10 Tips for Doing the Manic Monday Shift
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Monday mornings are a hodgepodge of enthusiasm, anxiety, or dread. Like a race horse, you feel that starting-gate feeling.
This Monday, make their duties and agenda your Monday morning passion. The people around you feel the same things you feel. Reach them through their feelings.
10 tips to do the Manic Monday Shift:
- Go to your team; don’t wait for them to come to you. Try a little MBWA, management by walking around.
- Ask your team or colleagues, “What are your work challenges this week? What are your top projects?”
- Sit when you enter their space, don’t stand. This doesn’t mean you plan to stay long. It means you’re interested.
- Ask how you can help. (Thanks @dougconant for this one.)
- Tell them where they fit in and what their work means.
- Honor a past success.
- Acknowledge a talent, skill, or behavior you appreciate.
- Indicate you believe in them. “I’m glad you’re on our team.”
- Avoid asking for anything. Pour into their cup, don’t pour out.
- Leave as quickly as you arrived.
Bonus:
Put the “Manic Monday Shift” on next Monday morning’s calendar.
Warning:
If you haven’t done this before, they’ll wonder if something is wrong. Leave them guessing. Don’t say, “Nothing is wrong.” Just lift them and leave.
What can you do to lift others on Monday morning?
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Good sound advice, Dan. An added plus: You get reoriented to the current state of things. Your Monday will go a lot better too.
Great post
I really like the Monday morning method.
Especially instilling a little confidence by letting your employees know you are watching and care!!
Well done
Sw
Here’s my #11: Start on Friday afternoon. What is mean by this is take a moment with your staff to break the “when will 5:00 get here/TGIF” mood and spend just a moment either establishing their “punch list” for Monday morning or processing the week and discussing goals/ideas for the week ahead so that when they walk in on Monday they aren’t just staring at a blank slate.
It makes me sad to no end to see my kids having “Monday-itis” about school – giving off the same “dread” vibes that many of us adults in the work world have fought/experienced for years.
To steal a concept from the book the Tallahassee Leadership Book Club is reading right now (Take the Lead by Betsy Myers) – if your work doesn’t give you at least SOME moments where you are “freaking out with joy,” then it may be time to reevaluate. Monday mornings are especially fraught with vulnerability but if you have some “joy” to look forward to, it can make things so much different and positive!
Link for the author: http://betsymyers.com/
“Freaking out with joy” great phrase Paula and appropo to the LFC.
If you are not having fun in your work, definitely time to do an honest spirit check. (PS: It’s not the work.)
Those are excellent questions to ask Dan, might suggest, listen first, then ask the questions, if they aren’t already answered.
The only other ‘Ask’ might be, ask what is one small improvement we can make today? Remember it and ask about it the next day. Ask about it’s impact…if you see ripples upstream/downstream, point them out too..contagious positivity is a good thing.
Know everyone’s name-don’t fake it. Learn about each person too.
Periodically weave in a customer experience aligned with vision, either from your own learnings or Ask what staff have heard from customers-even more powerful. (Can be the upstream/downstream again.)
Most important, ‘lather, rinse, repeat’…do it every day, it should be on your calendar…every day.
Regarding sit/stand–with the Lean approaches, as a group, stand up rather than sit down. Keeps meetings shorter, less ‘formal’. Methinks sitting down may still imply hierarchical deference is mandated, m’lord.
“do it every day” . . . exactly, or you’ll just be another seagull.
Which is like MBDB….management by drive-by…. 😉
Great post, Dan. Nice reminders. The piece that I love to reinforce about MBWA is that it doesn’t take a huge amount of time (leave as quickly as you came) and it makes a huge difference in your relationship with your team and individuals…you are engaged in THEIR world. Good leadership is about interacting not reacting. This building up emotional capital with your people is priceless.
Best…Jim
Jim, you and Dan both make a great point about MBWA. I did it for years before I knew what it was, because as a platoon leader any free minute you had you went and walked the perimeter. I have many failings as a leader, but throughout my career I have always been perceived by line workers as understanding them. I’m not sure I do, but they see me in their world every day so they think so. I at least know enough to chat about their wives and kids, and the sports teams they follow. And I know the best and worst parts of their jobs.
Liked the “pour in, not pour out” bit.
Doing this on a regular basis, would in itself bring monotony which again could cause panic or Monday-ism for the team / people around you. “Tomorrow is Monday and Dan will come around asking all this stuff! That means I have to think what am I going to say”. Wouldn’t it?
Everyday works better, staff feel/believe/know that the leader is truly engaged because s/he is there at least a few minutes every day. And all can hold each other accountable for progress/regress
Dan:
Right off the bat you mention MBWA. I don’t think enough managers understand the importance of this and how to do it correctly. When doing MBWA it also can drive out fear for your employees to be open and honest. On the other hand done incorrectly they can also withdraw quite rapidly if a manger does MBWA with the mindset of managing by fear. Great advice on how to start Mondays!
Docdisc, great point about listening first instead of speaking always a good practice.
Hi Dan
I like the list. Too bad many bosses do care enough of their employees to do this. If an individual is not happy at work, maybe it’s not the work but the boss. Bully bosses would never read your blog or the articles and they’d never do anything on this list. This is a major problem in most businesses today both small and large.
Dear Dan,
Just like MBWA ( management by walking around), I can practice MBWA ( management by wondering around). When I see people doing exceptional and extraordinary work, I just show my wonder to them. In this way, they feel good, excited and eager to do better. Even when people connect and concentrate to their goal, I wonder and encourage them. It works. I believe in equity and horizontal growth, so I encourage dissent and silent people to open up more. This provides a strong platform of competition and practices.
I believe that leaders should create believe more in those who do not believe themselves. It is a great challenge and leadership is all about doing impossible and challenging role.