6/27/2013–Coaching directs can include redirecting them away from ineffective behaviors.
If a direct is repeating the same mistake, they need to know how it’s affecting their standing. We told an employee last week we were letting him go because he told us he’d change his behavior and he did not. He was taken back by it and explained we never gave him a “serious” talk about performance. He is correct that I never said, “if you don’t change you’ll be fired.” But if that’s what it takes to make him better I need to ask if it’s worth my time. The half hour I spent talking to an adult about showing up in uniform is time I won’t get back. We ended up letting him stay on in a reduced role. I realized that I didn’t do everything I could to succeed in managing him.
So now I know to talk to directs about their status as well as behaviors. More frequent one on ones will allow this. I wasn’t expecting so many other directs to approach me with concerns and questions. Several people have just wanted clarification about what happened. Most leave saying they understand.
It’s getting clearer every day how much I’m not using my strengths. I am not able to spend as much time as I would like on non-urgent important tasks like BWL usage reports, one on ones, delegation, or food/bev costs. Since we’re so short staffed right now, the majority of my time is spent calling people to cover tonight’s shift or trying to make sure the shift is executed well. I am getting to interview a ton of people–something I Â thoroughly enjoy. I love finding out who looks good on paper only and why they don’t interview well or vice versa. I also enjoy helping individuals achieve goals they’ve chosen, which I do best when we’ve had one on ones. I want to work on more than just today’s task. If I could delegate running the shift, I would. But I must be on the floor and my directs have day jobs/school. Now I’m just learning how I’ll coach restaurant managers once I’m in consulting. I’m getting this experience now as an MIT trainer.
QOTW: “Tell me if I don’t change, you’ll fire me.” –Direct we intended to fire
?FNW: Does on-fence new hire begin training? Yes–Failed and fired after 6 days
10/24/2017 review: Another galactically stupid mistake on my part that provided valuable experience. Looking back, the employee took it surprisingly well considering I was completely in the wrong. I am also again grateful for having JD as a manager who let me make this mistake and grow. I was off-target saying I should ask “if it’s worth my time”–the sentiment was that if I have to go to the extreme of threatening to fire them before they change, is it worth the time it takes to manage them. However, the more effective management lesson there is the importance of establishing a relationship with someone early. That relationship makes these petty issues much easier to nip in the bud, preventing escalation.