What if someone you are managing says they know it already?
Do they? “Yeah boss, I know this. This was a good refresher. This reinforced what I know already.” If I hear that one more time, I may in fact want to rip my own arm off and strike that person. I realize that may be a bit impulsive and perhaps a little frightening. But then again, as everyone in the universe says “Americans are so violent”. Here’s the thing. I find this is the comment made by someone mediocre at best. Is this a validation of their apathy or inadequacy or is it a call for help? I am not the “end all be all” and I am not the “burning bush.” I know this. What I am challenged by is when someone in a position of leadership says “they get it” and they are not doing it. Either they know it and they choose not to implement it or they really do not know it and they are choosing not to reach for something to make them better. I have a heart for helping managers manage better.
Now let’s put things in another perspective. This post is for managers (at least, this is what I like to think). If you manage the hypothetical team of five, what if one of them is the “know-it-all.” They point blank say, “yep, I got this” or “I know this already.” Then you as manager must commit to some type of action that PROVES IT. Have them teach back the lesson. Shadow them in their next couple of customer interactions. Review at the end of the day what they did, how they did it and what they feel was the best/worst part. Challenge them to mentor someone else. Because here is another possibility, they may actually know it. And know it well. While the beginning of this post may have sounded like I think everyone is lying; that is not the case. That was my way of getting a reaction from you. There are some who absolutely get “it”. They do know how to do “it”. Let them flourish and share beast practices. Acknowledge them and recognize their abilities. That in a way is not the issue. Although sometimes, managers are not very good at acknowledging positive things. We like to fix the negative stuff and that is the only time we offer feedback. Again that is not the issue. The issue is when someone believes they are the fountain of knowledge and they aren’t. They say one thing and they are not able to do it.
Step one. When you see it, tag it. Let them know specifically (behaviorally specific) what they did not do. It has to have a behavior attached; otherwise it is just an opinion. Opinions cause a back and forth debate that will get you nowhere.
Step Two. Engage in questioning their actions. Ask why they did that or that? Ask them what the outcome was and what they will do differently next time?
Step three. Provide a basis for measurement. Let them know how they are scoring. This is a context like little league – here is your batting average. It, whatever it is, does not become real for some until they see how that factors in another picture. And nothing stings (if you will) more than to know how your “knowing it, but not doing it” becomes very real in another perspective (expressly performance oriented).
As I always say, let’s be real. None of this matters unless it has relevance for the individual. And as I am painfully aware, retail is a revolving door. Some just do not care. They say they know it, they talk it, they even can put it into a clear perspective, but they just don’t do it. This may mean the steps will not work, no matter how much you want them to. I paint this picture intentionally. Managing others is hard, so why speak to the easy stuff? Some either do not care or do not know. It is either skill or will. You have to have a strategy for both. So the easiest way to deal with this is, “If they say they know it and do it – celebrate it. If they say it and don’t do it, tag it.”
I think I know how to be a father and husband. I think I know how to run a training program. I think I know how to write. And then I learn, I do not know what I thought. That was not this post. It is different. Sometimes someone says they know this already. Sometimes they say, while I know this, I know I need to hear it from a new perspective and ask if I am really doing it?
So what do you know? Really.