Effective Leadership with Footprints: Where do yours lead you?
When we think of leadership and
footprints, we tend to only think of the mark a leader leaves on their
followers and organization. But let’s look at the footprints from the literal perspective.
Just imagine you could see your footprints as you travel throughout your
organization on any given day, what would they tell you about your leadership
style.
When I was a Wal-Mart manager the
concept of footprints was constantly drilled into us. The concept is an easy
one, what if you could see your footprints from above as you travel throughout
the workplace. Now, most managers and leaders tend to stick to the main aisles, hallways, corridors, etc. as they come
and go, conduct business, and attend meetings. However, the thing to remember
is where the majority of the work is performed. Unfortunately, it’s not in
these aisles, hallways, or corridors. If
we’re going to lead people, we need to spend time with them. Management by
walking around is the same concept, however,
I believe the term footprints is a much better word. Managing by walking around
doesn’t necessarily mean a manager is
traveling every area which work is performed, nor when it is performed.
When I first became a manager, I read the best-selling book, “The One
Minute Manager”, which many people would remember talked about setting goals,
praising and reprimands. I have heard many people over the years say this book
is common sense, and you know what, they’re right. If we all can agree “The One
Minute Manager” is just common sense, it raises the question, why isn’t done in
every workplace by every leader?
If we compare the One Minute
Manager to the concept of footprints, it can be clearly seen how leading
effectively involves one very important element, spending time with the people
you’re leading. For those of your who are Doctor Who fans, the concept of
“space and time” is something we have heard many times. Now take the concept of
footprints and apply it to space and time. This is something I have always done
and is the way Wal-Mart trained me. If we think of our places of work as the
spatial component, and the time aspect as all the different time's work is performed, for example, days, evenings, and midnight
shifts, we can clearly see when the work is performed. If you’re a leader, are
you responsible for leading people on
different shifts then you normally work? If so, do you ever make the time shift
to spend time on those alternate shifts where your people are?
When I was with Wal-Mart and MDS
labs, I had people who worked only evenings, nights and/or weekends, which
meant I needed to spend time on those different shifts so I could not only see
what was being done but to also provide
those shifts with the leadership they deserved and required. Yes, this can be difficult, however, spending
time with your employees is key in developing a successful team.
How often have we seen situations
such as these;
Bob, a new manager with ABC Tech
started his fourth week with frustration over issues arising from the weekend
shift with quality and budgets. He decides to ask John for help since he has been with the company for
years. He asks John, “what is it they do on the weekends that requires so many
people, and why with so many people are there quality issues?” Bob becomes even
more frustrated when he hears John’s answer, “I don’t know”. You ask him to
elaborate, however, he only replies, he doesn’t
know want they do on weekends.
If I were Bob,
I would rearrange my schedule and work some weekends to spend time with my
people I’m responsible for leading. This
is the sort of thing I did when I was management with Wal-Mart and MDS. It’s
amazing the effect this has on the team, not only do they see you as a leader
who takes the time and initiative to spend time with them, but also someone who
is approachable, and willing to help. This has the effect of increasing morale
and overall performance. One thing employees do not like to hear their manager
say is “I don’t know what you do”, in cases like this the employee usually have
thoughts of how do you expect to manage and lead us.
Another
situation many of us have experienced is:
Sally, transferred to the HR
division of Techy Tech three months ago and is starting to feel as if she is
not doing a good job. She came from a
small branch in the Maritimes where she would often see her manager who
regularly provided feedback on her performance. Now that she’s in the much
larger branch in Toronto, she has only seen her manager a few times since she’s
been there. During lunch one day she asks Peter, “What could I being doing
wrong?” Peter asks “what makes you think you’re doing something wrong?” Sally
tells Peter she never sees her manager and in three months has never received
any feedback on her performance. Peter Laughs, and tells her that’s what is
like around here, “if nothing is said, then you’re doing a good job. No news is
good news”
How many times
have we heard or experienced a similar story? Looking at these stories, the
thing lacking in both is the leader spending time with their people. By
utilizing Footprints in both space and time, situations such as these can be
eliminated. The benefits are huge, employees will feel better about their work
and who are more engaged, especially during times of change management and
uncertainty in the organization.
We all know
how difficult it can be at times to manage workload, however, leaders need to better understand, when they have a highly
effective team which produce high-quality
work, a leader’s job becomes that much easier especially when it comes to their
other responsibilities such as reports, budgets, meetings, follow-up, setting
and managing goals, etc.
Things to remember when walking
around the work area:
- Remember to spend time with each employee, do not simply walk through the work area.
- Praise your employees, a pat on the back goes a long way
- Observe the workflow, how is it affecting your team, good or bad
- Remember to take notes, these will come in handy during performance reviews and will aid in setting goals
- Share information
- Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up,
