Building Better Bosses (B³)

Improve Manager Performance for Workplace Success

Does it seem like management is struggling to get by rather than excelling? Does it seem like managers aren’t on the same page and spend more time disagreeing than producing? Are you confident you hired the right people, but are tired of not seeing the work get done on time, accurately or well. Do you feel more like a babysitter, referee and cheerleader?

All of this can flush good performance down the toilet and create a workplace weighed down with constant tension, high stress and unending conflict. Don’t wait for profits, productivity and sales to plummet before deciding to “turn the ship around”. Address management problems, team dysfunction and operational challenges before they become a gigantic task with expensive ramifications.

Stop hoping for outside forces and luck to change managers and fix supervisory issues. Be realistic that team problems don’t go away, right themselves with time or are one-time occurrences. Hang onto managers, optimize them and create aligned teams where they can reach their highest potential.  It is more time and cost effective to improve managers than to continually deal with staff performance issues, attendance problems and high turnover.

Problems that confirm change in management performance is needed.

1. Engagement lessens and exponentially so does productivity.
   It is obvious when managers aren’t motivated to supervise much less be effective and consistently. Low levels of commitment and enthusiasm result in lack of focus, poor attitudes and personnel problems.
2. Communication challenges lead to poor results and errors.
   Never ending errors, recurring mistakes and incomplete work are not always due to employee skills and abilities.  Often a lack of communication, unclear requests and vague instruction from managers are the culprits. Skill building does not compensate for poor communication.
3.  A few bad apples spoil many people and departments.
   It starts with a subtle feeling of tension in the air and over a short time escalates into obvious stress and conflict. Bad bosses and morale can be measured by staff sick days, tardiness and medical/stress leaves.
4.  1 +  1 = 3
   A disconnect between managers and management can produce results that don’t add up.  Targets and goals miss the mark even though certain teams, units and departments seem to be on track. Breakdown between levels has companies’ baffled, frustrated and randomly firing scapegoats in the hope of hitting the solution (or problem person).
5. Don’t let a bad boss be the reason for turnover.
   People leave bad bosses because they don’t feel valued, appreciated or heard. A subtle feeling of tension with management can easily spin out of control and escalate into full blown disrespect, avoidance and lead to turnover. Don’t let ignorance, lack of awareness and frustration explain retention issues.

Wouldn’t you prefer a workplace filled with high performing managers who  combine for great productivity? Take pride not only in the company but in the management team that makes it successful. Here is how such a workplace with great managers and high productivity would look:

• Responsibility and accountability at 100% – worry less about deadlines and tasks when management agree and accept their roles and responsibilities. Staff can excel and productivity can be high.
• Confidence and leadership lead to trust – spend less time dealing with mistakes and missed targets when managers are skilled leaders and give 100%. It is easy to rely on them when they excel at supervising and leading.
• Communication and collaboration result in high morale and great momentum – use less time and energy managing conflict and settling arguments when teams share problems and collectively get the work done. Tension and stress dissipate when the “bad apples” have been fixed.

The good news is this level of engagement, productivity and management performance can be the norm in any company. But how do you make it happen?

Introducing the B³ Program

A program systematized to create critical change for the perfect solution. Our comprehensive program is designed to provide insight, awareness and information that produces alignment and performance at a much higher level. We have developed a system that accurately identifies problems and issues so the change created is specific and long-lasting to align your management team and improve leadership.

We specialize in understanding managers. We have insight into how people think, feel and behave. This expertise and psychological perspective allows us to get into the human psyche for extensive understanding of key indicators for change, best predictors for improvement and valuable strategies for success.

We believe performance improvement should be based on a thorough diagnosis of skills and abilities, strengths and challenges as well as workplace fit, engagement and motivation. We focus on the ability of managers to enhance their behaviour and perform in a professional, ethical and courteous manner. This facilitates communication and collaboration for great productivity which span all situations, circumstances and contexts.

Our insight into the psychology behind people and workplace expectations of excellence allow us to create and build better performance and productivity with your management team. We believe a continuum exists where the functionality and success of managers is dictated by their role, level and “people” skills for supervision.

Our B³ Program is not generic. It is tailored to differentiate skills and abilities of distinct units, levels and departments. Responsibilities and accountabilities may differ between managers, but the level of performance and productivity should always be consistently high.

The goal is to enhance learning and create opportunities so that management teams and departments can optimize and build on their specialties.

How is the B³ Different?

It is not a band-aid, one-off training or a report filled with recommendations. It creates real, long lasting performance change in management teams and the workplace.

• Our degree of diagnosis and problem identification are in-depth and meticulous – we don’t provide solutions based on the opinion of one person or management level.
• Our education is problem-focused and learning is situational – we don’t train managers for 2 hours and let them revert back to bad habits.
• Our analysis and measurement of change is detailed and monetized – change is guaranteed to be long-term, address specific performance problems and show return on investment.

The return on investment is obvious and measurable because you have a strategic program providing the right fix. You get peace of mind with an accurate diagnosis to provide answers and the assurance of positive change. Your business will have a renewed feeling of confidence because management improvement is evident and lasting.

Benefits of the B³ Program

• Managers will have the skills and tools to manage themselves – when management consistently collaborate and solve problems on their own, then you can stop mediating, refereeing and babysitting.
• Communication will become a two way street – managers can self-manage when they are comfortable and confident to work through issues that get in the way of staff collaboration and productivity.
• Enter the end of every month knowing management is committed to meeting goals, deadlines and targets – confidence will replace stress and worry because management is accountable and dependable.
• Focus on your responsibilities and have ample time to complete tasks – managers will no longer call upon you to fix their problems, issues and personal differences.
• Feel the enthusiasm, harmony and momentum in the workplace – the domino effect of negativity is replaced with contagious enthusiasm that has staff engaged and reaching higher levels of performance and productivity.
• A renewed confidence that the right people are doing the right jobs – management and staff will understand accountability and responsibility, and will implement them well.
• Create an atmosphere where leadership and integrity are paramount – when a sense of value and accomplishment are prominent, there should be no hesitation for managers to take the helm and make good decisions.
• Focus your energies on streamlining, work flow and process – when management doesn’t need you then your task is to keep them challenged.

The Structure of the B³ Program   The program uses 3 phases which are strategically implemented based on time, learning, change and maintenance.

Phase One: Get the Complete Picture

Before we get on-site, we administer surveys and conduct interviews to get a 360⁰ understanding of the problems, challenges and barriers. We need to discover and analyze what does not work well and what (or who) needs work in order to develop a plan with clear goals and outcomes.

Phase Two: Change the Picture

We arrive on-site for 4 days to facilitate education and coach individuals to address the issues identified. We tailor our management change program to address multiple people, topics and build skills.  The experience is evaluated and reporting is provided to measure change and identify future needs.

Phase Three: Support the Change

We provide two months of telephone or video conference coaching with each of the managers. Evaluation occurs after the coaching sessions to define the changes and achievements as well as provide recommendations for future success.

Bonuses Included in the B³ Program

• a personalized report designed and delivered to your executives. We share the discovery and diagnosis, learning objectives and education strategies as well as the changes throughout the program.
• access to our library of great ideas and strategies to address everyday challenges
• articles that provide examples, stories and techniques to create change

This program is a perfect fit for your company if you…

• believe your management team needs “people” skills to supervise
• need responsibility and accountability to be the common dynamic
• want to increase management potential by getting the team on the same page
• want cohesion and collaboration to be the norm in your management team
• believe in your managers and want to improve staff engagement and loyalty

The greatest benefit of this program is the return on investment. Hand over the problems, issues and solutions so you can focus your time and energy on building the business. We provide a presence in your company that is noticeable by the positive changes in your managers and their performance. Witness the enthusiasm return, the productivity improve and the momentum build towards better sales and profits.

Our experience spans many different business sectors because managers and performance are essential to success. We have created change in manufacturing companies, property management corporations, police forces and municipalities to name a few.

If you’ve read up to this point, you may be ready to hand over the problems so we can begin to create great managers, align your teams and improve performance in your workplace.

Contact us today for a complimentary Strategy Session where we can discuss your business, solutions to align your management and create change that diminishes problems. This session takes about an hour and gives real insight into why your management team doesn’t have the level of supervisory skill and leadership ability that is possible and what can be done to turn things around – often dramatically.

Please contact us at 604-349-8660 or pam@thepossibilities.ca for a free one hour strategy session.

Pam Paquet