After several years of being a manager, I know these things to be true:
- no matter how many leadership or coaching books you read or courses you take, people are still people and you can't mold them into the shape you want them to take
- even bosses need some positive re-inforcement now and then - if you have one, make sure she/he doesn't just hear criticism all the time
- you can't make a group of people act like a team if they don't want to be a team
- conference calls are a waste of time if only one or two people do all the talking
- no matter what good idea you have (or another person on the team has), someone will pour cold water on it
- some people DELIGHT in pouring the cold water
- it's nearly impossible to lead people who don't think they need to be lead
Sometimes I wonder why I still do it. Today, I'd rather be working all alone with just a computer screen to keep me company. But instead, I steel myself to lead yet another waste-of-time conference call that I keep insisting we have because it's the only way I can imagine we'll begin to build a team out of a bunch of "I'll do things my way" people spread across the country.
4 comments:
This won't help much, but.... I think that's part of the reason I'd rather work with computers! :-)
I can not imagine the stress of being in management. I am quite happy being a little worker bee :-).
I hate conference calls.
Sometimes being a manager is a thankless job. But it seems like you have such a worthy goal for your company, that it just might be worth it in the long run.
Hang in there, Heather.
Have you ever done any team-builiding exercises with your staff? For some employees, yes, they are a waste of time, but for others, it can be helpful.
Yowch! They seem like a bunch of wet noodles. Don't be discouraged. I suspect that this is one of those long-term projects, one that will take a long time before you see much change. But change will come! I wish I had a manager like you!
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