THE MANAGEMENT MIRROR: Helping Senior Management Teams See Their Own Reality

By Gary W. Craig & Claude S. Lineberry, Copyright © 2001 Vector Group, Inc. and © 2009 Vector Group, Inc. Denver, CO.All rights reserved.
No part of this publication my be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded, or otherwise without the written permission of Vector Group, Inc.

THE MANAGEMENT MIRROR: ARE THE EMPERORS NAKED?

Do you find all too often that strategic key results and strategic goals for your company are not fully achieved? Are priorities misunderstood, or do they seem to change the farther down in the organization? When you look for answers to why things aren't happening as intended does your senior team quickly blame others within the organization, perhaps someone across the table? What would a "mirror" held up to your senior team reveal about you, your team, and the collective impact on the implementation of the business strategy and organizational culture?

A mirror does not lie -- the blemishes and warts as well as the beauty are there for all to see. The mirror reflects a reality few senior executives have ever experienced, forcing a top team to take a more realistic look at the impact of its day-to-day behavior on the organization and do something about it.

The Management Mirror@ is a highly effective process for conducting an in-depth senior management analysis, "to take a look in the mirror" and truly see the effect that a senior team has on the organization, both individually and collectively. How effectively are organizational intent and direction communicated to everyone in the organization? What is the focus and effectiveness of strategic direction coming from the Executive Suite? How real are the corporate values espoused by top management? This bold and innovative approach goes well beyond the standard 360° feedback process. It allows small latitude for denial, rationalization or hiding from the
feedback.

The Management Mirror is a sequential process, beginning with in-depth interviews with the CEO, each senior team member who reports to the CEO, and each team member's direct reports. To this basic one-on-one interview process, focus groups are added, consisting of representative core samples of the rest of the organization's functions. Customers and suppliers may be added to the mix. Consequently, the Management Mirror gathers data from 100% of the CEO's direct reports, 100% of their direct reports, focus group samples further down in the organization and key external stakeholders. The resulting data are both anecdotal and quantifiable, current and focused on key business issues. This forms the basis for very powerful feedback to the senior team, individually and collectively.

The investment of time and resources in a Management Mirror is significant. The return on that investment will be largely determined by acceptance of the feedback by individuals and as a team, commitment to take positive action in response to it, and perhaps most importantly, following up as individuals and as a team on a continuing basis. The Management Mirror process must be an agenda item for all senior team meetings, where actions taken and results achieved are discussed. Established formal and informal success measures must be reviewed, and revised action taken based on the results. Follow-up and monitoring are vital to receiving a positive return on the investment in the Management Mirror.

Additional information, sample feedback reports, interview guides and data gathering instruments are available for review on request from Vector Group, Inc.