THANK YOU, ASQ ORLANDO CHAPTER!

Many thanks to my home chapter of ASQ (American Society for Quality), #1509, for hosting  "Succession Planning from the Middle Up!"  along with a Pre-Dinner clinic for the Keirsey Temperament Sorter-II last evening, 1/26/2012. I appreciate the opportunity to again share this program in the Central Florida area. Thanks, also, to my husband, Paul, for his very capable assistance with the presentation.

COMPETENCY #6: Establish clear two-way communication channels for expectation and feedback

As you can see, this is the second competency where YOU are the critical link for success. As a Trailblazing Middle Manager, it is YOU that sets the stage for success for yourself, your direct reports, your division, your section--whatever it is you oversee.

An incredibly critical word in this competency is "clear"--think of how important it is to have clear skies or a clear river to navigate safely. This competency helps everyone navigate through group communication. The word "clear" as it's used here is in opposition to the word "cloudy" for my purpose of discussing communication. A Middle Manager can relate expectations and feedback in clear or cloudy ways. Here is an example of a cloudy expectation: "Okay, everybody, the pressure's on, we've got a deadline, I want everyone to do a great job this week!" That might generate some excitement or even angst, but it does not tell "everybody" what is expected of them.

The Trailblazing Middle Manager in the division next door wants to communicate the same sense of urgency and quality, but chooses a clear statement. Here is the TMM's pep talk: "Okay, everybody, the pressure is on because the Regional VP will be here to observe us and our output next Friday. This week I want everyone to keep their equipment maintenance up to date, follow correct process steps, and turn out the maximum number of widgets that's the standard for your spot on the line."

So now the employees know a little more about what a "great job" looks like (expectations). The lead foremen lets the TMM know (feedback) that one of the machines just went off line due to a broken cam, so they then discuss (2-way communication) what widget output would realistically be, taking that into consideration. 

So what's up in your world regarding clear two-way communication? Expectations? Feedback? What's working for you? What have you tried that you really thought would work, but didn't? Have you figured out why it didn't work? What have you always wanted to try, but never quite got it off the ground? What's holding you back?

(Please see "Succession Planning from the Middle Up!" [above] for the context of Competency #6.)

Other enquiring Trailblazing Middle Managers want to know! 

COMPETENCY #5: Model and Nurture Self-Development of Appropriate Leadership Skills

We have left the competencies that focus on departmental or organizational areas. Now we enter the land of individual focus. And if you notice, the focus is on YOU--it is YOU that is doing the modeling and nurturing in this competency.

So how would you rank yourself in this area? ARE you developing your own leadership skills -- or just resting on the laurels of what you learned in college, or in that leadership training by what's-his-name a few years ago, or what you saw your first supervisor do back in the day, or in that workshop they sent you to when you first became a manager... Uh-oh...

What's out there? Those of you that have been honing and developing your leadership skills in preparation to make the next step up the ladder--tell us what you've done, or are currently doing, to develop those appropriate leadership skills. 

Enquiring Trailblazing Middle Managers want to know!

Competency #4 -- Encourage Innovation and Learning

Please see "Succession Planning from the Middle Up!" (above) for the context of Competency #3.

Uh-oh...here's a competency that might involve some risk-taking. If you work for an organization whose mantra is "We've never done it that way before..." then you might be in for an uphill climb to encourage innovation and learning. But it's not impossible!

Some middle managers (MMs) I know have encouraged direct reports to get more education in their field by getting more education themselves (the MMs, that is). They go to night school (sounds so old-fashioned these days, doesn't it?), they sign up for distance learning certifications, they attend workshops and seminars. Plus--good MMs know company policy on education reimbursement so that they and their direct reports can take advantage of it.

I know some other MMs that actually encourage trying new things and learning from what doesn't work! Or even learning from mistakes what would make a process better. How about you? 

How do you facilitate this competency in your world? How have you been able to create a learning environment--maybe without support from the top--or haven't you been able to create it yet? What best practice or success story could you share about this?

Please click on "Comments" below to share. Thank you for your thoughts!

Competency #3

The third competency for our consideration is “Create an environment for performance improvement.” 

Please see "Succession Planning from the Middle Up!" (above) for the context of Competency #3.

How do you facilitate this competency in your world? How have you been able to create this sort of environment--maybe without support from the top--or haven't you been able to create it yet? Do you think this is all about the numbers or the people?   What best practice or success story could you share about this?

Please click on "Comments" below to share. Thank you for your thoughts!

Competency #2

The second competency for our consideration is “Exemplify legal and ethical behavior.” 

Please see "Succession Planning from the Middle Up!" (above) for the context of Competency #2.

How do you facilitate this competency in your world? How does everyone in your org know what "legal and ethical behavior" is?  What best practice do you want to share about this?

Please click on "Comments" below to share. Thank you for your thoughts!

Competency #1

The first competency for our consideration this week is “Foster the organization’s vision and values, mission and objectives.” 

Please see "Succession Planning from the Middle Up" (above) for the context of Competency #1.

How do you facilitate that competency in your world? How does everyone know what those are?  What best practice do you want to share about this?Thank you for your thoughts!

Please click on "Comments" below to share.