07/16/2016–Beginnings are delicate times, I’ve heard.
After three weeks in my role I feel it’s important to “get the balances right” as Frank Herbert wrote in Dune regarding beginnings. A few balances (and imbalances) came to mind when I read this.
First, the effective manager balances the styles of communication until the employee’s preferred style is apparent (they won’t likely tell/know). The most effective tool for this is “D.I.S.C.”. Utility of this method assumes some attention on which style seems to work best as you test each.
First from the employee’s perspective, life balance should be pursued prior to work starting. Get your hobbies up and running, schedule trips to visit friends, and discern which growth areas you want to pursue (non-professionally, e.g. spiritual growth).
A second balance on the part of the manager is to encourage an effective life balance for himself or herself and also for the employee. This can be encouraged with consistent, frequent one on ones which allow discussion to address any imbalance. Also, making it clear from day one that performance at work is only sustainable when life balance exists is vital.
A balance of results and relationships should also be encouraged. It may seem that the balance should skew toward relationships–that is, the new employee should focus more on meeting people than on deliverables. But, when a deliberate approach is taken to optimizing beginnings, “results” include learning the systems and principles of the org. This also considers “results” to include the learning/training provided by the company. Thus, a balance is good between these results and relationship-building. There are also dichotomies which should not be balanced, for the reason that beginnings are so delicate. Euripides said, “bad beginnings make bad endings.” Certain aspects are more important early in employment, just as with any relationship (to be clear, the relationship between you and your manager is the most important professional relationship).
As a manager, one imbalance should exist between hands-off and hands-on management, with preference on hands-on. “Micromanagement” is overly-feared already, and this unwarranted fear becomes harmful in a new-hire’s trajectory. Even with a new hire who’s worked in the same industry, or has significant experience, the new company is a new culture. New norms must be learned for two reasons: first to fit in/be accepted by peers and customers, and second to prioritize certain uses of time and effort over others. A freshwater fish can’t thrive at sea because of the salt, not because it can’t swim. Thus, the manager needs to over-communicate and over-manage early on so the employee is on the optimal trajectory. Without being nudged frequently throughout the first few weeks and months, an employee ends up on a less-than-optimal path (again, only because the manager doesn’t want to be seen as a micromanager). It’s surely a difficult balance to strike, since it is good for employees to learn things on their own, but with some deliberate thought, some parts of culture and “ways to spend time” probably should be highlighted by the manager as priority over others. This becomes especially important for employees who naturally build relationships quickly, as they’ll be given side projects by people they meet without much ability to prioritize each one. The new employee doesn’t know who the influencers are, and can’t tell when they’re given a project from a notorious poor performer, or someone who’s on their way out the door, etc. One can see how a go-getter might benefit form extra guidance form their manager.
Mirroring the manager’s duty to over-communicate is the duty of the employee. I’d recommend, until your first formal appraisal you should ask your manager if you’re going in the right direction on each project, each time you meet one on one. This can sound like, “If I produce a one-page document including x, y, and z, is that adequate/appropriate?” It’s simply painting a picture of what you’ll deliver at the end for your boss, and letting them nudge you a little or say, “right on”. A slight adjustment to trajectory significantly increases in value the earlier it occurs. This, in my experience, leads to a higher performance rating at the first annual review. Forgive the poor quality, but it might look like this:
Of course, this terribly simple graph is not based on technical data, but it conveys the abrupt positive change in the employee’s trajectory and more favorable result at the 1 year review mark. A secondary lesson from this idea, just as important to the primary, is that changing an employee’s behavior at any point is likely worth the investment of time and energy. In other words, if it’s the third quarter and you’ve gone this long “letting them learn on their own”, it’s not too late to get involved and reap some benefit–for both of you.
Is there any risk of harm, other than the employee thinking you’re a micromanager? Would a top-talent employee see it as micromanaging? Is the risk of that really so high as to justify a hands-off management style in these delicate times?
QOTW–“Marriage, like atonement, is for everyone.”–Joseph
11/22/2017 review–If I had to pick a top 10 lessons I’ve learned, this would be one. Beginnings are truly delicate times and worth every ounce of deliberate effort a manager can give toward setting up the employee well! Micromanaging is not only rare, it’s actually rarely accused by high-performing employees who all report wanting more feedback (just like you and I do–what makes us think they’re any different?).
If I did include this journal entry in a future top 10, I definitely never want to write so confusingly like this: “Utility of this method assumes some attention on which style seems to work best as you test each.” Couldn’t have I just said “pay attention”?
But I definitely would reiterate the underappreciated value of scheduling time for your non-work priorities before your start date. Put family and friends, hobbies, etc on the calendar before your first projects, which you’ll enjoy, encourage you to work late “just to get off to a strong start”.