Carrot Sticks

This ain't about food.
This has more to do with motivating our employees & resources to achieve project goals. Oftentimes, managers choose between a carrot (providing rewards and incentives) and a stick (providing penalties) to ensure project success. Some managers often have a preferences depending on their very own nature. They normally tend to go with what they themselves see as their very own motivating factor. In reality, both carrots and sticks are needed, although in most situations, a carrot is more appropriate. Sticks are used when situations call for more drastic measures and the opportunity to reach for the carrot becomes futile.
It is quite unfortunate for me (and more unfortunate for my teams) that I am now required to pull out my stick. I'm still hoping for the best though but am constantly preparing for the worst.

Coffee and Car Batteries

Ok. Now what do these two things have in common? Nothing really. To me however, it made my day last thursday.
After bringing my eldest daughter to school, I decided to make a really quick trip to starbucks to get some coffee for myself and some breakfast for as well. And so I illegaly parked at the sidestreet thinking to myself it's 8 in the morning and no one would mind a 5 minute stop.
Indeed, it took me less than 5 minutes even to get back to the car. I cranked the ignition and...

crank. crank. crank. the car wouldn't start.

Oh sheet. The car batteries look dead. Yet I said to myself this is a 2007 model car. The batteries couldn't possibly be dead this early?

Yet after getting an automechanic to look at it, apparently it was.

So what's the lesson here?

Simple.

1. There are just some things you cannot plan for at all. You can only plan for so much contingency. In this case, I had no contingency. No extra cash tucked away for such a time as this.
2. Lack of contingency often makes matters worse. In this case, since I did not have cash, I had to resort to using up my allowance for my trip to Mumbai.
3. When risks become issues, you have to look at other risks if they are impacted by the change of events. Apparently, I just realized that I had to leave my ATM home since my beloved SO needed to pay the rent while I'm out. I now have 66% less money than what I originally had as an allowance.
4. When it rains, it pours. I just found out today that the magnetic stripe of my credit card aint working properly. I will now be leaving the country with 66% less cash, no ATM, and a personal credit card that might not work.

However, good managers like you and me don't get down so easily. Situations like these call for one to plan again, looking at the current situation at hand.

So what's the plan? I don't know yet. I just trust that my instincts will see me thru.

Playing Favorites

This might just well be the most debatable topic I will have ever written. Is it good to play favorites in the office (or project team)?

Honestly, I would say YES. But before anyone starts firing back at me for being such a biased boss, let me explain myself further.

As human beings, we are setup to like and dislike things, people, situations, and sorts of whatever. We cannot help it. We are naturally inclined to be biased on anything. The same goes with people we work with. People we normally like normally get the better of us. Hence, it just goes to show that a person I like working with is naturally my favorite.

The whole concept of favoritism however, should not be mixed with unfair work practices. As a manager, it is your obligation to provide equal opportunity to all your employees. Each of your employees should be given avenues to grow their careers and develop professionally. The operative term there is opportunity. It is up to your employees to perform, and their performance should be recognizd properly. If let's say I have two guys, one I like more than the other, yet the other one performs better, I cannot withhold any credit or accolade to him in favor of that which i like more. However, with performance being equal, I would naturally be swayed to the guy I like more. There is a thin line that separates favoritism from unfairness and this should never be crossed.

You might then ask, do i have my favorites? Yes of course. I consider my favorite as my protege. Not necessarily the person that will succeed me later on (that's based on performance), but the person that I will pass on my skills, knowledge, and my realm of influence. Why? Because I like my protege... and no one can contest that.

The Manager's Credo

I've learned this saying by Mary Ann Allison several years ago and it has proved to be very useful in remembering the end to end of being a manager. I used to post this in front of my cubicle hoping that my boss would be swayed into thinking about it more intensely.

To me, this is my Manager's Credo.

"Hire the best. Pay them fairly. Communicate frequently. Provide challenges and rewards. Believe in them. Get out of their way and they will knock your socks off."
— Mary Ann Allison

I'll probably try to explain this in the future (or if someone persistently asks me to).

Trust-based Leadership

It's kinda weird that I've been carrying on this leadership style for so long that it is only now that I even attempt to write about it. I dare not say that the other topics previously posted were more important - definitely not - but then its just probably because I never really thought about writing about it.

Ok. So much for the useless blurb.

Trust based leadership in a nutshell, is a way of managing and leading people based entirely on trust. Prior to any action on both the part of the manager and the employee, trust should first be given to the other. There is no need to prove or earn trust in the beginning - it's just there. TBL (just to shorten the whole thing) starts off with Trusting and not trying to prove that the other is trustworthy. Why so? Because trusting someone without need for justification is the purest form of trust. We all start with the assumption that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. =)

So now what?

From a managers perspective, he/she should always make decisions on the basis that a person can always be trusted. He should trust the resource to deliver when needed. He should trust his team that they will work in the best and most efficient manner possible. Doing so lessens the burden on the manager to micro manage his staff and double check on the work more than what is probably required.

From the employees' perspective, he should trust his manager to provide everything that he needs to ensure that the work is accomplished as required. He should trust his manager to provide for his needs based on the managers level of authority.

This mutual trusting brings forth a mutual co-dependency that further forces both parties to actually perform (rather than perform counter-productive activities that only deteriorate the quality of work delivered by both groups). It is therefore very important to that we convey the message of trust to our teams and managers.

Trust is the foundation for all relationships - managers to employees included.

This may all sound too simplistic - and that's because it really is that simple. Start trusting and Stop doubting.