THE EVOLUTION OF THE TURKEY MANAGERS
THE 12 BEASTLY TALES
“The average human being can deal with just about anything except uncertainty.” – R B Horton 1988
THE 12 BEASTLY TALES
The characters in the following case studies are fictional – largely the product of the rich playground of the authors’ mind.
CASE STUDY 1
It was a warm Autumn day as staff arrived at Head office ready for another challenging week of work ahead. However they were greeted by the news that the CEO had resigned under dubious circumstances. Our initial thought was “how could this possibly happen when morale had been on the rise, and everyone is starting to feel positive for the first time for a long time?” How could a man with such good people skills and a diplomatic personality fall so far from grace? What we later discovered was that the CEO had mismanaged the business and the organisation had gone from a consistent profitably organisation to the brink of financial disaster.
To provide answers to some of the above baffling questions, let’s take a closer look at the CEO (let’s call him Mr P).
He had arrived fresh from a senior management position with a large electrical chain. His family had been involved in the business and he came with glowing reference. This included comments on his charisma, his commitment to his family and a genuinely likeable person. He relished a public role where he interacted with others and visibility it accorded. He was fashion conscious and gravitated to those who were similarly outgoing and enthusiastic people. To the point where at 8 am each morning, he would enter my office and shut the door and asked if his cream-spotted tie clashed with his immaculately pressed white shirt. Obviously appearances and other people approval were critical to him. He even bought a large house in a prestigious suburb to echo his social standing. To him these were all important things. Personally I found him so easy to get along with. He was always polite and interested in a conversation and a simple compliment would always delight him. He would never interfere. His philosophy was that your manager should manage you and his role was to oversee the operation and more importantly network with community and industry leaders.
Yet when I spoke with another colleague, she had an opposing view but one with which I could never argue. In her opinion he was someone of average intelligence, superficial and had no time for someone who was perceived to be different from him. He appeared to have one way of dealing with people – he either liked you or not. If you were slightly different or quiet, he would rather leave you alone and focus his attention on more ‘glamorous’ shinning stars. Mr P seems to possess limited knowledge of contemporary management processes outside the realm of people issues. He has a full grasp of management jargons such as ownership, empowerment, self managed teams, but would rely on the same examples to preach his message. Some would say that he has absolutely no depth as a manager or a leader.
The company was was struggling for the following reasons :
One, Mr P lacked credibility among his peers and found it difficult to adapt to a vastly different industry – he went from a white goods retail change to an IT company.
Second, although he realised that the company was in financial difficulty, his focus was to preserve the façade and more importantly maintain his position and status. He consistently ignored the pleads from the frustrated Financial Controller to manage cash flow.
PAUSE AND DISCUSS..
Let’s get your reaction to this type of manager :
1. If you have to work closely with this manager, would you tend to :
(a) Minimise your contact with him
(b) Get to know him more personally
(c) Challenge the rationale behind his decision
2. What do you think are the underlying reasons this manager behaves in this way?
(a) Need for power and influence
(b) Need to look good
(c) Need for order and process
(d) Need for acceptance and approval
(e) Need for outcomes and results
CASE STUDY 2
When I first met Mr S, I was glowing with admiration for him. He displayed all the right body language and said all the right things. I never suspected for a moment that I would see a totally different person emerge. Skilled in interpreting body language, he impressively crafted his dialogue with terms borrowed from management gurus . As a trusting person, I discussed my career aspirations and personal concerns regarding the office and my colleagues, without any reservation. It was only later that the real Mr S began to emerge.
I began to witness some less appealing traits as I watched him in action and as he settled into the role of manager. The first instance was the intense dislike he developed towards someone who refused to participate in an activity that he enthusiastically organised. It was a weekend function for the department and I could understand some annoyance. However, I thought the treatment that ensued was harsh and vindictive. He seemed to take great pleasure in destroying this person through constant attack. It was as if he had just seen an enemy in sight. My colleagues and I were amazed to see the switch from the empathetic, warm and charismatic manager that we met on Day 1.
On a separate occasion, one of his staff took the initiative to make a change to a project that she was assigned. The person had exercised her discretion knowing that the manager didn’t want to get involved in the detail of the project. He summoned her into his office and proceeded to accuse her of ‘playing games’ and launched a scathing attack on her ability and immediately removed her responsibility for the project. She was dumbfounded. In this case, Mr S was a master of playing games and consistently pitted one manager against the other to improve his own position. This was achieved by weakening and dividing the positions of others. He would feed rumours to peer managers to sow seeds of discord.
PAUSE AND DISCUSS…
1. If you have to work closely with this person, would you tend to :
(a) Agree with his decision readily
(b) Establish rapport with the person even though you may disagree with some aspects of the decision
(c) Insist on your own way and deal with the consequences
2. What do you think is the core reason this manager behaves this way?
(a) Need for power and influence
(b) Need to look good
(c) Need for order and process
(d) Need for acceptance and approval
(e) Need for outcomes & results
Case Study 3
We met a client, Mr S, and our first impression was of an industrious, know it all and methodical manager. He dominated our meeting with his thoughts about how a particular service should be designed. Although we both had some years of experience in designing similar services, we were fully aware that he simply required our endorsement for his new approach. He allowed no room for our input.
He reminded us of Dr Jeckel and Mr Hyde in appearing competent, armed with all the right words, always deliberate and slow in his delivery, and donning the mannerisms of a conservative aristocrat We concluded that he was trying to project an image of doing the right thing and making his own indelible stamp on any project, often at the expense of common sense. The service mentioned was scheduled to be implemented in 3 months from the date of our first meeting. Despite the obvious imperative to move the service ahead, Mr S was obsessed with developing the perfect service model. This is typical of a production minded operator rather than a strategic thinking manager.
It was almost as if he was trying to impress all the key power brokers that he had a finger on the pulse and yet his efforts were misplaced due to the fast approaching deadline. We could never understand why he perpetually looked stressed and overworked when he was surrounded by willing people who could easily reduced his workload. This is typical of the mushroom syndrome where staff are left in the dark by a manager failing to delegate.
One of his most dedicated and competent long serving staff members had the misfortune of being on the receiving end of his performance review. Despite her obvious achievement and industrious nature in a grossly under resourced environment, she was given a very average performance appraisal. This is typical of an ego driven manager who feels that by bestowing recognition on someone else’s competence it might highlight his own incompetence.
This glimpse and our subsequent reflection on the event gave us an insight into a manager who was
q Image conscious
q A controller who doesn’t know how to let go
q Oblivious to the key skills and resources available to him
q Poor delegator for two reasons – one being that they are not informed and more importantly that he doesn’t recognise the talents and capabilities of his staff
q Secretive, who keeps his cards close to his chest
My first regional sales manager for a large financial company was another Mr S. He greeted me most enthusiastically on my first day as a sales manager. He was exceptionally well organised and obsessed with documentation and measurement of performance. However, this is where his management skills began and ended. He initially befriended me to gain my confidence and respect. It was only when I had spoken to the other sales managers that I realised that he had never been a sales person and had never successfully managed others to gain real commitment and mutual respect. Nineteen of the twenty-one sales managers I worked with had little or no respect for him and consistently said that he provided them with no real value in performing their job on a day-to-day basis. In fact the only feedback we ever received was negative feedback such as when we had not met our sales target.or when he felt personally threatened and his ego was bruised. He never had time to appraise us, support us in improving our skills. He would never go into a sales situation because he knows that his incompetence will be revealed and his image would be compromised. He was insincere and was only keen to spend time with you if his ego was being stroked or it allowed him to develop stronger negotiation position.
PAUSE & DISCUSSS
1. If you have to work closely with this manager, you tend to :
(a) Ask him to specify the outcome and time frame for your work prority
(b) Let him do what he wants to do and get on with your own work
(c) Demand justification for his appraisal and a third-party opinion
2. What is the core reason this manager behaves this way?
(a) Need for power and influence
(b) Need to look good
(c) Need for order and process
(d) Need for acceptance and approval
(e) Need for outcomes & results
CASE STUDY 4
Mr C came from a private school boy background and this was reflected in both his philosophy and style of management. Whilst he appeared to be friendly and cordial, his body language and demeanor projected an officious, aloof and arrogant aura. In this regard, many of his colleagues were guarded with their comments fearing that he might manipulate their words to suit his own purposes. He watched and observed and struck his ‘victim’ with no notice if the situation was either threatening or undesirable. However, if you were valuable to him, he would ask for your help to get out of a hole.
On a number of occasions, I tried to contact him to give him some feedback on the work that I had undertaken for him. He never returned my call and when I finally got in touch with him, I was greeted by a curt and distant voice, giving me the impression that my call was not welcomed. A conversation with him must be kept to the point, questions raised were usually vaguely responded to, and laced with some innuendoes of how busy he was, and frequently cut short with his trademark of “I’ve gotta go”.
One of our contractors was asked by Mr C to contact a client. No work eventuated from this and when the contractor followed up with Mr C as a true professional would do, he was given a commitment for future work but that of course never happened. A subsequent discussion with other colleagues confirmed his perception that Mr C is really a user, and if he has got no use for you he would not show you the basic human courtesy of returning your call.
On a separate occasion, he was as sweet as pie and all smiles to me because he needed me for an assignment at very short notice. He was chatty and using terms of endearments during our conversation, and was prepared to make some drastic changes to my schedule so as to accommodate his request. Mr C was as unpredictable as the weather – I’ll never know when he’s nice or when he’ll strike. It is probably this capricious nature that discouraged people from being close to him – it’s almost like that saying… you did not know when it was safe to get back into the water.
PAUSE & DISCUSS
1. If you work closely with this manager, you tend to
(a) Disregard his opinions and do just the opposite
(b) Go out of your way to avoid him because of his unpredictable nature
(c) Be courteous and yet confident in putting your views across
2. What is the core reason this manager behaves this way?
(a) Need for power and influence
(b) Need to look good
(c) Need for order and process
(d) Need for acceptance and approval
(e) Need for outcomes & results
CASE STUDY 5
Ms H is a visible character with a high degree of flamboyance and a well promoted vision of the future for her legal practice. When we first met Ms H we found her to be articulate and convincing in her presentation on the future of her company. She spoke with a passion and was seen as a breath of fresh air to the rather conservation organisation that she was now leading.
Ms H is always image-conscious and this was evidenced by the clothes she wore, the company she kept and the new age management terms that she used lavishly. Endowed with the gift of the gab, she charmed her way into people’s heart with inspiring talk and an appealing vision.
However, our experience with her had highlighted a darker side of her nature filled with ego-driven agendas and a “my way or the highway” mentality which clashed with the philosophy that people are the greatest assets of the organisation. An example surfaced when she clashed with the head of one of her successful business units. This triggered a stand-off between the very capable and experienced manager and Ms H where power was the ultimate factor in determining a result. It was no surprise when the manager resigned suddenly in the cloud of controversy. This was a typical mindset of a manager who needs to win at all costs despite the significant long term cost to the organisation. In this case, she was out to prove her prowess and to remind others of who was the boss, despite the casualties incurred.
From a female perceptive, Ms H might be trying to assert her presence in a male dominated environment. However, the tendency was to over assert herself in the process of establishing her territory and political influence. Her philosophy was that ‘attack is the best defence’ in a turbulent and hostile environment. This was also displayed with a high degree of controlling behaviour, dictating the terms in most circumstances. This inevitably created a sense of guarded behaviour in her staff similar to that experienced under Crocodile tendency. This often led to coercion rather than commitment.
PAUSE & DISCUSS ..
1. If you have to work closely with this manager, you tend to
(a) Tell her that you are not convinced that her current strategy is appropriate for the market.
(b) Acknowledge her recent achievement and then seek her opinion regarding an area of concern
(c) Avoid making eye contact as you pass her office
2. What is the core reason this manager behaves this way?
(a) Need for power and influence
(b) Need to look good
(c) Need for order and process
(d) Need for acceptance and approval
(e) Need for outcomes & results
CASE STUDY 6
Almost all observers had a similar view of Mr G after their first meeting. He was most amiable, friendly and good natured person. He was interested in other people and makes an effort to find out more about their motivation and their general interest and his memory served him well to this end. Unfortunately the Peter principle applied and Mr G was promoted into a management position without being equipped with the relevant skills knowledge and general aptitude to deliver in a senior role. He had average intelligence and appeared a little awkward in complex situations due to his limited experience in dealing with political animals.
He came from a business development background and would classify himself as a marketing professional despite little knowledge in marketing. He had a good heart and would genuinely try to do the best thing for his staff although sometimes he was misguided.
Mr G approached a staff member to do some work for his clients. The staff member’s reaction was an unconditional yes and in doing so he created an ally and their relationship has always been good. Unlike most managers, Mr G always values follow-up. The same staff member would always receive a well thought out note from Mr G after each project. He would always take the time to acknowledge the contribution of others and was an obvious team player with this type of reinforcing behaviour.
His staff always spoke highly of him as a down to earth person with the best of intentions. However, they generally viewed him as an ineffectual in the position without the creativity and strategic thinking necessary for such a role.
One of his fellow managers once commented that having a eye for detail was his strong point. She went on to say that Mr G was more preoccupied with being popular than to be effective. Hence he tended to take the soft option instead of taking hard and bold decisions. He was somewhat risk averse and tended to keep to the known rather than venture into the unknown. This impeded innovation and had created frustration among the more progressive staff.
PAUSE AND DISCUSS…
1. If you have to work closely with this manager, you tend to :
(a) Reinforce the positives rather than highlighting the obvious problem areas
(b) Be critical of his point of view and rationale in a departmental staff meeting
(c) Go to him privately and suggest an idea to improve current practices
2. What is the core reason this manager behaves this way?
(a) Need for power and influence
(b) Need to look good
(c) Need for order and process
(d) Need for acceptance and approval
(e) Need for outcomes & results
CASE STUDY 7
Mr B was considered a legend by some and self absorbed to others. When we first met, we were both sitting on the same selection panel, interviewing candidates for a middle management position. He asked increasingly difficult questions and was quite critical in his evaluation of the answers. He would constantly ask the ‘why’ questions, not accepting anything at face value and probing for evidence to validate his perception.
He also liked to think of himself as a philosopher and a behaviourial psychologist. A case in point was the day that he psycho-analysed a candidate based on the choice of his tie. After a protracted dialogue the candidate was informed that he did not exercise his free will but rather the choice was the result of his gender, society’s expectations, etc etc. Mr B enjoyed these highly provocative, psycho-analytical discussions as a means of satisfying his curiosity or displaying his knowledge.
Mr B was a self-proclaimed expert in body language – frequently living in a delusion that he was in the same league as Allan Pease. However, his expertise was put to a severe test when he misread many cues from candidates of non-Australian background. He tried to apply his body-language know how in interpreting the underlying motivations and attitude of these people, resulting in some rather hilarious outcomes.
On the positive front, his driving and relentless nature provided some extremely good results for the business units that he managed. He gathered all staff together and got everyone to agree on a process to service existing clients. He was very good at keeping people on track and managing their weaknesses, although sometimes in an unintentionally brutal manner. This resulted in a clash with a experienced sales staff who challenged his authority after her free rein was curtailed.
This is the type of manager that emphasised results and tasks more than people issues. He got on with the job at hand often at the expense of other people’s feelings. With a wealth of experience he often professed to be the fountain of all wisdom without keeping an open mind to new ideas.
PAUSE & DISCUSS
1. If you have to work closely with this manager, would you tend to ..
(a) Nod in agreement as you know that it is futile to argue your opinion
(b) Make light his comments and question the source of his information
(c) Listen attentively in non-judgemental manner, reflect back and suggest another angle
2. What is the core reason this manager behaves this way?
(a) Need for power and influence
(b) Need to look good
(c) Need for order and process
(d) Need for acceptance and approval
(e) Need for outcomes & results
CASE STUDY 8
Mr W was a pure intellectual and academic who assumed that this would provide him with a respected position in his community. He was dedicated and disciplined and his army background was blatantly obvious in the systematic ways that he dealt with clients and colleagues. He reminded me of a pontiff – always immaculately attired to boost his image and ego. His conversation was usually centred on his achievements or promoting himself.
An example of this was a recent project that I coordinated in which Mr W was a member. His ideas were highly theoretical, based on models and management jargon. During our debrief at the end of the project, his ideas were unanimously voted as the most impractical and most difficult to apply.
A psychologist friend of mine once described such behaviour as seeking justification rather than clarification. He immediately detailed the 10 reasons why others and other circumstances had led to the response by other team members. Not for one moment did he take any responsibility for delivering a poor result.
A similar experience occurred when he lost a tender with a local company. Mr W was highly defensive and critical of the selection process used. Rather than accepting personal responsibility for a proposal that did not meet the needs of the company, Mr W formally objected, asking why a reputable local provider with full quality certification would lose a contract to an uncertified out-of-town provider. This typified his ego-driven behaviour.
PAUSE & DISCUSS…
1. If you have to work closely with this manager, would you tend to
(a) Dispute his opinion as being biased
(b) Add little to the conversation and excuse yourself politely
(c) Smile and compliment his opinion in order to solicit more information
2. What is the core reason this manager behaves in this way?
(a) for outcomes and results
(b) Need for power and influence
(c) Need to look good
(d) Need for order and process
(e) Need for acceptance and approval
CASE STUDY 9
Mr E comes from a rich, aristocratic, well connected English background. It seems that some of the traits associated with this background had been passed on genetically or had been well learnt. He was highly articulate with a wonderful grasp of the English language, highly intelligent and hardworking and perceived to be charming to many people on their first encounter. Beneath this polished exterior was a rather imbalanced person with a highly manipulative nature. He would do and say almost anything to influence the behaviour of others in order to benefit himself. Despite some massive personality and ethnical flaws he covered his tracks extremely well and would give very little reason for concern to his superiors. He was in a senior directors role earning an enormous income as well as being privately wealthy and yet, will still take any opportunity to exploit the system, financially or emotionally. In fact he was such an emotional drain, and so street smart and intelligent that he typified the blood sucking nature of this animal. Here are some examples.
His secretary was industrious, devoted to her job and extremely enthusiastic and positive. This was the perfect victim for this animal variety as she was vulnerable to being exploited by someone who cared very little about her personal circumstances, only what she could do for him. On one occasion his secretary was holding a farewell dinner for her family. Her family was extremely close knit and it would be first occasion in 25 years that she would be separated from her husband and children due to her husband’s work commitment interstate. Knowing all of these details and the importance of this event, Mr E unloaded the ultimate guilt-trip on his secretary. He suggested that it was critical for her to finish the minutes of a management meeting or ‘I’ll just have to come in on Saturday and do it myself but you know what my skills are like. I am dreadfully sorry to ask for your help and you know I would normally not ask unless it was absolutely critical for the organisation.’ In his second breath, he told her of her obligation to attend management drinks after working hours despite her important personal commitment. As the dedicated family person and dedicated organisation worker, this created an enormous conflict of interest and stress which could only be resolved through the assertive intervention from another staff member. When she returned on Monday morning, Mr E was quick to share his disappointment in a subtle way while still making his point.
He would always put his work commitments over family commitments even in the case of the ill-health of his son. He would justify the means with the ends. From an ethical standpoint he had no hesitation in using the system and would even ask his secretary to pay all of his personal bills and purchase presents in work time. Mr E had significant power over willing to please, passive and dedicated staff members. Several of his women staff members fall into this category suffered ongoing manipulation even though it was carried out in highly sophisticated manner. He also influenced male staff member by appealing to their sense of power and by complimenting and recognising them and building their egos so that he could then extract whatever favours he desired.
PAUSE AND DISCUSS….
1. If you have to work closely with this manager, would you tend to ..
(a) Give him enough information on a regular basis to keep him off your back
(b) Try to satisfy his work requirements
(c) Tell him that you think his behaviour is manipulative and deceptive
2. What is the core reason this manager behaves in this way?
(a) for outcomes and results
(b) Need for power and influence
(c) Need to look good
(d) Need for order and process
(e) Need for acceptance and approval
CASE STUDY 10
I remember my first encounter with Mr R in a meeting. I looked across the room to a sea of faces and saw a pale-faced, nervous person starring at me. I was instantly suspicious of him. Whilst we developed a good working relationship over the years, I never truly trusted Mr R and was always a little unsure of his motives.
Mr R’s incessant bantering and war stories earned him the reputation as being a motor-mouth and very often shooting from the hip. The term loose cannon was often used to describe him. He was very skilled in ‘networking’ and sourcing information from the grape vine, sometimes in rather unorthodox ways. When I first met Mr R, I too had mixed impressions. I arrived on the scene as a new consultant and Mr R quickly saw his role as my expert coach. He talked 10 times more than he listened, describing the role of a consultant and many of the cultural problems and political issues that were to confront me. It became very obvious over the short conversation that Mr R had a strong imagination and intelligence, with many ideas about our industry and new approaches to the business. On the negative side, it was also obvious that he was highly critical of others, highly resentful of authority and bureaucracy and in many ways self-serving. I learned to listen intently, taking in the information but to retain very little due to its distorted perspective. We had a very good arms length relationship and I was careful to keep it this way and not to provide any ammunition that could be used against me in the future.
Mr R did become a very good source of innovative ideas and techniques once you gained his confidence, but I remained guarded in the information we exchanged.
PAUSE & DISCUSS
1. If you have to work closely with this manager, would you tend to
(a) Tell him he talks too much and needs to get back on track
(b) Listen and tactfully ask a question to steer the conversation in the right direction
(c) Let him dominant a conversation
2. What is the core reason this manager behaves in this way?
(a) for outcomes and results
(b) Need for power and influence
(c) Need to look good
(d) Need for order and process
(e) Need for acceptance and approval
Case Study 11
Mr F was a true visionary who had a mind for strategic thinking and global issues. He was constantly scanning the market place for opportunities that could help him move towards his vision. In this regard, he was very good at developing concepts and ideas but very poor in managing the details and the follow through on many of these projects. His conceptual skills were supported by high intelligence and an innovative approach to decision making process.
The first example that supported his innovative approach related to the selection process for his staff. Mr F’s philosophy was to provide employment to skilled people that were well matched to the organisation, even if he had to change the position description!!! You could never call Mr F a manager with tunnel-vision or someone with a blinkered view. He had an uncanny knack of making the situation work for him and the organisation. This included a comprehensive justification process to convince the hierarchy that his ideas were full proofed. Mr F was most convincing in this role as an influencer, trying to convince others of adopting a new idea or concept. In marketing terms, Mr F would be considered a classic innovator, who took hold of new ideas and concepts well before they were accepted by the market place.
Mr F did not only rely on his visionary and innovative approach. This was well supported by his skill in articulating his vision and inspiring others through the use of well chosen words and visual images that would sell the benefits of his ideas. I always remembered sitting in a consultant meeting and being convinced beyond a doubt that the organisation was ideally suited to adopting a multimedia approach to its services. Another consultant dismissed the idea and stated that it did not really matter what he thought, as the manager would probably do it anyway. In retrospect many of the working details were missing from his presentation and the idea was too advanced for its audience. However, if we were to vote on adopting the concept I would have firmly supported Mr F. simply because of his oratorical skills and perhaps our tendency to be easily misled!!!
In many ways Mr F did the small things that made a significant difference to staff. Things that most managers would never even think of. If a staff member was away on a work assignment, he would phone their spouse just to see if they were coping well. Mr F called me at home after my first day of training just to check that all had gone well and to provide his moral support and assurance. If he came across any interesting assignments, he would contact me immediately to see if I was interested.
These small things did make a difference and created the impression that he was concerned for your welfare, as well as his way of “making deposits in our emotional bank accounts” for withdrawals in the future. He was an advocate and a practitioner of Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective
People.
PAUSE & DISCUSS
1. If you have to work closely with this manager, would you tend to
(a) Tell him you like the idea but would require more detail before making any commitment
(b) Accept the project even though you know you are pushed for time
(c) Tell him “just do what you want. You don’t listen to what I have to say anyway”
2. What is the core reason this manager behaves in this way?
(a) for outcomes and results
(b) Need for power and influence
(c) Need to look good
(d) Need for order and process
(e) Need for acceptance and approval
CASE STUDY 12
The Black Panther was the name we gave to this Senior Manager of a large publishing firm. Tall, sleek and swift in movements, this man moved with the agility and grace of the one of the big cats. He was known to be quick and decisive, a man of few words and yet had the ability to instill fear and respect from those he managed and led.
Being responsible for a multi-million dollar business, he was well trained and conditioned to make quick decisions based on gut feelings and intuition. When there was a problem, he would very swiftly move in and take control, often at the expense of other people’s feeling. In meetings, I would observe him very quietly sitting on the boundaries, carefully watching and interpreting the information that was presented. He would not dominate the meeting with his words but his presence would be felt by all attendees. He was almost like a big cat prowling the perimeters and waiting for an opportune moment to go for the kill. To this end, he was constantly ‘feared’ and many people would react by covering their tracks so that they were never susceptible to his wrath.
Another example of the Big Cat family was found in Mr Z, a sales manager for a large multinational insurance company. This man did not suffer fools gladly and with a high intellect found it very easy to cut people down in their tracks if he felt they were vulnerable or incompetent. He was highly successful as a sales person with an assertive nature, bordering on aggressiveness. He was very much a loner who had high professional standards and would not tolerate any variations from the model of the ideal sales person. I often attended sales meeting as an external consultant where the sales manager was the chair. The meeting would be totally ineffective as all attendees were afraid to do anything but agree. In all of these meetings, I had never seen a sales person win an argument with this man. He was far too sharp, too intelligent and too brutal to ever be successfully challenged. He was managed by one of our ‘Snakes’ (case 2) and would never tolerate any vague comments or weak behaviour from his manager. It appeared to me that his manager was afraid of him not knowing how to manage and control him. On occasions where he felt that the discussions were futile or or no benefit to him, he would simply collect his notes and stormed out of the meeting. As he was successful in his own right with significant asset backing, he was in a position of power. It was often a question of the organisation towing the line rather than him adapting to the organisation.
PAUSE & DISCUSS
1. If you have to work closely with this manager, would you tend to
(a) Insist on taking action even though it would clash with his recommended approach
(b) Always ask him for his recommendation before making any decision
(c) Research your facts and present options with a fool-proof rationale
2. What is the core reason this manager behaves in this way?
(a) Need for outcomes and results
(b) Need for power and influence
(c) Need to look good
(d) Need for order and process
(e) Need for acceptance and approval
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