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Growing a Company, Growing People: How to Develop Employees He doesn’t have a whistle or a headset … but he is a coach. Says Lew Bennett, seasoned industry insider and now CEO of SpineMedica, Inc., “In my experience, the major function of a manager is to develop personnel. In this role, you are essentially a coach because you’re not only trying to get the best from the individual employee, but you’re trying to grow a team.” Continues Bennett, “A manager is concerned with creating a successful company with high growth, profit, and morale. You can’t do that without having well developed men and women who can produce. Ultimately, a manager’s success depends on his or her ability to get personnel to perform.” And they are more likely to perform if they respect you and want to be loyal to the company. Says Bennett, “You have to earn that respect and win that loyalty. While the whole team needs to have the same overall business goal, to succeed as a manager, you must help people grow in their individual goals and dreams. Let them know what a great company they are working for. Talk to them about the standards you’re held to and how management’s success is measured. You both will be on the same page and they’ll have a better idea of how their work fits into the overall picture.” All of this sounds different from the old way of motivating people, namely, the “get it done or else” technique. Lew Bennett: “To help employees reach their goals, you must motivate them. This is a fundamental part of your job as a manager. There are three types of motivation: mass motivation, propaganda that in its extremes ends up being a Jim Jones kind of situation. It may seem to work in the short term, but it doesn’t last. Then there’s the KITA (kick them in the a**) motivation. It works for a bit, but you end up frightening and angering people, so it doesn’t last. The only lasting motivation is when you find out what they want in life and work one-on-one to help them get there. In the end they will be so pleased that you took this time with them. Think about it … if someone did this for you, wouldn’t it make you want to work harder?” (There’s the loyalty piece.) To those hardened business types who may consider this “soft science,” Lew says, “If it was good enough for Benjamin Franklin, it’s good enough for today’s business managers. Before he was a much-loved diplomat, Ben Franklin’s life was off track. At one point in his young life he woke up and realized that he had no friends and didn’t know where his life was going. He began to carefully review his life, including a detailed analysis of what he liked to do and what he didn’t like to do.” Throughout this entire process, the responsibility rests foremost on the employee. “One of the keys to success in business is the delegation of power and authority,” states Bennett. “Try not to worry about giving up control. You want people to take charge so you have time to grow the business. Even though you know an employee has the knowledge to do that job, you still want to spend one-on-one time training them. Meet with them regularly to see how an issue/project is progressing. Ask them, ‘What exactly needs to be done? By when? What are the consequences of missing a deadline? Where does this project fit into the whole company picture, i.e., what other things are affected if you don’t get it done?’ Don’t be afraid to delegate to inexperienced people, too. When a ‘green’ employee comes up with a good idea, congratulate him or her and tell the experienced ones. Now the inexperienced employee has more confidence and initiative; the experienced person recognizes the other employee as part of the team. For the latter party it’s also a reminder that they don’t have all the answers.” Continues Bennett, “When you delegate, you’re laying the groundwork for growth. You should be able to leave for a business trip or vacation and not worry if the place is falling apart in your absence. My theory is that if I go away and the work hasn’t been done, then I have neglected my job of developing people. Look, the more you solve problems for people, the more dependent on you they become. When people come to you with a problem, deep down they know what they want to do … they’re just looking for reinforcement from you.” But what if they’re genuinely in trouble? Says Lew, “If someone’s having difficulty meeting their goals, they either just don’t know how or they have got metal disease (lead in a**). The first thing you should do is totally listen; let them get everything out. Then you begin a series of weekly meetings where they answer the following questions: What do you want to do? By when exactly? How are you going to do it? Why are you doing this or doing it this way? Who will work on what? Let them do the majority of the work in these sessions. The benefit for them is increased knowledge and confidence; for you it’s that because they know more now, over time, you can delegate an increasing number of things to them.” While learning something new, employees are bound to make mistakes. “Although a manager may feel his ears vibrating with anger,” Lew says, “he has to be strong enough not to browbeat the employee, especially in front of others. As a manager you should be encouraging them to take risks; you should also expect mistakes. When they make a mistake, only get upset if it’s the second time for the same mistake. The first time is an education. Ask them what they learned from it and what they can do to avoid making the same mistake again. As a general rule, managers should always be on the lookout for employees in the act of doing something right. Every opportunity should be taken to congratulate someone on a job well done.” And what of those moments when an employee is upset? Advises Lew, “For years I have relied on a wonderful technique to help me understand and break through employees’ dissatisfaction. Let’s say an employee approaches you and he is fuming. You should look him right in the eye and study his face. Don’t interrupt him … let him get it all out. Imagine that his face is a balloon filled with hot air. Say to this person, ‘Tell me about it.’ It’s like a bit more air has gone out of the balloon. After they’ve repeated it, say, ‘So I’ll really understand, tell me again.’ They let more air out of the balloon. Then say, ‘Let me tell you what I think you’re saying, OK?’ You are defusing their anger and they feel heard—a powerful combination.” This Mount Olympus of wisdom came by his sagacity the hard way … by nearly getting fired. Lew Bennett: “Good sales people don’t necessarily make good managers. Years ago I was promoted to sales manager after being in sales. I took over my subordinates’ work to the point where my general manager told me that I was failing as a manager. I bargained for 90 days, during which time I took 2 weeks off and thought about all the aspects of being a manager. I studied the best management books and did a complete evaluation of myself. I went back to the office and starting meeting with the reps one on one. Now, instead of telling them what to do or trying to do it for them, I said things like, ‘Tell me what your challenges are,’ ‘How many calls do you want to make?,’ ‘How are you going to do it?,’ etc. I wanted them to write everything down, but I didn’t want to tell them to do that. Instead, I said, ‘How are you going to know to do all of this? Are you going to remember everything?’ They usually replied, ‘Well, maybe I ought to write this down.’ All the reps were buzzing about how Lew had changed; they no longer wanted to get rid of me.” Like many things in life, managing people comes down to the fundamentals … or it should. “People want to know you give a damn about them. They want to grow and they want you, as their boss, to care about this growth. In all the research I’ve seen, people only use about 10% of their abilities. Say to someone you’re trying to motivate, ‘Look, you’ve got plenty of smarts and I know you can do this work. As it is now, you’re not being fair to yourself.’ Show faith in them and challenge them and you’ll get amazing results.” What final thoughts might this orthopedic oracle like to impart? “I try to live what I preach. I regularly evaluate the major areas of my life to ensure that I’m acting in a way that is consistent with my goals and values. This practice has ensured that I am confident in the power of goal-setting and can help others attain their goals as well.” Lew Bennett sees the best in people … and then they find the best in themselves.
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