Sometimes you end up working with someone whose personality makes you wonder if they ever have a good time. You never see them smile, you never hear them say anything that borders on nice, or they rarely look you in the eye. When you talk to them on the phone, it seems as though they can’t wait to get you off the phone because you may be interrupting something they feel is more important than your bothering them in any fashion.

I’ve given some thought to this type of person, because I’ve encountered them from time to time. I don’t believe there’s anyone who’s always in a bad mood. They may seem that way at work, but I bet they go home, watch some kind of comedy from time to time, talk to family members, and, every once in awhile, find a reason to laugh at something. Or maybe they find enjoyment doing something else, such as tending to their plants, or playing with a pet, or something. I just don’t believe anyone could be dour 24/7.

If I’m correct, then we can try to come up with some reasons why a person might be like this at work. When we can at least try to see what someone else might be about, it gives us the opportunity to try to figure out what we can do about it if they report to us, or at least how we might try to interact with this person.

One reason a person might be like this could be fear. People have fear for many reasons, and show it in many different ways. This person might be masking insecurity in their knowledge of their job. They might be scared of interacting with people they’re not personally intimate with; work relationships aren’t comfortable for everyone. They might be scared because it’s their nature.

Another reason could be personal problems. They may have issues regarding relationships, illnesses, family members, money, or many other things, and because they have to deal with their emotions on their own time, they just don’t feel like manifesting any while they’re away from home.

Another reason could be pressure, real or perceived. Some people feel as though they have too much work, which means they always feel rushed and pressured. It’s hard to show happiness when you feel like the work is everywhere. Some people may feel like they’re supposed to know all the answers at all time. Some folks may feel that, because of a position they have, that they’re supposed to act a certain way at all times. I have known many managers who have been afraid to let their hair down, so to speak, at work because they want to project a certain authoritative image.

Still another reason may be that this person is always waiting for something bad to happen, because of constant pessimism. When you’re on your own time, you’re able to let go every once in awhile, but you worry at work because if something bad happens, you could lose your job and then have to try to find money in another place.

How you deal with some of these issues depends on who the person is and what your business relationship is with them. For instance, if you’re the manager and this person reports to you, there’s always the opportunity to bring the person in and ask them if there are things you can help them with. If you feel that this person is possibly exhibiting stress, maybe you can find a way to reduce their workload.

As a manager, you have to be willing to invest some time in figuring out what may be troubling this person. After all, you probably interviewed them and hired them; if you felt something was amiss at that time, you probably wouldn’t have invited them into your company. You could always try including them on a committee of some kind. Heck, it might only take saying hello every morning, or showing them some other kind of daily attention to help ease them into a more cordial manner.

If you’re a co-worker of some type, it might be harder to accomplish, but it can be achieved. One thing you can do is talk to them as though they’re giving you back what you’re giving them. That is, you be nice and cordial to them, even if they don’t react in the same way. Over time, you could work them into at least treating you nicer than they treat everyone else. Or you could try treating them exactly how you feel they’re treating you; some people don’t notice how they’re projecting themselves, and sometimes seeing it for themselves will make them come around.

Or you could try this; ask them what their problem is. Maybe you don’t ask them that directly (though you could), but you could always ask them if something is wrong. One of two things will happen. Either they’ll say nothing is wrong, in which case you’re now open to say “Well, it seems as though there’s something wrong” (or something like that), or they’ll appreciate that you asked and tell you what’s wrong. Either way, at least you’ll have found a way to help break down the wall.

The main thing you always want to make sure of is that someone else’s bad mood doesn’t change your mood. Studies have shown that it’s easier to allow yourself to be angry than happy. It seems odd to think that it takes a lot of work to be happy, but that’s the way it is. Many of us allow the actions of others to alter ours; if you don’t believe me, notice your reaction the next time someone cuts you off while you’re driving.

Strive to stay positive, and if you have to bring someone else along kicking and screaming, so be it. Of course, you could just try ignoring them, but what fun would that be?
 

Copyright protected by Digiprove © 2012 Mitch  Mitchell

I remember talking to someone who is a supervisor at a local company. This person told me it was time to do employee evaluations, and that she was hesitant because she didn’t know how some people would react to their evaluations; obviously the bad ones. I asked her if she knew these people and she said yes. I asked her if they had reacted badly before to information and she said yes to some, no to others. I then asked her how well she felt she knew these people and she said she thought she knew them all pretty well.

I then turned it around on her and said if she knew some people were going to react badly, how was she expecting to deliver the news. She said she didn’t know. I asked her if she felt she was friends with each of these people or had a professional working relationship with them. She said she considered most of them her friends. That was problem number one.

I then asked her about the people who hadn’t reacted badly to new information before and why she felt they would react badly now. She said she would probably react badly if she were handed the same information that was going to be on their performance evaluations. I asked her if any of these people knew that their performance was lacking during the year, and she said probably not. That was problem number two and three.

The first problem is that she was getting ready to impart bad performance evaluations on people who didn’t see it coming. Because she felt as though these employees were her friends, rather than co-workers, she hadn’t been able to bring herself to tell them that they needed to improve on certain skills throughout the year. It was amazing that she had the backbone now to evaluate them accurately now, but she had set herself up for a bad time. She needed to have regular meetings with these people specifically, informing them of their present performance, and give them the opportunity to improve their status or possibly have to be let go.

In concentrating on the other two problems, however, she had made a classic mistake that many managers and employees make. They assume that just because they work with a group of people on a daily basis, in close quarters, that these people are their friends. Think about how you are with your friends outside of work. You tend to let your guard down, you let small things go without a second thought, and you share emotions and scenarios with each other, knowing it won’t be thrown back in your face.

The payoff at work is a different story, though. Not that a manager can’t be friendly with the employees, but you can step over the line to a degree where it impedes what you’re hoping to accomplish. How can you effectively do your job as a manager if you’re afraid to tell someone when they’re not living up to the performance standards needed to do the job?

There’s something else about your friends. There are boundaries you’d never cross with a friend because you know you don’t want a certain reaction to come back on you. In essence, you share your thoughts with people you probably think won’t tell you to your face whether you’re wrong or not. When it comes to the work, there are boundaries you shouldn’t cross because they could get you into legal trouble. Yet there are times when you might have to address it anyway; are you going to decide not to do it because you’re afraid you’re going to ruin a friendship?

To be an effective manager, you have to maintain a certain amount of consistency. You can’t be friends with everyone one day then be the person in charge the next day. You certainly can’t be friends with one group of people and not friends with another. People should know how you’re going to react to information at all times, and not be afraid to come to you with anything. If they are, you’ll never get everything that needs to be completed finished.

On the other hand, you can’t afford to allow yourself to be frozen by fear over someone’s reaction. There’s actually two issues here; the delivery and the information that needs to be delivered. If this supervisor had already established that she would be the type to tell people what they needed to know, no matter how good or bad it was, then doing the evaluations wouldn’t be a problem at all. Also, if this supervisor had taken off her “friends” hat and been a supervisor who really paid attention to each employee she dealt with, she would have noticed the patterns of each person as to how they react whenever she told them something. She would have then had a mental file so she would know, pretty close to perfect, how each person was going to react. Also, if she had developed a style of imparting bad information so that it didn’t sound as though it was personal, but rather in a casual, business style, the employee wouldn’t have the right to be upset because they not only know how you’re going to tell them, but they probably would already know the type of message that was coming.

Most employees know whether they’re doing a good job or not. Many managers think that all employees think they’re the best worker in the department, but most studies have shown that when you give the employee an evaluation and tell them to evaluate themselves, they’re usually harder on themselves than the supervisor. Sure, there are those few who really think they’re top dog when they’re not, but if you as the supervisor hasn’t told them any different during the year, then why wouldn’t they think that?

You as a manager should have established your “leader speak” the day you started in the position. If you haven’t, you can still learn how to do it. Language needs to be effective, direct, yet helpful and not condescending. If you need to impart bad information, you need to learn how to choose your words carefully to help diffuse the situation. Remember, you treat everyone fairly, not equally. If it’s written, you need to use the most dispassionate language you can think of in describing where an employee is lacking, and ways to help them improve, if that’s your intention.

Here are “8” things to consider if you’re going to be an effective manager:

1. Be friendly, but not friends

2. Be honest, but not brutal

3. Be upfront when there are negative issues, but offer suggestions for improvement

4. Balance negative with positive

5. Be consistent; you’ll usually get back what you put out

6. Pay attention to employee reactions and remember them

7. Use “leader speak” in both written and oral communications

8. Remember who’s in charge; you
 

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It’s Black History Month 2012 style, and this year I’m doing things a little bit different. In previous year’s posts I’ve talked about why the month is still needed and asked some questions that, frankly, were downers. This years I’m going to change some things up, as well as highlight the past.

via Flickr

First, let’s highlight the past. I’ve written a lot of posts over the years and two blogs on the specific topic of Black History Month. I thought I’d share all those posts here:

As Black History Month Winds Down…

Black History Month – Two Looks Backward

It’s Black History Month; What Do I Want?

Black History Month; The Last Day

Black History Month; I Didn’t Miss It

Black History Month; Why Don’t People Care More?

Black History Month – The Wind Down

Black History Month – Differences In People

Next, let’s talk about contribution. Last year, after awhile, I felt that it was time to contribute in some fashion after all the years of complaining. It all can’t be left up to President Barack Obama; he’s got his own issues to contend with. I decided it was time to highlight a group of people who get almost no press online, black bloggers and social media participants.

Being truthful, with all the things I’ve done online and people I’ve met I keep thinking that I might one day be included in one of those big time lists of online people trying to make a difference, but I realized that it’s not just me, but a host of other very qualified black people that are basically ignored or unknown by the masses, including, well, other black people. So, on my other blog, I started out with 8 black bloggers I didn’t think people knew about. That led to coming up with 21 black social media influencers and finally 29 more black social media influencers.

Not bad I’d say, especially since I’d have to admit that until I did the research I didn’t know 80% of them. But I thought about it and came into this year deciding it wasn’t enough. So two Fridays ago on that blog I started what I call Black Wed Friday, where each week for at least 6 months, hopefully through the end of the year, I’ll highlight websites by, dedicated to or for black people. The second Black Web Friday was last week, and there’s one today.

This is my contribution to not only Black History Month, but Black History year. I think black people online have been invisible for too long; this year, I try to make a difference. After all, isn’t that what taking a stand is all about?

This is where I do my leadership thing with diversity; what are you doing this year?
 

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There are constant pressures all of us have to deal with. It seems like almost every day there’s something that we have to overcome in order to get through the day. Whereas we all have to work through different types of issues, there is one constant that is paramount; we must work hard to keep control of our emotions.

by Jonny Hunter via Flickr

As someone who only yells and loses total control during Syracuse Orange basketball games, I feel that I have pretty good control of my emotions most of the time. But I’m no different than any other person. There are times when external events exhibit emotions I’m not always ready for. I get caught off guard by something, and I don’t react as well as I believe I should. If I didn’t have emotions at all, I’d be a robot, and I’m nowhere close to it.

Learning how to work through our emotions, or how to regain control over them when negative forces attack, is vital to being able to maintain a consistency and comfort level that we all wish to have in our lives, and that I’m sure others wish we had as well. Learning how to harness some of that negative energy and turn it into a positive force is what separates the strong from the weak, the rich from the poor, and the effective from the inefficient. It gives one the power to control their own lives, without allowing someone or something else to overcome them for any length of time.

First, let’s look at ways that negative emotions might impact your life.

One, they might make you one of those people who yells at others. That’s obviously not good because it elicits strong and negative emotions in others, and shuts down communication; it could also get you hurt or even killed.

Two, they might make you withdraw and not talk at all, which also shuts down communication. When you decide not to communicate with others, it’s hard to get work done.

Three, they might make you immobile, not wanting to do anything at all, which effectively shuts down any positive work or fun you might have thought about trying to do. This is a type of depression that’s hard to overcome.

Four, they might make you lose concentration, which means that even if you try to work through them, your work will possibly suffer, either by not being accurate or your not being efficient. You’ll hear a lot of people say they work better when they’re angry; most of them are wrong.

There are people who actually work better under great periods of stress. Edgar Allen Poe wrote many of his books in one or two weeks. Mozart was known to take only 2 or 3 weeks to compose some of his works. Johann Bach, one of the most prolific composers in history (and father of 23; talk about prolific), often had only a week to write massive works for performance, for fear of losing his job.

These are exceptions to the rule. Most of us don’t do as well, even if we believe we do, under constant pressure. A once in awhile deadline is one thing; as a daily event, it’s another. How do you handle the stressful situations in your life? How do you feel they impact others in the way you handle them? What types of changes can you make in your life to help you deal with these issues in the most efficient way possible?

Extreme emotional trauma does not count when we’re talking about emotions. There’s no way to prepare for things such as the passing away of a family member, or someone being in an accident. These are events that are hard to prepare for, and worrying about them doesn’t do any good because one never knows how they’re going to react. The only thing one can do in instances such as these is to try to realize that they’re not alone, and that there’s always a place to find help for whatever is needed.

Most people don’t take the time to figure out why they react to certain stimuli. If you’re the type who gets depressed because someone says something you don’t like, you need to take the time to figure out why it causes distress. Is there a modicum of truth to what the person said, or does it generate memories from your past? Is your mindset in a negative place and suddenly your feelings of inadequacy are enhanced? Are you the type trying to be perfect and doesn’t like hearing anything negative about your work? Do you allow feelings such as jealousy or envy or even a lack of self confidence to make you more susceptible to negative input?

Most of the time, we can not only provide the answers to the whys, but also the resolutions to them. For instance, if you don’t like how someone says something to you, it’s your right and responsibility to say something to that other person, or ignore them and go away. If you’re trying to attain perfection, you have to realize that no one or no thing will ever be perfect, and deal with it. If you get depressed because of outside forces, you must realize that you’re the one who’s really in control and deal with it however you must.

What can you do to work your way through depression? We’re all allowed a little bit of time to live in that moment, but we must break out of it eventually.

If you can’t do it for yourself, and not everyone can, what outlets do you have to help you? Maybe you need a coach or a counselor or a confidante. Maybe you need more activities such as exercise, or clubs, or maybe even something as simple as getting in the car and going for a short drive. Maybe you’re the type who needs to write it all out, kind of a catharsis, in order to put things in order.

Whatever it is, realize that almost no one permanently loses control of their situations and emotions. Some people are better at it than others; some need help. Don’t be ashamed, no matter how you decide to work through some of your issues.

If you’re the type who usually yells at others, you need to get over yourself and control it. I tend to believe that there are always consequences to overly negative behavior, and anything that happens to you that’s bad because of this behavior is your fault. I’m not saying you deserve to be killed if you yell at someone, but you probably brought whatever reaction you got on yourself. Adults don’t have a right to yell at other adults in almost any situation, unless it’s for that other person’s benefit or safety. If you’re this type, you need to learn how to channel that flash of anger differently.
 

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Whether things are going well or going badly, sometimes we all end up in some kind of a rut. It’s easy to get into because it’s a lazy way of going about your days; it feels comfortable. If things are going well, who wants to mess with a good situation? When things are going badly, sometimes it’s hard to see your way through the trees towards trying something else to change it up so you just let it go, hoping it will change on its own.

Stagnation is never a good thing, good or bad. If you allow things to just occur without trying to find ways of keeping it going or stopping it, eventually it will do what you don’t want it to. This isn’t to say that change for change’s sake is a good thing; if things are going well, you don’t want to drastically change them up. However, constant tweaking, or at least consistently thinking of new ways to keep things fresh, can help you to stay on top of your game, and make the process of getting to where you want to be fun.

Often I talked about establishing goals, then creating plans on attaining those goals. I wondering how many of you actually tried to do it. Come on, fess up; do you do anything new, or believe it’s nonsense? Did your business, career or life grow without goals, or do things stay stagnant, or even decrease?

I’ll tell you a secret. I always take my own advice, but I don’t do it all the time. However, I’m always reminding myself that it’s time to do it again. In the Syracuse area, we have lots of gray days at this time of the year, and it’s easy to fall into a malaise where you don’t want to do anything except get through your day and get home. Of course when you get home that second part is already taken care of, but it’s not all that satisfying without something to shoot for.

You have to believe you deserve it, then go out and get it. You will succeed; you just have to believe it.
 

Copyright protected by Digiprove © 2012 Mitch  Mitchell

It’s hard to stay positive all the time. Life doesn’t always give us exactly what we want, and often that irritates us. When we get frustrated or irritated, we can do a few things. One, we can totally shut down; two, we can try to make things bad for whomever got on our nerve; three, we can find alternative ways to work our way through it.

When it comes to work, the same types of things occur. I remember once finishing a project that didn’t end on the high note I was hoping for. What occurred is that new management came into the organizations I was working for, which had split near the end of the engagement, and basically decided to shut down the project step by step. I didn’t have a problem with that; after all, that’s the life of an independent consultant. What I didn’t like, though, was how communications pretty much shut down over the last three weeks of the project.

All seemed well at both places initially. However, it became clear pretty fast that there were some changes coming. Access was starting to be shut down in some cases, with no explanation, even when questions were asked. By the time notice was given that the assignment would be ending (the contract called for two weeks notice of the ending of any engagements), it was already apparent based on what had been occurring.

Though good work had been performed, proven by an increase in legitimate revenues over a period of 3 months, the new management pretty much acted like myself and the other consultants didn’t exist. They weren’t there for our successes, so we meant nothing to them. Even some of the personnel who were there while we were doing our thing suddenly seemed uncomfortable. One day, two senior directors of one of the organizations came into the office I was working out of, and wouldn’t even look at me, though I said hello. The lack of appreciation and professionalism was appalling, and I was ready to end the project there and then and come home.

Taking a look back on the three things I mentioned above, I had some options. I could have checked out and left. The way I saw things, they probably wouldn’t have even noticed that I had left. Whereas they had abided by the contract and informed me of their decision, the truth is that I could have left the same day without any problems, because they had already made other provisions that didn’t include any of the work I was still doing for them, and I’d have still gotten paid. However, I knew that had I left it wouldn’t have left the new management with a good impression of me or my company; I’d have never had an opportunity to work with them again, even if it didn’t look like I was going to work with them again anyway. Because of the lack of communication, I don’t even know that they noticed I was still around, but I had pride in the work I still had to do, and was going to put in my time.

I could have tried to sabotage the organization. Even though much access had been taken away, not all of it had been, because I still had some work to do. Were I the vindictive type, I could have easily set some things in motion that they wouldn’t have ever caught, or certainly wouldn’t have been able to track back to me. Some people feel justified in certain situations to get even; not me.

I did the third option I mentioned. Whereas the new upper management wouldn’t talk to me, the individual managers that I’d been working with before were still engaging me. Those individuals, as well as other employees I’d worked with, were glad to have me still helping them out until the final days, and were glad that I was still around. Those who commented to me said they’d never had anyone else who’d taken an interest in them or their departmental issues, and they lamented that I was leaving.

The sense of appreciation was welcome, and it reminded me of the maxim that all anyone really wants is to be shown a little bit of appreciation for the work they do. I worked up until the next to last day, when I finally completed the final projects I had set for myself. At that point, I decided I wouldn’t come in the next day, because I didn’t want to get paid for doing nothing, which is what I had left to do; luckily, I got paid anyway.

Every day managers go into the workplace and take their employees for granted. Many of them feel that paying employees should be a good enough reason for them to give the best they have to offer, and that nothing else is needed. Money has been proven not to be the best motivator of employee behavior. What does it cost you to give and show a little bit of appreciation for the work others give to you? If people are performing well, does it hurt to let them know you’ve noticed? Doesn’t every one want to know that what they’re doing is valued by someone? Don’t you?

Don’t save it for only work either. Every encounter you have tomorrow, and for the next week, look for a reason to say thank you to someone. If they deserve more than that, then say something. Watch the look on their faces change; you’ll feel better for it.
 

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Good management principles can help turn around bad situations. Teaching someone how to become a good manager if they wish to learn can be a rewarding experience. Trying to teach someone those same concepts when they don’t want to learn them can be frustrating and hard to overcome; most likely, you’re wasting your time. However, even in that situation, you can still show how those principles, when put into place, can help turn a department around.

I was requested to do a short term consulting assignment, and one of the things I was asked to do was work with two supervisors who weren’t performing up to standard, or so I had been told. Because I knew something about the industry, it was pretty easy for me to ascertain just what each supervisor’s duties were.

The first thing I did was learn that there was no job description for either supervisor position. I took the time to write one for each of them, because I believe that if a person doesn’t know what’s expected of them, they don’t know what they’re supposed to be performing up to. I also decided that I didn’t want to immediately start working with both supervisors at the same time, because one area was more crucial, at least in the eyes of administration, than the other area.

I had the first supervisor come to see me. I asked her if she knew that management had certain expectations of her; she said yes. I asked her if she knew what those expectations were; she said no. She told me she’d been told she was responsible for one particular process, but then wasn’t instructed on what she needed to do to work with others in getting that process working. I asked her if she’d ever been given a job description; she said no, the answer I knew she’d give. I then pulled out the job description I wrote and gave it to her, and asked her to read it. After about five minutes, she looked up and said “whew”. I asked what she thought and she said that was a lot, but that she thought she could do it.

We then worked on a strategic plan based on the job description. The process she was responsible for was time critical, so we worked on that premise. What was going to be involved was her walking around to visit each employee at specific times during the day and monitoring their overall progress towards completing their tasks. By doing this, she would know well in advance who was falling behind and why, and if the reasons were legitimate she could shift some of the work onto another person. She would also know what might be missing and could address those issues much sooner.

Then we talked about the position and job duties of a supervisor. She had been promoted to the position after working alongside many of the people who now reported to her for many years. She was a good worker, but as a supervisor, she thought that meant she was supposed to produce more work than anyone else. Instead, we worked on the reality that, though she might still have to do the same work from time to time, her responsibilities were more along the lines of review, monitor and report rather than work. She was being judged on the output of many, not what she herself was doing on a daily basis.

The next day, we started the new process. I walked around with her that first day, giving her support as well as helping her to explain to everyone what she was going to be doing on a daily basis from that point on.

There were four messages that needed to get across to each employee. One, there was an expectation that this particular work would be done within a specific time frame daily.

Two, someone was going to be checking on them multiple times during the day; they weren’t going to be invisible employees anymore.

Three, she was going to be there to help them as they learned the time transition, but this wasn’t a short term thing; she was going to be doing this from now on.

And four, she was going to show them she cared about them, and what they were going through, and was going to try to do whatever she could to give them support.

That first day, the new process took a long time to get through; the second day, which I also walked around with her on, the process was much shorter. By the third day, I only walked around with her the first and last time, and the new process was working perfectly. The employees knew when she would be there, they knew what they had to have for her, and because she knew what each employee had and where they were with their assignments, she knew how to fill out the reports and send the information to management, which they were happy to finally be receiving.

During that third day, I decided it was time to meet with the other supervisor. The process she was responsible for wasn’t as time critical, but overall was more important than what the other supervisor was over. She was also another long time employee who had been promoted to the position with no advanced warning, nor assistance, in how to do the job now required.

I asked her to come to the office I was using for a meeting. I began by asking her the same questions I’d asked the other supervisor, and received the same answers as before. I gave her a copy of the job description for review, and she took about five minutes to do it. When she was finished I asked her what she thought, and she said she thought it was unrealistic for anyone to assume one person could do everything that was listed. I asked her why and her response was “How do they expect anyone to get any work done if we have to do all of that?”

The job description was very close to the one for the other supervisor, with only two changes that pertained directly to the process she was over; the reaction didn’t wash. We talked about it for a short while, and though she agreed that management was judging her on all that was listed on the job description, she felt it was their issue, and that their expectations were just too high.

I showed her a procedure I’d written for the employees she was responsible for to learn. She thought it was good, but said she didn’t believe any of the employees would ever learn it. We talked about ways for her to monitor those employees, and she said she didn’t have time to check on people during the day because she was too busy, that people needed to be responsible for themselves. While I agree with that statement in principle, I also believe management needs to foster that attitude from the beginning, and sometimes one has to take a step back in order to move forward later on. I told her that, and she said it wouldn’t work; she was giving up before we ever got it off the ground.

Still, the next day we started out trying the process I felt would work, and she grudgingly went along with it in the morning. But by the afternoon, she had decided she wasn’t going to do the rest of it. I wasn’t in a position to make her do anything, but I knew the process would work, so I decided to assume that part of her responsibilities for a week, just to see what would happen.

By the end of the second week, remarkable changes had started occurring. For the first supervisor, the numbers she was reporting were remarkable. Things were flowing smoothly, she’d only had one minor bump in the road that I was able to help her through, and she wasn’t feeling any stress because she had direction and a full process to follow through on. It had made her work easier to do, and management was happy with the reports she was sending them.

For the second supervisor, I was doing the daily follow up with employees, and their numbers jumped also. However, management was receiving the reports from me; I figured that since I was the one doing the process, I was going to report the numbers. The other supervisor had never done reports anyway, so she was oblivious to their being completed.

Unfortunately, for her, because I was there in a consulting role, I had to report that she was uncooperative on following the process and that they would have to make a decision on whether she was going to be a long term project for them or whether they were going to have to go in a different direction. I had shown them that the process would work, with the right person in the position.

The only limitations to whether a bad situation can become a good one are the limitations of the mind. Negative thinking makes everything fail; positive thinking makes everything possible. What mindset will you adopt, as a manager, and what results will you hope to attain?
 

Copyright protected by Digiprove © 2012 Mitch  Mitchell

I often get questions from friends and employees on how to deal with their supervisors and managers. They often seem to feel that they’re not being treated fairly compared to how they see someone else being treated. Since I’m not in the office I’m never quite sure whether it’s a matter of perception or reality. Often it doesn’t matter.

What I notice most of the time is that problems occur when there’s a break down in communications. Actually, I think that’s an overused metaphor because sometimes there’s never been any real communications to begin with; can’t break something down that never existed.

Often this is the fault of ineffective management, because managers need to know how to communicate with their employees. But if you as an employee is always going to wait for a bad manager to come to you then you’re not going to get any satisfaction. That’s pretty much standard for everyone; if you wait for things to happen, instead of trying to do something to change them, you’ll end up with nothing but frustration.

I believe the first step is always trying to set up a meeting with your supervisor to discuss your issues. This is a very proactive move, and if you’ve got a supervisor who’s at least willing to listen to you then you’re on the right track.

Make sure you have your issues organized in some fashion and have thought them through, because the last thing you want to do is waste someone else’s time. As a manager, I was willing to help an employee express exactly what they were hoping to get across, but you can’t assume every person in a management position will do the same thing. If the issue is personal, make sure to keep your emotions in check as you discuss the issue; you don’t want to risk turning the manager off with too much emotion. Make sure your words stress how serious you feel the problems are.

With this, you’ve crossed the threshold of the communication gap that sometimes happens between people on different levels of the employment stairs. However, there are some things you need to consider. One, your supervisor may not agree with what you have to say. You’re not always right, but then again neither is the supervisor. Remember that the issue is communications, not necessarily total agreement.

Two, watch out for the “whiner” tag. There are some people who are always complaining about something, and supervisors really hate to deal with those people. If the issue is important enough to you and you’re not getting any satisfaction, be prepared to go the next step up with your complaint. Unless your supervisor’s answer seems to be a thoughtful response to what you’ve had to say, you don’t have to allow someone else to demean your concerns.

Three, remember what I said at number one; your supervisor’s supervisor may not agree with you either. At that point you have two things you can do. Either look back at your issue and see if you’re possibly wrong in your assessment, or realize that your issue definitely needs some kind of satisfaction and be ready to take it to the next level once again. Well, there is a third option, but deciding to leave a company is always a hard decision to make.

Four, know your rights. If the issue is one of some kind of harassment or discrimination you’re definitely covered by state and federal employment laws. If the issue is procedural yet illegal you’re protected under federal laws also. If the issue is procedural yet not illegal you may just have to learn to live with it, because if it doesn’t work it’ll get changed soon enough. If the issue is personal, well, you have the option of deciding if it’s a one time thing that you can move beyond or need to look for employment elsewhere.

Sometimes your perception of how things are isn’t what someone else’s perception of the same event is; that’s why we’re all different. But if it’s something you can’t live with only you can make the initial decision as to what’s best for you. My favorite phrase, even to myself, is ‘just do something.’
 

Copyright protected by Digiprove © 2012 Mitch  Mitchell

One of the difficulties anyone who’s any kind of manager faces is that your job depends on others to make you look good or bad. Your employees can make you look like a genius, even if the best thing that happened was that you inherited them. At the same time, just because someone is good at what they do doesn’t mean they’re a good employee, or even a happy employee.

Does an employee need to be happy? There’s a couple of thoughts on that one. There are those managers who are tyrannical in their approach, who demand the utmost respect at all times, unquestioning loyalty and dedication to the job. Those whose employees are afraid to go to the bathroom because the person they report to will think they’re slacking off.

There are those managers who are best buddies with their employees, god-parent to most of their kids, empathetic to the point where every day is anticipated with the same fever as teenage lovers who can only see each other at school because each of them lives at home with their parents.

Then there’s the different types of employees: the one who whines that nobody cares about what they do; the one who instigates and whips other employees into a frenzy, yet would never say anything themselves; the quiet one, of whom you’re never sure what they’re thinking or how they feel; the efficient one, who at times questions how come he or she finds the work easy and begins to feel as though they’re doing all the work; the slow one, who’s usually trying the best they can and doesn’t make many errors, or really may not have a clue as to what’s going on but hasn’t been found out yet; the friendly one, who knows when everyone’s child’s christening was throughout the entire company and has to share it with everyone else; the mad one, for which there’s not a darn thing you’ll ever be able to do to make things right for; the timid one, who you can’t talk to because every time you say their name water gushes out of every pore of their body, then they shake, their voices quiver, and you start feeling guilty even if you’re giving them good news… on and on.

Though we sometimes forget, employees are human. They have marital problems, sick children, trouble paying their bills, trouble getting along with others, etc. Some are able to put away their troubles and work well; some are not. Some have no problems at all, but just can’t keep their minds on their work; some are almost perfect. But no two are ever alike.

I was in management for many years in different capacities, and though I felt I changed a little here and there I always tried to adhere to one main theme; treat everyone like an adult and with respect. Usually I find that you get what you give, no matter what position someone has. There’s so many factors that can impact the chemistry you try to achieve with your employees, or all employees, that if you don’t have one consistent factor to get behind you’re going to have trouble with everyone, so you might as well make sure the philosophy you pick is consistent.

What do you feel is the most preferable to your employees; a manager who treats them as the guilty party all the time, a manager who believes them all the time, or a manager who tells them the truth? Breaking it down further, which of these philosophies do you think works best with people in general?

I’m not perfect, and I’m not universally liked, but I was well liked. I don’t believe many hated me, but if I were everyone’s cup of tea I’d probably be rich, have lots of influence, and not be working anymore. But I’m not an every day manager these days.

For those who are, managers are there to get results, and supposedly are believed to have some kind of knowledge that others don’t have. Most of the time it’s just common sense. Sometimes the simplest thing to you may not be the simplest thing to someone else, and vice versa. How you deal with this knowledge usually impacts how you deal with others on whatever level they’re on.

For instance, do you give the complainers a chance to make some decisions for the group? Do you actively solicit the participation of the quiet ones in group discussions? Do you communicate the with efficient ones to let them know how much you appreciate what they can do for your organization? Do you set goals for your individual employees, as well as the group, and do you have rewards when those goals are met? Do you try to be consistent in your relationship with your employees?

The last one can be hard because we’re all human, and invariably you’ll usually find at least one person who you feel you can talk to more easily than the others; you just want to watch how much you share with them. Do you know how to efficiently and fairly dole out work so that no one has more than anyone else, or do you try to do more than you can because it’s easier than trying to train someone else?

There are no perfect answers because there will never be perfect people, and that includes directors and managers. The problem is that we’re like football coaches; you can’t fire the team, so you know who is going to take the blame. You have to be on top of your game when you address the concerns of your employees, whether they know they have any concerns or not.
 

Copyright protected by Digiprove © 2012 Mitch  Mitchell

I’ve had a photo shoot or two in my life, which means I’ve used the services of professional photographers. After a recent session I realized that something many people might not have paid attention to are the kind of skills photographers have that exhibit a type of leadership that might be hard to recognize, yet does exist.

Lin Penille Photography via Flickr

For instance, photographers can get people they’ve just met to do things that they might not have thought of before. They might ask you to do certain poses that look good on camera that you’ve never done in your normal day to day movements. I know very few people who stand around leaning back with their arms crossed, or with their hands propping up their chins. Yet, because of the encouragement of the photographer people will adopt these poses without question.

Another thing they can do is get people to give them an emotion at a moment’s notice. They do this by talking and encouraging people, rather than trying to demand something. They all seem to know how to do the same type of thing, even if their words are different when doing it. And they can get you to do it in a moment’s notice, immediately going from serious to happy to a big smile, sometimes telling you a joke or giving you an image of something they know will get the right reaction from you.

Something else we don’t think about but will notice if we’re paying attention is that sometimes when they want a certain pose they’ll actually show you how they want you to pose by doing it themselves. It sometimes looks silly while other times looks really professional, and we all try to adopt the pose without question after seeing it. They have an encouraging way about things that gets us to follow their lead, and we trust them because they come across as genuine.

Think about it; if photographers can get people they’ve just met to do things they might never have considered before, why is it that long time leaders, with people they see every day, have problems getting the least bit of voluntary cooperation from their employees? Photographers aren’t always working with someone as a customer, and yet they always get the same results; why not all managers and leaders?

I tend to believe that leaders can work with people the same way photographers do, getting better results by cooperation and encouragement than by trying to demand respect and attention. Leading by example is a great way to get employees to do for themselves as much as for you and the organization.

The next time you go for professional pictures, be sure to watch more than just the photographer’s technique while using the camera. It could be really illuminating.
 

Copyright protected by Digiprove © 2012 Mitch  Mitchell