Is Your Boss a Computer?

Computers are wonderful tools but they can be maddening at times.  I'm sure you've had the experience where you want a computer to do something but for some reason it won't work. All you get for feedback is an error message or a error sound. The machine can't tell you what it wants and that can be very frustrating.

In some organizations, leaders seem to take inspiration from computers.  Their staff is constantly trying to figure out what he or she needs.  Instructions are confusing, conflicting, or not stated at all.

Sometimes this is a leadership style where the leader wants staff to constantly be on their toes and spend a lot of time considering his or her needs.

In other cases, this style is a reflection of someone who may be good enough to get a supervisory position doesn't understand how to lead a team.

In either case, is the leader getting the most out of his or her staff?  Are communication mistakes being made that cut into productivity?  Are staff burning out from constantly being unsure what's needed from them and having to repeat processes?

Perhaps the most important question to consider is whether a highly effective leader is ever not an excellent communicator.

Do Managers Ignore Workplace Talent?

Some leaders pay outside organizations to do work for them that could easily be done by someone who is sitting just a few feet away. What's happening?  The company is evaluating employees by the titles they hold and not by the talents they have.

The economic slowdown has seen an unprecedented shuffling of the workforce.  Those who lost their jobs had to latch onto a paycheck wherever they can find one.  This may have resulted in a lateral or a downward move.  Organizations would be smart to evalulate staff not only by the skills they have for their job but also the skills they are not asked to use in the position.   


Instead people tend to be lumped in with the title and the performance of the average person in that position.  Automatically, it's assumed that the employee can do no more than their job description.  


Smart managers need to shift the hiring focus to include overall talent.  Make sure the needs of the  position will be fulfilled but also check to see if the individual has other skills that could benefit the organization.  Who's to say that an Administrative Assistant might not be a wizard with graphic design?


This kind of evaluation can boost productivity and better engage your employees.  It's about empowering people and not let labels limit your potential.   

A Story of Love & Balance

Once I tried out to be a contestant on a game show.  The program was a revival of, You Bet Your Life, and featured Bill Cosby as its host.  Sadly I was not selected.  I'm not bitter as the program lasted only one season (No doubt due to the lack of dynamic contestants.).

During the application process, a whole bunch of other people were brought into a hotel conference room where you spend a lot of time waiting.  This gave me a chance to meet an elderly but energetic woman who was seated next to me.  "Gail" surprised me by telling me that she had no intention of going on the program, even if she was picked.

"My husband is very sick and every day I have to spend just about the whole day with him," she said.  "There's no way I could leave town to be on the show."

Back then I was thinking that this revelation had slightly improved my odds of getting on the show.  But soon I became curious and I asked Gail why she was in the audience.

"Every day I take some time and do something just for me," she replied.  "I love my husband and will care for him until the day he dies.  But I also have to take some time for me."

I was impressed with this woman for two reasons.  She was fulfilling her wedding day promise to care for her husband in sickness and in health.  But she also understood that the task could easily become all consuming and in order to take care of him, she also needed to address her needs.

Very often it's easy to let something important dominate our lives to the point where you begin to suffer.  Gail had realized there's nothing wrong with being a little selfish at a time when you must be at your most giving.

Bill Cosby may have never heard this story but I'm glad I did.

The Sock Apocalypse

Does your sock drawer say something about you?  Recently I noticed that mine was really packed with socks.  Not just pairs but also a few strays.  In further surveying the contents of the drawer, I realized that I hardly wore many of the more weathered socks.

They had lost some elasticity or were wearing very thin near the toes or the heel.  So why did I keep them?  Perhaps they might be pressed into emergency footwear duty.  But most likely they would just crowd an overpacked drawer.  It was obvious that they would best be used as cleaning rags yet for some reason I had washed them.

How many things in life do we continue to do even they don't help us much anymore?  An old sock may be familiar but it really isn't comfortable.  The same can apply to habits or beliefs.  Take a moment to examine your life as you would a sock drawer.  Are you holding on to something merely because it is familiar? Maybe it has outlived its usefulness and it's time to do some spring cleaning...

Do You Know Someone Like This?

From the first day I met "Greg," I could tell that he was high strung.  Any little problem would put him  in a panic.  This was a challenge as he worked in the high pressure world of TV News. His soul seemed to burn with the stress of countless frustrations.

I knew that this was not a healthy lifestyle and several years later, I wasn't surprised to hear that all of the stress Greg carried inside had gotten the better of him.  While I no longer worked with him, friends at his station told me that he had a physical and mental breakdown.  He was alright but was taking some time off to work with doctors and therapists to get his life back together.

I was eager to find out more about Greg, Version 2.0.  His coworkers told me that he did seem more relaxed, which was great news.  But over time, they noticed another change in Greg. He had become incredibly annoying.

During his recovery time, Greg had learned a ton about coping mechanisms and information about human behavior.  But rather than follow the advice, Greg took to telling other people what was wrong with them.  The advice was unsolicited and nonstop.  He had gone from someone who internalized stress to someone who gave stress to others.  Greg had twisted good ideas into a mental wrecking ball.

Every day we are presented with a good deal of information and sometimes it has been distorted to fit someone's agenda.  Don't be afraid to ask questions, check facts, and consider the source.