Re: Let's Become Better Managers and Leaders - Together

February 5, 2011

Good advice, . Here's another tip: Always back up your staff.

Atlanta Braves manager Bobby , who retired last fall, holds the record

for being ejected from more games than any other manager in the history of

baseball. The reason: any time one of his players contested a call by the

umpire, Bobby would stomp out of the dugout and across the field, get up in

the ump's face and yell at the top of his lungs, kick dirt on his shoes, and

be summarily banished to the fieldhouse for the rest of the game. During the

post-game interview, he'd often say " Yeah, I knew he was out, but I had to

back up my guy. "

That's a trait that I really appreciated in my past director and strive to

emulate: Whether the issue was was a dispute with the nursing staff, a

patient complaint, or a physician directive, she'd listen to everything

they had to say, then say something like, " That's really out of character

for her; let me check into this and get back with you, " or " I'm sorry that

I can't ask my team to do that, but this is what I can do... " The result:

the staff developed trust, respect and a fierce loyalty to her. We didn't

balk (much) when she initiated new procedures or chastised us when we

dropped the ball. We felt comfortable going to her with problems, and would

have done pretty much anything she asked us to do. Under her leadership, the

team was the most cohesive and consistently productive of any in the

organization.

On Fri, Feb 4, 2011 at 10:17 PM, Kovacek wrote:

>

> Time to share some tips on being a better manager and leader. I'll go

> first. Then it will be your turn.

>

> -------------------

>

> " They just don't get it. I told them what to do but they didn't do it like

> I told them. And now it is all messed up. "

>

> I think every manager has been frustrated enough to think, if not say,

> those

> lines at some point in their career.

>

> I wish I had the answer to making sure that that frustration never happens

> to you, but I don't. The only thing I can really bring to this table is a

> long history of trying different things and seeing how they turn out. I

> suspect that I have an advantage over many of you because I have been

> around

> long enough to have made way more mistakes in my career than you have.

>

> Here are some of the things that I " think " I have figured out.

>

> 1. Saying or thinking someone does not " get it " is usually useless in it's

> generality. It may not be an incorrect assessment but it is very rarely

> helpful - other than as a way to label someone else. Usually part of that

> label identifies them as somehow " less than " what we want, expect, or need

> them to be. That label always puts up a barrier that most often becomes an

> obstacle to moving forward.

>

> My suggestion: work a bit harder to develop a better managerial diagnosis

> than " they don't get it " . Find out where the miscommunication occurred and

> how. Consider that you may really be the problem and work with your

> teammate to find a better solution together.

>

> 2. Except in the most simple, linear conversation or meeting, pronouns are

> to be avoided at all costs. I'm not so sure how your meetings and

> conversations work, but most of mine are streams of discussion items that

> sometimes have topics that overlap and intermingle. There is rarely any

> sort of " flow restrictor " to pace and focus the discussion even though we

> all try to do that. I find myself constantly asking " Who is the " she " you

> are referring to? " " Please specify the " they " you referenced in your last

> comment! " " Where is the " there " that you are talking about? " .

>

> You might say that my age is showing and confusion is to be

> expected. Eventually we all knew that this is what would happen to ,

> but no - EVERYONE struggles with these issues. EVERYONE is unsure of

> context in multi-track dialogue.

>

> My suggestion: Ban pronouns and demand specific references in your meetings

> and discussions. There will be less confusion and you'll notice much less

> confusion and greater efficiency once the meeting is over.

>

> 3. I used to go to a lot of meetings - even small 2 or 3 person

> meetings- where I would walk in and have to ask " Why are we all here? What

> is the objective we wish to meet that is best addressed with all of us in

> this room together? "

>

> Sometimes I would say that to myself, sometimes out loud. But I very

> frequently really needed to know the what and the why of our meeting. I

> always suspected that I was not the only one who had those thoughts,

> too. If I was lost and searching for the meaning of this meeting, so were

> at least half the participants, I bet.

>

> I'm pretty sure I wasted a lot of my time in those interactions. I suspect

> others did too. For those of you who know me, you probably figured out I am

> not big on time-wasting. Except on a golf course.

>

> My suggestion: Act like you are planning a speech. This is why we are

> here. This is what I want to accomplish. This is how I'm going to do

> that. This is what I want/need from you. This is what we decided. Here is

> the plan. Let's get to it.

>

> A beginning. A middle and an end with a plan.

> Give it a try. I think you'll be surprised how well it works.

>

> Ok, I just made three suggestions to help you be a better manager and

> leader. How many can you come up with to share with this esteemed group of

> PTManagers?

>

> Your turn!

>

> Kovacek, PT, DPT, MSA

>

February 7, 2011

" We can't work together because we have a personality conflict. " I have often

heard this as a reason one health care professional cannot effectively work with

another.

Personality conflict is a vague term and is " an excuse to avoid addressing the

real causes of conflict " per the all knowing resource of Wikipedia. When this is

mentioned, a supervisor should ask for specifics in what is the actual issue

preventing two individuals from moving forward for the good of the department,

institution and patient care.

I may not want to go out after hours for a beer or two with everyone at work

but I still respect their knowledge and skills.

Bonnie Bauer Swafford, PT and now DPT (woo hoo, I just finished!)

PS. Congrats, , on your DPT