We are not enemies but friends...

What a great quote that united a nation after the inaugural of Abraham Lincoln!

I like it even more as an application to a team of individuals who have a unified vision for young people but may have different competitive strategies for a common good.

I believe I am going to print this, frame it and place it in my office to constantly remind me of how much of a blessing the people I work with really are to me especially in the midst of a conflicting situation in regards to policy decision makings.

along with my soon to be office banner "Welcome to the Synergy Cafe!"

"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battle-field, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearth-stone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."

-Abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1861.

A stumble may prevent a fall...

Sometimes the greatest favor you can

do for someone is fire them...

Letting someone go from a job never is easy. You never want to be that guy. I mean, we are talking about disrupting a livelihood here. That is why I believe in

• Proper training and close supervision in the beginning (I am trying to create a no hassle, uber-informative training orientation as we speak).
• When the first problem arises it is essential to take the problem to the employee that is responsible and show him/her the challenge that is before them. Sometimes people just need to be made aware...
• Then if that doesn't seem to rectify the problem I may try to do a little deeper mentoring. Maybe go over orientation and expectations once again with the acknowledgement that the position is on the line.
• If this doesn't give me the results our department needs it is time to show them the door. And sometimes you cannot wait till a third time to terminate. You may need to do it immediately the first time.
  

This may really sound cold and uncaring but many in this field will tell you that a problem employee is always every one's problem and not just your problem. Their insubordinate behavior affects every one's ability to work at 120%.
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I am reminded of a time in which we had an employee that made work-life difficult for not just myself, his immediate supervisor and his colleagues but also for other persons in other departments as well as some of our partners from the community.

This was workplace incivility at it's finest and it was affecting us all. His supervisor tried his best to work with this person and help save his job but this was the sort of individual who didn't seem to get it and really didn't want to get it. And we were all getting a piece of it and this was hurting all of our job performances.

In the end our supervisor did the right thing, the difficult thing. He did what he had to do even though it wasn't what he wanted to do. He did what was best for the department and what was best for those of us who were giving 120% to the job we loved and the people we cared about.

We wished our former colleague the best in whatever endeavors he had in the future. All emotions aside, he is still a human being and has great intrinsic value (Romans 12:13-21) but this place just wasn't the right place for him.
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If I have an employee who is a "go-getter," someone who puts a lot of initiative, time and love into what they do and then I have someone who either doesn't seem to get it or doesn't seem to want to get it, I will always reward rather than punish loyalty and devotion. Keep the good and remove the bad.
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It is important to remove your distractions quickly before they leave an infectious mark on your department. A mark that could remain a distraction you may not be able to remove long after the employee is gone.
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Life lesson: Sometimes the best favor you can do for someone is to fire them. This may be the wake-up call they needed. So what do you think could be the worse thing you can do for that same someone? Yep, just keep them around.

It is a great way to encourage and intensify their disruptive behavior which sooner than later becomes a distraction and difficulty for everyone.

Please don't forget friends- There are no problems, just challenges and opportunities for greatness.

-J

Companies do what the Boss does....

I love this statement from Jeffrey J. Fox's book How to become a great boss. If you have been a manager for quite some time you would probably agree with his statement from experiences both good and challenging...





Companies do what the boss does-


People take their cues from their boss. The boss sets the tone and the standards. the boss sets the example... If the boss is polite, rude people don't last. If the boss accepts mediocrity, mediocrity is what she gets.

If the boss is innovative and inventive, the company looks for opportunities. If the boss does everyone's job, the employees will let him. If the boss gives everyone in the organization a World Series ring, then everyone wants to win the World Series (p. 6-7).

Personally, I have always had a personal policy in regards to proper behavior towards employees when it comes to chastisement. I certainly would not appreciate an employee raising their voice at me in public or private. I would expect my employees to have enough respect for me to request a private meeting in regards to any personal concerns they might have instead of doing it in public. And I would certainly hope that my staff would give me the benefit of the doubt in regards to possible misinformation they have received or witnessed.

So I feel that as a supervisor I need to set the example. I would not wish this sort of behavior on my staff and thus I certainly do not wish to make my staff feel the way I would if someone working for me did these things to me. They are valuable investments and human beings with inherent value.

Now of course since I do not make it a policy to behave this way towards my staff I certainly will not tolerate such behavior from them towards myself (and I have had to pull staff members aside once or twice to address this a time or two...). I believe though that I must be a teacher first before becoming some disciplinarian, a Team Leader before becoming a "Boss".

Some people just need to be kindly (though sternly) reminded once. We are all human...

Please don't forget friends- There are no problems, just challenges and opportunities for greatness.
-J

The Great Boss Simple Success Formula

1. Only hire top-notch, excellent people.
2. Put the right people in the right job. Weed out the wrong people.
3. Tell the people what needs to be done.
4. Tell the people why it is needed.
5. Leave the job up to the people you've chosen to do it. Train the people.
6. Listen to the people.
7. Remove the frustration and barriers that fetter the people.
8. Inspect progress.
9. Say "Thank you" publicly and privately.

-Jeffery J. Fox

In my experience number two is pretty important (although all 9 should be emphasized). There is nothing that can wreak havoc on your staff morale and departmental work output more than people within who are creating a virus of unprovoked departmental criticism, low job performance, failure to accept supervisory direction (which can be displayed in aggressive behavior) and passive aggressive behavior (which could be the death of an otherwise productive team of people.).

Any employee is an investment that you are requiring a good return on. And just like stocks you are always taking a chance on either getting in with a great company or getting stuck with another Enron.

Obviously people aren't stocks and even the worst employees are still human beings that God calls us to love even in the face of adversity. But that doesn't mean that loving them means that you must keep them on with your department.

"Sometimes the best lessons to show you care for an individual's future are a good termination" a supervisor once told me. I would have to agree with her.

If you are not generating the return you expected out of an employee investment you have to do what those in the market do and that is sell and buy somewhere else. You keep that person around for too long and your other great investments will be so affected that they will begin to produce a low return.

You have to protect your investments. In more humane terms, you have to fight for those who devote themselves for you daily. Sometime that means taking the unfortunate task of removing an individual(s) who may be causing your department to produce a low work output.

Please don't forget friends- There are no problems, just challenges and opportunities for greatness.

-J

Evening Blurb...

Today one of our new Resident Staff members repeated to me a quote I use quite often to staff members who feel frustrated when faced with what would seem to be a distressing crisis (I have these quite often myself!).

It was really neat to hear someone say it as it reinforces your confidence that someone out there is listening to you. Hopefully he will adopt it in his psyche and apply it when necessary.

It is all about perspective really. Looking at events in a different set of glasses than you usually do. It has really made my life a lot easier. It is something that I also have to be reminded of from time to time. What is it?

Simple-

"There are no problems, just challenges and opportunities for greatness."