My Board

If you don't deal with the employees with problems, they will become the problem employees.   Some employees are go getters that need occasional re-direction.  They care about their job, how people view them and they truly want to contribute.  These are the ones you want 13 of but not everyone is the same. Other employees want to come to work, "do their time", get paid and go home. If they are causing problems or being lazy, they will need long term guidance. 

Sometimes I was the employee with the problem.  This was caused by my failure to clarify an expectation.  I thought my expectations were clear but if the employee does not live up to the leader's expectations, some of the responsibility comes back to the supervisor.  Sometimes I did not realize I had a problem until someone I respect approached me and informed me that I had a problem.  I still may not have improved but I determined that I was holding myself and others back and that I was the problem.

I learned that expectations need to be clear and reviewed on a regular basis.  If someone is not performing to the expected level, its time for a chat.  If that doesn't work, its time for a reminder. If that doesn't work its time for written documentation.  I have learned that not every situation needs intervention.  The challenge is to know when to intervene and how to intervene.  These are usually dependent on the situation and the person's personality needs to be considered as the same approach does not work with everyone.

I learned that if you cant change people you have 2 choices.  Change people or accept their problems, work the team around them and accept that there are ducks and there are eagles and you don't send your ducks to eagle school.  (John Maxwell)


 

What strategies do you use to manage your time effectively? 

I rely on my Outlook calendar to keep me on track with projects and deadlines.
I include deadlines and pertinent information in the comment sections of the appointment that I can refer to easily.

What are some of your biggest obstacles to you managing your time effectively? 

I get distracted and tend to handle issues as they present themselves.  I try to prioritize the smaller items that need repaired and plan more for the larger projects.
I also rely on the skills and effectiveness of people outside of the organization who may not share the values and work ethics of our organization.  This can be an obstacle to getting things done in a timely manner.

What can you do to remove some of these obstacles? 

Well everything is important to someone and some things are important to everyone.
I try to fix the things that effect the most people first.
Checking references and going on reliable referrals of outside contractors helps to reduce the riff-raff.