BUSINESS KILLING MISTAKES #5 – FOLLOWING THE WRONG MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY

Using the wrong management philosophies – Or suffering from them

If you are a manager or report to management, there is a high probability that you either follow or, worse yet, are suffering from one of three of the most common and ridiculously bad “Management Philosophies” still around. You must change now, or you might become embarrassingly rich from being embarrassing.

What is the big managerial mistake bosses make?

During a meeting on implementing the roadmap from Entrepreneur to Millionaire (E2M) with the topic focused on transforming good managers into great leaders, one of the attendees stopped me and said, “You just described our upper management when you shared the ‘Seagull Management Theory.’ Are there other bad management methods, and how do we make sure we never follow those ourselves?”

Then another person piped up and said, “I have a tougher question. How do we handle a boss who uses one of these stale management methods on us?” 

In this article, I will share a few of the most common, almost evil, management approaches that are being followed by bosses all over the world. In addition, I will add some that I have identified that are just as bad. Make sure to read the article and share it with your employees so that you know what not to do, what to do if they are done to you, and why you should never even think about using these stale and off-putting business practices. 

Are you following one of these bad management philosophies?

A management philosophy is a belief system or overarching approach to squeezing the most out of a team or employees. You’ve probably heard managerial adages such as, “You manage someone’s head but should lead their heart.” There are hundreds like this in management and leadership books. 

However, here are three different management theories that I see all the time and where the boss might feel good about the reaction, but sustainable high performance will NEVER be achieved. How many of these have you used or have been used on you? 

#1) Seagull Management Theory. This is from one of Ken Blanchard’s book. I describe this situation as to where the superior flies in and flaps their proverbial wings making a lot of noise and commotion – crapping on everyone – and then flies back out. Too many bosses believe it’s their job to make noise and “shake things up.” Why? Because people jump or act busy when the boss is around, but not only do things go back to normal when he leaves but the morale can be damaged forever.

#2) Mushroom Management Theory. If you have had any experience growing mushrooms, you know they must be nurtured in a dark room, and you must keep manure spread all over them. Yes, many teams, from small groups to even corporate management teams, are treated the same way – kept in the dark and the only real information they get is full of spit (you can use the other “s” word). 

Why does this depraved approach ever happen? It’s because over 98% of managers are not connected with what is really going on, what is changing, or see the big picture inside companies. So, they just make it up and allow the fertilizer to spread. 

#3) Whack-a-Mole Management Theory. Have you ever been to a state fair or seen the game with a flat tabletop with about a dozen holes on top? And then, at different times, a furry animal’s head, like a mole, pops up? If so, then you know the game “Whack-a-Mole.” 

The Whack-a-Mole management practice is based on bashing the head of anyone who sits up too high, gets out of line, questions authority, or challenges corporate dogma. In the past, the whacking was a direct physical confrontation or tangible abuse. Today, most managers have been through some form of “sensitivity training,” so they use more indirect and obscure, even covert means to penalize the non-compliant. I can almost guarantee this has been done to you if you have tried to be a high performer by working outside the box. 

Why managers follow these bad practices

These super-bad management practices work – instantly and for a while. But over time, the people and teams become used to them, and they laugh or tell jokes behind the manager’s back. 

WHAT is the impact of bad management?

Flawed management practices like the ones listed above are incredibly damaging. Here are just a few of the ways:

1. Increasing turnover and churn of your most important employees – your talent; 
2. Creates mistrust among the team and up and down the chain of command;
3. Penalizes entrepreneurial thinking, one of most important competencies in the “new normal”;
4. Destroys morale; 
5. Rewards “go-along, get-along” worker zombies; 
6. Turns off potential talent who won’t join the company or that group.

How have leaders tried to fix bad bossing?

Believe it or not, the solution to bad management in too many companies is “more management.” Yes, as ridiculous as that sounds. When management isn’t seeing any great change or the level of results they need, they add more management – but not just more human managers. They add more meetings, more huddles, more one-on-ones, more reports, more team calls, etc. 

It’s ironic but what is causing the problem is the exact thing that CEOs, entrepreneurs, and business owners do more of but then hope for positive results. 

Why hasn’t the ‘don’t be a bad manager’ fix worked?

A big reason these methods are followed is that they create a “jump” from employees – a short-term knee-jerk reaction. Bad managers like to see some form of response or physical adjustment in their workforce, when they appear, even if it is just a show or theater. 

Another reason these methods don’t work is because they are managerial. 

CHANGE – WHAT MUST YOU DO DIFFERENTLY OR CALL OUT

However, the biggest reason these bad-boss practices fail is deeper than usually thought, and you should be alarmed. As you read Chapter 15 – Talent Optimization in my book, you learned two critically important lessons about management. 

First of all, you should only be hiring talent – at ALL levels of your firm.

Second, talent does not want, does not like, and will never accept being “managed”. 

The “big change” you must make is quite radical, but here it is, and it is how so many of our clients have achieved jaw-dropping results. 

1. Eliminate or remove management.
2. Real talent only respects leadership – not managers who are mostly redundant. 

Now the second question from the audience. How do you respond to being “mishandled” by one of these absurd managerial practices? 

Call the bad manager out. For example, ask them with tongue securely in cheek ̶ sarcastically, “Are you using the Mushroom Management Theory right now, because I feel like I’m being left in the dark?” If they don’t catch on, then share this article and help save them. 

Benefits of doing it the new way

There are hundreds of benefits of transforming flawed management approaches including:

1. Companies with less management and more effective leadership make more money;
2. Great talent will be attracted AND retained;
3. Your competitors will be wasting their time and money trying to be “great managers.” 

Summary – key learning point

I listed three of the worst management philosophies still around today. Managers are a dying breed as future workers won’t tolerate being “managed” – good or bad. Talent welcomes effective leadership but runs from bosses who “seagull”, “mushroom”, or like “whacking people”.

Here is what to do right now 

1. Write down a time when your superior has used one or a combination of bad practices I mentioned above in the piece;
2. Write down or reflect on a time when you might have been guilty of one of the above. If you’ve been in management for any length of time, you have probably committed one of the above;
3. Make sure to read Chapter 15 – Talent Optimization in Entrepreneur to Millionaire and discuss with them the difference between talent and employee; 
4. Talk with your team when they feel like they are being managed versus being led;
5. Contact us about transforming your good managers into great leaders.

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AUTHOR BACKGROUND

Kent Billingsley is the founder and president of the Revenue Growth® Company, LLC (TRGC). He is a published author, international keynote speaker, and business transformation expert. He has become America’s Revenue Growth® Architect by helping thousands of entrepreneurs and CEOs (representing over a million employees) generate several billion in new sales, as well as tens of billions in new revenue and profits for large corporations. He has personally designed, built, transformed, and turbocharged several thousand organizations in 36 countries. Over the last 20 years, his proprietary content and trademarked programs have helped thousands of entrepreneurs and employees become millionaires and multimillionaires by “creating wealth” inside their companies. He can be reached at [email protected].