I did my first ‘proper’ bit of volunteering last night. It went well (not that I did anything other than sit there), but I did have to try and stop myself laughing at a few points, which was quite an achievement on a couple of occasions.
Yesterday I also started to have one to ones with my new team (although a couple of them are actually from my previous team). I think I managed to earn some brownie points with one of them by telling her I don’t plan to give her any more work for a bit and instead she should spend the time dealing with the work she already had. I think she was a bit shocked by this (in a good way) and then was concerned that the others would think she wasn’t pulling her weight, but I assured her that I really didn’t think that would be the case and it would all even out in the end. She has twice as much work as some of the others in the team so it is just daft to keep giving her more work to do. Hopefully this will also buy some goodwill from her for the future. I am hoping a happy workforce is also a productive one.
4 comments:
Well done for the volunteering.
Change at my work is finally coming and I will be doing a different role by the end of the month. I have been tipped off about what it is but I have not been officially told yet. And i dont know the flesh of the role.
I think it will be good though. But a bit of a change.
Kahless- it was relatively easy on Tuesday night. I think there will be rather tougher bits of volunteering to come.
I hope the changes are a positive thing for you. It can be a disconcerting thing regardless though.
Whenever you talk about work and your team, you always strike me as a conscientious manager who cares about the people she works with and I think that is often lacking in people who move up to that level. Your staff will respect that in you (they certainly should) and so they should respect where you send the work flows within the team.
A workforce that feels respected, valued and understood will always produce better quality work than one that feels lorded over. Taking into account individual circumstances is something that worker bees notice. I think you do a marvellous job of it.
Blue soup - That was a very nice thing to say. Thank you. Over the years I have become a better manager but I still have a long way to go. I always try and make sure that my team know where they stand. So, for example, I have a weekly meeting with my team, whereas all the other managers have them on a monthly basis.
I also try and be as honest with them as I can and try very hard not to be defensive. People can say or ask what they like - so long as they are polite!
Fortunately I have always liked pretty much everyone who has worked for me and that always helps!
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