Beginning One On Ones - Commission sales associates - Push back

...so a certain degree of trepidation is normal. Be assured, not everyone in your department will "buy into" O3s at the same time.  Some, may take months before they too see the value of the O3 meetings.  Stick with it and do not give up.

One former direct, from whom I received push back, now runs his own IT department.

Yes, he does O3s with his new team.

• This is normal. Treat it as any other change management issue. Do not take it personally. Be fluent at explaining the benefits to the company, their customers, and most especially to them. You have to be able to answer the WIIFM question. (What's in it for me?)
• Is this mandated by the company? No. But innovation starts with one person in one department or territory. These are trying times. This team is going to try something new, and if it works, it will spread.
• Work expands to fit the time available. I refuse to believe they're "selling" every minute of every day. I have experience in outside sales. There is downtime. Once they get used to the schedule, they'll realize it's not impacting their sales.
• The counterpoint about them working for free due to an 03 is bull.
• Tlhausmann is right. At first, you'll have resistance, then one person will see the value, then several more. It will take awhile for more people to come on board. There will always be a few laggards. I've said it before, life is ruled by the Bell curve. If you can identify the one person for whom they have the most respect, and then show him or her the value, others will follow sooner.
• In a group this large, there may actually be organized resistance against you. Don't waver.  Expect it. Prepare for it. You see the forest; they see the trees.

Hang in there.

You're the manager. To your directs, you are the company. If you mandate, it IS mandated by "the company." Don't give up your authority. Just because you weren't told to do it, does not mean it is not company-directed to others. The company pays you to do the job better. You do the job better by getting your directs to do their jobs better. Will this help them do the job better? If yes, you're right. If no, then you should not be doing it, and should do something else "company directed."

...that much of what we worry about never happens.

Well done!

As for the woman who wants to know if there's a rule about gender, all I can say is that my directs are of the opposite gender and we have a closed door meeting every time.

I've never heard of a law that requires that, so unless it's your corporate policy you are in the clear. I think she's mistaking the policy many doctors' offices have about having a nurse present when the doctor is male and the patient is female.

However, there may be a good reason for her discomfort. Perhaps the first few meetings with her can be held with the door open, or if there is a place on your sales floor where you can be seen but not interrupted by others.

Your directs going around you to other managers can be overcome in time as they learn to trust you more via the 03's. Once you're at the right place, you can let them know that they should come to you and they should feel comfortable doing so.

Dale Carnegie said, "90% of the management problems in this world are caused by miscommunication." Implementing 03's will greatly reduce the risk of those problems cropping up. Your team should become more agile and if you stick with it, I'll bet your turnover rate drops compared to those teams who don't do 03's.

...MT counsels that the O3 meetings can be "in the open" but not "public."

Is there a company coffee shop or meeting area sufficiently large to hold a private conversation (where your voices will not carry to the next table)?

Tlhausmann raises a good point. I used to supervise staff scattered across much of Texas. I also worked with a peer who lived 200 miles from me. I spent a lot of time looking for places where I could have a meeting with another person, either for a one-on-one, a performance review, or in the case of my peer, brainstorming. Here are my experiences

• If you think your conversation at a coffee shop is confidential, think again. The national chains pack the tables and chairs in, which means the person behind you can hear everything you say. I know, because I'm frequently the person behind you. Smaller local coffee shops are too quiet. It's like talking in a library. In either example, if one of you raises your voice, you're toast.
• In larger cities, the lobby of a large upscale hotel usually has numerous conversation pits where you can have a comfortable private conversation.
• Restaurants can work well during off-peak hours. My co-worker and I met in a city halfway between us. We'd spend the entire day sitting at a table in a restaurant. We told the waitress or the manager what we were doing, we made sure to order meals and drinks, and we left a nice tip when done. During lunch we suspended lunch and socialized until the lunch crowd left.
• In smaller towns where everyone knows everyone and gossip rules, you need to be sensitive to where you meet a direct who is of the opposite gender. This isn't necessarily critical at lunch, but is more of a problem during the evening. The person who lives in that community should introduce the other "out of towner" so that people understand that it's a business meeting. Keep a notebook or laptop open on the table until the food is served. (Hey, sounds trivial, but it's not.)

In my earlier comment, I suggested meeting out in the store if the direct was leery of meeting alone in an office. I had in mind a big box store where two associates could have a conversation that wouldn't be overheard. The downside to that is that potential customers may interrupt you or resent it if you appear to be ignoring them.