Conducting a High-Performing Department

Managing a high-performing department is similar at times to conducting a small chamber orchestra.

Both contain the best players.

Both bring together an assortment of personalities.

And both are absolutely amazing when playing well together.

There are many ways to manage a high-performing department and I’m going to speak to marketing departments, since that is my area of focus, but the basics are relatable to other types as well.

I’m a believer in employing a team-based department model. A manager will “quarterback” the marketing program/product/service and then utilize the marketing functional players for a fast-moving, efficient delivery. Hiring high-performers for each of the functions ensures that we deliver the most cutting-edge programs in the industry.

So how do we get high-performers to play together on the same team? Especially when they are truly some of the most talented in the industry – and they know it?

Pick up your baton. This is where it can feel like conducting.

• • Take time to find out where their strengths and interests lie. What do they like to do outside of work? Do they like to take photos? Have them help with the employee newsletter taking internal photos. Are they secretly writing comic books? Maybe they want to give copywriting a try. Ask questions and see what other interests they have.
  • Rotate “coaches” to work with your employees every few years. It is good to have employees coached by different people so they can learn how to interact with different personalities, ways of doing things, insights, etc. (Here is a good article on the difference between a “coach” and a “manager.”)
  • Challenge them. Give them a project that has some teeth to it that will make them really think and expand their skills.
  • Develop their skills. Send them to conferences, classes and training. It is critical that they continue to learn and grow their skills, especially in the marketing field where technology changes the ballgame every five years.
  • Be honest. Give real-time feedback when a project is going so-so, don’t wait until the end or even the end of the year. Part of learning and improving is making adjustments. Use phrases such as “What about trying” or “Did you think of doing” and solicit responses from them with open-ended phrases such as “Where were you thinking of going next.”
  • Meet regularly to find out how they are doing. Nothing formal, take them to coffee or touch base after a meeting. Knowing how they are doing in their role will help to keep the surprise departures to a minimum.
  • When conflict arises between team members, diffuse quickly. This can be tricky and delicate. Sometimes jealousy, or a sense of unfairness can build up amongst team members and get out of hand. If you learn of something, even a whisper of something, address it with the individual immediately, before it turns into something larger.
  • Show interest. Guess what? They are interesting! Get to know them. You don’t have to cross the boss/employee line, but showing interest in them will demonstrate to your employees that you are not just a demanding boss, but a boss who takes an interest and cares. Looking back I know I’ve always worked harder for those bosses who showed an interest in me.

Is it possible for one person to do each item for each and every employee on a large team? Nope. That is why you have managers, directors, team leaders and supervisors to help manage a department. But by making an effort to be a boss that is human and relatable is noticed and appreciated – and will help the team play – and sound – truly harmonious.

No Goals? No Career.

A Marketer’s Take on Goal Setting

“I’m horrified!” I exclaimed in response to my colleague’s statement. A department head had just said that young people today don’t find value in setting performance goals.

“They don’t set goals because they feel it doesn’t pay out in the short-or long-term,” was the explanation I was given after my outburst. While I won’t get into the debate that ensued in the room on whether the statement was true or false, it got me thinking.

I’ve always been goal-oriented. Even as a child I knew what I wanted to accomplish every day. I recognize that not everyone shares that trait but everyone can and should set goals, especially in the workplace. Because if you don’t set goals, you have no yardstick against which to measure your growth.

Now, I don’t mean getting a promotion or a raise at the end of the year. Sure, those are goals in and of themselves, but career growth is different.

Career growth is about developing your soft skills, technical skills and your emotional IQ.

If you don’t challenge yourself and improve those abilities, you end up limiting your career.

I was lucky enough to have several mentors and coaches who have helped me over the years in my career. And I am forever grateful and thankful that they took the time to guide, suggest, hint and even snap me out of mediocrity when needed.

When I was promoted to manager for the first time, the best piece of advice I was given by my boss was that I was now responsible for someone else’s career development. Their success or failure was my responsibility. I needed to coach them, develop their skills, push them, identify their goals and meet regularly with them to make sure they were able to exceed them each year.

Managing someone is sharing responsibility in that person’s career growth – it’s a 50/50 proposition

Today, I have my staff set their own goals with a plan on how to accomplish them annually. All goal are tied to each of the firm’s major goal initiatives, along with one personal “stretch” goal. We meet quarterly to touch base and see how they are progressing and make any adjustments. I push them to take a class or attend a conference once a year if possible. Something that will get their brain cells moving and creative juices flowing.

This is much more than providing and filling out a performance review at the end of the year. Performance goals are about pushing the boundaries of the employees’ current skills and developing them into well-rounded, productive and happy marketers.

Why do I go to all the effort? Because I want my employees to succeed – badly. I want them to be better than me. The better they are the better the department performs and the better the company performs. And that can’t happen without setting goals.