Author: [Japan] Horinouchi Katsuhiko
This article is reprinted from Douban Book Review. I think it is well written, so I will keep an excerpt.
If you happen to have been promoted and are managing a small team or a start-up, then I highly recommend this "Small Team Management Manual of Under 10 People" to you. Mr. Katsuhiko Kinouchi, who once worked for Honda and Sony, and later founded a social insurance and labor law firm and a personnel consulting company, has put forward a large number of solutions to the confusion and troubles that new small team managers often encounter. These ideas and methods It is very practical and is a very practical management skill that can help subordinates make the most of their talents. Finally, the author also summarized a set of theories called FFS. I tested it and it felt very accurate.
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I don’t know if you have such feelings. Many supervisors who are promoted from the grassroots level actually have no management talent. Sometimes you will feel that they add more chaos and less construction, and you will also doubt the necessity of the existence of the supervisor position. In fact, it’s not just junior employees who think this way, some supervisors themselves also think this way during the refractory period: Why the hell should I be promoted? Work harder? What does a supervisor do? …
The person who works the hardest is not suitable to be a supervisor!
I was worried about this myself for a while, because I really didn’t know what “leading team members to complete performance targets” meant. I am still me, and a team member is still a team member, so what do I need to do? Later, when I asked a senior executive, she said: "If you think this job can be handed over but you fail to hand it over, then it is management negligence." This is really a wake-up call for the dreamer! After taking stock, I found that the supervisors I met in my working life who did a good job (and were the most respected by my boss) basically all looked like this when I think about it. When I measure my work based on this, I find that there are many things I do that can be explained. So the question is, why don’t you do it and ask other colleagues to do it?
In other words, why is it necessary for a company to have a supervisor?
Because if an enterprise organization wants to achieve performance, it needs someone to manage and make decisions. In start-up small and micro enterprises, the boss replaces the supervisor's function, and his orders and ideas can be known to every employee. But as the company grows, the boss can no longer manage it. He needs supervisors to communicate, understand what he means, and then pass specific instructions to employees.
For example, if the boss makes a request to double sales, then the supervisor will have to think about how to double the sales. He will tell his subordinates ABCD: A. Make a customer list, B. Investigate the situation in each region, C. Understand the trends of competitors, D. Develop a company into a new customer, etc., etc., understand the leadership’s intentions, divide them into specific executable plans, and find suitable employees to implement them. This is management.
Many supervisors are very capable. If they take care of all these things by themselves, they will become executors instead of supervisors. Therefore, the "Management Manual for Small Teams of Less than 10 People" says that the so-called supervisor is the person who achieves the goals of the operator through his subordinates. This is arguably the best definition of a supervisor.
According to this definition, let’s do a true or false question:
There are four car sales teams. Their total monthly sales volume is 50 vehicles. Please judge which supervisor does better?
Five of A’s subordinates sold 30 vehicles, and the supervisor sold 20 vehicles;
B’s five subordinates sold 35 vehicles, and the supervisor sold 15 vehicles;
C’s five subordinates sold 40 vehicles, and the supervisor sold 10 vehicles;
D’s 5 subordinates sold 50 vehicles, and the supervisor sold 0 vehicles;
People who have been promoted because of their good performance in the past probably agree more with supervisor A because of his superior ability. However, the author of "Management Manual for Small Teams of Less than 10 People" does not think so. According to his definition of supervisor just now, A is not a qualified supervisor. Subordinates realize management. On the contrary, D is the perfect supervisor with the ability to manage subordinates. C is more suitable for supervisors who do both business and management.
A competent supervisor helps his subordinates create an environment that can sell 50 cars. Many newly promoted supervisors either couldn't stop the inertia of their previous jobs, or they didn't have much ideas after switching to management positions, so they had to work harder than before to cope with their new status. However, from the perspective of the supervisor's functions, it is a mistake to focus only on doing one's own thing.
PDCA cycle and FFS team theory
In order to maintain a sense of the market, the supervisor must do some business, but the most important job of the supervisor is to use the PDCA cycle (Plan → Execute DO → Check CHECK → Correct ACTION) for business management and employee management. Among them, employee management is sometimes even more important than business management.
The first thing in business management is to set specific goals for subordinates. It is best to calculate this goal from the profit and loss statement and balance sheet. You need to know the costs and profits, so that you know how much the goal is appropriate. Of course, some supervisors do not know this data and need to be informed by their superiors. However, in any case, the target does not appear out of thin air, but is well-founded.
It does not mean that everything will be fine once the goal is set. Everyone takes their own tasks and does them well. This cannot be considered a cohesive team, let alone a situation where the goals are not done well. A real team must play the role of "1+1>2" function, so this requires supervisors to know how to stimulate "team power", which is the so-called employee management. "Small Team Management Manual of Less than 10 People" summarizes a set of FFS theory at the end, which is used to solve this problem. It uses a tool to tell you how to know the characteristics of each subordinate and how to maximize each person's strengths. In short, this method is the management method of "making full use of everyone's talents and giving everyone their proper place".
FFS theory divides human attributes into 5 dimensions, which are:
A Cohesion: Good at guiding others and strong sense of responsibility;
B Acceptance: Always take care of others and solve their problems;
C Discrimination: Analyze the situation calmly and make reasonable judgments;
D Extensibility: Create new and innovative things;
E Preservation: Pay attention to details and be able to follow procedures for a long time.
Generally speaking, subordinates will have expertise in these five items. For specific test methods, see p166-p167 of this book. There are 30 simple questions on these two pages. You can score yourself in the 5 dimensions by answering them. Then look at what type of person you are.
An interesting conclusion of this theory is that it introduces the impact of stress on a person. Under pressure that exceeds the limit of endurance, a person's advantages will quickly turn into negative aspects. The following are the pressure keywords in brackets:
Type A people: Guidance → Solitary/Exclusive (Cause: Negation of one’s own values)
Type B people: cultivation → interference/self-abuse (cause: being looked down upon, causing a sense of crisis)
Type C people: organized → mechanical/sophistry (cause: human beings are sophisticated and unreasonable)
Type D people: active → impulsive/aggressive (cause: unable to move freely, restricted)
Type E people: coordination → following/passivity (cause: laissez-faire, expected to innovate)
Therefore, for the above reasons, when they are stressed, we can prescribe the right medicine:
Type A people can remind him, "You have always been right, you should improve your confidence."
Type B people should pay attention to his existence. They can say, "What would I do without you?"
If type C people want to feel supported, then we need to trust their judgment and "use your analytical skills to make decisions."
For Type D people, we need to have expectations for their behavior, so we should encourage them to “do something interesting and surprise us!”
For type E people, we need to make them realize that they are part of a team, "We are in this together, let's work together."
The various stress-reducing methods mentioned above may have counterproductive effects if applied to different people. For example, you say to Type E people who are very protective, pay attention to details, and can follow the process for a long time: I look forward to you making more innovations. This will definitely stress her out.
Of course, there is an evolved version of this theory. At the end of "Management Manual for Small Teams of Less than 10 People", the author took away the characteristic "C Discriminability", and the remaining ABDE was combined into 4 types, AD, AE, BD, and BE are named respectively: the pioneer of change (AD), the defender of the rear (AE), the pioneering investigator (BD), and the indispensable coordinator (BE). Specifically, There are corresponding strategies, you can read the book and experience it yourself.
In fact, sometimes there is no need to stick to these methods. In daily work, we can pay attention to who has a temper with whom, and who is good at what. After a period of time, we can arrange different things for different people to advance the established goals. . Of course, when it comes to setting goals, the book also talks about a series of precautions.
How to influence the subconscious mind of subordinates?
This book is very detailed and even covers the psychology of new employees when they join the company. Some supervisors think that newcomers have not yet adapted to the work, so they do not give clear instructions, but just take care of their mood. In fact, this is not a good thing for their subordinates. Many new colleagues become even more uneasy because they don’t know what to do. I have a deep understanding of this myself. I joined a company six or seven years ago. I didn’t receive any assignments for the first month after I joined. I almost couldn’t stay there. Of course, there were my reasons, but because I didn’t receive the instructions, I couldn’t stay. The nervous and uneasy situation was exactly the same as what was written in the book.
In the process of panic, the most terrifying part is the negative self-suggestion. This is particularly likely to lead to a vicious cycle in which negative thoughts inhibit the power of the subconscious mind. By analogy with parenting, we can know that the self-confidence of children who are constantly praised is always better than those who are devalued. Therefore, if a person's subconscious mind can be awakened and changed, then this person's potential will most likely be stimulated.
"Management Manual for Small Teams of Less than 10 People" talks about a method called "4-line diary". This method is based on cognitive dissonance theory. When there is too much difference between the "real self" and the "ideal self", whichever idea is stronger will be dominant. After the self is unified, which one will be more preferred. The more you feel that you can't do it, you will never be able to do it. If you feel that you can do it, you will gradually become stronger. Therefore, the technique of "4-line diary" is to use a word game to strengthen the "ideal self".
Let’s look at two examples from the book:
x month x day
[Fact] In the personnel reform project, discussions were held on how to establish grade standards
[Finding] Discussions among grassroots employees are more intense and serious
[Lesson] It is necessary to mobilize the atmosphere in the early stage and explore the essence of key issues.
[Declaration] I am a supporter of successful organizational reform
x month x day
[Fact] I watched "The Story of the Lower Wife" on TV
[Discovery] Young people have young people’s ideals
[Lesson] Accept different values
[Declaration] I am a person who can accept various values
The diary is divided into four lines, namely [Facts], [Discovery], [Lessons] and [Declaration]. The [Facts] section is to review a special event that day and then express it objectively. [Discovery] is a rule, principle or characteristic that is understood from facts. [Lesson] is to sublimate discoveries into unforgettable wisdom. 【Declaration】Is to imagine a more perfect self after overcoming difficulties.
This little trick, if you stick to it for one to two months, can change your subconscious mind. If you are interested, you may want to try this. Although I haven't tried this method myself, I still praise myself in the mirror for being awesome. It should be said that it is very useful and helpful in improving self-confidence. Just like what is said in "Three Idiots", the heart is still easy to deceive.
This is a pragmatic book
The above are some points that touched me deeply. In fact, this book is really down-to-earth. In the book, the author also talks about the attitude of supervisors, such as not being condescending, and speaking of facts when evaluating subordinates. In addition, he also talked about the benefits of letting subordinates report their own performance, how to develop the habit of thinking, etc., and even what to do when subordinates complain about low wages...
"Small Team Management Manual of Under 10 People" teaches you various methods. In fact, as the author said, the core method is only one: how to consider your subordinates from the bottom of your heart.
Because when the values are close, the degree of overlap between thinking about subordinates and the operator's intentions is extremely high. This is also the fundamental reason why it is said at the beginning of this book that values are superior to performance.