"I'm perfect for this job! I know this because I'm already doing it."

That's what I told myself when I got my first legit crack at a management role.

In the months leading up to the posting of the newly created Operations Supervisor

job, our manager was frequently traveling, and so my peers were coming to me with issues they would typically take to the manager.

"So yeah, I got this." was pretty much what I was telling myself.

I kept my smugness to myself and actually did get the job. The reality of it was going to hit like a bucket of cold water in the face. When I say cold I mean frozen, you know, just a big chunk of ice.

That first day, right after the announcement of my new role on the team, I felt like I was trying to hug a tornado. I was hit from all directions with client issues, system issues, workload issues, and on and on and on.

Turns out I hadn't been doing the whole job. Apparently, my team had only been coming to me with the stuff they absolutely couldn't handle. Now they were bringing me stuff they needed even more help with.

I started by listening and writing a big list of all the issues that each member of the team needed my help to resolve. For a couple of days I tried to do as much as I could, but I was in danger of falling into a common manager trap - doing the work for my team when they felt overwhelmed.

There had to be a better way than to simply lock my lips around the firehose.

As I contemplated the options, I realized that I wasn't even close to the smartest guy in the room. It is true that I had been a resource for the team and I knew a lot, but I hadn’t experienced everything. However, I had a pretty good idea that as a team, we probably had experienced everything. At least everything in the context of the business we were running. But how could I tap into the collective knowledge and experience of the team? There wasn’t time for them to dictate everything they knew to me, nor did I have time to write that book.

The solution I came up with in my moment of desperation was called the Monday Morning Huddle. Maybe not that innovative, but highly effective. Here’s how the Monday Morning Huddle worked:

1. I pulled the team together every Monday morning at the same time

2. The team sat in chairs in a half-circle

3. I sat in a chair facing all of them

4. I would start at one end of the half circle and ask each member of the team two questions:

• What do you have that you need help with?

• What can you do to help someone else?

As the conversation began, we would find:

1. Some were just in a temporary pinch with workload, and just needed short-term help to get through it, or

2. Some had an issue they'd never come across before, and this gave them a forum to ask if anyone else had experience with it, or

3. Some had time or expertise to help the others

By the time we made it to the end of the half-circle, everyone who needed help, got it and my list evaporated.

But it was after that, when the true magic happened over the weeks that followed.

Here's what I saw:

1. Team trust began to grow as they depended more on each other

2. New skills and abilities that I didn’t realize my team had (training, communication, technical expertise), became apparent - this would help me better employ them in things they were already good at doing.

3. Growth among team members as they got an opportunity to use their talents every day.

4. My plate never got overwhelming because by the time we got to the end of the half circle, most if not all items that the team needed help with were taken up by their peers. The only remaining items were manager things that should have been mine anyway.

I've worked with a lot of managers who are overwhelmed by work that their team should be doing. They can't lead and coach the team when they do this.

Some of the most important elements of employee engagement are knowing what's expected at work, having the tools and materials to do the job right, and being able to do what you do best every day.

The Monday Morning Huddle drives all three of these foundational elements. If you're a manager struggling, overwhelmed and feeling unable to properly support your team, the Monday Morning Huddle may be your answer.

#Managerdevelopment #employeeengagement #employeeworkload #Managerascoach