Managing the Unmanageable

The problem presented by a friend was as follows: He works in a small organization (fewer than five people) headed by the ultimate micro-manager. His boss insists that every piece of work be presented to him for approval, which causes serious delays for which my friend is often blamed. His boss also insists on a strict hierarchy. In this tiny office there are four levels.

Result: Everyone is demoralized. My friend, who reports directly to the boss, feels unable to lead. There's significant turnover. Staffers feel it's pointless to do their best work because it will be criticized and picked apart no matter what they do.

Solution?
The only real solution in a situation like this is to quit. But sometimes that's not possible, particularly in this economic environment. So here are some thoughts I offered my friend that won't fix the situation, but might ameliorate it somewhat. They break some of the cardinal rules of management, but I think that's permissable in an unbearable situation where one can't leave. (I would never advise someone to steal, but someone who's hungry and in an enemy prison camp can be forgiven for taking a crust of bread).


• Acknowledge (to yourself) that nothing can be done to really change the boss, who we'll call Joe.

• Realize that your role, in part, is to be the buffer between Joe and the staff.

• Acknowledge to the staff (preferably in a jocular way) that “Joe is Joe,” and that your job is to deal with him. Acknowledge that his perfectionism sometimes makes things difficult. (This is a management "no no" acceptable only under these extreme circumstances.)

• Eliminate the hierarchy under you and have each person on this tiny staff report directly to you. Given that Joe doesn’t want to do it this way, you have two choices: 1) Tell him you are doing it this way because that’s the way you want to operate, and announce the change to the staff, or 2) Don’t tell Joe or the staff, but operate this way anyway. (Another management "no no" acceptable only under dire circumstances.)

• Assign each staff member (including yourself in this small organization) responsibility for one or more areas of the operation. Do this in a meeting with the whole staff, soliciting their input on the assignments.

• Establish some responsibilities that are shared (in this office the staff is responsible for keeping the office clean). Do this with the entire staff, asking them to come up with a plan for handling the more unpleasant assignments (such as cleaning the office) rather than presenting your own. Agree with them on a deadline for formulating the plan and getting back to you, as a group, with it. Tell them what criteria must considered in developing the plan (e.g. office must look clean on Monday mornings?)

• Hold meetings at least once a week with the staff, in your office. Put together a brief agenda before the meeting and circulate it to the staff, asking them to add items they want to discuss. Keep the meeting on the agenda. If something arises outside the agenda, decide whether it’s worth discussing then or merits a separate meeting with the individual involved. Announce in advance that the meeting will last no more than one hour. Always begin it exactly on time and end it exactly on time. After two warnings to habitual latecomers, close your door and refuse to let them in if they are late again (and warn them you will do that).

• Have individual quick chats (five minutes or so) every week in the office with each person on the staff . Tell them it’s a “how am I doing” update (New York's former mayor, Ed Koch, was famous for this, asking citizens on the street “How am I doing?”) Ask three questions: “How’s it going?” “Anything you need from me?” “Anything you want to tell me about problems, issues, opportunities we should look into?”

• Always, always, always solicit opinions and ideas. Never reject an idea out of hand. If it seems unfeasible or impractical, ask the person to write a one-page memo explaining it. Then sit privately with him or her to review it. Ask questions that help the person see for himself or herself that the idea won’t work.

• Always praise staff members who do a good job when they present it to you. Don’t forget to praise them again after Joe insists it isn’t good and must be redone. You might develop some sort of office-speak (e.g. “The way you put this brochure together was great, really perfect. I’ve shown it to Joe, and now we’ll have to ‘Joe’ it.”)

• Give everyone business cards. If Joe says that’s too expensive, check out cheap services such as VistaPrint, where they essentially are free, and consider paying for the cards yourself.

And as soon as the economy turns, find another job!

I'd love to hear your thoughts, comments, observations. If you've got a management issue, either as an employer or an employee, that you'd like me to address, shoot me an email at Henry@intermediatorgroup.com