Simply The Best, Part 1; Managers we have seen for “Selective Emulation”
When coaching our senior clients, we regularly come across people that are dealing with the challenge that is impostor syndrome. Some of our clients are concerned that they are not up to the job, they fear they will get found out and in the most extreme cases, will be publicly pilloried. Such strong feelings can unsurprisingly undermine their confidence and their legitimate ambitions.
In most cases, these fears are unfounded, but we often have to return to first principles with our clients to overcome such problems. We start by exploring how they succeeded in obtaining their current position of seniority and the skills and ability they exhibited to get there. This effectively provides a firm basis for them to examine what skills they will need to progress further in their career. This tactic then often evokes reflections of exceptional managers that they have had the good fortune of knowing and that in turn builds their confidence so that they again believe they are not impostors.
40 years ago, I began a training programme at a major Wall Street firm in New York. For six months, we trainees underwent some brilliant training; yes we were given some gentle brainwashing about the firm’s capabilities but we were also given invaluable advice as we embarked on our new careers.
Simply
The chairman of the Wall Street firm gave an interesting talk and one comment in his presentation has stuck with me throughout my career:
“We expect our people to be current and competent”.
It was an insightful summary of what we had to do in order to succeed whilst also clearly stating that nothing stands still and that we have to ensure we remain current. I firmly believe that that simple summary still applies to senior executives today.
After the chairman had finished his presentation, another talk from a senior sales manager at the firm also made a strong impression on us. The title of his talk was called ‘Selective Emulation’. His message was clear:
"Learn from the best and focus on the really good things that the best do whilst also discarding anything that they do not do".
These reflections from a long time ago should prompt any senior person to think about the best managers they have worked with, or for, or have seen in action. Like a favourite school teacher, everyone can remember one good manager in their career, but have you thought about why you held them in such high regards?
The Best
We would argue that the best managers exhibit clear capabilities in three main areas:
People; choosing and managing people to perform to their best and remove poor performers.
Decisions; making clear decisions, with reasonable speed, and ascribing the right accountabilities to the right people. They need however to also be prepared to change direction if the decision no longer produces the right results.
Communication; communicate well, copiously and clearly with all involved, including the bad news. Tell the team what could happen in the future. “Management by no surprises” is a great thing.
In my own case, I worked for a CEO 30 years ago who was appointed when two broking firms with very different cultures merged. There was huge scepticism amongst most of the senior managers that it would fail and financial losses would increase. Market conditions were bad, redundancies were pushed through to save costs and morale was very low.
The CEO quickly set about appointing departmental heads with clear roles and responsibilities. As the only senior person left from one of the firms, I was put in charge of all the areas of the business that no one else wanted and was left to get on with it. The CEO then organised regular management meetings, which addressed all problems openly and minuted the discussions and action points. Everyone was then tasked with planning and budgeting for the coming year and was required to report on these at every meeting. Within a year, the business had stabilised, regained some market share and broke even financially.
I was able to flourish in my role as a direct consequence of the clarity the CEO had brought to strategy, appointing the right people in the right areas and driving a concise and decisive management process with open communication. And 10 years later, when I became a CEO of a major UK wealth management firm, I was able to use these shrewd management techniques to great success.
Good governance and clear communication is what produced good results. It is also worth keeping in mind a comment a very senior investor who backed many well-known technology businesses made to me. When deciding to invest in a business, the one factor that could make or break the deal was about the leadership of the business:
“Does the management team inspire their people beyond paying them well? Do they believe in what they are doing?”.
All good managers should reflect on whether they have created and maintained such a belief as if they have, the far greater the probability that the business will thrive.