I once had a client we’ll call Phil, who came to see me because, as he put it, “Work is starting to get to me, and I’m not handling things the way I should.” He was a supervisor in a blue collar environment, mostly men, but an increasing number of women.
My usual strategy of [...]
Dear Ray:
I remember our last chat in the lobby outside the auditorium waiting for the main speaker to close out the conference. You seemed a little wistful compared to our previous encounters, and I wondered whether being up to your Adams apple in clients now is more of a cold shower than you’d anticipated.
As I [...]
Privately, I affectionately refer to people like Phil as “lunkheads,” and sure, some of them do have a small dark side like the rest of us, - but still, they’re mostly decent people who’ve embraced their “character,” and are usually just looking to play out the string.
Phil liked me enough to go farther down the road with [...]
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.
The real concern [...]
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 - [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
“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 [...]
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
Share This
|
|
|
