How to Spot and "Fix" Manager Problems*

1. Ten percent of your organisation's employees will be laid off within the week, and you convened a meeting of top managers to let them know. You then instructed them to tell their teams. You discovered that one manager put the bad news in an email addressed "To whom it may concern," with no explanation and no offer to discuss the bad news in person. How do you address this?

A. Ask the manager why he chose this method of imparting information and ask him how he likes to receive upsetting news.

B. Ignore what he did and inform his team members yourself.

C. Tell him his performance is unsatisfactory and that he will lose his job if he does not fix it.

2. You told one of your managers that she often appears arrogant to others, offered her several examples of her behaviour that led to this reputation, and told her that she is valuable to the organisation. Next, you:

A. Find yourself in shock as she glares at you and tells you that she does not know what you are talking about.

B. Understand that she might be put off by the information and offer her time to think about it before meeting with you again to figure out the best way to proceed.

C. Deliver the bad news as just news, adding, "I just thought you would want to know."

3. One of your organisation's teams has the best skills for creating a new website for your organisation. However, the team manager is new at the job and inexperienced at goal setting. You worry he will not get the project done on time. You:

A. Decide to let the new manager wing it without your oversight. If he fails, he fails. This is a good learning experience for him.

B. Assign the responsibility to another team, even though its members are bogged down with projects and do not have website expertise.

C. Meet with the whole team and tell team members what they will need to accomplish, giving them specifications and firm deadlines. You set another meeting in a few days in which they will present their ideas for getting the job accomplished. After that, you meet with the team manager on a regular basis to get reports.

4. Changes are coming for your organisation that will alter the way every department operates. Your next step is to:

A. Meet with all department leaders together and tell each one that they will need to figure out how to make the changes work for their departments.

B. Ask top leaders to explain to your managers what will happen so you will not have to be involved in imparting the message yourself.

C. Meet with all department leaders together to impart the news, then schedule individual meetings to determine how to best prepare for the changes in each department.

5. A new young manager who shows signs of excellence in almost all aspects of his job cannot seem to see beyond the confines of his department. You:

A. Put him on a team that works in each department at different times of the month and performs a variety of duties.

B. Punish him by leaving him out of the informational loop.

C. Ignore the behaviour and hope that his blinders will disappear with time and experience.

Correct answers to Pop Quiz
1. A: Ask the manager why he chose this method of imparting information, and ask him how he likes to receive upsetting news. After that, help him figure out how best to "retell" his team so that he can fix the damage as much as possible. This will impart an important lesson about communication. Determine the best way to give him regular feedback.

2. B: Understand that she might be put off by the information, and offer her time to think about it before meeting with you again to figure out the best way to proceed. Anytime you give someone upsetting personal news, give that person a chance to digest it before trying to determine a solution. Follow-up is a must.

3. C: Meet with the whole team and tell team members what they will need to accomplish, giving them specifications and firm deadlines. You set another meeting in a few days in which they will present their ideas for getting the job accomplished. After that, you meet with the team manager on a regular basis to get reports. This is how you set the example for your inexperienced manager. Scheduling regular meetings with him will help him to set deadlines.

4. C: Meet with all department leaders together to impart the news, then schedule individual meetings to determine how to best prepare for the changes in each department. Sweeping changes deserve focused attention from the top. Don't expect someone else to do your job.

5. A. Put him on a team that works in all departments at different times of the month and performs a variety of duties. This manager needs more education about other aspects of the organisation. Someday he will be doing your job.

*Quiz adapted from Profiles International's "Five Critical Management Derailers: Symptoms and Remedies."