Posts Tagged ‘decision making’
Party Like it’s 1776: Declare Independence from Middle Management Syndrome!
Monday, July 4th, 2011
Today being Independence Day, I thought it would be an ideal time to explore a topic directly affecting many of those who plan and attend NYC team building activities. As a manager in your company – perhaps you are in charge of the team or division, head of the HR department or even the company itself – you are under a tremendous amount of pressure from both above and below to get things done. In a sense, everyone in a leadership role is a middle manager dealing with both direct reports who have their needs, issues and concerns, as well as bosses, clients and other stakeholders whose expectations must be met.
When I was in business school, we had a case study in our organizational behavior management class which I loved called “Bob Knowlton.” Perhaps one of the best-known studies in its area, the piece depicts a fictional employee, Bob, a skilled tech worker who does his job well – so well, in fact, that he is suddenly promoted into a management role, directly supervising a handful of his former peers. Sounds pretty good, right? The only problem is, while Bob is technically proficient in a specialized practice area, he is neither trained nor experienced as a manager of people. Bob soon finds his days filled with the frustrations, fears and politics of middle management, on top of his own work duties.
This “middle manager syndrome” is really quite typical, isn’t it? Someone becomes competent at their job, get promoted, and soon faces a host is scenarios & situations which have nothing to do with the work itself, but with delegation, performance and supervision. At the same time, those above are seeking accountability from the newly-promoted on a far greater scale than ever before. What is a middle manager to do, when there are so many stakeholders to appease?
I argue that “middle manager syndrome” can be kicked to the curb the moment managers decide they are no longer going to try and please everyone all the time. Yes, of course it’s important to keep the bosses and clients happy, and direct reports cannot simply be ignored; however, to truly break free of the familiar “Bob Knowlton” trap, managers should instead seek to devote themselves fully to a set of key professional goals and objectives, and do whatever it takes to get there. It’s a change of mindset from “keeping everyone happy” to “getting things done” which will make all the difference, and allow people to declare independence from “middle manager syndrome” once and for all.
But that’s just my opinion, a lowly NYC corporate event entertainment company owner. Are you an HR professional, management or industrial organizational expert? What are your thoughts on how to overcome “middle management syndrome?”
Taking the Terror Out of Running Huge Trivia Events
Tuesday, June 21st, 2011
When I first started hosting pub quiz nights 5 years ago, my approach was completely low-tech. With a small crowd of fewer than 25 people, I found that all I needed was a stack of trivia questions, a pen and paper to jot down scores, and piles of answer sheets for the participants. When my sleepy quiz suddenly exploded into the biggest bar trivia night in Manhattan, I upgraded to a laptop to keep score – a tool which I use to this day when running private events or large pub quiz nights of up to 100 people or so, and which allows me to handle the entire event by myself.
However, what happens when suddenly the event calls for entertaining 250 people? That’s exactly what we faced last week, at our special trivia fund raiser in support of VH1 Save The Music Foundation. With a massive audience and the same 2-hour time limit as our other live trivia parties, how could we possibly deliver a trivia event which would run smoothly and efficiently?
The first thing I had to address was manpower. Much as I love running events on my own, with a trivia night of this scale, it would be simply impossible for me to grade and input all of the team names in a timely manner. I arranged for more than enough extra hands to assist, and divided them into two teams: graders, and runners. The graders were seated at a long table near the stage, with one being designated the laptop operator/data entry guy. Runners were deployed at the end of each round, and given the task of collecting answer sheets. A 1-minute hand-in rule was also implemented, which helped keep things moving along swiftly.
Next item: seating. With so many people, what is the optimal way to configure chairs and tables? The solution here came from the clever mind of the venue’s general manager, who understood instinctively the unique challenges of configuring a large trivia event- namely, people need to sit, in groups, and can’t block the aisles or exits. The answer came in the form of long rows facing each other, a-la speed dating; the result was natural order, structure, and ample space for people to get up and hand answer sheets, or visit the bar. Brilliant!
Finally, there was the issue of event flow. Even with an army of graders and runners, it still takes time to grade literally dozens of answer sheets, and we don’t want to interrupt the natural rhythm of the event by having to call extended breaks in between rounds. The solution? Mid-round “mini-games,” whereby we called individuals up by drawing raffle tickets, and letting them answer 1-on-1 trivia questions for prizes. Not only did this add a new dimension of trivia to the event, but it allowed our graders the time they needed to do their job without the crowd growing restless.
I’ve run many large trivia events, but this one in particular required extra love and attention, and I was very pleased with how it turned out. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions as to how we could have made this or other mega-trivia events run event more efficiently? I’d love to hear! Please leave your recommendations below.
The 3 Most Important Skills to Practice at Team Building Activities
Monday, April 11th, 2011
So you’ve decided to hold a “team building exercise,” and have everyone from the group, department or company participate. Do you have a goal in mind?
For many HR managers and executive staff, the true goal of team building activities in New York City and elsewhere is rather nebulous. Yes, there is value in taking a step back and lifting everyone outside of the daily grind, in order to have a shared positive experience; however, what is the purpose for your event? Without a clear idea of what skills you want your staff to take back with them to the office, you may just we wasting everyone’s valuable time- and halting productivity in the process.
Below are the 3 most important skills which every team building activity must incorporate, in order to have a lasting positive impact on your group which will favorably affect performance:
1) Collaboration – Events which are designed to promote group interaction should naturally foster meaningful collaboration as well. As the world gets flatter and digital technology becomes faster and more efficient, the need for employees and senior staff alike to practice meaningful collaborative skills has never been greater, and will only increase in the years to come.
2) Communication – With a faster, more interconnected world comes the need to manage an ever-growing number of emails, texts, calls and meetings (both live and virtual). Mastering group and interpersonal communication skills is vital to staff at all levels, especially as the constant demand for our time and attention across a variety of mediums forces us to sacrifice the care we put into how we communicate with one another.
3) Decision Making – Perhaps the most vital skill for employees at all levels to master, sound decision making is a skill shared by successful leaders in every industry. Events such as this offer a unique opportunity for teams to practice decision making in a group setting, without “real world” consequences.
Teamwork will play an increasingly vital role in the rapidly transforming digital workplace. Skills that allow employees to work better as a team by collaborating better, communicating more effectively and making crisp, clear decisions should be an absolute priority for companies who want to compete effectively and efficiently in the years to come.
What are some other important skills which team building activities should help employees develop?
TrivWorks founder David Jacobson blogs daily on a wide range of topics relevant to corporate event entertainment, team building and live trivia. 
