An excellent day at work!

[nordy]

I was worrying all all weekend and dreading this morning when I had a sit down scheduled with my Chief Engineer at work. He is an extremely skilled and experienced guy but he has been very unmotivated recently and has taken to disappearing for hours at a time and depending on the two way to make himself available for emergencies or urgent items. The last straw was Friday when I had asked him to be on site to man the office so I could leave early and go get my motorcycle registered. He never showed up and when I called him at wherever he was, he sounded like he just woke up. We had a long and productive discussion: I called him on his disapperaing act, which he denied totally. I didn't react to that lie and I insisted and then demanded that he open up and tell me what was on his mind. He did, and he told me some things I had been doing that made him feel unappreciated, which I had suspected was the case. He has been on the job for 14 years and I took over as the General Manager last fall and I did not want to be responsible for losing him. We came to an agreement regarding availability and I agreed to stay out of his work if he stepped up to the plate and took charge of his department.
It was good to clear the air, for both of us, we now know where we each stand, and I can't tell you how good it makes me feel! Managing people is the hardest but the most rewarding thing that I do and while I got a problem corrected, I also learned something about myself and how I am perceived by others and that's an entirely good thing.

 

[flower]

Good for you..a growing experience. Always a plus.

 

[lovethesea]

that all sounds great, but something tells me you will be dealing with this again. If your company is paying him to work, he should work. Feeling appreciated is great, but a company is not obligated to pay him and stroke his ego. You cleared the air now and hopefully he will understand that your discussion was also a warning.
Managing people is one of the toughest. The highest paid and the lowest paid......its all the same, very difficult.

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by lovethesea
http:///forum/post/3004123
that all sounds great, but something tells me you will be dealing with this again. If your company is paying him to work, he should work. Feeling appreciated is great, but a company is not obligated to pay him and stroke his ego. You cleared the air now and hopefully he will understand that your discussion was also a warning.
Managing people is one of the toughest. The highest paid and the lowest paid......its all the same, very difficult.
Shame on you, LOL I wasn't going to tell him and ruin his day. I was going to let him enjoy the fantasy just a little longer. Of course your right, 100% sigh, reality settling in...

 

[lovethesea]

ooooopps.......my bad. I guess I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

 

[spanko]

IME, as the general manager you have your agenda. If this employee does not fit with your goals that must be dealt with no matter how good he "was" before. If he is not "stepping" up then why would you not want to be responsible for losing him?
That said there are employees, good employees, that are high maintenance and you need to decide how much you want to put into it to get your agenda accomplished.
You are however correct, managing employees is rewarding and a pain. The part I love the most is stepping back and letting people shine. Most people want to do a good job and if we as managers give them the resources they need and let them go most will truly outperform our expectations.