13 Fatal Errors of Management

Case Studies in Turfgrass Management

TURF 436W

Management

“the skill of attaining predetermined objectives with and through the voluntary

cooperation and effort of others”

13 Fatal Errors

• Refuse to accept personal accountability• Fail to develop people• Try to control results instead of influencing

thinking• Join the wrong crowd• Manage everyone the same way• Forget the importance of profit

13 Fatal Errors (cont’d)

• Concentrate on problems rather than objectives• Be a buddy, not a boss• Fail to set standards• Fail to train your people• Condone incompetence• Recognize only top performers• Try to manipulate people

Refuse to accept personal accountability

This sets the stage for asking the right questions:•What did I do wrong?•What should I do to rectify this situation?•What can I learn from this?

Fail to develop people

•Managers who build dependency do so out of personal insecurity

•Managers who deny subordinates the experience of solving routine problems deny them the opportunities for growth

Fail to develop people (cont’d)

When confronted with a problem by a subordinate:

• Look at the person

• Listen with your eyes, as well as your ears

• Advise and counsel

Fail to develop people (cont’d)

In promoting people to management positions:

• Send them to a management seminar as a first step to acquire new knowledge

• Provide new responsibilities by degrees to coach them in the development of new skills (and assess their aptitude for management)

Fail to develop people (cont’d)

Character is one of the important qualities that must be developed long before one is old enough to enter the work force

Characters:• Court jesters – joke their way out of problems and

leave the mess for others• Bumblers – make others look good• Eccentrics – march to a different drummer

Try to control results instead of influence thinking

THOUGHTS create

FEELINGS affect

ACTIVITY rewarded/recognized

HABITS generate

RESULTS

Try to control results instead of influence thinking (cont’d)

Questions people ask when confronted with a new challenge:

• Can I succeed?

• Where is the value to me?

(i.e., where is the self-esteem?)

Join the wrong crowd

• Pronoun disease – the tendency of some employees to use they instead of we

• Loyalty – means that I share a common ideal with you, not that I agree with everything you say or that I believe you are always right

Manage everyone the same way

DON’TS

• Play the role – indicates you are not up to the task and need these trappings to feel capable

• Manage by staff meeting – management is largely a “one-to-one proposition”

Manage everyone the same way (cont’d)

MANAGEMENT STYLES• Autocratic – manager draws on his strength

rather than from the strength of others• Bureaucratic – manages by the book• Democratic – allows employees to

participate in decision making• Idiosyncratic – adapts his management style

to each employee

Forget the importance of profit

• No enterprise can long survive without generating a surplus over its costs of operation

• Even nonprofit organizations must maintain this discipline

Concentrate on problems rather than objectives

“Management is essentially a thinking, not a doing job”

When a person under your management fails to perform satisfactorily, do you ask:

• What’s the reason for the lack of performance? or

• What’s wrong with this person?

Be a buddy, not a boss

• You must be either a buddy or a boss; successful hybrids do not exist

• While you can relax and have fun with an employee, it’s never entirely social; it’s a professional, business relationship

Be a buddy, not a boss (cont’d)

• You can’t be responsible for people; that’s the job of a parent, not a manager

• You must be responsible to them by giving them the support they need to do their jobs

• They must be responsible to you, by giving you the performance you need

Fail to set standards

Standards encompass such things as ethics, morality, safety, and performance.

Performance standards:• Quantity – the amount of product or service

produced• Quality – the errors or mistakes made; the

appearance or impressions given• Timeliness – meeting deadlines• Cost – living within the budget, with respect to

men, money, and materials

Fail to set standards (cont’d)

• Standards eliminate management pressures by eliminating personality from tough decision making.

• Standards serve as a covenant between an employee and his organization, based on understanding, good faith, and mutual commitment.

Fail to train your people

Management’s role is to induce employees to consistently perform at PAR;

thus, the dual role of every manager is to:

• Get people from entry level to PAR

• Maintain PAR, once attained

Fail to train your people (cont’d)

PAR’s elements:

• Precedents – guides for evaluating future behavior (e.g., job description, policies, objectives)

• Actions – what employees do

• Results – the consequences of actions

Fail to train your people (cont’d)

If the hiring manager did not make a mistake in selection, only 3 reasons remain for why a person does not do his job:

• He doesn’t know what the job is• He doesn’t know how to do the job• Someone or something interferes with his desire or ability to do the job

Fail to train your people (cont’d)

Classroom training formula:

• Uncover – establish a need to learn

• Discover – provide instruction

• Recover – provide hands-on experience

Condone incompetence

Why?

• They feel the need to be loved and seek it on the job

• They hope the problem will disappear if they ignore it

• They lack the willingness or ability to confront others

Condone incompetence (cont’d)

Principles of effective confrontation:• Confront immediately• Confront privately• Be specific• Use data• Be clear• Provide redirection• Follow up

Recognize only top performers

The Personal Touch

• Break objectives into bite-size pieces

• Provide a support system to help each person achieve his or her objectives

• Provide personal and timely recognition for attaining objectives

Try to manipulate people

Traditional management motivational approaches Fear - the “stick” Rewards – the “carrot” Belief building – help the individual establish a

belief in himself, his organization, and the products/services rendered