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Better End of the Deal

C-Tech said:
Since I run the place, I could just tell them what I want done, but I prefer to explain the reason for something to be done in terms of its benefit to us. It takes longer, but once they understand the concept, it makes my life easier and they make better decisions.

I have dictated when I couldn't get them to understand, but that is the exception.

I also praise them when they are successful. I don't give backrubs, but I've got mostly 22 to 60 year old guys in my store. Yuck!
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"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea"- Antoine de Saint-Exupery
 
For a serious answer, I tend to be overly nice to subordinates and sometimes I end up having authority issues as a result. I'm trying to stay more disconnected so that doesn't happen as often.

But if someone helps me out in an emergency and it interferes with the work they were doing at the time, I try to do something for them like a Starbucks gift card or something.
 
Diane said:
Dyna - These are your subordinates, not your children.
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I've been about a zillion management courses in my career. Best training I ever had was child psych in college.

That said, most folks want to do a good job. They aren't there to make themselves miserable. Start with that premise, and you'll get much better results.
 
A long time ago, a mentor of mine gave me some sage advice....

"A good manager takes all of the blame and none of the credit."

If something went wrong, I would tell my boss, "It's my responsibility, I'll fix it."

If I got praise for something that went right, I would say, "Yep, I've got great people working in my department."

Before long, they would bring me the problems to give me a heads-up before it hit the fan and they were not afraid to tell me when they had made a mistake. It justs makes them more secure when they know you will not "throw them under the bus".

Like Claire, I always assume that my people want to do a good job. My job is to train them and show them the best way. They will do the rest if given the chance.
 
There was some management fad awhile back about getting the monkey off your back. If nothing else, it taught me to bury micromanaging bosses in information. I had one I so totally swamped that I mostly got to do my own job without interference--he couldn't get through his "in" box.
 
Claire - It's not very nice to call your husband a monkey.
 
Diane said:
Claire - It's not very nice to call your husband a monkey.
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That thought hadn't even occurred to me! This was a few jobs back, a fellow I referred to as the Micromanaging Fascist.
 
My wife and I run a business together out of our home. I try to tell her what to do, but she never listens. Actually, the company is in her name and technically I'm an employee, so why should she listen?

Of course, I'm the talent and face of the business, and handle most of the client related stuff, so I never listen to her, either.

It's a pretty sweet set up.

Kevin
 
Or then there's Hubby, who constantly asks my opinion for the apparent purpose of NOT doing what I suggest.
 
ClairefromClare said:
Or then there's Hubby, who constantly asks my opinion for the apparent purpose of NOT doing what I suggest.
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We do that. Me more than her. Sometimes you want a suggestion you know isn't right to confirm your own idea.

Kevin
 
I don't bargain or bribe.... I just fight the urge to maim and or murder.
 
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I don't bargain and bribe. I work with a pretty good group of people. I help co-workers out, and they help me out. They know they can count on me when they need something from me, and when I need something from them, they know that I will eventually get it out of them, so they go ahead and do it without arguing.
 
ClairefromClare said:
That thought hadn't even occurred to me! This was a few jobs back, a fellow I referred to as the Micromanaging Fascist.
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I think we may have worked for the same guy, or at least twins.

I was so glad to move to Arizona and get away from him. I would get an average of 10 e-mails a day requesting my "action plan" for some oddball product he had decided we needed to sell.

My new boss, God bless him, sends me about one e-mail a week and it is usually very succinct.

I actually kept a spreadsheet of odd products and a list of customers so I could put a check mark in the ones that were supposed to be targets. It was a nightmare and unmanageable. We all learned to do the minimum to satisfy him and then manage our own plans separately from his.
 
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