Managers that Aren’t!
How many times have we come across the title “Manager” and thought nothing of it? Little thought really goes into the meaning of the title “Manager”.
More often than not, Managers are assistants and executives who have risen through the ranks over time; Specialists in their fields who are equipped to handle the tasks assigned. Or are they?
Managers are more than specialists. They are people motivators, effect multipliers that can either cause the department, division or team to succeed, or fail.
A good manager is one who is knowledgable in the scope of work, is able to lead, delegate, assign, follow-up and deliver team results.
An excellent manager, is one who does all the above and enriches the lives of his or her followers.
Managers, pause and think. Are you there yet? If you aren’t. Better do something about it, and quick.
Subordinates, if you think your manager is about to make a wrong decision, have that private talk with him/her. No one on this earth is all-seeing and being human, is bound to make mistakes. The power of group think helps ensure better and more informed decisions are made. Even if you disagree with the answer, give that support to your manager. It’s a learning experience for both of you.
“What they didn’t teach you in School!” – Part 2
When is enough…. really ENOUGH?
At the end of the day when the curtain call is made, do the actors of the stage know when to take that long, last bow?
In the corporate world, there are always seasons for all occasions.
“There is a time for Everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to uproot
A time to kill and a time to heal
A time to tear down and a time to build
A time to weep and a time to laugh
A time to mourn and a time to dance
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them
A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing
A time to search and a time to give up
A time to keep and a time to throw away
A time to be silent and a time to speak
A time to love and a time to hate
A time for war and a time for peace..”
So, when the time comes, how will you know? Surely no one ever taught you that in school!
Is it time to ask for a raise? That promotion you’ve been working towards? Is it time to move on in your career? Or perhaps request a change in responsibility?
Time to enroll yourself in “What they didn’t teach you in School! – Part 2”.
I’ve been thinking of setting up a special training institute to prepare young adults for the working world. To know how to reach and how to respond, and have a reference in which one can refer to or call if in need of some sound advise..
Although I am not yet in my aged years, I have seen, done, experienced and faced enough challenges to confidently say I am about the best teacher there is for the needs of the young ones.
Do feel free to share your thoughts. Comments (other than spam) are always welcome.
Be safe. See you soon.
“What they didn’t teach you in School!” – Part 1
Someone should really start a school to teach young, aspiring minds on the expectations of being in the corporate world.
Let’s face it. No one emerges from a school, polytechnic or university and is immediately able to adapt to the demands and assumptions of the working world.
Don’t agree? So you studied business. Great. You’ve thrown the buzz word “budget” into your thesis and numerous projects. Fabulous!
Now, go plan a realistic budget, complete with profit and loss(income statement) and your balance sheet projection for the year ahead.
Say what?
Don’t know how it’s done? Tsk. You should have attend the course “What they didn’t teach you in School – Part 1” !
What? Projected an unrealistic budget you say? Did SOMEONE forget to include planning for a revenue stream to finance your budgeted expenditure on a month to month basis?
Did you factor in manpower costs, failure rates, alternative solutions and external vendor support?
No?
Sure you didn’t. You didn’t attend “What they didn’t teach you in School – Part 2”
Surely you also factored in business risks, customer credit assessment, bad debts and potential write-offs of receivables?
Oops you say?
No wonder. “What they didn’t teach you in School – Part 3 hasn’t commenced yet.”
Anyone want to start this school? I’ve got the course materials.
Now, if only someone could do the P&L and Balance sheet for this… Oh umm.. wait.. did we forget to find a passionate and driven project manager? That’s Part 1.
2011.
Amidst the fanfare and celebrations, it is an apt time to take stock of the year gone by, to pause and give thanks for the experiences that you have gone through the true meaning of the phrase “that which doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.”
Live and let live. Breathe a little deeper. Take time to smell the fresh morning dew; to listen to the birds chirping merrily away, and that blasted new next door neighbour still playing mahjong at 4.30am in the morning.
2011 is here. What you choose to do with the year ahead, depends very much on what you choose to let yourself get up to. Plan for events, and work towards smaller goals.
Take a step, apply for that long deserved annual leave and take a holiday.
Weigh your options again. It might have made sense before, but may not make so much sense now.
Take off those sun glasses and bask in the bright sunlight. The dawn is here. The big two zero eleven!
Yes. These are the times of your life. Make the most of it!
With Peace and Lots of Love.
Vote for ME!
Have you ever been in a situation at the office where you see people fighting for credit? The continuous clambering for attention often overpowers their work effectiveness and just ends up managing to piss almost everyone off, including the bossman.
If you believe you need that added attention from your direct superior, drop him or her an e-mail with the subject “We need to talk, NOW”.
No content in the email message is necessary as this often is an effective way of telling your boss that you will not engage in long drawn discussions over the internet when face to face discussions are necessary.
If you know someone who’s fighting in the office for attention or “politicking”, just ignore that person’s feeble attempts. Because very often, the bosses ignore them too.
A Rose by Any Other Name
If you have insatiable habit of giving your co-workers irresistable names like “office idiot“, “stupid” or “asshole“, the next time you have the urge to verbalise it, check yourself.
When you verbalise such derogatory terms in the presence of others be it as a joke or sneer, your co-workers will probably wonder if you call them similar names behind their backs too.
Snap out of it. The next time you get the urge to verbalise abuse, say something positive which throws the situation off tangent; like “That’s a nice tie you have on” or “Did you do something to your hair? It looks good on you..”
It does sound stupid at first, but positivity does attract positivity eventually!
Try it for a week! See how it goes!
Minute this!
When attending a meeting, always remember to take your own notes, paying careful attention to action items and key decisions made.
If no one has the initiative to circulate the minutes of the meeting, draw up a simple point form record of the meeting discussion points and decisions made or action items to be handled. (this document is also known as minutes of a meeting)
The minutes of a meeting ensure that everyone who attended the meeting walked away with the same common understanding and is aware which tasks have been assigned to which individuals.
Take the lead and be the minute man/woman today. Your boss will appreciate it and your subordinates will learn from your example.
Stick to it!!!
If you’ve committed yourself to doing something, and you’ve shared the direction and vision with your fellow colleagues or subordinates, for God’s sake, STICK TO IT!
Frequent changing of direction or mind shows that you have a lack of business acumen and lack the foresight to accurately preempt events before they unfold.
It also shows that you’re a leader without a brain, or even worse.. A commander that will lead your troops into battle and get everyone wiped out in the process..
So unless you’ve got an absolutely good reason to retract your plan (like the company changing its business model), plan your action, and then for God’s sake.. STICK TO IT!
Quit flipping around like a pancake. At the end, you get burnt on both fronts, and no amount of maple syrup will save the day.
Talk the Walk
Most of the time, you hear people say, “Walk The Talk.” I say to those who blabber on like mindless drones repeating the collective thoughts that have been vocalised time and again.
Talk the Walk!!
If you screw up, Admit it! Take the humble step of admitting wrong doing and acknowledge that you screwed up. That way, your colleagues around will tend to trust you more because they know you will not try and hide and cover up the ugly hole you dug for yourself and the corporation.
You will also find that when you admit and own up to something, it actually exudes that you have a proper sense of responsibility and accountability, and often your peers tend to be more accommodating knowing that you are weaker in a particular area, and will unwittingly offer you a helping hand, just to make sure you’re ok.
Opening up to being accountable and being transparent also ensures that those who try to play politics, will not have a foothold against you, because…. hey, you already confessed it and so it’s no longer a problem!
Enjoy the Week ahead!
Dot Com Startup
“…Right believing leads to right living.” So here’s the deal. I’ve finally taken the bold step and hopped onto creating this blogsite that I’ve been procrastinating since the beginning of time.
The main motivation behind this, is to document the various types of screw-ups that can, will, and sometimes do occur in a corporate environment. The collection of “screw-ups” here are gathered from various situations in life and do not necessarily reflect any experiences of my own.
So as you can tell, this is potentially a picture-less website, which already spells the beginnings of a really really boring read (unless you’re somehow knee-deep in the corporate environment and find the water rising faster than you can yell “throw me a lifeline..”
Now, ’nuff said… time to go find me some themes…