In my work as an organizational repairman, I find the most common cause of problems in a company is the quality of the management.  Much of my work revolves around training managers to be more effective.

If I could nail down the one time a day that sets a manager up for success or failure, it would have to be the first contact with employees in the morning or at the beginning of a shift.  That contact sets the tone for the shift and allows the manager and employee to communicate so that the entire shift runs well.  It’s a crucial moment…

…that usually doesn’t happen.  Most managers get into their office, grab some coffee, and immediately start browsing email.  They may watch as employees file in but often trust this function to a line supervisor.  Soon the calls start coming in and the crises grow.  By lunchtime, that manager has sat in at least one useless meeting and put out several fires.  The afternoon runs much the same and at 5PM or later, the manager leaves work exhausted.  The next day brings more of the same, as does the next and the next and the next.

If you’re a manager, how can you stop this madness and set yourself up for success?  Be deliberate in how you handle that first contact of the morning.

Let’s be honest.  The main reason managers hide in their offices is because they’re afraid to talk to the staff.  They hide this fear with the “I’m so busy” excuse.  After all, if they walk the floors, they may be made aware of problems that they’ll have to fix.  It seems they’d rather avoid those problems now so they can read an email about them or hear about them in a meeting a day or two later.  How about quit being such a big wuss and get more proactive!

Here’s my suggestion.  In the morning, greet your employees with the following questions: (Be sure to bring a pad of paper and a pencil with you.)

• How are you doing?
• What are you working on today?
• What updates do you have?
• What problems need my attention?

Four quick questions.  Sometimes nothing needs to be said.  Other times, major problems can be headed off early.  Either way, if you get your team used to it, this can go pretty fast.  Now, here are some things to be careful of:

1. Build rapport first.  Don’t expect your employees to open up to you if they don’t trust you.  Work now on building a better relationship (not buddy-buddy) with them now.
2. Don’t fall into the trap of doing a meeting each day for this.  That’s a time waster.  If you HAVE to do it thjs way, use the model I learned in the Navy of morning quarters.  That was a 10 minute max meeting, where everyone stood (to avoid getting comfortable and letting the meeting drag on) and heard the plan of the day.  There was a few minutes for questions and then off to work we went.

Finally, if you’re an employee reading this, forward a copy of it to your boss.  This technique not only makes the boss’s day a whole lot better, it does the same for you to too!