What does a manager mean when he or she says, "we need to kick some butt and make some heads roll?" Do managers actually manage this way and what does it accomplish long term?  Learn the benefits of leadership rather than “management by hammer.”

It happened that I knew the president of the company and my friend asked me to give a call and put in a good word. Naturally, I agreed.

The president of the company was aware of Pete's interview with his division VP and said he was worried that Pete came from a smaller market and had not managed as many people as he would be managing in the new position. The VP was mildly interested, liked my friend's skills, and acknowledged that common suppliers had given Pete high marks. I told the president that my friend had very strong management skills, was keen to follow up on promises and commitments, and was a very good coach and mentor in the field. When Pete and I worked together, it was obvious that his sales reps respected him, worked hard for him, and understood the goals and objectives of the organization.

Here's the kicker: the president of the company told me that the sales force Pete would manage was an older veteran group and they were looking for a sales manager who would "kick some butt and make some heads roll." Letting the remark slip, I mentioned that Pete was an experienced manager who would work with the suppliers to set meaningful goals and hold reps accountable to reach the agreed upon objectives.

The call ended amicably, but I was left wondering, what does a manager (or in this case a company president) mean when he or she says, "we need to kick some butt and make some heads roll?" Do managers actually manage this way and what does it accomplish long term? I was hoping this had to be an anomaly, but then another friend forwarded an email from her boss that concerned missing receipts from a company credit card. It went like this:

Note that this is a blanket scolding of all the managers and there is an inference that some of the managers may or may not have even been in violation of any policy, if, indeed, there is a policy at all.

One wonders, what does a bad sales month have to do with the e-mail's topic, and would the e-mail's author talk to his boss this way? These episodes reminded me of an old management truism that goes something like this, "if the only tool you have is a hammer, everything starts looking like a nail." Today's workers are not nails and managers would be wise not to think of themselves as hammers, but the attitude persists. Instead of kicking some butt and making heads roll, maybe this advice would make more sense: start your day believing that people want to do good work. Before you start wielding a hammer, start your day by looking at what might be breaking down in the system that may be causing poor performance or lack of policy adherence.

For some reason, in American business (maybe in all business), you can become a manager simply by being promoted into a position. It does not take training or certification to have the title attached to your name. This is so unfortunate for both business and the people who work in organizations that see "management by hammer" as the expedient way to get things done.

The Hammer vs. Leadership

It is so important to remember that most managerial efforts are not about "kicking butt and making heads roll," or about scolding and berating. People want to do good work, and will do good work when the objectives are clear, the goals are mutual, and all of the resources are aligned. Good managers understand that their job is about making sure the people they manage can perform tomorrow at a higher level than they could today.

The fact that managers still talk and email in ways described above means the work of developing managers and management skills is far from complete. Here is a good rule of thumb: if you would not talk or email to your boss in a certain language or style, you probably should not talk or write that way to your employees. If you violate this rule, you are a classic "kick down and kiss up manager," or, in plainer language, nothing but a bully.

The job of every manager is to ensure that he or she knows how to perform the required management skills that help everyone do their job better.

For more information about the soft practice of management and management development, contact Tim Horan at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 321-956- 8617.

Tim Horan ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ), an organizational consultant, is a Principal at Indian River Consulting Group. IRCG is an experience-driven, general consulting practice specializing in distribution issues for business-to- business distributors and manufacturers. IRCG was founded by J. Michael Marks in 1987 and has earned a reputation for helping companies achieve competitive advantage. You can contact them by calling 321-956-8617, or visit www.ircg.com for more information.

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