How Not To Be An Inconsistent Manager

I had a recent conversation today with an old work colleague. We were discussing her recent adjustments to her new position at her new company. She has been very excited about the opportunities presented to her. Recently her company had launched a new product. While the first two quarters were good for her she was not in the top. Instead another person on her team was doing very well. So well that the manager of the team was delivering unusual amounts of praise on this particular individual. All of this changed when my colleague took the lead.

For manager, a failure to be evenhanded (read being inconsistent) can have profound impact on their authority and ability to rally their teams in times of trouble.

Taking into account that every member of the team is human there are going to be some failures. For a manager, a failure to be evenhanded (read being inconsistent) can have profound impact on their authority and ability to rally their teams in times of trouble. Let us take a look at my friend. She was performing very well on this product launch, but the first two quarters she was not leading in sales, someone else was. The manager of this team was giving this other individual large amounts of praise in the form of e-mail communications, voicemails, and public displays at meetings. In the third quarter when conditions changed, and my friend took the lead, those types of praises were no longer given out at all.

Could it be that the manager does not like my friend? Could it be that someone else the team complained about how this manager praised her employees and therefore the manage changed their methods? Or could it be that this manager is not aware of how their actions are creating different perceptions amongst their team?

Of course the answer could be all three or one of the three. The point that any manager should take home is that their actions are being misinterpreted by their team. For instance, my friend is perceiving that her manager does not like her because her manager is not showing the same level of praise that she gave the other individual on the team. This could be this could be a misinterpretation by my friend or the real intent of the manager.

…a number of other actions that can be misinterpreted causing confusion and possible dissension amongst the team.

The manager could have been taken aside over her praise of the other individual. The regional manager could’ve noticed that it was too over the top. To

change course he coached the manager to scale back her level of praise. My friend could’ve just gotten caught up in this change. Without the manager explaining this change you can see how it could be misinterpreted by my friend that she is not liked.

Lastly, and this would be very unfortunate, the manager may not have enough social awareness to know how their actions are being interpreted by the members of her team. If this is the case, then this is the beginning of a number of other actions that can be misinterpreted causing confusion and possible dissension amongst the team. If not recognize by the manager herself, or upper management, everything will come to a boil at an inopportune time. (As always seems to be the case.)

How can you as a manager guard yourself against this?

• First, be fully aware that your actions and your words can always be misinterpreted. The best case to remember is e-mail. How many times have you heard of an e-mail that was supposed to be “innocent” having been taken completely out of context? The answer is a lot. So if you’re aware of this fact and you should be aware that your body language, your actions, and how you interact with other members of the team will be interpreted all the time. Does this mean that you cannot be yourself? No, you should always be yourself and be genuine for any lack of honesty is worse than any slip up you make publicly.

• Second, why you should always treat your customers as differently and as individuals they are, when it comes to praise and awards you should treat every member of your team the same. If an award trip is given for being number one, that whoever’s number one gets the trip. Changing award statuses after people change positions on the rankings table is unfair. You would not want that done to you why would you do that to any member of your team? If you really have to think hard about that question you probably should not be a manager.

• Third, if you’re forced to make a change in how you praise members of your team, then you should let every member of the team know that you have to make a change and why. Without doing so you leave it up to the interpretation and more importantly the misinterpretation of your actions to the members of the team. Once that happens you have no control.

• Fourth, if you’ve had this problem in the past then you should nominate someone on your team or outside your team to be an objective pair of eyes. This individual will let you know when your actions are inconsistent, being misinterpreted, or have the potential to be misunderstood. We all have our blind spots. Be aware of them and having a process to cover them is a hallmark of a great leader.

It is hard for managers to be aware of the 360° that surrounds them every single minute of every single day. Yet, they have to know that this exists and they have to safeguard their blind spots and manage expectations. It is the tough part of the job.

Without knowing in full detail what this manager is thinking we cannot really fully understand why she chose her actions. The seed of doubt is already germinating.

I’m curious, if you are a manager what would you do?

If you are member of a team and you witness your manager act like this to you or another teammate how would you interpret it?

About the author:

Erroin A. Martin is a Business Advocate with the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, a business coaching and consultancy provider for business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs. He has fifteen years experience working within the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, natural resources, medical devices, software, technology, business services, and agriculture industries in various levels of leadership across six continents. He has led diverse teams in sales, marketing, planning, and in the Army.  He currently coaches business leaders and physicians in the tools needed to plan for their success. Learn more about the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC at www.vongehrconsulting.com or call +1 203 433 8079.  You can follow him on Twitter at @Erroin

The Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, was founded by Erroin A. Martin to provide business coaching, business consulting, and other services to companies both large and small.  The primary goal is to have his clients be passionate about their business and reach the unachievable.