Help, My Employees Are In a Rut!
ASK ANNIE
Help, My Employees Are In a Rut!
Here's how you can 'light a fire' under your subordinates and help boost
their careers.
Dec 06 2004
By Anne Fisher
Fortune.com
Dear Annie:
I was promoted in late November of last year to my first supervisory job,
and one of the first things I did was sit down with each of the 22 people
who report to me and talk with them about their plans for the year ahead.
Our company offers a lot of training and development opportunities and, as
a former techie who is moving up, I know how important these are if one
wants to get anywhere. So my subordinates and I had these wonderful
detailed conversations about what they wanted to do next, how they planned
to get there, and what kinds of training they were going to pursue. The
trouble is, here we are a year later, and I notice that only about half of
my people have done what they talked about doing. Now that it's time for
another annual sit-down, can you suggest a way to light a fire under the
other half? Or should I just let it go?
ÂLow-key Boss
Dear LKB:
First, congratulations on doing what managers are supposed to do, i.e.,
taking an interest in developing others' potential--even if it seems right
now as if you're more interested than they are. It's hard to say why half
of your subordinates haven't followed up on what they said they wanted to
do. It's always possible that at least a few of them were just blowing
smoke in the first place--that is, telling the new boss what they thought
you wanted to hear. But it could also be that lighting a fire under them,
as you put it, depends on your own ability to understand what really
motivates them. "People do not get excited about development unless it is
important to them," notes Susan Gebelein, an executive vice president at
Minneapolis-based HR consulting giant Personnel Decisions International
(http://www.personneldecisions.com). With several co-authors, Gebelein
wrote a terrific book, now in its 7th edition, called Successful Manager's
Handbook: Develop Yourself, Coach Others (ePredix, $59.95). A few tips
from Gebelein and her colleagues:
1. Actions do count. Don't just listen to what people say. Watch what they
do. Take note of which activities your people spend the most time on when
they've got the choice. Notice what seems to energize them. "When people
talk about things they care about, they become animated," Gebelein notes.
Then think about suggesting training opportunities that might build on
that excitement. Got a programmer who really comes alive when it's time to
give a presentation to the marketing people? Maybe he'd like to take a
communications course--or, heck, a sales course.
2. The carrot approach works. Talk about training and development
opportunities that will help people get something that matters to them.
For example, when you're giving someone a "stretch" assignment intended to
teach them new skills, mention that it will also give them a chance to
work with someone they admire, a chance to set their own hours, or some
other enticement you know they want. Naturally, not everyone wants the
same things, and after a year with these folks, you should have a pretty
good idea what strikes a spark with them. Of course, your own goals, and
the company's, are important too--but, says Gebelein, "if you expect
people to change simply to meet an organizational need, you will be
disappointed."
3. Inspiration comes from the top. Get excited about your own development.
Enthusiasm, if it's real, is contagious. "Talk to your people about
development events--a class, a conference--where you learned something
useful or gained an interesting new perspective," Gebelein suggests.
There's an old saying among venture capitalists: "If the light ain't on at
the top, it's dim all the way down." So, act as a beacon.
4. Efforts are never wasted. Ultimately, of course, people's career
aspirations, and the amount of effort they're willing to put in to reach
them, are in their own hands, not yours. Don't blame yourself if, even
after all this well-meant nudging, you've still got a few people who are
content to slog along in the same old rut. But don't, as you say, "just
let it go" until you've really tried. Who knows? Someone you encourage in
the right direction today could be a huge success 10 years from now. Those
are always good people to know, and be known by.
Send questions to askannie@fortunemail.com.
From: annieadm@TIMEINC.NET
=====
ÃÃÃÃ
Shang Yi
DEI GRATIA
Lord Jesus, let me know myself and know You and desire nothing save only You.
Let me deny myself and love You. Let me humble myself and exalt You.
Let me think of nothing except You. Let me die to myself and live in You.
Let me accept whatever happens as from You. Let me banish self and follow You, and ever desire to follow You.
-- St. Augustine
Help, My Employees Are In a Rut!
Here's how you can 'light a fire' under your subordinates and help boost
their careers.
Dec 06 2004
By Anne Fisher
Fortune.com
Dear Annie:
I was promoted in late November of last year to my first supervisory job,
and one of the first things I did was sit down with each of the 22 people
who report to me and talk with them about their plans for the year ahead.
Our company offers a lot of training and development opportunities and, as
a former techie who is moving up, I know how important these are if one
wants to get anywhere. So my subordinates and I had these wonderful
detailed conversations about what they wanted to do next, how they planned
to get there, and what kinds of training they were going to pursue. The
trouble is, here we are a year later, and I notice that only about half of
my people have done what they talked about doing. Now that it's time for
another annual sit-down, can you suggest a way to light a fire under the
other half? Or should I just let it go?
ÂLow-key Boss
Dear LKB:
First, congratulations on doing what managers are supposed to do, i.e.,
taking an interest in developing others' potential--even if it seems right
now as if you're more interested than they are. It's hard to say why half
of your subordinates haven't followed up on what they said they wanted to
do. It's always possible that at least a few of them were just blowing
smoke in the first place--that is, telling the new boss what they thought
you wanted to hear. But it could also be that lighting a fire under them,
as you put it, depends on your own ability to understand what really
motivates them. "People do not get excited about development unless it is
important to them," notes Susan Gebelein, an executive vice president at
Minneapolis-based HR consulting giant Personnel Decisions International
(http://www.personneldecisions.com). With several co-authors, Gebelein
wrote a terrific book, now in its 7th edition, called Successful Manager's
Handbook: Develop Yourself, Coach Others (ePredix, $59.95). A few tips
from Gebelein and her colleagues:
1. Actions do count. Don't just listen to what people say. Watch what they
do. Take note of which activities your people spend the most time on when
they've got the choice. Notice what seems to energize them. "When people
talk about things they care about, they become animated," Gebelein notes.
Then think about suggesting training opportunities that might build on
that excitement. Got a programmer who really comes alive when it's time to
give a presentation to the marketing people? Maybe he'd like to take a
communications course--or, heck, a sales course.
2. The carrot approach works. Talk about training and development
opportunities that will help people get something that matters to them.
For example, when you're giving someone a "stretch" assignment intended to
teach them new skills, mention that it will also give them a chance to
work with someone they admire, a chance to set their own hours, or some
other enticement you know they want. Naturally, not everyone wants the
same things, and after a year with these folks, you should have a pretty
good idea what strikes a spark with them. Of course, your own goals, and
the company's, are important too--but, says Gebelein, "if you expect
people to change simply to meet an organizational need, you will be
disappointed."
3. Inspiration comes from the top. Get excited about your own development.
Enthusiasm, if it's real, is contagious. "Talk to your people about
development events--a class, a conference--where you learned something
useful or gained an interesting new perspective," Gebelein suggests.
There's an old saying among venture capitalists: "If the light ain't on at
the top, it's dim all the way down." So, act as a beacon.
4. Efforts are never wasted. Ultimately, of course, people's career
aspirations, and the amount of effort they're willing to put in to reach
them, are in their own hands, not yours. Don't blame yourself if, even
after all this well-meant nudging, you've still got a few people who are
content to slog along in the same old rut. But don't, as you say, "just
let it go" until you've really tried. Who knows? Someone you encourage in
the right direction today could be a huge success 10 years from now. Those
are always good people to know, and be known by.
Send questions to askannie@fortunemail.com.
From: annieadm@TIMEINC.NET
=====
ÃÃÃÃ
Shang Yi
DEI GRATIA
Lord Jesus, let me know myself and know You and desire nothing save only You.
Let me deny myself and love You. Let me humble myself and exalt You.
Let me think of nothing except You. Let me die to myself and live in You.
Let me accept whatever happens as from You. Let me banish self and follow You, and ever desire to follow You.
-- St. Augustine
posted by sayong at
12/08/2004 02:19:00 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home