11/13/2012–Walk the walk
I feel like I’m leaving something on the table. I feel as though I could give a little more effort but I don’t realize it until after the situation has passed. It’s never when I’m talking to employees–I think it’s actually the case that I should listen to their problems less and work more on priorities. Eureka! I just remembered an indirect benefit of O3s. When O3s are regularly scheduled, employees know they’ll have a chance to tell me what they’re thinking. That way they don’t take up as much of my time at the end of their shifts. This will fall into place as each employee does an O3 b/c then they’ll start tucking things into their pockets til we meet.
On a side note I now have 2 examples of setting a goal in an O3 leading to results. I need to roll out feedback soon–if it’s as effective as it sounds I have a great opportunity with this staff. But no tool works upside-down so I have to roll it out slowly and with feedback+ first. I’ll use the coins in my pocket to measure it. That is, I’ll start with 5 in my right pocket and each time I give real FB, transfer one to my left. Or better yet, use my biz card and give one out. So at the end of the day I’ve given 5 FB and made 5 attempts at networking. We won’t have a team meeting until January that I’ll be at so it looks like I’ll have to do it in small groups (Fish camps, maybe?) or individually in O3s. Interestingly, to the few I’ve used FB with outside of O3s it’s gone really well–both on my part and how they received it–but it might be another example of employees just accepting everything I say as reasonable. That’s a weird phenomenon I wasn’t expecting–ubiquitous compliance. I’m not totally comfy with that b/c i’m concerned it stifles productive conversation. I’m always telling employees that I’ve never managed before so tell me if they disagree with something. One nuance I’ve recognized is the employees who welcomed me the most right off the bat continue to do the same at a faster pace than the others. Whether it’s O3s, FB, or scheduling needs, these employees continually work with me while others only work for themselves. I will keep these “A”s close and let the “C”s be.
QOTW: “Nobody but you asks my opinion.” –Emily S.
?FNW: How will we do on test today?
11/11/2017–Another oddly-named entry, I’m not sure what “walk the walk” means here, but I wouldn’t take back anything I said. In fact, one of the practices I forgot that was super-helpful was the “coins in the pocket technique” when trying to learn new habits.