Control Freak

Theory Y

Subject: Management, Theory Y, Success, Change, Initiative, Leadership, Motivation, Strategy

By Victor Antonio

In my previous article I described Joe the control freak.  The greatest damage a control freak does to a company, is the damage they do to the individuals who report to them.  After my experience working for Joe, I was even more unsure of myself when it came to taking on a task or completing a project.

No matter what I did, Joe the control freak was never happy.  Even if I came close to getting it right, let’s say 95% right, Joe would focus on the 5% I didn’t get right. 

I didn’t realize the toll his negative influence had on my self-esteem in business until I left the company.  When I took on a new role with another company, it became clear the damage Joe had done on my psyche. 

At this new company, my boss was a young gentleman by the name of Tom.  I was hired on to work on major bids and support the sales team.  In my first company, average bids were in the $25K - $100K.  Anything above $5K, Joe always got involved in with his control freakish behaviors.  At this company, the bids ranged from $250K to upwards of $3M.  Suffice it to say, the first bid I had to prepare was for a deal that was worth over $1.2M.   I remember taking the bid and proposal letters into Tom’s office for his approval.  Tom looked at the letter, made a couple of comments, but never wrote on the letter.  He then looked at the material list and pricing.

He then said after a long pause, “Looks right to me.  Did you double check everything?"

I was stunned.  No red pen came out to mark up the letter and now he was asking me if I thought everything was correct.  I responded, “Yes.  I’ll check it again if you like.”

“Fine.  Prepare it and send it off.” he quickly replied.

“Ok.  Thanks Tom.” I said as walked out of his office in stunned silence.  I couldn’t believe what had just happened.  Just one month earlier I was working for a Joe the Control Freak who wanted to review, in detail, any bid proposal above $5,000.  Now I’m dealing with a guy who ‘trusts’ my work and gave me the go-ahead on a bid worth over 1.2 million dollars without ripping my bid proposal to shreds.

My first feeling after getting over the shock was pure fear.  Why fear?  Because Tom had done what hadn’t been done in the past, he put the responsibility squarely in my lap.  I was now solely accountable for the accuracy and presentation of the proposal. 

I now found myself motivated to get it right because I “owned it”.  I remember going back to my desk and double-checking every item in that proposal list.  I reviewed and edited prudently the letter to be sent with the bid.   I put together the complete binder and package.  As I approached the mail bin to put the proposal in, I remember getting a bit scared, “Did I get everything right?  Did I double check my spelling?”   These thoughts ran through my mind as I lowered the mailbox door and put the package in the outgoing mail bin.  I still remember hearing a THUD sound when I dropped it into the bin.  To this day I don’t know if the sound was the package hitting the bottom of the bin or heart.  At that very moment I sensed fear and relief simultaneously.

I’d like to tell you we won that bid, but we didn’t.  We lost it to our competitor for reasons beyond my control.  But that was the beginning of many bids to come.  A year later I designed a system proposal that helped the company win a 3 million ($3M) bid.   On that day I thought of only one person, Joe the Control Freak.  I reflected on how a year ago I was working for a guy who wouldn’t trust me with a $5,000 bid.   Now there I stood basking in the glory after having won a big contract.  I had one person to thank, Tom.

Tom believed in me from day one.  When I first starting working for Tom, he only gave me two rules to go by, his commandments so to speak:

Rule 1: If I have to do your job, why do I need YOU!

Tom typified a Theory Y type of manager.  He believed in personal accountability.  If he hired you it was because you had a certain skill set he needed.  Tom was the first person in management to ever confess to me that he didn’t know everything.  He said, “Victor, I don’t know everything; that’s why I hire people like yourself.  Great managers surround themselves with people who know more than he does.”  This was shocking revelation to hear this after having worked with Joe the Control Freak who apparently knew more than anyone else in his charge.

 

Rule 2: If you screw something up, tell me what you did and I won’t get mad. 

Tom made it clear from day one that he didn’t like to be surprised.  He went on to say, “If I find out from someone else, I’m going to get mad.  I don’t like surprises.”   Tom’s management style was congruent with his loyalty to those who worked for him.  Many-o-times did I see Tom go to battle and defend his employees when being attacked by others.  Tom always saw an attack on his people as an attack on him.  He did not distance himself from his employees if they screwed up. 

If you did screwed up, Tom would bring you into his office, close the door and simply want to know what happened; it was like a confessional.  Everyone knew you didn’t lie to Tom.  Lying was an act of betrayal that Tom would not tolerate.  His opening line was, “Tell me what you did, I won’t get mad.”

Sidenote: In the years I worked with Tom I never heard him yell at his employees.  Tom was a consummate professional in every way.  Tom believed in the ‘yell upward’ theory (I just made that up) where he only raised his voice at upper management when they didn’t give him the resources he needed to do his job.

Tom expected the best from people.   If you’re going to be a great manager, just think how you would like to be managed.  Would you want someone ruling your every move or would you prefer someone who gave you the room to let you grow and even make some mistakes?  

Remember, treat them like idiots, they behave as idiots.  Treat them as responsible employees, and they’ll behave like responsible employees.”

See Part 1: Control Freak - Theory X

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Copyright © 2005 by Victor Antonio   All rights reserved.  This article MAY be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, as long as the author’s name, website and email address are included as part of the article’s body.  All inquiries, including information on electronic licensing, should be directed to Victor Antonio.