Tina Lewis Rowe

The Difference Between A Mentor And Mentoring Behavior

One of the career development websites says this about mentors:

What separates a mentor from the average network contact is long-term commitment and a deep-seated investment in your future.

Further along in the article it says:

…your relationship with a mentor likely involves long lunches and time spent in the mentor’s office.

Those statements are both true, based on the historic and contemporary views of mentorship. However, those statements also point out the potentially negative aspects of mentoring. They also bring into question the accuracy of statements made by many supervisors and managers that they are mentors to those who report to them at work.  More likely they are providing mentoring behavior: Encouraging, advising, correcting, discussing, suggesting. Many are not even doing that much.

Mentes (Mentor) was a good friend of Odysseus (Ulysses) in Homer’s epic poems, The Iliad and The Odyssey.  Ironically, most of the good advice given to Ulysses’s son was given by Athena who took the form of Mentes. Nevertheless, the term mentor has long been used to mean an advisor or wise counsellor. InThe Odyssey, Telemachus (the son of Ulysses and Penelope) says to Athena/Mentor,

…you’ve been speaking as a friend,
thinking as a father would for his own son—
and what you’ve said I never will forget.

Do you really want to be a mentor? A busy professional person told me not long ago that over the last few years several people have asked him to be a mentor to them and he has said no…to their shocked surprise. He told me he would always be available for a short phone call or an emailed question, but he said: “What they wanted was a true mentor–someone who would invest time and energy in their careers. I don’t have enough time for my own work and frankly, I don’t want someone calling or visiting me just to talk or expecting me to meet with them regularly.”

You may feel the same way. Before you agree to be a mentor, find out the expectations of the mentee. Make sure you really care about his or her career as if he or she is a personally selected protege who you want to shepherd to success.

Are you really the mentor you say you are? Some might say it is only a semantic issue to question whether someone is actually mentoring others or not, but I think it is important to be correct about it. Time, energy and potential success would indicate a supervisor cannot truly mentor every employee. On the other hand, it would not be a good thing for a supervisor to spend large amounts of time mentoring one employee but not others. Instead, an effective supervisor will engage in mentoring behaviors with all employees.

In addition, mentoring behavior is more than cheer-leading, commending, answering questions or just being friendly or encouraging.  Athena, as Mentor, told Telemachus, “You must not keep on acting like a child—you’re too old for that now…You are fine and strong, I see. You should be brave, so people born in future years will say good things of you.” 

You may need to balance your supportive mentoring conversations with some tough caring:

• Honesty about how the employee is coming across to others.
• Correction when the employee has shown poor judgment.
• Guidance, when the employee is starting down the wrong path in behavior or performance.
• Questions and listening, when the employee is trying to decide.
• Specific advice on occasion, not just vague generalities.
• Openness and availability with few limitations.

The bottom line: As with many phrases we toss around without thinking, the term mentor is often misused and misunderstood. Make sure you know what you are talking about when you say you are a mentor or you will be a mentor.  Maybe what you really want to do is just fulfill your role as a supervisor, team leader or coach–or be a valuable colleague, coworker or friend.

March 14th, 2010 Posted by TLR | Personal and Professional Development, Supervision and Management | 3 comments

Scatter Gun Correction

Supervisor Paul Sanderson sent out three corrective emails in a week, to all sixteen employees on his shift.  He sent one to everyone because he saw two employees leaving trash in the break room.  The second was sent because he noticed one employee not following procedures on a task. The third email was sent because Paul found a door unlocked and he didn’t know who did it.

• Employees who had been performing and behaving correctly felt as though they were being chided unfairly.  They knew who the real culprits were and they  knew Paul knew. They wondered why Paul didn’t just gutsy up and deal with the problem.
• The employees who had not been doing the right thing assumed they weren’t the only ones cutting corners, since everyone got an email.
• The employee who left the door unlocked figured he got by with it this time.

Scatter gun correction is nearly always ineffective and creates frustration and hostility.  Even if you hit the target with one or two employees you can alienate others. The biggest concern is that it makes you seem unable to investigate a problem or afraid to deal with it directly.

Take the time to analyze a situation, find out who is involved and what can be done about it, and do effective supervisory work to correct or redirect the appropriate employee and solve the problem. If you think everyone needs to be reminded, at least also speak to the person who specifically was in error this time.  Don’t depend upon him or her getting the hint in your scatter gun correction.

The next time you are considering a scatter gun comment at a staff meeting or briefing, or you’re thinking about a scatter gun corrective email, ask yourself these questions:

• Do I know a specific person who is making this mistake or doing this thing? If so, talk to that person face to face.
• Is there a better way to deal with this than in writing? Often a private word with an employee will accomplish much more. It will also allow you to build a more personal relationship.
• Am I considering the scatter gun email to avoid the discomfort of talking to someone directly?  Being a supervisor can be uncomfortable, but that is your issue–and one that will improve with experience.  Don’t make employees pay the price for your lack of comfort by sending them all a corrective email or giving them a corrective lecture, or even a corrective reminder, about something they haven’t done.

An active supervisor who observes the work environment, the work product and employees, will see things that should be commended and things that need to be corrected. The employee who is doing good work should be thanked personally. The employee who needs to change performance or behavior should be corrected personally.

Don’t scatter your efforts. Focus on the correct person and demonstrate knowledge about what is going on at work, as well as on demonstrating fairness and self-confidence.

March 9th, 2010 Posted by TLR | Supervision and Management | 7 comments

Applaud Small Victories

Don’t Take Away The Goody From Good Work

I heard this week about a manager who seems to be unable to say “Good job!”  or “Thanks!”  He always seems compelled to take the positive feeling out of even a compliment by pointing out a flaw or diminishing the good work of employees. 

When an employee proudly reported that she finished a project on time, he said, “Yeah? Well, I just hope you didn’t rush to the point that you made mistakes or you’ll have to do it again.”

When someone told him about how well a suggestion was accepted by a group, he said, “That’s just one group. There are a lot more groups to worry about than just one.”

When an employee brought work to him that was creative and essentially flawless, the manager looked at it and said, “This is pretty good. So, how come you don’t do this kind of work all the time?”

It doesn’t hurt you to let others have successes.

Don’t be like that manager! Don’t be like that with anyone–whether it is people you supervise, people who supervise you, people with whom you work, your family or anyone else. Let people have victories–even small victories that don’t seem significant to you. It won’t hurt you and it may be the very thing that gives the other person the incentive to move toward larger accomplishments.  It may be exactly what that person needs right at that moment, to give them a reason to keep going with work or with life.

The concept in Ken Blanchard’s books about catch people doing something right, has become a bit hackneyed, but it’s true.  It’s especially true when someone has an obvious expectation that they will be praised or that their efforts will be appreciated.  How sad when the goody is taken out of good work, for the sake of acting superior, to keep someone from getting a big ego, or for any other reason.

Anyone will notice gigantic achievements, but it takes someone special to recognize the small achievements that indicate attempts to grow, gain new skills, practice, or try to do something that is challenging. Encourage people to be proud of what they have done, even if you must guide toward improvement. The key is to leave the goody in what they have done right, while helping them make the rest of their work match that high quality.

Tomorrow, next week and habitually after that, look for small victories all around you and verbally applaud them. You’ll soon see even greater things to commend.

February 25th, 2010 Posted by TLR | Challenging and Problematic People, Life and Work, Supervision and Management | 12 comments

When Someone At Work Is Upset With You

The signs are obvious:  A coworker or someone you supervise is unhappy with something you’ve done or said. You may have been in the wrong–or not–but this reaction of pouting, sulking, or giving you the evil eye is certainly irritating. Other indicators that he or she is teaching you a lesson: She won’t make eye contact unless forced to; he gets quiet when you walk into the area; she answers questions as briefly as possible; he seems withdrawn in general and the communication level has dropped way off. 

What do you want to accomplish? Most of us just want to get over the rough spot and move on. But, you should also work to be an example or a model of how such things should be handled. Which means you can’t add to it with gossip, sarcasm or being even more rude back. (You also shouldn’t whine, beg or give in inappropriately just to restore peace.)

If the problem was caused by misunderstandings that need to be clarified or a situation that needs to be fixed not just moved past, you will need to work toward those improvements as well.  The focus of this short article is primarily on less complex situations–the temporary frustrations and irritations of work.

1. Communicate normally with the employee–neither more than usual or less.  Most well-adjusted people don’t enjoy sulking, so give them a chance to get back to normal. If you are still focused on work, they will regain their focus as well.  Ask for assistance as you normally would.  Discuss mutual concerns.  Almost always after a few days, things will improve. Just don’t lose track of what caused it in the first place. If you contributed to it, don’t do that thing again!

2. Give the situation a few days to improve.  If it hasn’t, approach the employee directly, with a concerned tone not an exasperated one.
 ”Jan, since Tuesday, you’ve acted different than usual–not talking, not making eye contact, not responding when I talk to you. What’s going on?”

You may want to say that but be even more direct: “Are you angry about my remark during the meeting? I said that because I meant it and I still do, but I don’t see why we can’t work together in spite of our different opinions. I hate it when things are so awkward that we can’t even talk.”

Or, “Jan, I may not have fully apologized for what I said in the meeting. I meant to be funny but I could see it wasn’t taken that way. I hope you’ll forgive me and we can move past it.”

One approach is to act as though you don’t realize it has anything to do with you at all.  I only mention this because I know it can work (even though it is more manipulative than I usually would suggest.)  “Jan, you’ve acted a little down the last couple of days and that’s not like you. I heard you coughing awhile ago. Are you feeling OK?”

Very often the other person will grab at that reason for their actions. And who knows, maybe it’s true!

3. Be willing to listen–and probably listen more than talk.Someone who would treat you to a sulky spell is probably not as professionally skilled at handling conflict as you are–or as you should be.  Focus your talking on moving forward with work, not on a rehash of the thing that started it all–unless you truly do need to apologize for something or clarify an issue or get a commitment to ensure the problem doesn’t happen again.

4.  Recognize when your efforts aren’t being successful. This is the tricky part in some situations! If you are a supervisor or manager you shouldn’t allow an employee to be rude or to refuse to talk to you about resolving a conflict.  At the point the employee is not communicating but only being angry, you should draw the conversation to a close and say you will talk to them again later. Go to your own manager or to HR or other resources to discuss the matter.

If it is a coworker who is not wanting to resolve the conflict and only wanting to argue more, bring the conversation to a close by saying you’re sorry the two of you can’t find common ground about work, but you hope soon the employee will be able to feel better about it. Walk away and give it another day. After that, talk to your supervisor about it and get some advice.

5. Once it’s over, let it be over. Whether you talk to the coworker or employee or the situation fades on its own–or you have to get assistance that forces the employee to behave appropriately–you be the one who never falters in professionalism and mature behavior.  It’s over, move on. (I imagine you will have learned some lessons from the situation, either about your own conduct or about the conduct of others.)

Keep your goal in mind: To get back to work and, if it’s possible, get back to a comfortable relationship.  Live your life at work in such a way that when situations like these emerge no one thinks of you as the cause, because they know you are above petty behavior.

January 31st, 2010 Posted by TLR | Challenging and Problematic People, Life and Work, Supervision and Management | 10 comments

Take Someone Along

Take A Guest To Meetings

If you participate in committees, groups, clubs or activities or attend organizational meetings that are appropriate and not confidential, consider inviting an employee or coworker along now and then–there can be many benefits for both of you.

*Employees and coworkers can expand their views of the organization and your role in it.

*It gives you and the employee or coworker an opportunity to communicate about general issues as well as the issues involved in the meeting or committee.

*It allows the employee or coworker to meet people within and outside your organization and to build a network for his or her professional development.

*It allows you the chance to observe the employee or coworker in another setting, and to discover strengths or developmental needs you might not know otherwise. (And they can observe you, too!)

*It lets employees and coworkers see what you do when you’re out of the office. Nearly always they find out you are not spending the time just having fun!

Lookout For Pitfalls

1. Don’t play favorites.  Try to rotate through the list of potentials unless there are events or meetings that would only be appropriate for one or a few people.  You might be surprised at the topics in which an employee would be interested.

2. Use social graces at the meeting. Arrive early so you can introduce your guest. Especially introduce him or her to the chairman of the committee or to key participants. It  makes everyone feel more valued. Provide the employee or coworker with handout copies and make sure he or she can follow the action (or inaction!) or the meeting.

3. Discuss the role of your guest ahead of time. That is especially important if he or she will be lower in rank or organizational status than others. If he or she will sit in an observer area while you must sit at a table, make that clear in a courteous way.  If you want the employee to feel comfortable speaking up during discussions, let him or her know that as well.

If your guest is someone you supervise, do not have them take notes for you, get coffee for you or anything else that seems menial and not part of a professional role. (At a specific group of meetings I used to  attend, the people who were there with the executives were referred to as “horse holders”.  As in, “We’ll have a seat or two for any horse holders you bring.”  I thought it sounded obnoxious and said so. No one else seemed to think anything of it, including the horse holders!  

4. Don’t gripe and complain.  You don’t have to lie or be insincere if you genuinely hate attending or if you have a deep conflict with another participant.  However, if you feel that negative, maybe you should attend and suffer alone. 

5. Be aware that your guest will be keenly aware of everything you say and do.  You’ll be forced to be on your best behavior. (That’s another advantage to having them there!) Be an example of how a productive meeting participant should talk and act.

6. Use the time after the meeting. Take a few minutes afterwards to get a cup of coffee or have lunch, if time is available.  Go somewhere inexpensive and pay for it–or not–but at least use the time to relax and get to know the employee or coworker better. Don’t use it as a time to gossip or for trying to get the employee on your side or impressing him or her with your accomplishments.

7. Follow up. Let the employee or coworker know meeting results or keep them informed about something in which they would be interested. Let them know that you might be available to attend a meeting they are attending sometime.  It would be good for you to expand your thinking as well.

The bottom line: You can only gain positive influence if you show through your actions that you are credible, dependable and valuable to those with whom you work.  You must also communicate effectively–preferably face to face. You can help to gain all of thsoe characteristics by including others when you attend meetings or gatherings, participate on committees, and take part in other activities related to work. 

Look at your calendar for the next few months and find meetings and events to which you can invite an employee or coworker.  While you are deciding who to ask, consider this thought by the writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne.

It contributes greatly towards a man’s moral and intellectual health, to be brought into habits of companionship with individuals unlike himself, who care little for his pursuits, and whose sphere and abilities he must go out of himself to appreciate.“

January 24th, 2010 Posted by TLR | Personal and Professional Development, Service to Customers, Clients and Coworkers, Supervision and Management | 8 comments

It Matters Who Gets The Credit

You may have heard the thought that there is no end to what we could accomplish if we didn’t care who got the credit. (Ironically, that has been credited to President Ronald Reagan, Walt Disney, writer Laing Burns, Jr. and several others.) It is sometimes stated with a slightly corrective tone when an employee is frustrated over not receiving recognition for work or when someone else incorrectly receives recognition for it.  Then, we wonder why good people lose enthusiasm!

Giving credit or acknowledgement is a form of praise and it should be done correctly. If–as is often the case–raises, bonuses, promotions and perks are given on the basis of contribution, it is critical that credit is given to the right people and in the right way.

Giving credit where credit is due.

* If everyone in a group contributed close to equally on a project, don’t single out individuals for public praise.  Supervisors and managers should express appreciation to individuals privately and refer to each person’s contributions when preparing formal commendations and performance evaluations. However, if everyone did their jobs effectively, keep the credit focused on the group and on the value of working together. (Also remember that a manager’s job is to monitor work–including work of ad hoc groups–to see to it that everyone does contribute effectively. )

*If individuals are given credit in public or private for specific work on a group project, make sure it is well-deserved.  Especially make sure someone else who rightfully deserves the credit isn’t overlooked.  It’s extremely demotivating for the wrong person to get credit for work. What makes it worse is that most good employees don’t want to sound as though they are looking for praise or taking credit, so they’ll keep quiet about it but feel deeply wounded.This is why it is so crucial that supervisors and managers are aware of the quality and quantity of work being done on a daily basis by each employee, as well as what they are contributing to group work.

*Do not give special praise just because someone is perpetually needy or is a squeaky wheel. Especially do not do so at the expense of the real contributors who quietly but effectively do the bulk of the work or who repeatedly save the day in a crisis.  All employees have a strong sense of what is fair and what is not.  Even those who are not involved can become demotivated over unfairness.

*A group coordinator may not deserve accolades for work the team has done.  Often the person put in charge of a project receives most of the credit,  whether or not they displayed leadership, made assignments and guided work, or even participated at all.  Managers should praise the team as a whole or recognize each person for specific contributions, rather than automatically giving most of the credit to the person who was “in charge”, unless that person clearly was the guiding light for the work.

*The fact that someone says they are outstanding doesn’t make it so.  It’s amazing how many otherwise savvy supervisors, managers and executives believe the self-aggrandizing stories of some employees–especially when the employees downplay the work of others who may not habitually seek bragging time with the boss.  The next thing you know, the stories are repeated as truth and a positive reputation is built on nothing but self-reporting.

*Letting higher level managers know about the good work of individuals is a way to show loyalty to employees.  If an employee works faithfully to make a group, section or project successful, the least the supervisor or manager can do is make sure higher level people know how dependable that person is–and how dependable they are in comparison to others.  Otherwise, when it’s time for personnel decisions, the wrong choices are made and injustices are done. This is especially true when the manager with the knowledge is no longer there to report the facts. Documentation in a performance evaluation is good (and necessary), but nothing is as effective as using an employee’s name positively in a discussion about a project. Never make the mistake of thinking an employee doesn’t care who gets the credit–they almost always do!

*Giving credit when it is not deserved encourages mediocrity.  Why should someone who is not being effective change their performance or behavior if they get as much or more credit as everyone else? Why should someone give 150% when the person who gave 50% receives the credit for the work?

*Internal motivators have to be nurtured.  Much is said in management books about internal motivators being more compelling than external motivators.  However, like the thought about not caring who gets credit, it doesn’t always stand up to scrutiny in real life. 

External motivators (job titles, increased authority and responsibility, perks, bonuses, pay for performance, commendations, public  praise and receiving credit) are important to almost everyone who works. Those are the things that nurture internal motivators in-between the praising. When someone deserves credit for work but they don’t receive it, or someone else receives it instead, internal motivators start drying up.

The bottom line:  No doubt about it, if we didn’t care who got credit for our work, we’d probably approach it differently.  Roll credits! wouldn’t matter to actors; politicians wouldn’t care whose name was on the legislation; athletes wouldn’t care who got credited with the game-saving play;  writers wouldn’t care whose name was on the byline; researchers wouldn’t care who was credited with the lab or library work.  As long as something good was being done for society, the team or the organization, it wouldn’t matter.

Life isn’t like that.

Give credit where credit is due and only where it is due.

January 13th, 2010 Posted by TLR | Life and Work, Supervision and Management | 19 comments

Do You Need New Ways To Be Annoying?

I’ve sometimes wondered if the person who is driving me crazy is only that way in a specific setting (the one I’m in at the time) or if he or she is always that way. Fortunately for my peace of mind, I don’t consider the idea that I might be annoying as well. Highly improbable!

My friend Jeff Adams wrote a post last month about annoying airplane travelers.  I could relate to all of his descriptions–especially the passengers who hold up everyone else while stuffing their over-sized bags into the overhead  bins. Then it’s slam, slam, SLAM, while they try to close the door.

My neighbor, Larry Homenick, has a list of annoyances he encounters at casinos. (I don’t go to those places, so I’m taking his word on these). They include the Button Pounder, the Slot Machine Expert, the Slot Machine Hog, the Over-Your-Shoulder Starer, and the Childishly Excited. (Oh my gosh. Oh my GOSH! OH MY GOSH!!!!!!! I won two dollars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Last week I was checking out at an Office Max and the guy in front of me was so preoccupied talking on his cell phone, he couldn’t respond to anything the sales clerk was asking–the sales clerk was visibly annoyed and so were those of us standing and waiting. We all have stories like that nowadays. They are as common as the annoyances of having someone scrolling through email while you’re teaching or conversing; talking on the phone loudly, as though others want to hear or won’t notice, or forwarding silly emails or urban legends to you and fifty others.

There are traffic annoyances; personal habits that are annoying; repetitious words and phrases that were charming, witty or interesting the first thousand times the person said them, but aren’t anymore; inside jargon; annoying children, annoying sounds (whistling, humming, snorting, etc.) and a myriad of other things. (And saying we should overlook those things is annoying too. It’s always easier to tell someone to ignore an annoyance than it is to ignore the thing that annoys you.)

More ways to be annoying: In case you don’t have enough ways to be annoying, I’ll give you an excerpt from the list you may have already seen. I haven’t found out the correct attribution–the source listed by some sites hasn’t proven to be correct. Very annoying!

1. Learn Morse Code and have conversations with friends in public consisting entirely of “Beeeeep, Bip, Bip, Beep, Bip, Beeeep…”
2. Specify that your drive-through order is “to go.”
3. Sniffle incessantly. (Note: Or cough, pick your noise, scratch your arm, neck or face, etc.)
4. Insist on keeping your windshield wipers running in all weather conditions to keep them “tuned up.”
5. Reply to everything someone says with, “That’s what YOU think.”
6. Follow a few paces behind someone spraying everything they touch with Lysol.
7. Finish all your sentences with the words, “in accordance with prophecy.”
8. ONLY TYPE IN UPPERCASE.
9. Repeat everything someone says, in the form of a question. (Note: That’s why “active listening” techniques can be annoying.)
10. Demand that everyone address you as “Conquistador”. (Note: I knew a guy who wanted me to call him Tarzan, but it might not be the same concept.)
11. Stand over someones shoulder mumbling as they read. (Note: That’s still not as bad as standing behind a stranger and watching while they play a slot machine.)
12. Deliberately hum songs that will remain lodged in co-worker’s minds. (Note: Like Mike O’Neill and Art Hutchison used to do to Gary Gosage with “Sh-boom, sh-boom. Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta, sh-boom, sh-boom…”)

I saw a sign the other day that undoubtedly is appropriate for all of us:

Sh-boom, sh-boom. Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta, sh-boom, sh-boom……

January 3rd, 2010 Posted by TLR | Challenging and Problematic People, Life and Work, Personal and Professional Development, Service to Customers, Clients and Coworkers | 18 comments

What Excuse Will You Make For Them THIS Time?

Unacceptable  Excuses

* “Uh, Herman forgot to cover your car when he sprayed the paint on your house. Poor guy, he’s had a lot of problems at home lately, so there’s no point in making him feel worse.”

* “You won’t be getting  your paychecks this month. We’re doing more with less over here in Budget, so Mathilda completely forgot about the payroll. She feels awful about it, but I can’t blame her what with all work we’ve had to do.”

* “I know Roberto promised your invitations would be done in time to mail before the wedding, but you won’t be getting them until the week after that. You’ll be on your honeymoon by then anyway, so the delay shouldn’t be a big problem, right?”

* “OK, so my guys forgot to put brakes in a few hundred cars last week. They’re only human and they make mistakes now and then. How come no one mentions the hundreds of brakes they put in like they were supposed to?”

* “I’m sorry about your incision coming open and your intestines falling on the floor. If you had double-checked to make sure we sewed you up correctly, maybe it wouldn’t have happened.  However, I’m not going to play the blame game at this point. The important thing is that it was a learning experience for all of us.”

Stop Making Excuses For Late Work, Bad Work and No Work!

For all the times supervisors and managers complain about the work or behavior of employees, in most cases there are a dozen times when they make excuses:

• “My guys are really busy.”
• “She’s got problems at home.”
• “We were under a lot of time pressure.”
• “She feels unappreciated.”
• “He felt frustrated.”
• “It was really your fault.”

If you care about an employee, work with them to help them overcome stressful or unpleasant circumstances by putting their focus on their responsiblities. You don’t help them or anyone else–certainly not yourself–by making excuses or lowering standards. (If that sounds harsh, consider how many times you have complained about getting bad service or bad work in stores or businesses–don’t you wish excellence had been the standard?)

If an employee can’t behave or perform correctly, teach him or her to do it the right way. Then, provide oversight and assistance to ensure quality work. An internal or external customer should not  be the guinea pig on which an employee practices. Do quality checks while the work is being done, not when there is a complaint. (Sadly, many of the things that diminish your reputation and the reputation of your group will never be formally complained about.) 

If an employee can do the work acceptably but doesn’t, apologize to the person who received the poor service or a poor product and make it right. You don’t need to apologize in a way that demeans the employee, but there should be no doubt in the mind of the client or customer that you are sorry and you will make it right in the way they want, if possible.  

If the problem involves conflict or poor service within the work place, look for the primary contributor rather than automatically saying everyone was at fault. Sometimes only one employee is creating the problem–hold that employee accountable rather than talking to everyone in a meeting or memo.

Don’t be too mild when you tell the employee about the problem. Many supervisors make the mistake of downplaying the seriousness of a work problem, as a way to help the employee save face or as a way to avoid conflict. However, when you talk to the employee, you should make it clear in what you say and how you say it that the behavior or performance wasn’t acceptable and that it must improve, starting immediately. Try to involve the employee in the actions required to make-up to the customer for the poor product or results. Consider The One Minute Manager approach, which calls for brief but specific conversations.

Support and praise good work and don’t accept bad work. Never allow a culture of mediocrity to develop. You owe that to your organization, the people you serve, employees who are doing the right things, the employee who didn’t do the right thing–and you owe it to yourself. The first time you hear an excuse, call it what it is and don’t accept it. There might be reasons that are justified–a needed item didn’t arrive, someone else didn’t do their work, someone was gone legitimately. Even in those cases, often someone could have prevented the problem if they had been on top of the situation.

The next time you make an excuse, let someone off the hook, back down, change a deadline, approve substandard work, or are too mild in your critique of bad work, think about all the times:

• When you have planned on an assignment being done and found out it wasn’t;
• When the work product was a big disappointment to you but you accepted it anyway;
• When you have been more worried than the employee about a problem;
• When you re-did something or got someone else to do it, but didn’t tell the person responsible;
• When you had to back-pedal and make excuses to someone higher than you;
• When you have had to smooth things out, field complaints or put a good spin on something;
• When you have taken the heat for something someone else failed to do or did poorly, and they didn’t even say thank you.

Aren’t you tired of that? If it happens tomorrow, what excuse will you be quick to provide? What excuse will you accept? Why should you accept any excuse at all, especially if even one other employee is doing good work with good behavior in the same circumstances?

How would this one set with you?

“Hey, I know you told Jake you wanted your tattoo to read,  ‘I’m a Lover’, but you gotta’ admit, ‘I’m a Loser’  is close.” 

December 16th, 2009 Posted by TLR | Challenging and Problematic People, Service to Customers, Clients and Coworkers, Supervision and Management | 6 comments

How Far Should A Manager Go To Work Within An Employee’s Style?

Personal Style or Pain in the Neck?

Each of us has a unique style based on an infinite number of contributing factors. A personal and professional challenge for each of us is to be what seems comfortable and right to us, without creating problems. A manager’s job is to work with the unique styles of all employees as much as possible. What should be the limit to those efforts?

1. When an employee’s quirks, traits, appearance or actions disrupt work or harm the work product or the organization.  A manager’s responsibility is to be alert for the very first indicators of problems and to take action immediately to ensure the employee corrects them.  

 In some work places one or a few employees have been disruptive for weeks, months or years! Of course, the employee should have enough sensitivity and awareness to see what he or she is doing and change it. And, coworkers should have enough confidence and conviction to do something about the things that bother them.  But, ultimately whose responsibility is it?

2. When unreasonable adjustments have to be made. If allowing the employee to work within his or her personal style would require adjustments of performance or behavior standards or the work environment, or an unreasonable tolerance by coworkers, the manager must ensure the employee adjusts to fit into the bigger picture, not the other way around.

Each of us wants the freedom to incorporate our personalities, preferences, experiences, knowledge and skills into our work. An effective manager faciliates individuality as much as possible.  Nevertheless, all employees should be hired, evaluated and retained based on their performance and behavior—and part of that involves adapting personal styles to the larger work environment.

The bottom line: It is possible for everyone to be comfortable within their personal styles, while not imposing those styles on others unreasonably. However, “That’s just the way he is”, is never a reason for tolerating ineffective performance or behavior.

Do you know someone who creates many problems at work and everyone else makes adjustments to deal with that person? Who is that employee’s supervisor or manager? I hope it isn’t you.

November 27th, 2009 Posted by TLR | Challenging and Problematic People, Personal and Professional Development, Service to Customers, Clients and Coworkers, Supervision and Management | 8 comments

Confidence and Success For You and Your Team

“Nothing succeeds like success.” That thought by Sir Arthur Helps in the 1860s is still true, and can be applied to you as a leader and to your team or work group.  

•Look for opportunities to point out successes and accomplishments. Say the words that emphasize what they have accomplished. (”Look at how much you got done in a short amount of time!” “Wow! Not one mistake!” “Very impressive!” “You guys did a great job.”)

•Mention the value of the team as well as the contributions of individuals when you commend formally or informally. (”This shows what we can do.” “This kind of work certainly shows the value of our unit.”)

•Be specific about what made a project or activity successful and give status to those positive actions. (”Tom and Ryan made a promise to themselves about this and look what they accomplished!”)

•Point out obstacles that were overcome or potential problems that were avoided. (”Shannon could have gotten frustrated over the confusion and given up, but she kept working and brought people together. That’s what got the great results.”)

 •Help your team see that they had what it took to be effective–and they will have even more the next time. (”These are the things that show what we can do.” “This kind of quality is what sets us apart.” “We can be the best of the best.”)

As your group gains confidence in themselves they will gain confidence in you, if you are an active part of their work-life. That is how all successful teams are developed: Leaders work to simultaneously develop confidence and success.  The team sees that the requirements, expectations–and sometimes the adamant insistence–of the leader, helps them achieve good things. It all works together!

More than confidence: On the other hand, Mark Twain once commented, “All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure.”  It isn’t enough to just develop confidence within your work group–they have to have the knowledge and skills to be effective. That also points to the approach you should take about formal or informal training: Give participants a vision of how it will help them be successful–and the confidence they can have as a result.

David Storey, the English playwright, said, “Have confidence that if you can do a little thing well, you can do a bigger thing well, too.”  Look for the small triumphs and accomplishments in everyday work and help employees see that by working together and working with you, they can do it again–even better. Help build their faith in you, themselves and the team. It’s a great feeling and gets great results.

November 18th, 2009 Posted by TLR | Life and Work, Personal and Professional Development, Supervision and Management | 5 comments