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

by Jim McCormick

Allow no more than a month until the next meeting.

Ideally, the employee will have achieved all of them. Even if he has, you still want to go through this process at least one more time to make sure the team member stays on track.

The first is that sudden firings are nearly always wrong, except in cases where an employee has been dishonest or violent.

Second, never fire someone when you’re angry.

Dismissing someone effectively is one of the most important and challenging responsibilities you have as a manager. Focus on investing the time necessary to do it well because you want to improve your skills.

It is best to err on the side of excess deliberation rather than on the side of excess haste.

The situations requiring dismissal that you are most likely to encounter in your managerial career have to do with poor performance or the employee’s inability or unwillingness to abide by the company’s standards.

Doing all you reasonably can to bring her performance up to acceptable standards needs to be your first priority.

This is the stage in the process during which you want to move toward one of two outcomes. The first and most desirable is to work with her to bring her performance up to speed. The second outcome is to have her thank you when she is dismissed.

The key to both of these outcomes is communication.

Make it abundantly clear to the employee that her job is at risk. This is n...

Just as important, make it clear that you want to see her be successful and will do all you can to assist her if ...

Either the underperforming employee’s performance will improve to a reasonable level or it will not.

your efforts have made clear to the other members of your team that you are committed to everyone on the team being successful, if possible.

Too many managers assume that if employees don’t get bad performance reports, they know they’re doing okay. This is usually not the case. Those employees tend to believe you don’t give a damn.

Records are important because being sued for dismissing an employee is becoming more common. You should ask yourself, “If I have to, can I fully justify this dismissal?”

If you become involved in one of these takeovers, you can only hope that the parent corporation is humane. If it is necessary to let some people go, it should be done in a way that acknowledges responsibility to these human beings.

How you treat the departing team members will be closely observed by the team members who are staying.

In this case everyone knows the staff reduction is a result of the merger, so you might as well tie it to that; it at least allows people to save face.

You must be absolutely certain in your own mind that the dismissal is deserved.

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT AS A FIRST-TIME manager that you know current employment laws, practices, and regulations set by federal, state, and local governments in order to avoid any legal liability.

The term disability means having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of an individual, having a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment.

However, drug and alcohol abusers are considered to be physically handicapped under the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and are thereby protected from discrimination.

First, you cannot accuse someone of being intoxicated or on drugs.

Second, do not share information about employees who have suspected drug or alcohol problems.

Third, you and the organization have the responsibility under most state laws of finding avenues for an employee’s rehabilitation.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) permits employees to take unpaid leave for up to twelve weeks per year.

The most powerful managers are those who share information with their direct reports, thereby giving their team members the ability to be more self-directed.

People don’t act upon the facts; they act upon their perception of the facts.

Very little that goes on in an organization needs to be secret.

As a manager or executive, you are better off communicating too much than too little.

For your own success and the success of your team, you need to build a good working relationship with HR.

As we will address, hiring is one the most important responsibilities of a manager. The sooner a new manager can start to develop their hiring skills the better.

Managers have a far greater commitment to the success of selections they’ve made than they do to those who were selected for them and then assigned.

Be cautious and certain that the tension you will be creating is worth it to you in the long run. They can make your life difficult if they choose.

Motivation is getting people to want to do what needs to be done, willingly and not by force.

The only motivation that really works is self-motivation.

The most successful managers artfully align the self-interests of their team members with the goals of the organization.

One of the primary responsibilities of a manager is to change the feelings of team members from “have to” to “want to.”

Also, a good manager gets the job done by finding out how different people respond.

Some people are self-motivated by the possibility of a promotion.

Others seek their manager’s approval.

Still others like to compete in a friendly way with their peers.

Many people are working simply for the dollar, and the way to get more dollars is to perform well to maximize the next salary increase.

Many others take great personal pride in doing whatever they do well.

When they have a clear understanding of what needs to be accomplished and are allowed, within the boundaries you provide, to proceed as they see fit they are likely to be more engaged.

Most of us are motivated, whether we realize it or not, by the opportunity to be part of something greater than ourselves.

When you create a setting where your people see that their efforts are contributing to a positive outcome well beyond what they could achieve individually, they will be more motivated and find greater meaning in what they do.

Employees want to be understood. They want to feel that their tasks lead to meaningful outcomes.

Concern for and understanding of your staff are signs of management strength, not weakness.