The First-Time Manager (First-Time Manager Series)

by Jim McCormick

Next, get them to agree that they will change and discuss how you will monitor their behavior.

Of course, you want to come to this meeting prepared with examples of what you mean in case they doubt what you are say...

Make it clear that you want them...

The Attacker. This person always disagrees with what you say or with what other team members say.

The Comic. This employee thinks her main job at work is to entertain others.

The Deserter. This individual either mentally or physically leaves the team.

The Limelight Seeker. This employee likes to take credit for the work done by others and goes around bragging about how crucial he is to the success of the organization.

The Moonlighter. This employee treats her regular job as secondary to some other interest.

The Not-My-Jobber. Employees like this do nothing unless it’s in the job description.

The Bleeding Heart. These employees feel they have given their lives for the company, received nothing in return, and want everyone to know it.

The Complainer. This type likes to moan and complain about everything.

You will be held responsible for the results you achieve—not for performing every task yourself.

New employees need to be trained as soon as possible in their job, learn how things are done at your company, and understand how they fit into the overall organization.

If the people leaving your company are less than 100 percent competent, you must never allow them to do the training.

Even people who are leaving voluntarily usually are not the best trainers.

On the other hand, when a position opens up because the incumbent in the job is being promoted, that person is probably the best one to handle the training.

Don’t expect perfection; that’s an unrealistic goal.

The goal must be realistic if you expect the cooperation of your team.

Managing change includes accepting change and supporting it, understanding why your team members may be resistant to it, and finding ways to reduce that resistance.

As a manager, not only do you have to be prepared to embrace change and be a champion of it, but also to accept and support changes that you may disagree with.

It is important as a new manager that you get your team members to align themselves with the goals and decisions of the organization.

Changes affect people in different ways.

Above all else, provide as much information as possible. Because resistance to change is based on a fear of the unknown, you need to minimize the unknowns.

But it is better for your people to have accurate information they do not like than no information or inaccurate information.

Always try to identify the most resistant individuals from the beginning and get them on your side.

Every employee you are managing must know what the expected standards of work are.

You create problems for yourself when you discipline an employee on the basis of vague work standards.

You cannot operate on the assumption that unless you’re hearing complaints from customers or other departments, the performance is acceptable.

Your attitude about your team members’ performance is crucial.

They need to know exactly what is expected of them both during their training period and once they have completed it.

Feedback is critical to proper and effective discipline.

It is vital that you know as soon as possible when performance is substandard so you can address it immediately.

One of the oldest rules of management is that employee discipline should always be done in private.

Too many managers, at all levels of experience, turn a discussion of poor performance into a personal attack.

Address the substandard performance by viewing it as the result of some misunderstanding about how the work should be done.

You should have a conversation, not deliver a monologue.

Encourage the employee to participate in the discussion early in the game.

By using this approach, you encourage an employee who is not performing up to standards to bring up the subject himself.

The point is to continue asking questions of this type until you get the kind of response that will lead you into a discussion of the quality of the work.

“That’s an interesting observation you’ve made about the quality of the work, because that is not what I am seeing.” Why do you suppose my information is different from yours?” You then have the matter on the table for discussion.

It is always a good idea to write a memorandum at the conclusion of the conversation and place it in the employee’s file.

You’ll find, however, that when the pressure is off, the reformed employee may start coming in late again. You can’t take a casual approach about this and assume it was just an unusual set of circumstances.

Not every personnel problem can be solved by accommodation.

What is critical is dealing effectively with chronic offenders who create management problems for you and the organization.

At the top of the first section write Strengths. Title the middle section Areas for Improvement and the lower section Goals.

You are creating the plan with the employee’s input.

To be successful, he needs to have an accurate understanding of what he needs to work on.

Each goal must have a date associated with it for the achievement of that goal.

Keep the goals simple and clear so they leave no room for misunderstanding. Quantify them as much as possible. Examples would be a minimum error rate or a maximum number of days missed.

Of course, the most important part of the exercise is the goals.