Have a Question?Thursday, September 29, 2005Do you have a question about how to deal with your boss; how to talk to your boss? Are you in a difficult situation at work? Ask me a question today by leaving a comment. If you want me to review your resume for free or offer advice, sign up to the left of this post and I will give you my blogging boss email. There are more people in management that fail their employees than help them. I started this blog to help people who have a boss and for those who are a boss (who also have a boss). Have a great day! posted at 9/29/2005 10:00:00 AM | 15 comments links to this post |
Bogus Bonus PlansMonday, September 26, 2005Readers, please send me an email. Sign up in the box to the left of this article. I will give you my personal Blogging Boss email. You can send me questions, resumes to review, questions about interviwing, etc. One of my readers wrote about a major deceptive practice in corporate America today. Here is what the reader had to say: "I was in a meeting today, to discuss how our new quarterly bonus plans will be administered. According to our company, only a small percentage of employees will "exceed expectations" and a slightly larger percentage will be "above expectations" The rest will meet or be below expectations." THANK YOU Uinseann! You can thank Jack Welch, former CEO of G.E. and demigod to corporate America for what you just experienced, Uinseann. Let me start off by saying that Jack's advice in this area is not bad and not great; however, it has been greatly bastardized by corporate leaders. Hang with me on this. Most of you are a victim of what I call the "Welch Factor." Especially if you work for a larger company. (1 billion in revenue or more) Here is the secret (if you do not snooze through one of his books). The top 10 % of employees get the most, the bottom 10% get fired. All other employees are lumped into 3 categories of mediocrity. I worked for a 30 billion dollar company who embraced the self-made, highly esteemed Jack Welch. I sat in a meeting as a manger and was told we would be paying the top 10% well and that we MUST get rid of the bottom 10%. Next down from the top was 20% of my emplyees. They got a little bit of the spoils. 40% were just coporate drones who were told they met expectation. Some would not be eligble for "cost of living" increases. They were just fortunate to work for the company. Then you have the 20% who were going to be kept as employees, yet not eligible for collecting a dime more than last year, even when factoring in inflation. They lost money if they kept working for this stupid company. The last 10% were sent to "The Tower." If you do not know British history, "The Tower" was death row. 10% were to be fired within the next 90 days. I was told to find 10% and get their 90 day paperwork going so that I could fire them. So, Uinseann, your company has bastardized this stupid, stupid formula even more. Out of 50 employees, 5 should be in the top level. 10, should be "above average�", 20 should be satisfactory, 10 should have no raise and enjoy their demoralization, and 5 should have their heads hacked off. You said "I believe that most associates will decide that the deck is stacked against them and will not try as hard as they had in the past." YES, YES, YES and YES. Why? Because managers have no idea how to mentor the unlucky 70%. I love this: "It was like a bomb went off when we were told, basically, that some of us were not going to get rewarded or rewarded as well as we should since the bean counters did their spreadsheet and stated only a few employees could really do a good job." Thank you Jack Welch for your success in infiltrating the mostly blind and stupid corporate American leadership with absolutely the most idiotic plan. This may sound harsh; however, this man has done more damage than good. Here is how he is described: "Jack Welch may be the most talked about and widely emulated manager in business history. He's used his own uncanny instincts and unique leadership strategies to run GE, the most complex organization in the world, increasing its market value by more than $400 billion over two decades." Well, that is a great bottom-line figure, but the carnage left behind is irresponsible. Uinseann says "The defections are starting, we lost two key people in the last week and we are going to lose two more soon." Yes, and you Uinseann, your offer will come. Hang on and get ready. When you get your new job, be sure and drop Jack a Christmas card and let us know. We are cheering for you! Thanks for sharing your story. Unfortunately it is all too familiar now. posted at 9/26/2005 11:10:00 PM | 0 comments links to this post |
Can You Talk To Your Boss?Thursday, September 22, 2005Does your boss talk to you? Do you know how you are performing? If you cannot answer yes to either of these questions, you have a communication problem with your boss. More likely, your boss does not know how to effectively communicate with you. Remember, your boss has the ultimate responsibility as far as how you and s/he communicate. It is not really your deal. However, since management typically does not do well with communication, you may not experience the level you DESERVE. It is also helpful for you to initiate communication with your boss as well. You should expect feedback that is helpful. Your boss should provide you with the mentoring that you need. I do not talk much about my direct experience in this blog; however, when it comes to communicating I am going to make an exception. For seven years I had a manager who mentored me in many areas. The most important areas were emotional intelligence and communication. I will save emotional intelligence for another blog. Communication is the hot spot for this blog. He taught me to setup quarterly sessions with my employees and have an "open" discussion. I learned to ask people how they were doing, how they felt about the company, how I could help them, etc. I call them "one-on-ones". Any manager with experience and training has been taught how to communicate. Rule for Managers: => When communicating, respect the employee's time and space. Rule for Employees: => You should always know where you stand with your boss. You should feel confident in your professional performance and understand how you are perceived. Folks, get your boss to talk. Find out what s/he thinks you are performing. Don't wait until some artificial corporate review. If you do not know now, ask questions. Managers, talk to your people. Treat them right. If you do not know how your boss feels about you, you need to go into work tomorrow and ask for some one-on-one time with your boss. Ask your boss directly. You NEED appropriate communication. Do you know how you are performing? Do you know how your performance is perceived? If not, it is time to find out. If you do not act on this, you are making your life in the working world so much harder than it needs to be. Be good to yourself. Want weekly tips sent to your email box? Sign up on the left hand side of the page. As always I HATE spam, so your email address will never be sold, bartered, shared in any way. posted at 9/22/2005 12:48:00 AM | 0 comments links to this post |
How Do You Deal With A Micromanager?Wednesday, September 14, 2005What can you do if you discover that your boss is a micromanager? Working with a micromanager is generally a losing proposition. You may feel you can learn to live with the tyranny, but there are consequences. First, decide if you want to continue to work for this person. If you can find another job you like with a different manager within the company, your answer should probably be "no." If your answer is "yes" then you must make changes. You must respect your abilities and talent enough to ensure that you are being fully utilized. If you do not respect yourself, you will be miserable. The onus is on you ultimately. If you have decided to continue to work under the microscope and have no other immediate alternatives you must make a promise to yourself. You must commit to "managing up." If you do not know what that means, I have written several posts that will explain what it is and how to do it effectively. You must commit to working through the issues appropriately with your boss. I really emphasize appropriately. Inappropriate behavior on your part will and should get you fired. Rule #1- Stay emotionally neutral in all discussions with your boss. Do not raise your voice. Even if you are ready to scream, keep it inside. An emotional outburst on your part will give a micromanager all he needs to continue controlling everything you do. Rule #2 - Ask if you can be direct with your boss. You should ask permission to be "frank." Why? Many micromanagers are not mature enough to have a direct conversation. So if the conversation goes south, you can always remind your boss that you asked if you could be direct. Rule #3 - Give concrete examples where you "feel" you have been treated inappropriately. This is the hardest part, but the most important. You should prepare for this part of the discussion very diligently. The examples must be recent. They should be the best examples you can think of where the micromanager cannot refute what actually happened. If it is totally fact based the only way a micromanager can deny what you are saying is by manipulating truth. That is another whole issue. Rule #4 - Your goal should be to change one behavior. That's right, just one at a time. That is all your micromanaging boss can probably handle. This will be an incremental process, so get ready for a commitment. An example would be for you to get your micromanager to let you be responsible for one task completely without his approval. Focus on things that you do that you know should be your responsibility completely. Your boss should not have to put a stamp of approval on it. Even sell the idea as removing something off his already unmanageable schedule. Rule # 5 - If you are not getting anywhere with your boss during this process you must decide to escalate this up to the next level. But remember, micromanagers tend to hire micromanagers, so assess your boss's boss. Even if he is a micromanager you still must give that manager the opportunity to address your concerns. This is critical. It is only fair that you treat your managers as you want to be treated. Even if you do not think it is fair or necessary. Trust me on this. Rule # 6 - If the management team does not address this issue, your next step is Human Resources (if you have an HR department). If all goes sour and you have no HR, start dusting off that resume and pounding the pavements. You do not belong there. posted at 9/14/2005 12:12:00 PM | 0 comments links to this post |
Which Is Worse - A Fly or a Micromanager?Saturday, September 10, 2005Neither! They both are equally annoying if you happen to work for one. Do you work for a micromanager? You may not know you are under the spell. If you feel like there is a fly in your office constantly bugging you, then it just might be your micromanaging boss. Here are the signs: 1) You never have complete authority to do what it was you were hired to do. 2) The work you were hired to do is being done mostly by your boss. Worse yet, they are re-doing your work. Ugghh! 3) Your boss wants an account of everything you do. The status report from hell. 4) Your boss must approve everything. 5) You feel like your boss is always checking up on you. 6) In crisis, they are breathing down your back. Get the idea? Typically micromanagers hire micromanagers. So look out for your boss's boss. S/he might be micromanaging your boss. So what you bring to the table is almost zilch. If you are being micromanaged, I encourage you to appropriately approach your boss about it. There is an appropriate way that you can do this. I will get into that next blog. posted at 9/10/2005 01:46:00 PM | 0 comments links to this post |
The Incompetent Annual ReviewTuesday, September 06, 2005Someone recently responded to my blog by describing their fearless leader's attempt at doing an annual review. There is a disclaimer here. I am assuming what this reader has shared is totally factual. So here is the reader's description of her annual reviews: "In 16 years at my last job, my annual reviews were an opportunity for my boss (Director) to nit pick and criticize about little petty things from 11 months prior, or we talked about his latest "new toy" he purchased. I knew everything about him, kids, wife, parents and in-laws. Even his neighbors. He didn't even now that I had a child. Better yet, would have been to celebrate my many achievements and all the money I saved the company. I have to admit my bonuses were great - he always rated me Superior Performance, so there was some solace in getting the money. But he would never tell me that, why? So although the mid 5 figure bonuses were appreciated, the lack of acknowledgement did offend me." Wow! We can learn from this post. If this boss is for real, the Blogging Boss assumes he is a menace to corporate America. Why? 1) An annual review should have NO surprises! None. Zero. If this boss had issues during the past year they should have been addressed all through the year. You NEVER dump on an employee during an annual review. NEVER. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I really hate this. 2) The employee knows all about the boss (most likely their personal life was vomited upon the employee). The boss never listened enough to even hear that the employee actually had a child. Folks, this is the NORM! Most managers have wax-filled ears. Even if they had it removed they still could NOT listen. 3) The boss never acknowledged exactly what the employee did well. Yet the boss compensated as if the employee was doing a stellar job. People want to know what they are doing well. This is KEY to self-esteem and confidence. This boss compensated at a high level, but did not marry the compensation to the accomplishments. BOOOO! So what do we take away from this wonderful post? 1) The boss was self-centered and never made an effort to learn more about the employee. Actually my guess is that he really did not care. 2) He used an annual review to needle the employee and then sent a mixed signal. The employee was never told WHY they deserved a 5 figure bonus (not a trivial bonus). 3) The employee was compensated for the level of achievement but never appropriately coached or mentored. 4) The resulting message was "money is good." The net result - offensive management. "My boss has offended me and has not been my advocate." On the Blogging Boss scale, this manager gets a barely a 1 on a scale from 1 to 5. He has violated some very important principles as an advocate, servant and leader. Send me your comments! posted at 9/06/2005 10:57:00 PM | 6 comments links to this post |
Post a CommentSaturday, September 03, 2005As I develop this blog I want to know how people feel about management. Do you feel that the management of your company is effective? What are ways you would suggest management should improve? Conversely, I want to hear from management. If you are a Director, VP, CEO, tell me about your challenges. Tell me about what is working well; what is not. As I have been reading blogs from all over the country this week, I am struck by the overwhelming sentiment that the current leader of this country and his administration (management team) has failed with Katrina. Take a break from blogging about George Bush and post your personal experience with management. I am on a quest to get 50 responses from this post. posted at 9/03/2005 10:43:00 AM | 5 comments links to this post |
Katrina and Three LeadersFriday, September 02, 2005I know everyone is blogging about Katrina and rightfully so. This is a disaster that seems to get worse every time I read the news or turn on the television. Thousands of people are dying. There is no water, food, healthcare, sewage system, power, transportation; a city gone back a thousand years. The reports are horrible; the pain can be felt for miles. No end in sight. For many, hope now eludes them. Three leaders are trying their best to catch up and struggling to get any control over all the forces working against them. In times like this, we see a leader's strengths and weaknesses. President Bush The perception of the American people is that he has been too distant and not responsive enough. He will be in New Orleans today, Friday. Bush has not been responsive enough to this disaster. Why? A leader needs to be the servant and the advocate, remember? His inability to be there immediately like he was during 911 has created a perception that he is distant and not responsive. He may be working 20 hours a day to help get this situation under control. It doesn’t matter. The perception is not a result of all of the media spinning and all of the finger pointing. He is being perceived as ineffective because he was not there from the beginning. He was quoted today by CNN.com as saying "The results are not acceptable. I'm headed down there right now." Too late. Perception is reality. Ray Nagin He is angry and losing control. His city is falling apart and he needs help. The help has been slow for reasons not currently understood. That is not the point. He has a right to be angry, frustrated, anxious, etc. He has been a servant and an advocate all week, until last night on a New Orleans radio station. Last night the anger got the best of him and he started to lash out at everyone. He started to lose his credibility as a leader. People get worried when that happens. If a leader is lashing out at the President and the government and other authorities, people begin to lose faith. Last night he said: "You mean to tell me that a place where you probably have thousands of people that have died and thousands more that are dying every day, that we can't figure out a way to authorize the resources that we need? Come on man." -source CNN.com People need leadership, especially in a time of uncertainty and fear. Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco She is serving her people. She is being an advocate and an effective leader right now. Here were her comments yesterday. "I'm not going to stand here and play the blame game. We have a problem. Let's get to the problem." See it? She said she is not going to stand here, which infers action. Then she states she will not engage in a gameof pointing fingers. She says very diretly that she knows that New Orleans has a problem. She concludes by saying lets focus on the problem and how to fix it and not the cause. Kathleen Blanco is the Blogging Boss's leader of the day! Pray for President Bush, Ray Nagin, Kathleen Blanco, Homeland security and all of the leaders who have a challenge that is much bigger than all of them. Eric posted at 9/02/2005 11:07:00 AM | 0 comments links to this post |
Managing Up - What does it Mean (Part Two)Thursday, September 01, 2005If you read my blog yesterday, you will remember that I painted a scenario where a good manager fails to communicate a key change to her group. As an employee who recognizes the failure, you must address the failure. It is your responsibility. Here is what I proposed as dialog: "I know you are interested in our team being successful. The team wants to be successful as well; at least that is my opinion. I just heard about a change in what you are now expecting the team to complete. I may have misplaced an email you sent; however, I was not aware of the change. Is this my issue?" First, the fact that the manager is good and genuinely interested in the success of her team is addressed first. If you can't say that to your manager, then don't address it at all. Never point out the manager's failures as you start the dialog. If they are not strong leaders, you will put them on the defensive immediately. Essentially, you will have shot yourself in the foot. Success will elude you. Secondly you are stating a fact, but in the form of an opinion. You know that your team is truly interested in success; however when speaking about others be careful not to actually state facts. This is your perception. Should your perception be off, your fact is inaccurate. Next, you address the issue head on. State this as a fact. You did not know that there was a key change. Maybe everyone else was aware of this change, but you were not. Then finish up by asking if it was your fault that you were unaware of this key change. Give your manager the chance to be honest with you now. You are willing to accept the responsibility. A good manager will admit their failure and thank you for your input. I will be writing much more on "managing up", as it is one of the least known and understood skills that you must master to be successful. posted at 9/01/2005 11:19:00 AM | 0 comments links to this post |
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