome.
