By Guy Harris In a recent Bud to Boss workshop, a member of the class asked this question: “Are there some situations where you need to be strong rather than kind? I mean, if you’re kind, won’t people think that you’re a pushover?” Great question. It basically asks the question in the title of this post: can you be both strong and kind? I think the two concepts are not … [Read more...]
When the Pull of the Past Creates Problems in the Present
By Guy Harris Many things change when you become a supervisor. Your responsibilities, daily routines, role in the organization, and relationships all change – practically overnight. In the middle of all that is changing, it is easy to miss or overlook the things that do not change – even if you would like it if they did. There are many things in your team, organization, and … [Read more...]
What to Do When You Have Already Done Everything You Can to Get an Employee to Improve
By Guy Harris Coaching and performance questions are among the most frequent types of questions I get when working with new and front-line leaders. Among those questions, the most common question is often phrased this way: "How do I discipline someone when I’ve already done everything I know to do to get them to improve?" This question (and the answer to it) is closely … [Read more...]
When Will My Team Get Back to Where They Were Before the Pandemic
By Guy Harris In recent Bud to Boss workshops, I have been getting a question similar to the title of this post in several ways. While the questions are not always phrased the same way, they tend the same direction: longing for a return to “normal” as we reach the end of pandemic-imposed lockdowns, shutdowns, and isolation. Every situation is a bit different, and the … [Read more...]
How to Deal with a Persistently Negative Team Member
By Guy Harris One fairly common question I get from Bud to Boss workshop participants is: How do you deal with a persistently or aggressively negative team member?” While the full answer in a given situation depends on many situation-specific details, there is a thread of common themes that applies to almost all of my experiences with the issue and the conversations I … [Read more...]
How to Get Your Boss to Listen to You
By Guy Harris About half-way through the second day of a two-day workshop, a frustrated new leader blurted out: “All this talk about how to work with my team is great, but that’s not my problem. My problem is that my boss won’t listen to me. How do I get my boss to listen to me?” After sitting quietly for most of our prior discussions, she could not take anymore … [Read more...]
What to Do About a Team Member Who is Doing Nothing Right
By Guy Harris You have tried everything that you know to do. You have encouraged, corrected, taught, coached, sent to classes, partnered them with a co-worker, and they still do nothing right. What next? The short answer: fire them. The long answer: start (if you have not already started) the process of “managing them out of the organization” or whatever euphemism you … [Read more...]
The Power of Transition Conversations
By Guy Harris Navigating changes in your professional relationships is a big part of successfully transitioning from bud to boss. The change in your role and your responsibilities demands that your relationships change as well. You will experience changes in the type, scope, and sensitivity of relationship issues you face. The relative power dynamic or imbalance between you, … [Read more...]
Managing Expectations to Encourage Satisfaction
By Guy Harris Have you ever noticed that people are sometimes dissatisfied with situations that are not that bad and sometimes satisfied with situations that are not that good? I will use myself as an example. I can think of times when I was sitting comfortably in a restaurant with food in front of me, and I was dissatisfied (even a bit angry) because of minor issue … [Read more...]
The Principles Don’t Change: Get on Their Side of the Table
By Guy Harris Have you ever struggled to persuade another person to change their mind or their behaviors? Based both on my personal experience and in what I have heard in Bud to Boss workshops, my guess is that you have. In fact, I think most of us have recently struggled with this issue, are struggling with it, or will struggle with it in the near future. Trying to … [Read more...]