1. Results for this quarter have been extremely disappointing. When reporting to your General Manager or the Board which best describes your style of reporting?

Highlight the effect of the recession and recent earthquake when reporting on the decrease in revenue.

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Explain in detail how your department differs from the rest of the country and the bulk of the reduced revenue is not attributed to your area.

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The buck stops with me. I take responsibility and provide a constructive way to turn the situation around.

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Point the fingers across the Tasman. Management fees have quadrupled reflecting in a corresponding drop in net profit.

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2. Which of the following statements reflect your view:

My staff are well trained but if I'm not there business would suffer.

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I am confident that if I were not at work it would be business as usual.

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Being constantly on the go I haven't had the time to learn my boss' job or to train my staff to do my job but we all understand our individual roles in the organisation.

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I see my role as a Manager as being able to solve problems bought to me by my staff.

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3. One of your new staff members admits to a gross error of judgement resulting in the loss of a large contract. Would you:

Give an immediate verbal warning.

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Demote the person concerned as a negative consequence of their action.

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Review the processes and systems in place to see if they should be modified or improved to prevent this happening again.

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Counsel and coach the person and treat the experience as an opportunity to train and learn.

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4. Which do you most agree with?

Loyalty to the Company does not take precedence over loyalty to my staff or my department.

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It is a fact of life that our staff distrust Management.

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Attitudes must be eliminated or else everyone fails.

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Promoting from within can cause loyalty issues as a person transitions into Management.

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5. When managing people, what is your preferred management method?

Weekly meetings are a good opportunity to address performance issues.

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Everyone needs to be treated the same way so as to be seen to be democratic.

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Salespeople are best managed when in the presence of their peers.

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Managing people is best done one on one as everyone likes to be handled differently.

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6. When it comes to the financial results do you believe:

Preference is not to confuse staff with the financials if it does not affect them.

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Historical profit is the domain of the Accounting dept and Senior Management.

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It is important for everyone to understand how they influence the profit either by increasing sales or reducing/controlling expenses.

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Employees are not concerned with bottom line unless it affects their pay packet.

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7. Which of the following statements most reflects your beliefs?

It is important to be available to my staff to solve their problems any time.

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I need to take time to think about my business rather than being constantly busy.

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I find it easier to get my staff to "leave it with me" if they are struggling with something rather than try to explain.

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A good Manager reacts to change and meets problems head on.

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8. When you are out of office hours which is your preferred option?

I prefer not to socialise at all with my staff to avoid any conflict of interest.

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Having a few drinks and being one of the team is good for morale and shows we're only human.

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Getting to know your staff well, building relationships away from the office is beneficial for the Company.

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It is good to relax with employees over an occasional drink but you should treat a staff member as you would your best customer.

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9. When it comes to setting standards:

Everyone knows what is expected of them and how to achieve this.

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We have strict sales targets which must be met or employment will be terminated.

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A good "rev up" to sales staff usually gets the action required.

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Standards provide a measure of attainment which can then build pride in the organisation.

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10. In developing your people do you:

Believe training is an ongoing 'on the job' necessity to continually upskill.

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Hire qualified staff to keep training required to a minimum.

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Send people away on courses as and when required to deal with any changes in the industry.

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Rely on the training department to keep abreast of any upskilling required.

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11. When it comes to dealing with staff who are performing poorly, I believe:

Being upfront and telling people what is wrong with them usually gets a quick result.

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It is easier not to deal with underachievers and hope they will drop out of their own accord.

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By confronting we give everyone the opportunity to redirect behaviours and achieve a positive result.

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Poor performance is best addressed at an annual salary review.

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12. What do you do for your people to recognise their performance?

Special recognition of high achieving sales people gives others inspiration and goals to emulate.

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Praising everyone fosters mediocrity.

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New staff need to go the "hard yards" before they are recognised.

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Everyone deserves recognition if they achieve their goals as this builds pride in the organisation.

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13. When it comes to getting the best from your staff:

It is the Managers role to motivate staff to perform to the best of their ability.

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It is the Managers role to provide the environment to promote self motivation.

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Incentives and rewards are good ways to help improve results.

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Highlighting the possibility of redundancies is sufficient to get staff to do their jobs well.

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