Comments for Dancing With Independent Employees at http://www.stevenmsmith.com , comment 1 to 6 out of 6 comments http://www.stevenmsmith.com Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:15:50 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.stevenmsmith.com/my-blogs/management/dancing-with-independent-employees.html#comment-81 Your Grandmother's rules sounds like a great source for a book on selling. I'm laughing to myself about how the University you taught at ranked its instructors. If I weren't laughing, I would be crying about the sheer stupidity of that kind of measurement program. I think people want less problems that don't have a solution. These are the problems, such as people not listening to their ideas, that they have to manage or just cope with. http://www.stevenmsmith.com/my-blogs/management/problems-cope-manage-or-solve.html contains some of my thoughts about coping, managing, and solving. Best regards, Steve - Steve Smith Mon, 26 May 2008 07:57:12 +0100 http://www.stevenmsmith.com/my-blogs/management/dancing-with-independent-employees.html#comment-80 When I taught at a large University, I was formally told that I would be evaluated only by the number of complaints, with no consideration for strong compliments, made by students. Thus, the highest ranked instructor on campus was one who gave no lectures (?!?) and little feedback (less to complain about). The problem with education is that we are focused on Customer Satisfaction (in a world where parents only complain about poor grades and never never poor skills and students generally ask for less work and higher grades believing it is only the paper they need) rather than on Customer Success. This is but the sad norm in a world that defines health and happiness as less illness and pain instead of more awareness and joy. It is likely your boss wanted you gone (or at least to shut up) because you made him think and do his job rather than simply stroke his ego (volunteerism has more than doubled over the past 50 years as people desperately seek any place where what they do can make some sense). The best sales (or dancing) advice I ever heard was the 50 rules my grandmother gave my mother on how to control husbands (also works with bosses), which I reduced to the following: 1. Make it his idea: mumble some suggestion and then change the subject only to say days later, “that was a good idea of yours the other day” 2. Use opinions he values more than yours 3. Encourage the replacement, not discourage the problem 4. Repetition (like branding): have one food (or skill) for which you are best known (like your famous apple pie or fried chicken) – do not try to cook everything well - Jim Mon, 26 May 2008 07:14:14 +0100 http://www.stevenmsmith.com/my-blogs/management/dancing-with-independent-employees.html#comment-5 Ellsworth is smart. Perhaps his intention was to motivate me to leave. If it was, his comments did successfully move me in that direction. It all comes down to intentionality. I thought his intention was to motivate me. But your interpretation, as always, has merit. Thank you for the feedback. I hope your teaching is going well. - Steve Smith Tue, 17 Oct 2006 17:36:46 +0100 http://www.stevenmsmith.com/my-blogs/management/dancing-with-independent-employees.html#comment-4 Perhaps he really considered you the worst employee on his staff and he simply wanted you to leave. Perhaps he know that all he had to do was tell you were at the bottom of the heap and you would go. Now I happen to be your friend and know that you are a very capable person, but maybe Ellsworth didn't know that. Often managers don't know which employees are worth their salt and which ones aren't. But maybe he knew you better than you think. - Jim Batterson Fri, 13 Oct 2006 07:41:21 +0100 http://www.stevenmsmith.com/my-blogs/management/dancing-with-independent-employees.html#comment-3 I like to think of it as a step negotiation. Partnership requires negotiation and practice. And it's a continuous process. The independent employee will be more successful when they listen to their manager's music and dance with them too. It requires cycles of leading followed by cycles of following. I believe with independent employees both partners music is important rather than just the manager's. Thank you for the comment, -Steve - Steve Smith Tue, 03 Oct 2006 15:24:27 +0100 http://www.stevenmsmith.com/my-blogs/management/dancing-with-independent-employees.html#comment-2 Good article, Steve. I think that, in fact, it's not usually necessary to motivate independent employees. They've already got motivation; that's what makes them independent. It's enough to avoid demotivating them. Then you can work at aligning their interests and yours. That's the dance you describe, I think. - George - George Dinwiddie Tue, 03 Oct 2006 07:24:51 +0100