Adapting Your Managing Style to Focus Both on People and Results, Not Just One

Businesses all around the world have a wide variety of employees and managers. Even with that variety, something that is relatively consistent is that once someone uses a managing style they usually stick with it. That is the way they have always done it so why change now. This is how the book The New One Minute Manager begins. There is a man going to many different businesses interviewing managers and asking them about how they manage their employees. What he finds is that the managers are either people-focused or results-focused but not both. They are either nice or tough and both examples do not see a reason to change because that is how they have always done it. The man sees this again and again. Until he meets The New One Minute Manager.

Cover of The New One Minute Manager

The New One Minute Manager teaches the man that there are three secrets to the way he manages that work and allow him to focus on both people and results:

1. One Minute Goals
2. One Minute Praisings
3. One Minute Re-Directs

These three secrets can be used by anyone to become a One Minute Manager. They can especially be used in Management Principles. The areas of Management Principles include planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling.

Management Functions Diagram

In each of these areas of Management Principles, managers can use the secrets of The New One Minute Manager to help their employees better manage themselves and hopefully enjoy their job more in the process. Here is how:

One Minute Goals —

With One Minute Goals, managers and employees can avoid the common misunderstanding that usually happens in a job where the employee thinks that their job is supposed to be doing “A” and the manager thinks the employee’s job is to be doing “B.” In the case of One Minute Goals, the employee would write down the most important goals that they will be working towards. Each goal will be on a separate piece of paper and only take a few paragraphs to write down along with the due date of that goal. Then the employee can send a copy of the goals to their manager. This way both the manager and the employee are on the same page with what the goals are. With One Minute Goals, the employee can frequently review their goals since each goal will only take about a minute to look over. And if the employee is not moving toward a goal, they can adjust their behavior accordingly.

One Minute Praisings —

By using One Minute Praisings managers can let employees know when they are doing something right as opposed to only informing the employee when they have done something wrong. As soon as possible after the manager notices that the employee has done something right, or in the beginning almost right, the manager can talk to the employee about it. The first part of the One Minute Praising consists of the manager telling the employee specifically what they did right along with how that made the manager feel. The manager then pauses so the employee can also feel good about what they’ve done. After the pause, the manager then reinforces the praise by saying keep up the good work.

One Minute Re-Directs —

Employees are human so they are going to make mistakes. This is where One Minute Re-Directs come in. Like with One Minute Praisings it is important for the manager to notify the employee as soon as possible after they notice the employee made a mistake so that the mistake does not continue to happen. Before giving a One Minute Re-Direct, the manager can discuss with the employee to make sure that the goal effected is clear. If it is not then the manager takes responsibility and clarifies the goal with the employee. The One Minute Re-Direct consists of two parts. First like with the One Minute Praisings, the manager will let the employee know specifically what they did and how it made the manager feel. Then the manager pauses so that the employee can reflect on how they feel about the mistake as well. The One Minute Re-Direct ends with the manager letting the employee know that they are better than their mistake and the manager continues to value the employee as a team member.

Summary of The One Minute Manager’s Game Plan

The three secrets of the New One Minute Manager: One Minute Goals, One Minute Praisings, and One Minute Re-Directs can be used by managers and employees alike in any area of business. This includes each area of management principles: planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. These tools do not need to be constantly used by managers but maybe more frequently with a new employee and at the start of new projects. Then as the employee gets more comfortable with the process the manager can see which of the tools needs to be used more and which less with each employee. Managers can use these secrets to help their employees become better at managing themselves and enjoy their job more in the process. The New One Minute Manager secrets can help managers adapt and be able to focus on both employees and results rather than having to choose one over the other.

References:

Johnson, S., & Blanchard, K. (2015). The New One Minute Manager. HarperCollins Publishers.

[Management Functions Diagram]. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_small-business-management-in-the-21st-century/section_16/469caae9e54375db8c306524bd45c32b.jpg

[The New One Minute Manager]. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://www.kenblanchard.com/getmetafile/9cf8b1b4-22b3-48fa-8667-df0559b9297c/new-omm-book-cover-1?maxsidesize=370

[The One Minute Manager’s Game Plan]. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C5112AQFLH6OxFE8tVA/article-inline_image-shrink_1000_1488/0/1520256225265?e=2147483647&v=beta&t=gnYazF83of5pqCWPPb9hezV6t31Ycx4W1dcYm-20-HU