Personal Accountability

How often do you make mistakes at work? How often are those mistakes your fault? If someone calls you out on a mistake, what is your response? These questions need to be reflected upon honestly and deeply.

It should be pretty obvious that we all make mistakes at work. All the way up the ladder in each company, mistakes are made at every level. As a lower and mid-level Manager, you are in the middle of the fray to see how decisions affect people. You will see the results of corporate mistakes, mistakes made by your subordinates, and your own mistakes. So how should each of these be handled?

One company I worked for had recently hired about 50 employees at our location. Three months later, they were laid off due to changing business needs. Less than a month later, we were asking for more temporary employees from our temp partner. It became common knowledge that there was a miscalculation in the upper management of the company that resulted in the needless lay-offs. The people who were laid-off were our friends and coworkers. This mistake made a lasting impact on the way the employees viewed corporate management.

I give this example not to shame that company, but to actually commend them for not trying to cover-up the truth. They didn’t give specifics, but they admitted that calculation mistakes were made that resulted in the situation. This transparency helped to protect against deeper resentment.

No one should ever expect to work for a company that doesn’t make mistakes from time-to-time, and since it is work, by nature, it will affect people, both the customers and the employees, right down to their livelihoods. The standard for assessing the ethical behavior of a company should not be based on its ability to not make mistakes, but their response when mistakes are made.

If you begin to vilify your company, your expectations may become unreasonable. Granted, some companies do regularly make unethical decisions or try to cover up and deny responsibility for certain mistakes. It may be worthy of villain status. So at that point, you’re left with your own employment and personal integrity decisions.

A company may not acknowledge the fact that a decision that was made negatively affects its employees. These decisions may have made sense for profitability or future direction, but decisions that affect employees should be made with work-culture in mind and presented with as much explanation and transparency as is possible for the circumstances.

Another aspect of acknowledging fault is knowing when to take responsibility for mistakes made by your subordinates. While personal culpability may be called for, you may be able to enhance the work culture by standing in fault with your subordinates. Managers have a different perspective on things than their subordinates, so managers cannot expect their subordinates to make the same decisions that they would make given the same situation. This is why there is actually some blame to be had as a manager when your subordinates mess up.

A mistake may have been made due to lack of training or bad directions. As their manager, you are sometimes responsible for these mistakes. Use them as training opportunities and explain the expectation more clearly. Share your perspective on the situation so that the subordinate can better understand the goals in the future with less directions.

A simple example of this would be having a newer employee set up an end display in a store. You give them five different boxes of products to put on the shelves and walk away. When you come back, you notice that the heaviest items are on the top shelf and the slowest-moving item is at chest level. You’re frustrated because you know that heavier items should go low on the shelves, slow-moving items should be on the top, and fast-moving items should be chest level. Easy, right?!

This is where you calm down and think about that employee’s knowledge base. There’s a lot of things they may have never been taught, and they probably don’t know which items sell faster. You are partially responsible for what happened. Your assumption led to this mistake. If you don’t know your subordinate’s work history very well, make sure that you are super clear with your directions until they have more experience and there is more trust built.

It also really helps to explain the “why” of the tasks you’re assigning. “I need these products put on this display. Heavy on the bottom for safety. This next item is the fastest selling, so we want it at chest-level where people see it and can easily grab it. Whenever it’s low, please grab another box and refill it. That other item is slower-selling, so put it on the top so the shelf still looks full.” Clear expectations with “why” training.

There may also be times where taking responsibility for something you didn’t do will help the people around you trust you more and motivate them to work harder with and for you. If it had been a higher manager who pointed out the mistake in the example, taking responsibility for the subordinate’s lack of training will help your relationship with the subordinate and show management that you take ownership of your area. Creating that sense of comradery, the thought and feeling that you, the boss, are in this just the same, will enhance the attitude toward the tasks at hand and give you an advantage when delegating in the future.

Now back to the initial idea: How do you deal with your own mistakes and their results? Anger and frustration are popular choices, and it is not a good idea to suppress your feelings, but where and how do you express them? “At people” is never the correct answer, and if you do this, stop it and seek counseling. If you think you don’t make mistakes, climbing the business ladder will be very difficult for you. No one wants someone working with or for them who will blame everyone else around them for every mistake.

Even if you’re confident that you don’t do this, self-reflection is always needed. Many companies have Unconscious Bias Training where you look at behaviors that might be unwittingly discriminatory. The same contemplation and behavioral reflection needs to be applied to your reactions to disappointments and problem resolution.

Next time something goes wrong at work, stop and take an emotional inventory. How do you feel? What do you want to do? What is the root of the feeling? How often does this happen? What can I do in the future to anticipate and avoid this situation?

You as a manager have a vital role to play in guiding and shaping work culture during times of frustration and discord. Acknowledging one’s mistakes and being humble enough to apologize when something is pointed out is foundational to gaining healthy respect from your subordinates, higher management, and others around you.

Communication – The ABCs

Every Managerial position will have situations arise that force us to decide how much of the information that we possess should be shared with others, either our managers, peers or our subordinates. This is something that happens on a daily basis whether we are aware of it or not, and it is a critical part of our reputation in the workplace. As managers, and as our positions increase in responsibility, we must be more and more aware of how the information we share affects the people and business around us.

So many different aspects bleed into communication, your mood, your knowledge base, your opinion, your professional and personal experience, your religion or spiritual beliefs, your endorphin levels, and the list goes on. Our words tell others what is in our mind and heart. The more careful we are with words, the better chance we have of the most people having a favorable opinion of us. This is not to say we should hide bad news and negative information, but the way we present it will portray our comprehension and tact concerning its communication.

Much of the tone of our communication also stems from our opinion of the person we’re addressing. If we’re talking with the office gossip, we may be more shielded with our words and topics. If we’re talking with a close friend, we may say more than we really should.

As your responsibilities grow, so must your active decision to evaluate the information that you’re sharing with those around you. There are a vast number of topics and situations that arise in business, but all of the decisions you have to make about communication can be boiled down to these ABCs: Appropriate, Beneficial, Consistent.

On a corporate level, you can see these ABCs in the decisions made in all situations. Decisions that are made usually have to travel through different channels and departments answering these questions: Is the change or idea being proposed Appropriate under the law and ethical standards of the company? Does it Benefit the company and/or employees? Is it Consistent with the direction of the company and other decisions that have been made? These questions are a good foundation and framework to be aware of as you formulate your own ideas while navigating corporate mandates, directives, and higher-level interactions.

Whether consciously or unconsciously, we answer these same questions on a smaller scale as we work every day. When we are confronted with a challenge, we develop a solution, and at some point we are, or we should be, distinctly aware of addressing each of these concepts.

Appropriate
We all have a general sense of what is legal and ethical. This is evidenced in the simple fact that our society has laws. We all know that there are right and wrong ways of doing things, and if we’re unsure, we should ask. So when you begin formulating a solution or response to a work situation, you are sending the decision formulation through your internal filter of what you believe falls within legal and ethical boundaries. Or you may consider something that falls outside of those boundaries, in which case your conscience is supposed to inform you that it’s wrong.
The basic questions you may find it helpful to ask are: Is what I’m proposing legally allowed? Can what I want to say be legally disclosed? Has what I’m contemplating been expressly forbidden by upper management or company policy? Is my communication suitable for the work environment?

Beneficial
This is the most familiar of the ABCs, though it can still be tricky to answer. This concept can be seen in every arena of communication in life. These same questions cross our minds when talking to friends and family, doctors, mechanics, law officers, etc. Is the information I’m sharing going to make the situation better or more bearable? Will my sharing this information have an effect on the end result of this situation? Do I want to communicate this for the benefit of others or just because I want to talk about it? Could the information that I want to share change again soon? Does the effect of the information encourage or discourage the hearer? How much will it impact the hearer on an emotional level?
These questions are crucial in maintaining healthy work morale. By being thorough in evaluating the benefits, we can more decisively choose the best time and amount of information to share. Our goal is not to hide bad news, but to always be truthful and not keep our employees guessing. Telling an employee, “Don’t worry about it,” or “Just get it done,” conveys secrecy and objectifies the employee. It leads to a poor work culture and lower productivity. There are times when the beneficial information is, “I don’t know,” or, “I’ll let you know as soon as I can.” These statements communicate truth, openness, and the fact that you’re willing, and even have a desire, to keep the employee updated.

Consistent
This is where emotional control and self-reflection are critical. We sometimes segregate information based on who we’re talking to. It’s understandable when talking to different departments, but if we share something with one subordinate and not another, we may be showing favoritism. Likewise, when similar situations arise, do we handle them based on how we’re feeling that day, or are we handling things consistently? Those whom our decisions affect notice our inconsistencies and this can affect the work environment and morale.
These are some of the questions to ask to evaluate your consistency. Is the information that I share going to be shared the same across all the affected employees? Am I able to treat this situation the same way next time it arises? Is what I’m divulging consistent with what I have divulged in the past? If I share this information, will I be expected to give more information next time? Am I able to deliver on what I say in the future? Will what I say be seen as gossiping? Am I giving everyone the same information?

Your ability to discern whether or not your communication is Appropriate, Beneficial, and Consistent will have a profound effect on how you are perceived by upper-management. The more successful decisions you make by yourself, the more valuable and favorable you become to the people around you. There will surely come times when you need guidance, but navigating those times will be made easier by asking questions grounded in these ABCs.

Communication – Encouraging Response

We are inundated with words everywhere, and honestly, we tend to ignore much of what’s put before us personally and in the workplace. Most of us have trained our eyes to look for the “important” emails or the “facts that matter.” We have thousands of pages of legal documents that we signed a paper claiming we read, and it seems that the only time we really contemplate our response is when we’re communicating an issue to the boss or the angry customer. I touched on good practices in responding to written communications in my last article. Now, how do we get our communications responded-to? And how do we do this more efficiently, completely, and precisely while keeping out of trouble?

One of the best things we can do throughout our lives is to realize that the people around us are humans just like us. They are all dealing with something. Billionaires have problems too. Fear and anxiety and a lack of time are universal concepts. So to help improve your work environment and make it the best it can be, remember that your frustrations are probably shared by most of the people around you. Choose not to lower your standards of self-expression because of your feelings.

Why am I talking about feelings here in an article about emails and reports? Because all communication flows from our foundational ability to empathize. If you wouldn’t want to get a long, wordy email like the one you just composed, don’t send it. If you don’t want to hear an excuse about something not getting done, then don’t make excuses about your mistakes. This concept is called the Golden Rule for a reason. Treat others as you would like to be treated, and conversely, don’t treat others the way you don’t want to be treated.

Always ask yourself what your reaction would be to your communication. Would you say the email was written properly? Was it concise? Did it address what was needed? Was it opinionated? Did it answer any and all of the questions that were yours to answer? And if you doubt, or have questions about these points, ask someone you respect for help.

I worked with a lady who was a real go-getter. If you wanted something done, she would do it. Operationally, she was always on it. However, when it came to emails, she had a very obvious tendency to glance at, or skim the email and respond. She would only respond to one of several points of the email, or give a response that seemed out of left field. This would slow things down and was incredibly frustrating. It took some time to gently train her to slow down and read things, but this situation really encouraged me to make a better habit of consolidating my emails.

Wherever possible, emails and any other office communication should be short, concise, and use bullet-points. I have found that these three things will encourage a quicker and more precise response from everyone.
1. Bullet Points – They give an immediate visual cue when opening the email. They convey that this email will be well-organized and to the point.
2. Length – Keep things short. The perception of the reader will be that responding will be quick, thus they are encouraged to address your matters quickly.
3. Conciseness – Just spit it out! Spare your reader from sifting through paragraphs looking for what they are being asked or told.
4. Just the Facts – You are not responsible for the emotional reaction of the reader, though you should use discretion with some topics. Don’t over-explain, and don’t try to put your spin on things. Your opinion, even with good intentions, can be seen as manipulative.

These good practices carry-over into many areas. When writing narrative reports, such as those for workplace incidents, though you won’t bullet-point them, they should be concise and void of opinion. Your observation is not an opinion, and your opinion is not an observation. Report writing should seek to minimize the conversation. Give descriptive, non-vague facts so that there will be minimal clarification. When opinion is added, validity is questioned.

The same is true for disciplinary documentation. As a manager, you will have to do this at some point. I’ve only met one person in five companies who liked writing people up. It’s a pain, it’s uncomfortable, and for the vast majority, we only do it because it is necessary for the health of the work environment. We won’t get into that here, but when writing the disciplinary documentation, all opinions should be left out. When you put opinion into these types of reports, you open yourself to criticism, and you might create loopholes for further action. Simply state what you saw, who you saw, what they were doing, what you did, and state the outcome.

This same simple thought process works in so many situations. Thinking this way helps take the emotion out of whatever you’re facing. This is what happened. This is where you are. Now, what will you do about it. No blame, just forward thinking to correct any lingering results of the problem and moving-on. People will respond more readily to this attitude and mindset. Don’t get held-up in the blame if you’re not the one distributing the punishment.

Always seek to be in forward motion. Stream-lining communication helps build that momentum. Be the one that others like responding to by clear, concise, factual communication. Read everything, and you can even respond with the bullet points, showing your comprehension and organization. Be the inspiration around you by respecting others’ time as you would like them to respect yours.

Communication – Face to Face

Something that helps to get a healthy perspective on professional communication is to realize that personal motivation DOES NOT MATTER. Period. The level of motivated you are and how strongly you feel about something does not matter one bit if you cannot communicate effectively. “But I am passionate about it!” Great, get in line. Being passionate about a perspective can be good for speeches and speaking with friends and family, but in the workplace, social media, and other public arenas, it can be detrimental.

The purpose of professional communication is to convey ideas and come to an understanding with those to whom you are speaking. Much of our conversational communication in professional environments is either discussing a concept that we have not yet come to a full grasp and perspective on, or we are trying to convince someone else that our perspective is the correct one. Talking to others should be welcomed in order to broaden our perspective, and also by doing so, we might be able to gage the waters before introducing an idea.

When trying to get someone else to come to your perspective, keeping your feelings out of it is the best way to continue a discussion and get as close to your desired outcome as possible. Being able to speak and communicate with reasons, evidence, and grounded logic will produce the best outcomes in the workplace. Speaking louder than the other person or name calling doesn’t make you right, it makes your argument appear weaker, and it makes you look ignorant and rude on a personal level.

Face to face communication in the workplace must be maintained as a safe thing to do. If the culture of the workplace discourages speaking with others because of the “personalities” therein, then your company will stagnate and turn-over will increase. It must be safe to speak and share ideas. In order to maintain a safe speaking environment, you must take it upon yourself to be the example of effective communication.

Effective workplace communication has four key elements throughout the conversation. The first element is your readiness to present and discuss you opinion. Any time you are presenting information, your integrity is on display. Have you done your research? Are you presenting your statistics in the way they should be interpreted or manipulating them to better fit your goal? Did you consider as many perspectives as possible when formulating your opinion? Is your proposal relevant and inclusive to the issue at hand? Good managers do research before forming an opinion. Then they add that perspective to their decision making in applicable situations.

This preparation is also where the “Why?” is answered. You must be able to answer the “Why?” before entering into discussions about your idea. We always have someone to answer to. Entry level answers to Management, Management answers to Upper Management, Upper Management answers to the President or CEO who in turn answer to the Stock Holders, and everyone answers to the Law. Imagine that at every level you are being asked why your idea is a good one. If you cannot answer the “Why?” all the way up the chain, then your idea may not be a good one, or your ability to communicate your idea should be reconsidered. This far-reaching preparation doesn’t guarantee a yes, but considering it helps to broaden perspective and consider things from the positions you are working toward. This is the reason that personal motivation and passion do not matter in professional communication. Your feelings are irrelevant to the “Why” in the workplace. Your ability to discuss, persuade, and understand different perspectives in an educated manner will show your passion and drive well enough.

The second element is choosing a time to communicate. Do you just pop-in and surprise your boss with a new idea? I hope not. By surprising someone with a discussion, you are probably diminishing your chances of being thoughtfully listened to and considered. Making someone stop what they’re doing and make them switch gears to what you want to talk about is not only absolutely frustrating, but it demonstrates selfishness on your part. By surprising someone with unplanned and uninvited conversation, it communicates that you think whatever you have to say is more important than what the other person was working on. Obviously there are circumstances that demand attention, but notice how the ones that come to mind tend to be emergency and fact driven, not opinion driven. Your best option to be heard thoroughly is to ask for a scheduled time for discussion. This conveys forethought on your part and respect for your boss and coworkers.

Perhaps the most important part of face to face communication is the third element: Self-presentation. This includes body language, mannerisms, language, and demeanor during the meeting. Did you leave your ego at the door? Is your posture conveying apathy or aggression? Is your speaking tone becoming harsh when the discussion doesn’t go your way? Are you using work-appropriate words in the discussion? Judgement of your proposal begins with how you look. You are further judged when you open your mouth. People will become more open and engaged in a discussion when they feel that they are being listened to, so during discussion, your ability to be polite and patient are critical. There is never an excuse for a raised voice or insult in the workplace. You must be willing to maintain control of your feelings for the duration of any interaction. You may find that you were not as well prepared as you thought, and the emotions of anger and disappointment will bubble-up and make it difficult to maintain composure, but you must accept that answer for the time being.

This brings us to the final element: Feedback. This is the ability to listen and digest other perspectives that may be contrary to yours. Don’t let your anger cloud your ears or damage your chances of trying again later. If your idea is rejected, you must be willing to seek out answers to overcome the opposition. Without truly listening, you will not be able to accomplish this. If there will be further discussion of your idea, then you need to listen to figure out what concepts to rethink or present differently. If things went your way and your idea is implemented, you will still have feedback from others affected by your proposal. Feedback, whether positive, constructive, or negative, should be considered.

We are never too good to improve. Never let yourself have a perspective of having “won” in the workplace. That opens the door to ignorant pride. You had an idea which turned into a proposal which was implemented, and there are others out there with ideas, so just like your manager who listened to you, make sure that you are open to the feedback and ideas of others.

Ideas and improvement are most readily accomplished because of face to face communication. This is part of the reason important meetings are preferred in-person. Your ability to come prepared, be respectful of scheduling, present yourself appropriately, and digest feedback will set the stage for better success in the workplace. Don’t leave your passion at home, but focus it in research in the workplace and action in your personal life. Be prepared to respectfully explain the “Why?” and hopefully you’ll see your passion live in the workplace.

Communication – Introduction

Communication is a broad, every-day, universally used group of concepts, yet it is so important that there are university majors dedicated to its study. The ability to convey ideas across platforms and different mediums effectively and appropriately is a skill that becomes more important as your career advances.

When writing an email, you don’t write the same way that you speak in the break room, or maybe you do, and you are wondering why you’re not being looked at for promotion. On a more technical level, when you speak publicly, you use different words and sentence structure than you would when writing an article or an email. These are just a couple of examples of the practical application of learning better communication skills.

Communication is at the heart of life. Every day, even if we don’t see another human or pick-up a phone, we are still communicating. Communication goes beyond words into thought and action. It starts in the morning when you hit the snooze button. You have just communicated to yourself that you don’t want to get up. The motivation might vary. Maybe you’re tired, you are already stressed, you don’t want the day to start yet. I do it because I don’t want to deal with the dog whining for breakfast at the bedroom door.

In all circumstances, there is a communicator and a hearer. Now I say “hearer” because many people hear but do not listen. This is an unfortunate norm in the western society. When you present a thought in any medium, there is always a hearer. When you speak, when you write, when you sketch on a napkin, there is communication being made, and there are two sides of the expression.

When you hit the snooze button this morning, you communicated to yourself that you didn’t want to get up, and your body and mind listened. When you sketched on the napkin at lunch, you looked at it and considered both its meaning and its worth.

All communication has meaning and worth, even if they are miniscule. You get the weekly email from your Human Resources department about a healthcare perk. You looked at the first few when you got hired, but now they are one of a hundred emails from the last two hours, and you ignore it, delete it, or move it to a folder with the rest of them. Whether you realize it or not, you have just communicated. The email was the communication, and your split second consideration gave the response “I don’t care.” Don’t get me wrong, I’m not vilifying this action. There are a ton of emails that I delete without a second thought. But I’m driving home the point that when we consider this a type of communication, we can better frame response and be cognizant of our actions.

Communication is not just about expression, it is always a conversation. Movies are made to convey a story or get a point across. The masses tell the makers how they feel with box office revenue and the way it affects media and retail. All social media creators put their selves out there for the world to see, though some just post so that the world can pay attention to them. Many do this without considering that they are entering into a conversation where they might not like their conversation partners. They will get trolls and negative feedback and feel insulted, but people are free to leave their feedback just like the creator was free to hit that post button. Many online creators have struggled with handling critical feedback, but this is the potential for putting ideas and self in front of the world. Communication is always two-directional.

In the workplace, you may think you’re just putting information or feelings out there, or “sharing” something, but there is always a response. Even if you can’t see the receiver consider your message or push the delete button, they communicated with your expression. Also, whether you meant to or not, you have communicated peripheral information about yourself. You have communicated what you think is appropriate workplace content and who you think needs to know this information. You have communicated what you believe is important. You have communicated your ability to make decisions about communication, use grammar, and perhaps the depth of your lexicon.

As managers, we want our world of communication to be as small as possible. There is a time and place for public expression, but it is rare and should be considered special. Even newscasters have a script and should keep their opinions out if it. The less we communicate about personal things in the workplace, the better it is for business and office culture. I’m not saying don’t have close friends in the workplace, but over the partition, or at your desk within earshot of others is not the place to have personal conversations. The office doesn’t need to know about the one-nighter you had last weekend. Limiting your personal information in the workplace will help guard against bias, conscious or unconscious. Without personal background, decisions are better driven by merit and professional potential.

Communication is what allows the world to work and thrive. Managers should be the example of effective and appropriate communication in the workplace. Over the next few months, we will look at the differences in communication mediums and what to consider when using them.

Setting Expectations 3 – Changes

Most managers who have been around a while know what their duties are. And if they don’t… well, it’s either your fault or there’s something wrong with the management above. The seasoned managers will already know the systems and procedures around them. They are comfortable with what is being expected of them. So when change happens, it’s important to introduce the change properly.

When change is imposed, or even welcomed, the process of that change needs to be taken seriously and nurtured into success. You are taking/forcing the employee from expectations that they comfortably understand to a state where the employee might unconsciously feel that they may fail because of the new expectations. Often times, there is pushback. It can be from any level. There may be some legitimate concerns for reconsideration, but very often, it just sounds like whining. This is really the employee asking “Why are we changing? I can’t see benefits.” The “Why” should be proactively and preemptively presented when introducing your team to anything new. Make sure to have a meeting in which you describe the new process or system, and explain why the decision to change was made.

Explaining the “Why” will do three things. It will silence, or at least present the case as to nay-sayers. The description of the change should start with the problem that is being solved. You should let your people know that they were being listened to or that there was room for improvement, so the new system will fix the things that were wrong or increase efficiencies. Then move on to the functionality and improvements.

The “Why” will also make the change real to the affected employees. It will present the fact that there is corporate momentum behind the change. In other words, it gets the point across that this is how things are going to be whether they like it or not. This has been decided and the expectations come from a higher level.

Finally, the “Why” shows the employees that they are being included. In some cases, the change may show that those specific employees are being listened to. By taking the time to have a meeting for training and new expectations, you are showing your employees that you care about their success in the change. It ensures that they are being given the respect of attention during this transition.

That meeting should include fielding questions and writing down questions that cannot be answered right away. There should be follow-up and attention given right away to confusion, bugs, and glitches. If the program or process is showing too many problems or really isn’t working correctly after a reasonable amount of time, swallow your pride and repeal it. Don’t make people work harder because of the inability to admit fault.

The more respect, attention, and information you give your employees when changing what you expect from them, the smoother the transition will go. Be honest, be helpful, and be humble.

Setting Expectations 2 – New to Role

In my first blog about expectations, I described my stories of promotion and onboarding and the inadequacies therein. I want to get into role introduction and training a little more with this one. Taking on new roles is a wonderful bundle of emotions. There is excitement, nervousness, pride, humility, eagerness, hesitation, fear, and confidence all at once. There is an energy that that new person is bringing to the role. That’s part of the reason they were chosen, right? If that person sees that you aren’t ready for them, or if they feel lost or neglected, that energy might diminish.

Along with that energy, their view of you and your company may be tarnished also. There’s a reason there’s a saying about first impressions. They last, and they play a major role in how that individual will approach things with your company in the future. The training and onboarding processes are so crucial to instilling and maintaining a healthy environment and culture of your company.

There are some dangers when it comes to onboarding and training. It is a dangerous thing to have people who are not natural teachers, or are not used to training people do role training. The process will take longer. There may be some hurt feelings. The employee who has suddenly been forced to train someone may be resentful or impatient with the newbie. The newbie may feel pawned-off and burdensome.

I know that many companies have gone to online training “modules.” While this is time saving for the would-be trainers, please, for the sake of new employees everywhere, break it up! Sprinkle in interactions with people. Do not stick your new-hire in a room by themselves for three to five days straight. This suffocates their drive and energy to be in the role.

Another danger is entrenched routine. Managers who only train every so often and even seasoned Human Resource personnel can eventually become ineffective in their onboarding of new employees because of routine. The further removed someone is from being new and being able to empathizing with the newbie, the harder it is to be effective. The “trainer” may be able to do these processes in their sleep. They tend to blow through processes that they do twenty times a day and leave the newbie at square one.

There are some remedies to these issues. The first, and maybe most basic (yet overlooked), is to have a simple checklist of the duties and expectations of the training. This should be developed with the people who actually do the duties on the checklist. Yes, I’m talking to you corporate managers. Don’t let upper management make a checklist for anything they don’t actually do. Consult regularly with the people who do the job to update the training checklist.

I have found that, often, the best trainers are actually those who are also newer to the role, especially those with a natural ability to teach. “But wait, Phil, isn’t that ‘pawning-off’ the newbie like you just said not to?” No. It is not. This may seem a bit sneaky, but the newer employee (not the newbie), will take this expectation as two different messages. One: This is normal. Two: I’m doing well enough to be entrusted with this. You want this to be normal in your company. You want your employees to share training and help each other! Also, you aren’t going to give this responsibility to the employees that are not showing some promise and potential, so it will be a boost for those who are doing well. It also helps to raise questions. The newer employee may realize that they don’t know something they need to, and when you answer their questions, you are training two people instead of one at a time, saving you time in the process.

Starting a new role should be an exciting time. Allow the new person to blossom and grow by your preparedness, honesty, and attentiveness. Whenever you’re training, or asking someone to be a trainer, have clear expectations and a checklist.

Try to remember your roots, and start from square one, even if that’s turning on the machine.

Setting Expectations 1 – Introduction

Within the last year, I have entered two different management positions with two different, global companies, and it is astonishing how similar my experience has been. The role within the first company was that of a warehouse Team Lead. I stepped into the role from an office position that was independent of, but also worked with, the warehouse Team Leads. I knew what their job duties were, and I knew the people involved. For me the promotion was a matter of learning the other programs and spreadsheets that they used. I got the title, but it was like they weren’t ready to have me. They were short people, but training another person seemed like it wasn’t a priority, or worse, that no one wanted to do it.

I literally had to ask what they wanted me to do at first. I was basically just left on my own for a week to “observe” and “get to know people.” I spent two years observing in the office! That’s why I knew what I was stepping into duty-wise. And I’m sorry, but if I was an hourly Coworker, which I was, and the new “boss” was just walking around the warehouse and awkwardly trying to start conversations, it would absolutely annoy me as I’m working my butt off. What a way to make an impression…

On the second week, I finally had to corner my boss and ask what was expected of me and where I would fit in with the team that was used to conducting business without me. I had to use the word that had not been uttered concerning my role up to that point: “What are your expectations of me?” As a result, they made it a point to give me more “structure” in my training and duties. Whatever you want to call it guys, just don’t tell me to hang-out and figure it out!

The job I just recently started has begun similarly. I have had to do a bunch of online training, but every time the subject of job duties comes up, I get some of the vaguest descriptions ever. “You’ll be answering phones.” …and doing what? It’s like pulling teeth to get an answer. I was not told which of the five little offices I’d be in or who I’d be working with, if anyone. Am I supposed to be done with these training modules in two days or by next week? And having moved to Maine from California, I observed the first day how very different the labor laws are. I’m fine with that, but asking for clarity so that I don’t put my new company at risk of fines is a concern of mine, and no solid answers have been given yet. I’ll work twelve hours with no break if that’s what we do here, but just tell me!

As managers, we must provide a clear picture of the end goal for our subordinates and unambiguously express what we expect from them concerning that goal. We cannot expect or assume that they will figure it out on their own. Some things are more self-explanatory than others, but setting consistent expectations and not shielding them from the pressures of the role they’re taking on are crucial elements to success and satisfaction. There must be clarity and honesty. If you’re not sure what’s going on, admit it and explain the holdup. It will be freeing for you and patience-inducing for your subordinate.

You will not offend an employee by giving them explicit expectations, and when presented as such, they will be more likely to meet them.

Training – Correction and Learning

One boy’s mother liked to keep a neat and tidy house. She wanted shoes put on the rack in the entryway and jackets hung-up above the shoes. Each day when the boy came home from school, he would kick off his shoes, and they would end up against the wall on the side opposite the shoe rack. Then he would take a few more steps into the house as he took off his jacket, and he would leave it on the arm of the sofa. Each day his mother would eventually see the jacket and shoes and put them in their proper places. She would tell her son to put his shoes away and hang up his jacket when he comes home. He always replied with a promise to do it tomorrow. This, of course, never happened.

Finally, the mother had had enough of empty promises. The next time she saw the jacket and shoes out of place, she had her son stop what he was doing and come hang up his jacket and put his shoes away. She did this for three days. On the fourth day, the boy put his shoes and jacket where they belonged. She thanked him with an extra cookie. In the following weeks, she had to remind him and make him come back and put his things away a few more times, but eventually, the new habit was formed.

Conceptually, there is absolutely nothing different to correcting and training in the workplace. We want, and often need, things to be a certain way. It may be a report, a way of loading a truck, maintaining safety standards, sending certain emails, etc… All of these things are habits that must be established. People do not establish habits on their own unless they are motivated to do so. For example, if an employee doesn’t see the point or doesn’t know to make sure that freight is kept at least ten feet from a fire door, they may block the exit. Take the time to ensure that that employee knows the laws and have them fix their mistake. If a manager just moves the freight and goes about their day, they have done a disservice to the employee and put the future at higher risk.

It is not easy, in fact, it can be an absolutely daunting task to correct certain employees. You dread the push-back. You don’t want to have to deal with it. You may not even agree with the rule you have to enforce. I get it! But if there is a pattern of things not being done the correct way, you must address it. By allowing things to remain incorrect, you place yourself at risk. You may be the one who gets in trouble or written up as the supervisor. So explain why the problem needs fixing, and have the employee redo the task until it sticks. I have even said straight out that I don’t like a certain rule, but we all need to obey it until we can change it.

Is there a certain employee that always miscalculates that one number on the reports? You can figure it out for yourself so you haven’t said anything. Do yourself and that employee a favor and address it. Teach and correct. By doing this, you are saving them from possible embarrassment and making sure that they have a proper understanding of how the numbers affect each other.

This concept of correction is why I firmly believe that as much training as possible should be done hands-on. When you conduct hands-on training, you are developing correct habits in the moment. You are guiding the initial learning and correcting it before wrong concepts, misunderstandings, and bad habits are formed. You are also giving the trainee a safe place to get answers in the future.

Too many companies have resorted to sitting a new employee down in front of a computer and having them watch videos and read instructions on programs and processes that they have never touched and don’t know a thing about. This happened to me in a recent job change. There was literally a week’s worth of videos and reading. After day one, I found myself just hitting the next button and fumbling through the “tests.” I had so many acronyms and system names and processes thrown at me with which I had no familiarity. The training was truly an utter waste of time. Expecting someone to memorize that stuff is as laughable as lecturing a toddler on going through a TSA checkpoint. I have found it much more productive to spend time with the people and systems that you’ll be working with for a week before the computer trainings so that there is a foundation and familiarity. Then the learning modules will be more understood and attended to.

By moving to computer based learning, we are losing the ability to train on a corporate level. We need teachers in our companies! We cannot allow an assumption that computer “training” implies readiness. Having some set trainers is good, but allowing time for colleagues to train each other is better. You never know if the quietest person in the office is actually your greatest resource for training until you give them an opportunity. This also encourages collaboration and lets your employees get to know personal strengths and interests.

Your job as a manager is to facilitate and ensure time for the needed training! By making the investment up-front, you are saving time later. Don’t be a mother who waits until halfway through the school year to train the boy. Do yourself a favor and look for opportunities as soon as possible to teach and correct.

The greater the extent to which you ensure that you and the people around you are properly trained, the easier your job will become, and it will foster a better environment.

Program Introduction, Taking Suggestions

In the last blog, Program Introduction Management, I talked about a locally launched program that flopped because the developer wouldn’t listen to those affected. There was one woman particularly affected by the system changes. She tried to bring the problems to the attention of management, but it came off as complaining. So much of our ability to effect change is our presentation. A good reputation and proper respect when speaking to people allows you to be bold and attended-to by higher management. The most adversely affected employee emailed the developer’s boss but was not listened to partially because of her reputation for complaining.

As managers, we know the employees who have that reputation and seem to do nothing but complain when you talk to them. You see them walking toward you and your instinct is to hide. You have to keep your eyes from rolling when they start talking, and it’s easy to smile and nod and tune them out. We must REFUSE TO BE THAT WAY! We have a responsibility to our company and to ourselves to find solutions and the best, most efficient way of doing things. Therefore, we need to root out any problems that may exist and create solutions. The nagging employee may just gripe, but look for truth. Be open to there being a shred of needed improvement to what people gripe about.

The best thing to do with those employees is to help them shape their complaints more constructively. Walk through this process with them: The employee comes and complains about something.
1. Ask them what is causing the problem. Seek to understand their perspective.
2. Ask them how they would fix it. Don’t tell them they’re wrong or interrupt them. If they offer a solution that includes other people changing their job duties, don’t try to explain why you think or know their solution won’t work.
3. Ask the employee with the issue to tell you how their solution would affect the employees around them. By having them answer this question, they may see that their solution won’t work or that it needs rethinking.
4. Ask the employee what stands in the way of this change. This question will hopefully cause some self-reflection as well as open dialog about improving procedures around the problem to see if the problem could be fixed with less extreme measures. It will give you a chance to express reservations and discuss the roadblocks.
5. If any changes can be made, make a plan and a timeline with the employee to try the changes. If not, express openness to further thought and suggestions.
6. Always follow-up with the employee! If changes were made and are working, show recognition and gratitude. If changes were made but aren’t working out, explain why you are reverting back. If their idea didn’t happen, you want to reinforce the fact that you value them and see if they have any new and different ideas on the issue.

This kind of process encourages that employee to think things through from a higher perspective. It will hopefully get them to think things through so when they come to you with problems, they will be able to suggest solutions right away. It will also improve their opinion of you as a manager because you listened and talked with them.

The follow-up is arguably the most important part. By following-up, you are showing them that you value them on an individual level. This does wonders for morale and your reputation. They may have not thought about their issue in days, and when you come and give additional productive feedback or ask if they have any new thoughts, it keeps the communication open and fluid. You want your employees to feel valued and comfortable coming to you no matter what.

When I stepped into a leadership role at the warehouse, I spent time getting to know the guys loading the trucks. They tended to be the older, more seasoned employees. Many of them had opinions about improvements. One common complaint was that they were told to start loading trucks too early. They said that there were not a high enough percentage of total pallets at the doors when they would start loading the trucks, so they struggled with weight distribution and it slowed things down. I thought it was a valid complaint, and asked how to solve the problem. Of course it involved the morning shift of the warehouse doing a better job preparing our shift. They realized that while that suggestion would be nice, we needed to try something different and something we were able to control on our shift. They suggested just waiting until there were more pallets at the doors to begin loading. The proposal sounded reasonable, and I agreed to try it out one day. We tried it, and it ended up not being as effective. As much as it might have been faster per truck, overall, the loading needed to begin sooner in order to get multiple trucks per loader done. I talked to them afterward and they agreed that that particular solution wouldn’t work, so we continued to keep our eyes open for other options.

Even though the attempted solution failed, it accomplished two things. First, the loaders stopped complaining about starting their loads early because the logic had been demonstrated concretely. Second, it showed them that I was willing to listen to them and work with them to try to make their jobs better. It was a productive exercise in building rapport with them quickly.

Not every idea has to be successful to help you improve working conditions. Just working together to try to solve a problem and being open to solution suggestions makes for a better environment and stronger team.