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Re: Leading People (讀書筆記)
What Your Staff Think Of You
One of my goals with this newsletter is to bring tips and information
to managers so that each manager might make improvements; both to his
or her own job as well as that of the workers. I asked some people to
fill out a survey on the things they liked and disliked in their
managers, and here are some of the results. Perhaps you might recognize
yourself in their statements and suggestions.
What are some of the best qualities in your manager?
"She gathers facts from me, and supports the decisions I make. She values my opinions, and will not make decisions affecting my work without my involvement or feedback. We also receive incentives and appreciation for good work. She is good at matching work to the right people, and gets training for people when she recognises weaknesses. My manager also feels strongly that nobody should work outside of normal business hours without extra pay or extra time off."
"Good managers trust that you are capable of doing your work effectively without breathing down your neck. They allow you to be master of your own destiny by allowing you to take responsibility for your own decision-making. The best managers are those that recognise that an act of management itself can be a collaborative, creative process, and allow it to be."
"My manager used to have my job and, in fact, has previously filled every role within the entire department. His style has developed department-wide loyalty. Problems caused by an individual are problems caused by the department; glory gained by an individual is glory for the whole department. He is loyal to us by assuming total responsibility of the department, and he demands loyalty in return with respect to our internal dynamics, concerns, and discussions."
"My manager spent years doing what we do, so he has great insights into our careers and situations. He cares a lot about the people in the department; if you have a problem, his door is always open. This makes people very comfortable. He doesn't let conditions of the day get to him, and his moods are usually very even. All of this makes him easy to work with."
What qualities, preferences, or habits make your manager bad at what
he/she does?
"Non-productive employees stay years longer than they should because
our manager wants to give them extra chances. He needs to set the law
and stick to it. Our deadlines tend to come and go because everybody
knows that he's not firm about these things and, in the end, he has to
cover for everybody so the department doesn't look bad."
"My manager expected me to magically know everything, especially when I
was new. When I asked questions, they weren't answered and I was told
to go look somewhere else for answers. As a result, I spent a lot of
time reinventing the wheel, which sometimes brought me abuse from
people I had to deal with. Managers also need to admit their own
mistakes more. I don't appreciate being blamed for my manager's
mistakes in front of the client when he could have said, 'I'm sorry,
but that was my fault.' More managers should have that kind of
integrity and maturity."
"He does not offer any suggestions on how to prioritize my work, which
can be difficult when holidays are approaching and nobody can cover my
workload. I don't think my manager fully understands my role; he
sometimes wants me to put waste-of-time tasks ahead of ones I know are
vital."
"I had to figure things out as I went along. My manager didn't even
want to explain things to me in a general sense, and only provided the
bare minimum amount of information to me. Because some workers have
different schedules than the manager, it's hard for us to schedule
meetings. As a result, our manager is unaware of our progress and, when
she is asked by her superiors how our tasks are coming, she looks
unprofessional by not being aware of the details."
What has your manager done to make working there a good experience?
"The last time I was rewarded for good work and commitment was about
ten years ago. I got a bottle of champagne. However, my spouse, who
works in another industry, just received a bonus cheque and we were
recently taken out to dinner."
"We were going to have a contest where staff could win prizes for
higher productivity, but this was put on the back burner. We used to
have birthday celebrations, but I found out that the company never
reimbursed the employee for out-of-pocket expenses, so that has
stopped. Morale has suffered because of this."
"Our department is very social, and we go out for drinks once a month.
We also all go out to lunch off site at least once a month."
Unfortunately, the positive-focused question didn't bring many positive-
focused answers. Maybe there weren't any positive things to say but,
based on the people I surveyed, many managers don't seem to be doing
enough to foster morale and make the workplace better.
Is your manager good at clearly communicating what projects are urgent
and what is lower on the priority list?
"Prioritising is left up to me. I have to initiate discussions with my
manager rather than waiting for him."
"Most things I get are considered high priority, and I get them done
quickly. When it's time for my manager to do her bit, it sits on her
desk for weeks. I don't think she is able to communicate priorities. I
will still get my work done quickly, but I tend to ignore when she says
that something is high priority."
"He doesn"t understand how we need to prioritise."
Does your company tend to match the right work to the right worker, or
train the person whose tasks may be outside of his/her skill level?
"Organisations tend to be conservative and training is rarely on the
agenda because money is too tight. Plus, there are hundreds of people
for every job, so it's easy to hire someone with existing experience."
"She is good at matching the work to people, and gets training for
people when she recognises weaknesses."
"The company, short-sightedly, has a habit of looking at the short-term
bottom line. We recently had a case where an employee was brought to
our department with absolutely no background in our business. That
employee was then expected to learn things that even people with
experience in our business would find difficult. We spent months in
anguish over this situation and, when asked how things were going, the
astonishing reply was that things were going great and completely under
control. Meanwhile, clients and other companies we dealt with were
calling to complain about the employee's performance and skill level. I
later discovered that the employee's previous manager had suggested
that we NOT hire this employee, as he might not be capable of learning
what was required for the new position!!! My company later tried to get
me to move to that same job, but I refused, as I was not qualified.
Even after I told them it would be the same mistake as before, they
still hounded me about it!"
Does your company's, or department's, culture make you feel like you
are not valuable, doing well, or a "team player" if you don't work 20-
hour days?
"He also expects us to drop everything to work extra hours, and if you
don't, you might be considered not fully committed to your job."
"My manager is bothered by what she calls "clock-watchers," who leave
right when they are supposed to. I come to the office every morning
before my manager does and leave after she's gone, and I have a
reputation for doing that, which is one of the reasons I think I got
the job in the first place.
"My department was deliberately under-resourced and when I got very
sick, I wasn't allowed to take time off to recuperate. I was expected
to tough it out and work through it, and ended up so sick that I almost
had to check myself into a hospital. This mismanagement is why I ended
up leaving this job."
Question:
Please describe the department or corporate culture that is your dream
workplace, providing both a supportive environment as well as an
efficient place to get work done.
"I would like to work in an environment where the senior management
display the same values that are expected of every other member of the
staff. Senior management tend to make decisions on important issues
without first obtaining essential facts from people who have vital
information that could have helped them to make a better decision."
"The best workplace environment for me would be one where employees are
rewarded for their hard work, and where the staff behaves like a team.
Work can be an enjoyable experience, but not at this company right now."
"I would like to see managers who recognise that an act of management
itself can be a collaborative, creative process, and allow it to be. I
would like managers who are trusting and listen to my opinions while
tolerating differences. I would like a corporate philosophy where
position does not automatically endow wisdom. I would like to see the
loyalty that is expected from me be earned and a two-way street. I
would like to have a reasonable personal workspace with proper
furniture and technology that is properly maintained and updated. I
would like to never fight for resources again. I would like employer
contributions toward my career development through training. I would
like to be part of a real team of like-minded people with a sense of
belonging. And I'd like to be paid what I'm worth!"
Question:
If you could make any suggestion to your manager about your job, work
load, department, or your manager's management style, decision-making,
etc?and you did not have to fear that making these comments could hurt
your job or relationship, what would you tell that person?
Answers:
"He should understand my role, and not just expect huge results. If I
were run over by a bus, there is no one suitable who could reliably
step in for me as nobody else on my team has been involved with the
sort of work that I have to deal with. I would like my manager to take
over my job for a couple of weeks so that he understands the processes
involved. I would like him to have more faith in his decisions; he is
a good decision-maker, but sometimes allows himself to be talked out of
things."
"I would let my manager know that she needs to sit down with all of her
staff, not just the ones with higher-paying titles, and give them an
outline of how their jobs are supposed to be performed, and then follow
through with that plan. I would like to see more team-building and
more cross-training on other people's tasks. If we all worked more as
a team instead of certain staff working for certain managers, we could
eliminate the problems we face when someone is out ill or on vacation.
Compensation for extra effort and salary realignment also needs to be
addressed."
"Let me take ownership of my own work, and stop taking credit for my
good work. You don't pay me well or reward me otherwise, so how about
credit where credit is due at least?! Don't pin your mistakes on me,
and if you don't know the answer to something, have the guts to admit
it and ask for help. Don't be psychotic and controlling with no life
outside of these walls. Your management style is adversarial. You
don't know how to negotiate or even listen to people."
Hopefully, your workers are not saying these things, or at least these
things exactly about you. I hope my six-part feature on what employees
really think of management will help you make your job and theirs a
much better experience. |
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匿名
发表于 2006-4-13 21:32
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