New Year's Resolution: Be a leader, not a manager

Jules Ciotta

I think as the economy took a turn south, people became so concerned about the bottom line that they forgot what really makes a company successful, and that is the effective utilization of employees.”

Jules Ciotta

In shrunken newsrooms buffeted by rapidly changing missions, technology and job descriptions, it's easy for managers to worry first and foremost about keeping their own heads above water.

It's easy to send half a dozen emails rather than get up and go talk to a person at the other end of the newsroom. To spend most of the day putting out fires instead of making sure they don't start. To manage the crisis instead of leading the way forward.

But losing sight of the needs and goals of employees makes them less productive than they could be, says corporate trainer and coach Jules Ciotta. Ciotta, a contributor to SNPA who is president of Motivation Communications Associates in Atlanta, is a former newspaperman who now counsels major corporations, not just newspaper companies.

"I think as the economy took a turn south, people became so concerned about the bottom line that they forgot what really makes a company successful, and that is the effective utilization of employees," Ciotta said. Even if a manager can't give a raise or must make do with fewer people, he or she should find ways to make employees feel that they are valuable members of the team who contribute to the success of the company.

Ciotta differentiates between managing and leading. "Executives spend too much time in their offices," he said. They need to spend less time sending emails and making phone calls, and more time hands-on with their people.

"A manager says, here's what needs to be done, go do it, and a leader says, here's what needs to be done, let's go do it."

He finds examples of ineffective management in the workshops he does across the country. People have said they didn't know the company's mission even though it was posted on a wall. One group of 14 supervisors didn't know the first name of the cleaning woman. The woman had told Ciotta – when he asked – both her name (Marilyn) and that if she held a leadership position, she would first ask all employees what they were thinking.

Three main practices promote leadership and get results, he said. They are making the employees feel that their jobs matter as part of a team, balancing accountability and compassion, and communicating horizontally rather than vertically.

For the newspaper manager who has resolved to treat the staff better this year, Ciotta suggests telling immediate subordinates that they need to find out what people are thinking. Combine high expectations with creating a sense that goals are attainable and that, "We're all in this together."

Ciotta said that 99 percent of supervisors "spend most of their time saving their derrieres, majoring in minor things and putting out fires rather than meeting the organization's goals. The reason they do that is because it's safe. You can always say the reason it didn't work out well is because I was putting out fires."

Accountability and compassion are not mutually exclusive, he said. "Don't lose sight of the fact that you have to hold people accountable, but also make sure that in doing so you're still compassionate. If a person is working all the time and not balancing their life, you have to kick them out of the office and tell them, 'You can't be effective in making a living unless you first of all are concentrating on making a life.'"

Be creative in showing employees that they are valued. Ciotta said one IT employee of a newspaper came up with an innovation that could save several hundred thousand dollars. But the paper had a wage freeze, and the employee received a job offer from his alma mater that would have paid him $10,000 more. Ciotta told the newspaper to give the employee a large bonus in lieu of a raise, and he remains with the newspaper company today.

When change comes, he said, don't sit behind a desk and don't pretend to have all the answers.

"Tell people, this is what we need to do, this is what the bottom line is. Now I need your help. Now let's discuss what we need to do together."

For more information, contact Jules Ciotta at julesciotta@comcast.net.

Jane Nicholes

Jane Nicholes, a regular contributor to the eBulletin, is a freelance writer and editor based in coastal Alabama. She is an award-winning veteran of more than 30 years in the newspaper business. Reach her at jbnicholes@att.net.

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