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crosspost from : http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3560370&pagenumber=152 Backstory : 10 years ago I left working professionally in kitchens, and began working full time doing IT work in a small 5 person office that handles the management of non-profit 501c3s. I've gone from an office IT grunt to basically running the company (and starting my own, separate IT consulting business), and am beginning to face some leadership issues as I take on new roles. ---- Over the past 10 years with my non-profit management company, I've transitioned from having a defined role in my work life (kitchen / IT), and fulfilling it, and basically not giving a gently caress about anyone else or the company so long as I knew I was doing good at what I was responsible for - to having no defined roles, but being responsible for being good at any role anyone ever threw at me, and more or less the success of the company - and now I'm basically transitioning into a phase where I need to direct other people to take ownership of tasks/roles, and have them give their all for the company, and I really need to light some fire under some feet to get poo poo done. the thing is, I'm a really nice laid back guy, hate asking people to do things, and also very much try to be flexible when I do - like 'hey, could we have a meeting about X sometime this week, if you have time in the afternoon on Tuesday or Thursday I can be flexible, let me know what works for you'. If I'm like 'can you get Y done tomorrow by the end of the day' I feel like I'm being an rear end in a top hat, but I also am beginning to feel comfortable with that level of specificity - particularly if I'm really busy and poo poo needs to get done. the problem is, while I'm laid back, if I ask someone to do something specific, I have very, very high standards about how it gets done. I don't know how to reconcile my being a nice guy, with encouraging people to go above and beyond to meet high expectations for quality of work. like, if I tell someone (who is being paid to do what I ask of them) - 'hey, I don't know how to solve this problem, here's x, y, z that I think could be ways to solve it - could you figure it out for me?' I'd expect at very least a report back with a pretty comprehensive "I solved it! this is how' or "I need more guidance, this is why' - and I typically get back a 'I don't really know how to figure this out, could you do this one for me?' I feel like I'm not being an effective leader, and don't know what to do to make myself more of one. I'm not sure if I'm just not being respected because I have been so gung-ho about taking ownership of problems in the past, and maybe the people I work with just think it's my lot to figure complicated poo poo out, or if I just don't know the right incantations to get people to really invest in their jobs, or what. Also I get paid a lot more than the other folks because of my long history with the company - and everyone knows it - so there could be some 'hey you get paid, so you loving figure it out' type thing going on. but I've offered everyone lots more money (for a little bit more time investment) if they take more ownership, and they've declined for legitimate sounding personal reasons - so I don't feel like that is really what's going on... At the moment I feel like I should just fire anyone who has any memory of me being deferential and/or taking on the team's workload when poo poo gets tough, and start anew. but this also sounds horrible and silly. I like my folks.
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Aug 31, 2015 07:53
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| # ? Apr 18, 2024 08:00 |
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This is a long-term solution that may or may not fit your situation but I'd advise taking a look at this thread: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2968008
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Aug 31, 2015 12:26
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Crystal Geometry posted:This is a long-term solution that may or may not fit your situation but I'd advise taking a look at this thread: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2968008 Thanks for the reply. I'm sure I'd probably benefit from getting a MBA, but I already have a masters degree, and don't think going back to school would fit my situation. I've left out a lot of detail intentionally, because I think I just need to better my management/leadership skills in particular - the other aspects of running a business I think are already strong suite for me. That said, I'm very open to reading some texts. I've googled a bit and not found any books on the subject that look particularly convincing, but if anyone has suggestions I might check them out.
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Sep 2, 2015 05:40
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Not the most academic of sources, however, as a starting point may be a useful reference: http://www.skillsyouneed.com/leadership-skills.html Outside of this, you really need to not be concerned about being an rear end in a top hat. You're paying people to do a job, they're not doing it. It could possible be your approach or language used but ultimately you need to not paper over the cracks and ask yourself 'why?'.
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Sep 2, 2015 11:05
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mindphlux posted:- and I typically get back a 'I don't really know how to figure this out, could you do this one for me?' I think you need to focus on your response to this in particular, giving the task back to you should not be a realistic option for the employee assuming you are fairly sure they could take care of it. You need to coach them towards developing a solution and then providing it to you for your approval by keeping the task on their plate and asking leading questions, a lot of them, that drag the employee in the right direction without outright providing the answer. It'll take a while and is more work for you up front, but eventually they'll figure out how you like things done and will adapt or will underperform to the point that they may not be a good fit for your team. Learning to work with your management style is entirely their responsibility. You could just have some folks who have been there for a long time and are extremely complacent and unmotivated. Consider some fresh blood if you can.
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Sep 3, 2015 15:34
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Thanks for the feedback. I'm sort of feeling the same way - good advice!
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Sep 3, 2015 17:49
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| # ? Apr 18, 2024 08:00 |
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Take a course in Project Management, start reading the blogs "Ask a Manager" and Manager Tools, which also has a great podcast.
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Sep 9, 2015 05:56
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