Work Place - How to.........

[juan ruiz]

I'd like to know how you guys deal with the following issues at the work place, I was in field service for 23 years, but 2 years ago I took a position as one of the managers in the office to spend more time with the family, however I'm having a very difficult time dealing with the following;

1. Incompetent people
2. Favoritism
3. Unqualified people
4. Lack of support
5. Lack of motivation
6. Lack of trust
7. Never been recognize for your achievements
8. People ignoring company rules and guidelines
9. Managers looking the other way instead of resolving issues

I fully understand that theres no perfect place to work BUT C'mon is this stuff going on in all companies? Please share your story I'd like to see what else I have to look forward too

[VINMAN]

Yep. They all sound familiar.

[juan ruiz]

Please dont tell me that!!

[bell]

Best advice is to get in a position where you can take control and start enforcing said policies......

[Paul_Heery]

I work for one of FORTUNE Magazine's Top 100 Employers to Work For

We have all of the issues you listed above.

[juan ruiz]

This is not looking good at all

One of my wifes friends works at a very large distribution chain that sells silverware, recently she introduce one of her friend to her Boss, the lady was hired, my wifes friend was demoted and the new lady placed as her boss, apparently she is a great talker and has won the managers with her BS, the ones that she is not able to BS she is sleeping with them including other women.

What ever happen to an honest work place? wheres the justice?

[TGTIW]

What ever happen to an honest work place? wheres the justice?

Um, I don't think it's existed since the 40's?
Ok, probably never existed, except on TV.

[cbush]

Originally Posted by juan ruiz

I'd like to know how you guys deal with the following issues at the work place, I was in field service for 23 years, but 2 years ago I took a position as one of the managers in the office to spend more time with the family, however I'm having a very difficult time dealing with the following;

1. Incompetent people
2. Favoritism
3. Unqualified people
4. Lack of support
5. Lack of motivation
6. Lack of trust
7. Never been recognize for your achievements
8. People ignoring company rules and guidelines
9. Managers looking the other way instead of resolving issues

I fully understand that theres no perfect place to work BUT C'mon is this stuff going on in all companies? Please share your story I'd like to see what else I have to look forward too

Wow- that is a lot of issues to deal with. But yes, it goes on in all organizations to some degree. As a manager, you are responsible for your small part- but that makes it easier- you don't have to fix the whole organization! Communicate with your boss, about your concerns, and what you are doing to deal with the problems in your department. If your boss is part of the problem, you will get less support from him/her, but you can also influence their behavior perhaps more than you think. Beyond that, I would just focus on gradually resolving the issues in my department and making it work as well as possible in that environment. That is what leadership is all about as I am sure you are aware. Openness, consistency, and talking with your folks (counseling) will go a long way to changing inappropriate behaviors. Good Luck!

Chuck

[genrex]

10. Budget cutbacks --> reduced staff --> increased stress --> good people leaving if they can, incompetent people making more mistakes, and lazy people shirking and not working. Managers hide from problems by being out of the office and not having any office hours, and by taking extra time off by creating "comp time" for hours when they're not even at work. Favoritism running rampant. HR backs up all decisions a manager makes, no matter the consequences. The budget cutbacks have decimated the numbers of technical/ clerical workers, but there are increasing numbers of highly-paid administrators to fill newly-created positions that have overlapping responsibilities.

Methinks the inmates are running the asylum...

[VaSteve]

This is not looking good at all



One of my wifes friends works at a very large distribution chain that sells silverware, recently she introduce one of her friend to her Boss, the lady was hired, my wifes friend was demoted and the new lady placed as her boss, apparently she is a great talker and has won the managers with her BS, the ones that she is not able to BS she is sleeping with them including other women.



What ever happen to an honest work place? wheres the justice?

Photos?


This list should be familiar to anyone that has ever worked anywhere.

[red-beard]

1. Incompetent people

"Up and Out" - The worst thing you can you is give someone a bad appraisal. You need to build them up so that they will apply for another position and leave.

2. Favoritism

People are Human - get used to it.

3. Unqualified people

If they are simply unqualified and not incompetant, the best thing is to get them training to be competant.

4. Lack of support

This is something you need to work on. Getting support/resources is a sign of your talent at making your case to the upper management. You want to become a "favorite". Wheel and deal.

5. Lack of motivation

Figure out what does motivate the person. What are their interests. See if there is a way to bring the interest into the job.

6. Lack of trust

Why should I tell YOU? From upper management to you or between you and an employee?/

7. Never been recognize for your achievements

Again, you or the employees. I always made a point of writing letters to the bosses of employees who did good work for me. I also made sure that the team and groups I lead were always held up and shown for the great work they did. If the team looks good, you look good.

If it is you vs. your management, don't expect them just to notice. You need to send reports and show them what you're doing.

8. People ignoring company rules and guidelines

I guess it depends on what they are.
#1. Lead by example

Safety or legal? no tolerance
the rest, it depends on the severity of the rule and situation. If it is consistent you need to create a carrot and stick approach. Something good for complying, something not so good for not complying. Sometimes, depending on the issue, a "Visual Chart" showing compliance helps.

9. Managers looking the other way instead of resolving issues

That is human nature for some people. Some people create problems, some solve them, some cover them with sand.

[juan ruiz]

I guess this is definition of corporate America

WOW!! By now I'm Numb! I'm already feeling good that it looks like I'm not alone!

HR backs up all decisions a manager makes, no matter the consequences. The budget cutbacks have decimated the numbers of technical/ clerical workers, but there are increasing numbers of highly-paid administrators to fill newly-created positions that have overlapping responsibilities.

[stomachmonkey]

Start with what you can control and work fron there.

Good luck.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by juan ruiz

HR backs up all decisions a manager makes, no matter the consequences. The budget cutbacks have decimated the numbers of technical/ clerical workers, but there are increasing numbers of highly-paid administrators to fill newly-created positions that have overlapping responsibilities.

That is the "Too many Chiefs, not enough Indians" situation. The usual solution is to leave, or be promoted until you can fix it...

[juan ruiz]

HA! Good advice........... or be promoted it looks like the "Open Positions" are already taking by the Favoritism Channel

[Rikao4]

sounds like the DMV ...

Rika

[djmcmath]

I'm leaving a job for a new position, and am creating some turmoil on my way out. Apparently, I've been a stabilizing force in the organization. Since I've announced my departure, three other people have also decided to leave.

What problems do we have? All of the above, and then some. Our "team" exhibits all 5 of Patrick Lencioni's Five Dysfunctions, in spades. Leadership rejects all efforts at design and fails to reward success and failure appropriately. Integrity is a word used to describe hard drives, never people.

I ran into one of my coworkers from the sister team -- owned by different leadership, different contracting organization, etc. -- that the problems are the same there. One of their real leaders -- a natural at managing disparate software and hardware integration programs -- was demoted for BS political reasons. Team morale is through the floor, she's looking for new work, and a lot of the team is following her out the door.

Is it this bad everywhere? I can't make myself believe it is. I've worked in some good places before, with good people. I think that the bad employment picture of the last couple of years has induced people to stay in jobs that are unhealthy when they wouldn't normally do so. With the employment situation picking up -- at least in the DC area -- I predict people leaving bad jobs in droves.

Just my $.02.

Dan

[M.D. Holloway]

Welcome to Business 101 my friend - everything you just described has been the bane of bid'nz for eons. It is also a pretty good primer for politics as well!

Sorry, its part of the landscape...

[M.D. Holloway]

and to add to that, you know the rules of the game - you may not like them but you now know them. So you have choices:
1) Play by the rules as best you can.
2) Don't play by the rules, buck the system and know that you (or your wife) will not advance.
3) Start your own gig - good luck not having the same issues when you hit critical mass.
4) ignore it all, stick to your personal ethics and morals and sleep better albeit poorer at night.

[BernieP]

Being a good and effective manager is one of the most difficult things anyone can do. I found that I wasn't very good at it. When company's downsize the good ones are the first to leave, this compounds the problem. Some one who is a great tech. usually is not a good manager but is often promoted into management then fails.

Hang in there and try to get into a position where you can make some positive changes.

Bernie