Is it chess or checkers? Management styles eyed
ID individual strengths, consultant says
As a manager, are you playing chess or checkers? That's the question posed by Tony Coletta, MS, PHR, an organizational development consultant for Chicago-based Advocate Health Care.
Much has been written about the need to take cultural and generational differences into consideration when creating and managing a team, Coletta notes, but he contends that what distinguishes a great manager from a good one is the ability to dig into the characteristics that make each employee unique.
In the game of checkers, he points out, all the pieces move in the same way, while with chess, each piece has a different move and strategy is important. "The same thing applies to management skills," Coletta says. "A great manager knows where [an employee's] strengths are and how to use them."
While generational and cultural attributes "are something to pay attention to as a leader, focusing on a staff member's individuality is where the rubber meets the road."
The chess/checkers analogy and related ideas about the differences between great and average managers are from an article by motivational speaker, trainer, and researcher Marcus Buckingham in the March 2005 issue of the Harvard Business Review, he says.
Coletta has a background in human resources and organizational development, with a master's degree in industrial organizational psychology, and is certified in applying various types of personality assessments.
The Buckingham article, however, provided the inspiration for a more accessible way of employing those concepts one that can be used effectively without certifications or specialized training, Coletta says.
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Here's a quick look at generational work styles Many health care organizations have at least three generations of employees at work. According to estimates by Rainmaker Thinking, a Connecticut-based research and management training company, the U.S. workforce looked like this in 2006:
Here is a breakdown, from the Diversity Jobs web site (www.diversityjobs.com), of how those three generations respond to different elements in the workplace. Competition and the chain of command:
Using technology:
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"[Managers] don't even need to give these official [personality assessment] tests," he suggests. "Just take simple steps to identify employee strengths and weaknesses. In particular, focus on strengths."
Someone he considers to be a great manager, for example, "went above and beyond" to understand what drove each individual as she was bringing a team together, Coletta recounts. "She asked things like, 'How do you like to be recognized?' and 'What are your hobbies?'
"If a person said, 'I'm not one for public recognition, but, if in private I'm able to speak about what I did,' that resonates. [The manager] used that information," he says. "Other leaders use one-size-fits-all ways to recognize employees."
This manager was involved in a start-up and so assembled her team all at once, Coletta continues. "She even asked, 'Where are your favorite places to shop?' and then gave certain employees a $15 gift card for Target, as opposed to Wal-Mart."
While for some employees the most powerful trigger is recognition, for others, clear goals and a challenge provide the motivation, he says. "The challenge for me is to learn and develop, to be in situations where I can learn new things."
'Your best day at work'
Coletta suggests that managers ask a few simple questions during the hiring process: "What was the best day you had at work in the past three months, what were you doing, and why did you enjoy it so much?"
Whatever task is mentioned, he notes, it's a good bet the person will be happy doing a job that includes similar duties.
Then, Coletta adds, ask the same questions about the employee's worst day at work in that period.
"Say, for example, you want to hire a customer service representative, and the candidate says her worst day was when she was chewed out over the phone by an angry patient," he says. "Those two questions really show what energizes people and what drains their energy."
Understanding generational characteristics is a valid way to get a group moving forward, Coletta notes, "but you still may not have everyone at their optimal level of performance. While there are group commonalities the older generation being loyal to the job, for example if you dig in, you can find uniqueness. It's like the 'nature vs. nurture' debate."
Another issue Buckingham addresses in the Harvard Business Review article was the effectiveness of identifying a person's learning style, he says. Three ways of learning, which Coletta describes below, are identified:
- Analyzing.
An individual with this style learns by taking apart a system or process, he notes, and should be given ample time in the classroom to understand the model. "You want to give these people the manual and say, 'Come back with questions.'"
- Doing.
This kind of learner takes the trial-and-error approach, Coletta says. "They want to see how it works and adjust as they go along. Let them jump into the system in a test environment."
- Watching.
Just like it sounds, he adds, these individuals "want to see the behavior modeled to watch somebody do it."
Almost a century ago, adventurer Ernest Shackleton led a group of 56 men in an attempt to make the first voyage on foot across Antarctica, Coletta says, and much of what he accomplished had to do with great management techniques.
"They got stuck in pack ice a thousand miles from civilization for 19 months, and he didn't lose a single crew member," he adds. "What got them through was his unique leadership style. He was able to assess each person's individual strengths and weaknesses and meld them together for the common good.
"Shackleton asked his men questions like, 'What songs can you sing?,' which could be thought of as wacky, but when times got tough, he could pull those out and was able to keep morale high," Coletta says. "He also understood that there were those who were technically competent but a pain in the neck, and he didn't let them mingle with the crew. As a great manager, he knew that the way forward was to understand what each person brought forward to create harmony."
[Editor's note: Tony Coletta can be reached at [email protected].]
As a manager, are you playing chess or checkers? That's the question posed by Tony Coletta, MS, PHR, an organizational development consultant for Chicago-based Advocate Health Care.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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