Using your staff to mutual advantage.

[check] This checklist is aimed at managers and looks closely at the building blocks of relationships between those who manage and those whom they manage.

Annual reports frequently pay tribute to "our staff" but practice seldom seems to match the written word. This checklist considers some of the major elements involved in getting the most out of working with others, including the changes in management practice in organisations, how change affects people, approaches to leadership and communication, and how to consolidate and improve working relationships.

Definition

"Staff" implies any people or group who are subordinate to a manager at any level. "To mutual advantage" signifies to the advantage of the manager, to the advantage of the unit be it company, department or small firm, and to the advantage of staff.

Action checklist

1. Recognise the shifts in management practice

In the 1980s and 1990s many organisations moved away from structures which tended to differentiate workers from each other towards more flexible organisational arrangements which used more fully the experience of their people. Often summarised as the empowered, flatter organisation, there are a number of elements discernible in this shift away from practices which, quite simply, no longer work. This shift was between:

* the autocratic manager and the leader who energises his/her people

* authority by position and authority by merit

* domination and coordination

* control from the top and participation and collaboration 

* self-advancement and self-development

* individual responsibility and the shared responsibility of teamwork 

* controlling the workforce and giving them freedom

* power and empowerment.

With organisational culture firmly based on trust and initiative rather than on dominance, blame or fear, the onus is now on the manager to become a team-member as well as team-leader.

2. Make change work for you

Be aware of the implications of change and its impact on individuals. For individuals change will mean moving from the familiar to the unfamiliar, from the known to the unknown. Be aware of the effects change can have, particularly when it is imposed.

Psychologists have suggested that any substantial change in our lives involves a sequence of stages:

* shock--emotional feelings of denial, confusion and disbelief, a sense that all around is crumbling--"this cannot be happening to me". Offer understanding and acceptance of the state of shock, convey empathy, create opportunities for grievances to be aired, and encourage the disclosure of feelings.

* withdrawal or resistance--an attempt to keep the familiar world intact, a search for ways of avoiding the consequences of change and a struggle to maintain the status quo. Counsel individuals to disclose frustrations and anxieties. Listen with attentiveness and sensitivity.

* acknowledgement--a sense of inevitability is accompanied by the recognition of a need to keep in step, of a fear of isolation and rejection by others, of uncertainty and insecurity. Help individuals to acknowledge change by reviewing their skills, competencies and opportunities for development.

* adaptation--this stage is reached when rational acceptance of change is matched by emotional and psychological adjustment. Inner confusion and uncertainty begin to give way as preparations for change take place, anxieties are reduced and practical steps forward identified. Help individuals by involving them in the design of new systems and procedures, in gaining familiarity with new resources and equipment and by getting them to propose new solutions and methods.

Different individuals move through these stages at different rates and in different ways. For some, certain stages are assimilated very rapidly, for others, one stage can prove a great obstacle. Understanding the nature of individual behaviour provides the foundation for working with others and getting them to gain advantage from the constantly changing workplace.

Most people will accept change, if they see why it is necessary and are involved in the process.

3. Define the boundaries to responsibility

People new to a job have a great deal of dependence on their line manager, this will normally diminish as the new job-holder gains experience and learns the ropes. Allow them to grow and feel their way.

As experience grows and the relationship changes, an interdependence evolves and interactions arise when the manager needs information on progress or when consultation is required on specific issues. Get your people to report by exception and to present oral solutions to problems they encounter.

An increasing proportion of the job will be characterised by a clear capacity to self-manage without supervision. Resist the temptation to interfere or over-supervise. Encourage this independence and the responsibility that goes with it. 'Freedom with accountability' is the key phrase.

All three of the above elements are present in all jobs. Good practice involves recognising their shifting balance and behaving accordingly.

Whether in a situation of rapid change or solid stability, in an empowered culture or not, it is essential to define the limits to the authority enjoyed by the people who work with you. For example, they cannot be wholly effective if they are confused over which sorts of decision:

* they can take on their own, informing you afterwards 

* they can take only after consultation with you

* they should pass on to you.

4. Identify your leadership strategy

If leadership is about quality and effectiveness, change and development, and focus on the future, then this style is associated less and less with directing and instructing and more and more with supporting, coaching and delegating, so that people will own their work and be committed to it. There are various techniques or strategies that help in achieving effectiveness as a leader:

* Management By Walking Around (MBWA)--managers and leaders need to see their main activity as an interactive one--working alongside colleagues where tasks are carried out. MBWA is based on the belief that it is only by getting to know our colleagues and what they do that we can provide appropriate leadership.

* Work Review--this is a non-directed relationship designed to help colleagues develop professional skills through the regular process of reflection on experience.

* Critical Friendship--the concept of 'Critical Friendship' is sometimes used to describe the nature of the relationship between leader and team. It is essentially an active listening role for the leader in which colleagues can explore and clarify aspects of their work experience. The one-to-one discussion facilitates a deeper understanding of the work issues involved.

5. Give feedback

One of the most effective ways of developing others is to help them reflect on their experience in order to learn from it. Feedback is an informal and highly effective way of promoting this process. It is, however, necessary to be aware of some of the psychological implications of giving others information about themselves and their behaviour. Among the behaviours and responses managers may encounter are:

* difficulty in accepting responsibility for behaviour

* fear of making mistakes

* difficulty with uncertainty and change

* assuming that 'others know best'

* self-doubt and lack of confidence

* reluctance to set personal goals for development

* suspicion of 'experts' and those in positions of authority.

Feedback can be of three basic types:

* Confirmatory--giving people information that tells them they are on course and moving successfully towards goals (vital but often neglected).

* Corrective--offering information that helps others to get back on course when difficulties are present or things are going wrong (this should always be positive, not negative).

* Motivating--giving information that tells people about the consequences of both success and difficulties. This combines confirmatory and corrective feedback; the aim is to provide sufficient information to meet the development needs of the receiver and enable appropriate choices to be made and decisions to be taken.

6. Practise proactive passiveness!

Getting the most out of relationships for all parties can be an exhausting process, where there needs to be a constant watch for feelings of inadequacy, excessive cynicism, inability to express oneself or a sense of being 'plateaued'.

While MBWA, work review and critical friendship may involve substantial changes in behaviour to achieve the desired results, other, more routine techniques should be habitual:

* active listening, where the listener attempts to gain insights into the perceptual, intellectual and emotional world of the speaker

* undivided attention, away from telephones and other interruptions

* support, using suggestions and prompts to check meanings, inviting the speaker to continue and otherwise keeping quietly interested

* conveying understanding, using body language to indicate understanding, acceptance and agreement.

Practice is needed in all these--they need to become constant habits, not occasional happenings.

7. Review your relationships

Sit down from time to time and ask "How are we doing?" Talk over work routines and objectives so that you know where you stand in relation to others, and they to you. Focus on moving forward so that the individual, the section and the organisation are all gaining mutual advantage.

Useful reading

Developing management skills, 6th ed, David A Whetton and Kim S Cameroon Upper Saddle River NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005

Personal effectiveness: a guide to action, Diana Winstanley London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2005

Personal effectiveness, 3rd ed, Alexander Murdock and Carol Scutt Oxord; Butterworth Heinemann, 2003

Thought starters

* What do my people tell their friends and families about me as their boss?

* What do I do which makes it more difficult for them to do the job I want them to do?

* What can I do to understand better what they want from work?

* Am I using all their talents, skills and capabilities?