Not everyone takes to managing. I’ve seen highly competent people, responsible for big projects involving huge dollar amounts, totally fall apart when called upon to deal with a “people” problem in the workplace.
Too often, they “handle” it by simply not handling it, letting it play out, then - when the situation has broken wide-open - [...]
Managing is not for sissies
Managing and Parenting, Different (but the Same)
People can get really cranked up over this one! Frankly, I’d avoid the comparison if it didn’t keep coming up, and wasn’t so obviously true: peoples’ feelings about work colleagues - up and down the line - spring from very elemental needs — acceptance, approval, identity, and self-preservation (among others.)
So when I’m talking to a [...]
No Retorts, Please
I spend more time than I should stating what should be basic and obvious to supervisors: don’t be overly concerned about having a quick “comeback” when talking to an employee.
Our culture seems to nudge people to respond instantly - no hesitation - for fear of appearing weak. So when a supervisor speaks to an employee there’s [...]
Supervisor Regret
I laughed out loud when I first heard the term “tattoo regret,” but I know from first-hand experience in the workplace that there can be a threshold moment when a manager realizes he’s got supervisor regret - the employee isn’t working out - and it’s not funny.
The problem can be about actual ability, or it may [...]
Micro-managing
“When am I guilty of micro-managing? What’s a reasonable way to sort that out?”
I’ve often been asked a version of that by managers who aren’t sure whether they’re coming on too strong or not coming on strongly enough.
Often what’s going on at the time that question is being posed is that a manager has had [...]
Phil, Part 3
Privately, I affectionately call people like Phil “lunkheads,” and sure, some of them have a small dark side like the rest of us, - but they’re mostly decent people who’ve committed to their “character,” and are usually just looking to play out the string.
Phil liked me enough to go farther down the road with the process than [...]
Bad Management
Here’s a link to my comment on David Maister’s excellent blog added to a long thread about why bad management persists.
http://davidmaister.com/blog/477/Why-Does-Bad-Management-Thrive-So-Much
EI meets Phil, Part 2
Phil’s boss wanted me to “fix” him, but what that really meant wasn’t clear.
Phil had been there going on 18 years, had outlasted several management makeovers, and an ownership change. Even though there were no barriers to firing him, like a union or strict seniority policies, there was no stomach for it either. [...]
Appreciative Inquiry: A Conversation with Bob Siegfried
Here’s the link to a fairly long ( 1hr 20 min) conversation I had with Bob Siegfried about Appreciative Inquiry. My plan is to learn Audacity well enough to edit it down.
A Professional on a Desert Island
I vividly recall the anguish as she told me her story. She’d happily followed her husband here to Maine for his exciting appointment as statewide director of a huge program. She’d vacated her position as Special Ed. Department Chair at a highly-regarded public high school, where she was well known in her region as well as the [...]
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