Tina Lewis Rowe

Tag: supervision

  • Asking For Employee Input And Actually Using It

    A supervisor shared his experience: “I would like to ask employees their thoughts about problems or just about work issues, but it comes back to haunt me every time! Sometimes their ideas are so lacking in reality that I can’t help but get irritated. Worse is when I get five ideas from five different people and…

  • 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…

  • Why Do You Baby That Employee?

    “It’s easer to just let her have her way than to get her upset and have to deal with the fall-out.” “If we say anything about it, he’ll sulk for days. It’s just not worth it. ” “I start every day figuring out what kind of mood she’s in. Sometimes I have to figure it out…

  • Taking Care Of Business

     For Want Of A Nail For want of a nail, a shoe was lost, For want of a shoe, a horse was lost, For want of a horse, a rider was lost, For want of a rider, a message was lost, For want of a message, a battle was lost, For want of a battle,…

  • When It’s Time To Correct and Control, Don’t Hint

    If you are responsible for stopping incorrect, inappropriate or problematic behavior or performance at work, the easiest way to do your job is to speak to the employee directly, courteously and unequivocally. Say what is happening now, what is required instead, and what action you will take if the unacceptable behavior or performance occurs again. Ironically,…

  • Ken Blanchard and Tina Lewis Rowe — We Agree About Praise

    About Praising Praise what you want to have repeated. To praise someone means to commend them, congratulate them, honor them, extol their virtues, go into raptures over something they have done, or to strongly compliment them. Those descriptions set some high standards for what is praiseworthy! It also reminds us that there is a difference between…

  • Maturity Takes Time And Guidance

    “These new kids!” Do you sometimes shake your head in frustration at the poor judgment and lack of maturity shown by newer employees, especially younger employees? Take heart, in a few years those employees will be shaking their heads too, and complaining about the “kids we hire nowadays.” Not long ago I was teaching a…

  • Prickly People and the Problems They Perpetuate

    Some questions about prickly people at work: Do you supervise someone you tip-toe around to avoid setting them off in some way? Do you sometimes feel that you and the rest of your workplace are held hostage by one person who is incredibly difficult for others to work with? Does it sometimes unnerve you? Aren’t you…

  • Delegating — Ten Ways To Make It Work

    This post ties in with the first two, Delegating Dilemmas and Delegating–When and Why. How supervisors can delegate effectively: 1. Be honest and positive, rather than over-selling what is essentially just a task that needs to be done. If you simply want to assign a task you have been doing–or could do–to someone else, assign it…

  • Delegating — When and Why

    If you are a supervisor and feel perpetually pressured for time, you probably need to manage your time more effectively. (I feel incredibly guilty writing that, because I am notorious for being under time pressure. This is a classic case of “Do as I say because I know it’s right, even if I have trouble…