Entry #6 The One Minute Manager Key Concepts - Rewrite

I recently had the opportunity to read “The One Minute Manager” by Ken Blanchard for my KNR management class this semester and the points made in the book definitely caught my attention. The book “The One Minute Manager” is a simple reading that is very applicable to my life and future endeavors. I believe that all managers, both new and experienced, make mistakes they can all learn from by reading this book. Sometimes managers believe there are helping their employees, but in reality they could possibly be hurting them. “The One Minute Manager” opened my outlook on various managerial styles and the idea that positive habits and learning from past mistakes can benefit managers of all types.

There are three of many key ideas to being a “One Minute Manager,” below are my interpretations of the three I found to be important and reasons why I recommend reading the book:

One Minute Goal Setting: “the number one motivator of people is feedback on results”

It sounds like a simple idea, but many employees have no clue what their managers want and expect from them. The One Minute Managers overcome this by having their employees write down their goals in 250 words or less and focus on the positives. Again, keeping the goals simple and trusting the employees to meet their goals are important. I like to set my goals based on the acronym: SMART. As a coach, we utilize this method when goal setting prior to competition, practice, and in the classroom. It’s important to note that goals must be set at a level that achievement is possible within a specific timeframe. Below is a picture describing what SMART goals include:

Picture retrieved from google images: https://wikispaces.psu.edu/display/PSYCH484/6.+Goal+Setting+Theory

The One Minute Manager also encourages employees to revisit their goals weekly and review them periodically with their manager to determine if they need to be adjusted as the employee grows in his/her role. One mistake many managers make is assuming their employees know exactly what their manager’s expect from them. This brings up an important point about continually evaluating and reevaluating employees. Building this trustworthy relationship upon reliance is a great asset to any company or organization. The need to constant communication among coworkers to ensure everyone is working towards the mission or vision is of the most importance. Managers must make themselves available and have the willingness to work one on one with all employees to make this happen.

In relation to class materials this semester goal setting is an extremely important aspect of the planning and organizational structure of a business. This process involves six steps that include: analysis, vision, mission, goals, strategies, and action plans. The planning typically is a long process, so the sooner it can be developed and put into action the more applicable it becomes. More specifically, the goal setting portion of the plan determines what needs accomplished in order to achieve the vision of the company.  In order to find the solution, strategies with specific action plans are put into place and continually evaluated. One minute goal setting can be an essential part of this plan because it makes certain employees are constantly working toward the shared vision of the company.

One Minute Praising’s: “help people reach their full potential…catch them doing something right”

One Minute Managers sometimes catch people doing things right or somewhat right in the workplace. As soon as the manager observes the positive behavior, they tell the employee what they specifically did right and how it makes him or her feel by reinforcing the praising. The mistake that many mangers make is only communicating with employees, especially great employees, when they make a mistake. In reality, what happens is that good employees who are doing things right only receive negative feedback and not enough positive feedback. I observe this dilemma in the coaching profession on a daily basis. Sometimes coaches have their “favorites” or their “starter” that receives the most praise and the others are left on the back burner. In some cases these “favorites” receive a lot of the negative praise because the coach expects more out of them and if they make mistakes it means a lot more than if a non-starter were to make a mistake. It is important to praise everyone equally or not at all. This is where athletic programs run into the problem of having people quit, lack of effort, and disruptions to the team. If everyone receives praise on the team and staff it creates a more positive relationship that will result in success and teamwork.

One Minute Praising’s remind me a lot about how managers gain trust from their employees. This all relates back to the article by Ron Zemke “Can You Manage Trust?”  The article states that “Trust is the foundation of good relationships with employees and customers alike-and it’s eroding on both fronts. What’s a manager do?” A couple ways to gain trust are managing expectation by being clear with people about what is expected, establishing boundaries, delegating appropriately by giving opportunities to employees that guarantee success, and  honoring agreements by keeping your word and “walking the talk.” I think this quote from the article says a lot about whether a manager is successful or not: “Trust is a test that is passed or failed on a daily basis, not something one can build and walk away from. Continually giving one minute praising’s just one way to keep building trust within a work environment.
One Minute Reprimands:
One Minute Managers use reprimands to correct and redirect behavior in the workplace. When the manager observes someone doing something negative, he/she will tell them immediately and specifically. The manager tells the employee what he/she is doing incorrectly as an action. This means the manager is never reprimanding them as a person. He/she will also tell them how it makes them feel, and redirect them back to their One Minute Goals to encourage the person to do better next time. By focusing on correcting their behavior in the future and letting them know why can do it is the key element.  The mistake managers make is the “Reprimand” sandwich. This is when they say a positive, then a negative, then a positive. This does the employee no good because when you give a compliment the employee then expects a negative and the idea of One Minute Praising’s is eliminated.  Under certain circumstances it is ok to be positive, but this must take place at the right time and place. The manager must establish their grounds in order to eliminate the same mistakes over and over again. Second and third chances cannot be tolerated multiple times because that would make for a very inefficient operation. Reprimanding an employee is something that takes confidence and authority, but will benefit both the manager and his/her employees in the long run.

I think One Minute Reprimands relate closely with the topic of Performance Appraisals discussed in class. These appraisals can be a formal method for assessing how well people are doing with respect to their assigned goals. As a manager, these are essential to making decisions on salary and promotions. Managers typically use what they call 360-degree feedback for bring the observations of employees.  As part of the process for effective appraisals, managers must prepare, have appraisal meetings, identify both good and bad performance, find the root cause of performance gaps, plan how the gaps can be closed, reevaluate goals, documentation of the meetings, and a follow-up of the employee’s progress.
In summary of “The One Minute Manager,” I have gained three key ingredients to being a successful manager: tell people what they did wrong, tell people how you feel about it, and remind people that they are valuable and worthwhile. All of these elements along with setting goals can help lead to improvements in employee behavior and a successful work environment.