Treat Your Job Like a Stepping Stone AND as a Perch

The heading may seem to be both ends of a continuum, but hopefully you’ll see the wisdom in this type approach.  For the most part, we’re all looking to advance in our careers and use our current job as a stopover to show our wares and be considered for that next opportunity.  So we want to perform and perform well.  It would be easy to fall into a quick fix type mode and do only what it takes to advance, with little regard for what you leave behind.

I worked at a manufacturing location that was the “launching pad” for many of the corporation’s rising stars.  Some were terrific and others left there with the organization in much worse shape than when they arrived.  The latter  group obviously had no feeling for the employees who remained to clean up the “mess.”   The vicious cycle this created was a problem for those who were genuinely concerned about the local operation.  Employees became very skeptical of the motives of any new manager, and sometimes made it difficult for the manager to obtain good results–even when their motives were the right kind.

My suggestion is to use the job as a stepping stone BUT act like you’ll finish your career there.  It’s the equivalent of thinking globally and acting locally.  You’ll get results and cooperation from fellow employees, satisfaction from knowing your legacy will be a positive one, and the experience that prepares you well for your next assignment.  If you stay with the same company, your reputation will also precede you to that next assignment.

And besides…someday you might have to go back to that location!!  How will you be perceived then?

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Integrity Challenged by Compassion

Several times in my career, I have been faced with the responsibility of administering a reduction in force (RIF.)  So many factors to be considered from the financial aspect as well as from the emotional aspect—-for both the organization as well as the individuals.  As a Human Resources professional, I was always at the center of activities during a RIF.  The trickiest part was doing a balancing act between maintaining personal, department, and company integrity, while showing as much empathy and compassion as possible for those employees who have already or will have lost their jobs very soon.

Many of the employees losing their jobs hadn’t prepared for such an event, either monetarily or skillwise.   They are frightened and very apprehensive of what the future will bring.   They’re looking for any possible advantage to help them find the next job.  There’s a real sense of urgency!

Now comes the tough part.  Occasionally one of these people would ask me for either a recommendation letter or some other sort of certification showing they had met some qualification that wasn’t in fact true.   I felt very compassionate towards these employees who had given their lives to the company, and don’t for a minute think that that didn’t weigh heavily on my mind.  However, I felt that I had to be true to myself and to the company.  I couldn’t in good conscience lie or exaggerate an individual’s credentials, and this didn’t make me very popular with that person.  That was something I just learned to live with.  I tried always to be compassionate but frank with the employee when I explained that I couldn’t comply with his/her request.

You may think you’re helping someone out, but at what cost if you don’t give an accurate representation.  Your integrity and your company’s reputation may be at risk.  Plus, is it fair to the prospective employer?

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Go Over Your Supervisor’s Head?

You’re thinking to yourself: “This is a real problem, not only for me, but for my department and the company.”  Your supervisor is doing something illegal or immoral, and you know it for a fact.  What are your options at this time?

1. You can totally ignore the situation.  This may put your employment status in jeopardy if the impropriety is later uncovered and there is evidence that you knew about it and didn’t report it.
2. You can go directly to your supervisor’s boss or to your HR Department.  This is the method that most company codes of conduct would suggest, but you have to feel comfortable with your company’s reputation as an employer who doesn’t retaliate against whistle blowers.
3. You can confront your supervisor with the facts (and I must STRESS facts— and not suspicion) in hopes that he/she will do the honorable thing.  The facts are important because if you happen to be wrong, you’ve placed yourself in a very rough spot.

Of these three alternatives, my choice would be for number three, adding that if he/she doesn’t admit the wrongdoing to upper management immediately, that I would be forced to take my facts to them myself.  Why would I take this approach?  First, I find it personally distasteful to go around my supervisor to a higher level.  After all, I wouldn’t want any of my subordinates doing that to me.  Second, I don’t want to have a perceived reputation that I will go around my supervisor.  Other company managers (who someday could be my supervisor) may wonder at what level I would do this.  What if I were just upset with one of their decisions.

Having said all this, option 3 allows me a chance to not have to go around my supervisor, but still get the issue resolved.  However, I had better be prepared to follow up if my supervisor refuses to follow through.  Which option would you choose, and why?

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Lose Your Temper at Work?

In today’s work faster and longer with fewer resources, it is no small wonder that we’ve seen the occasional flare-up that makes national news.  You know the one–some disgruntled employee (or recently ex-employee) comes back to the workplace and opens fire.  This of course, is the exception rather than the rule, thank goodness.  Most temper issues are manifested at lower levels, but are just as senseless.

There are going to be issues that arise that frustrate all of us from time-to-time.  Perhaps your computer system crashes at a crucial time in your project.  Maybe one of your team members fails to deliver an important part of the project.   You may just have been chewed out (wrongly so of course) by your boss.  Each of these events may cause you to lose your temper at the next slight provocation.

I’m here to say “stop and think before you act.”  Once those words or the actions are out there in front of your subordinates or coworkers, they ain’t coming back!  Sure you can always apologize later, but in the back of their minds, people will always be wondering that if it happened once, it can happen again.  In addition, when you think about it rationally, the temper outburst adds no value to your organization.  I know there will be some of you who say that the explosion gets a message across to your employees that they shouldn’t get complacent.

To this point I would say that if you must lose your temper in order to control your subordinates,  you never really had conrol anyway.  Give that some thought the next time you’re ready to explode.  What exactly are you accomplishing?

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Changing Team Member Behavior

Your staff is performing very well, and H.E.L.L. is not such a bad place to be.  However there still can be the occasional hiccup, and one of the links in your team chain has a crack in it.  How are you going to fix the crack and still maintain the integrity of the chain?

You’ll start by understanding each member of your team, and what are their motivators and what do they value.  As I had mentioned in an earlier post, what motivates one might infuriate another.  I have always been a strong proponent of a more direct style of communication with a subordinate, but mixed with a generous helping of understanding about their motivators and values.  When one of my last team’s members was slipping in her dedication to our objectives, I had to examine the situation from my perspective, her perspective, and the team’s perspective.  After determining that the change needed must come from the team member herself, I then thought about the strategy needed to get the point across, change her behavior, but not alienate or demotivate her.  That’s when I had to use my best leadership skills.

When we sat down to discuss the situation, I was prepared with the facts that were very undeniable.  There was no way these could be refuted, and she was made to realize that she was being held accountable for those objectives under her control.  Then we discussed if there were any external factors that might be impacting her work results.  Having dismissed this as a contributing factor, the only other possibility was that there was a performance behavior that was impacted by internal stimuli.  We talked and set up a corrective action plan along with a timetable in which the behavior needed to change.  There were consequences if the behavior did not get back on track.  Don’t think that your other team members don’t see the problem and your solution from their perspectives.  You’re reinforcing your philosophy on expectations at the same time.

Don’t think that your organization is immune to these hiccups, but be prepared instead to correct them and move on.  If you have one you’d like to discuss, please let me know.

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Will You Ever See It Again? Or Even Once?

You may not know it when you’re right in the middle of it.  You might only recognize it after it’s gone.  You may only see it once in your working career.  Once you do recognize it, you wonder why it is so elusive.  Do others around you recognize it.  The “it” I’m speaking of, is being in a team environment where everything just clicks.  All of your co-workers like and respect each other.  They help each other with smiles on their faces, even when other parts of the organization are in chaos.

Not long before leaving my last traditional HR assignment, I  mentioned to my team during a meeting that what we have here is something to be cherished.  It doesn’t happen very often, and you may never see anything like it again during your working careers.  I’m not sure how much they believed it then, because their working careers were much shorter than mine, and they hadn’t been in many work groups.  I hope that they continue to strive for the blend of high quality/quantity work, coupled with harmony and unselfishness.

How did my team get there?  It is probably best summed up in my previous post about “Managing in H.E.L.L.–and Loving Every Minute of It.”  There are a number of short posts on that link, but the five minutes or so you’ll spend reading it may be the turning point for your team.

If you’re fortunate enough to experience it more than once, my hat goes off to you.  If you’re still looking for that first time, never, ever stop trying.  The results are worth the wait.

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Happy Holidays!

Please have a safe and happy holiday season with your family and friends, and we’ll see each other again in 2010!

Sunday Night Syndrome (SNS)

You’ve worked hard all week in a tough environment (ie, hell) and on Friday afternoon you’re so glad to get out of there for the weekend.  Time to forget morons, politics, schedules, and hypocrisy.  There’s sports, kids, friends, and other welcome diversions to make Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday seem like heaven.  Now for some of you, I may have taken that just one day too far.

On Sunday morning you wake up and go through your normal activities or plans you have for the day……but……there’s something looming on the horizon that starts to eat at the pit of your stomach.  Your evening reminds you that hell starts all over again tomorrow, and as luck would have it, there are 5 days of hell for every 2 days of weekend leisure.  Your mind wanders into thoughts of morons, politics, schedules, and hypocrisy.  Oh, please!!  Let me have just one more day!!

If the above scenario seems to be a regular occurrence in your life, you should be thinking about making a change for another opportunity.  Now I realize that in difficult economic times, you may have to bite the bullet and endure SNS until things improve for employment opportunities.  Not being able to make a  move doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be prepared in case the right job opens up for you.  Just about everybody has had a case of SNS at one time or another, and the secret is to make sure it doesn’t become a permanent, chronic disorder.  You owe it to yourself and to your employer to come in on Monday morning, fresh and without the lingering effects of SNS.

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Be a Good Listener/Sounding Board/Advisor

There will be times during your supervisory career when someone on your staff is having some sort of crisis outside of the workplace.  If you’ve built a rapport with that person based upon credibility and trust, chances are that he/she may come to you for an opinion or for advice.  Maybe just as an option to vent.  Now comes the tough part.  How paternal/maternal should you be?

If the individual just wants to vent, understand that all you need to do is listen and give your complete attention to that person.  Nothing is worse than talking to your boss who is busy with a BlackBerry or a PC.  Focus on your employee.

If the employee is in a situation and they have taken a course of action already, they may only want your opinion of their actions.  If you’re able to do this without being too judgmental, that’s probably the best avenue to take.  If the action is totally out of line, ask the person why they took this action, and if they understand what the consequences might be.  This approach may help them decide what their next step should be.  Remember that the decision was theirs–not yours.  If you agree with their original action, resist the urge to wholeheartedly endorse it, just in case things don’t turn out well later.  In many instances, your just listening means so much to them.  And don’t forget that you want them to be able to function well on the job.

Last but not least, the employee may want your advice.  It’s an honor to be asked, but it also places a great deal of pressure on you to assist your team member while still maintaining a good, healthy working relationship.  Think it over very carefully before rendering the advice.  For instance if you were to condemn a troubled relationship and it later blossoms, the awkwardness can make all uncomfortable later.  Good luck!

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How’s the Kool Ade at Your Place?

We are taught early in our careers to respect the decisions of our managers even though we may disagree with them.  After all, they are privy to information that we don’t know about.  They have a much more broad perspective than we do.  So we continue to drink the “kool ade” that they serve us.  When the continued poor results make you question a number of decisions, does the kool ade lose its refreshment value?

If we choose to challenge the kool ade flavor we have been chugging for some time, we’re labeled as not being a team player.  When that drink continually fails to produce desired results but we still have it served in heaping portions, when is enough, enough?  It may be necessary to rethink your boundaries as spelled out in Bend But Don’t Break, an earlier post of mine.  Can I continue to drink the same kool ade and be OK with subpar results or with a violation of my value system?  If not, I have a decision to make.

Interestingly enough, in your own department, are you guilty of serving up the same old flavor of kool ade to your team members?  Maybe this has happened over a period of time and you’re not even aware of it.  Do you question your team members’ loyalty if they challenge you?   Can you learn something from one of your subordinates?  See You CAN Teach an Old Dog New Tricks.  The kool ade you’ve been serving your team members may not be as refreshing as you think it is.

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I Finally Realized That I Couldn’t Call the Shots

There was a time in my early work career when I would challenge and protest every decision that I didn’t support, made by my management.  And at that time of course, size didn’t matter.  Big issues, little issues–all the same.  I was never one to pick my battles in the old days.

What did all that get me later in my career?  No matter where I worked I would discover that the same issues would resurface and my reaction would be the same.  Then it dawned on me that I wasn’t going to be able to change people’s poor decisions (as I saw them)–especially if the ones I wanted to change were made by the person in charge of the whole place.  It also became evident that every company I ever had to work for, recruited from the same place–the human race.  A new company wouldn’t cure an issue that was clearly mine alone.

Maybe I mellowed with age and tired of fighting losing battles.  Maybe I finally realized what was really important to me, and thus, chose my battles.  When I look back at early times, I still feel that many poor management decisions should have been reversed, but at some point I also realized that there is more than one way to accomplish a goal.  Maybe their ways were OK too.  I feel comfortable now with what issues are important to me in the workplace, and how far I can push before I just acquiesce.  I feel I can bend and not break.  It might have benefited me years earlier if I had only looked at the signature line on my paycheck, and realized that it didn’t have my name on it.  Anyone else out there have similar experiences?

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The One Person Who Makes Your Job So Hard

I’ve been blessed to have the privilege of supervising many terrific employees, some in the twilight of their careers, and others who have moved up the ladder.  The mentoring experiences have been very rewarding as I see development of my proteges.  Receiving a call or an email from a former subordinate has been very gratifying.  But I must also mention those former employees of mine who weren’t always the easiest to supervise.

Many years ago when I was a third-shift foreman in a factory, I learned some of my most valuable managerial lessons.  I had been placed in the job because I was a good Industrial Engineering Technician.  Go figure!  No real supervisory training and pretty young to be thrown into such a tough job.  But, it was OJT and a baptism by fire.  I can recall one employee I supervised, and he and I did not get along very well at all.  I felt like I had to watch over him all the time, and I’m sure he rebelled because he thought I was micromanaging him.  Throw in a couple of strong personalities and you have the recipe for confrontation at almost any time.

When I look back at it, I’m not sure I handled things very well.  We both could have done better and thus, benefited the employer.  When I finally left that position, we were friendly and I would see him occasionally outside of work where we would laugh about the good old days.  I learned from my experience, and I’d like to think it helped make me who I am today.  My inexperience and my managerial insecurities were as much to blame as anything.  My suggestion to young supervisors would be to not try to change the world before you get your feet wet.  Learn as much as you can as quickly as you can, and you may have to take a few lumps early.   Don’t let your ego get in the way of a very valuable learning experience.

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You Can Go Back Home—Just Don’t Stay There!

So, you’ve just completed an assignment that by most measurements, has been a successful one.  You’ve cultivated a team that is the envy of your company, but now it is time to move on.  With the new job comes the process of establishing yourself and leading a new group of individuals towards new objectives—whether with the same company or with a new one.

The mutual fondness that existed between you and your old team doesn’t just automatically go away when you leave.  Meeting, emailing, or calling these people helps reinforce the importance of the relationship, and starts the healing of the withdrawal process.  As time moves along, everyone becomes accustomed to the new situations that each faces, and the contacts become fewer and farther between.

Did you ever stop to think about what effect these close relationships might have on the person who replaced you?  If you were the new supervisor, would you feel that your predecessor wasn’t giving you an opportunity to establish yourself with your new team? Would you be intimidated or resentful of the old supervisor?  Would you think that your new subordinates may keep their loyalty with your predecessor and never come around to you?  Remember there are insecurities inherent with a new supervisory assignment anyway.

Many supervisors would have a difficult time letting go and would continue trying to keep a close relationship with their former subordinates.  They would have difficulty leaving their comfort zone.  I’m going to suggest that you have a gradual withdrawal over a relatively short period of time.  The old saying is that you can’t go back home.  I want to change that just a little bit.  You can go back home, but you can’t stay there.

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Right Through Your Eulogy!

Things are going well.  Your team is performing at a high level and you’re all getting kudos for your efforts.  It isn’t out of the question for you to be feeling a great deal of pride, knowing how valuable you have become to the organization.  Why, I bet they couldn’t possibly get along without you!!  Oops!  This is an easy trap to fall into.

True, if you lose a member of your team, it will hurt a little.  But you’ll get the right person for the job and you’ll make things as seamless as possible.  Of course it will be much more difficult, if not impossible, to replace you.  That kind of thinking runs rampant throughout organizations where the supervisors and managers haven’t gotten a real dose of humility.

While in HR, my favorite way of responding to an individual who spoke in those kind of terms was to say:  “We’ll be xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx right through your eulogy.”  Of course all the Xs represent whatever was being done by that individual at any particular company.  It was my way of saying that business will continue, and even thrive, if you’re no longer with us.  I know it is cliche, but there really is no one who is indispensable.  Also remember that nothing good or bad lasts forever.

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Decision Making Gone Wrong

In today’s business world, many place a great value on the ability to make quick decisions.  Sometimes these quick decisions are akin to knee-jerk reactions without any intelligent basis for the decisions.  Anyone can make a snap decision without consideration for the consequences, but you and your company or team are probably better off by taking adequate time to weigh the pros and cons of each alternative.  Short term individual bonuses don’t fall into a life-and-death category in my opinion.

In a recent assignment of mine, managers were allowed AND encouraged to make decisions when they had no experience doing so.  The company had been in such a great position strategically, that no matter how poor the “leaders” were and how ludicrous their decisions were and continued to be, money would still be made for the company.  This did nothing to educate managers on intelligent decision making, that they may be required to use in another organization.  Of course while the money still flowed and the decisions supported what previous “leaders” had done, these newer prodigies were praised and learned some poor habits, and many undesirable results were repeated.

Many times the decisions were made during a heated emotional outburst under the guise of being a person who works well under pressure and is “flexible.”  I’m not saying that taking the time to evaluate will always produce the best outcome, but the probability is certainly much stronger by doing so.   The lethal mixture of inexperience, emotionalism, egotism, and sometimes malice was fairly prevalent in the decision making process of the “leaders”  I encountered in this assignment, and only rarely did coaching or pleading on my part sway them from their power trips.  Who loses in this type of scenario?  The rank-and-file received lower wages which also hampered long-term recruitment and retention; the external customer paid more than it should have; the employees who knew better had to comply or lose their jobs.  But, as I’ve said before, nothing good or bad lasts forever.

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