The Perils of Trying to Be Popular Your Employees I know, sounds ridiculous. If people hate you, you can’t get their cooperation, you can’t motivate them, they won’t help with reaching the unit’s goals and frankly, it makes for an unpleasant and stressful work place. So there are lots of good reasons why you want to be popular with your employees. But in a management position, you sometimes need to make decisions which aren’t popular wi...

Do You Need to be Likable to Your Employees? The dilemma set out in the previous post is whether, as a new supervisor, you should supervise a change to the work that everyone in your group wanted. You wanted to be likable and under pressure from Candice, your former colleague, now employee, you okayed the change. Candice drops by the next week. Candice: Hey, Mia. We released to the field three weeks earlier than we ever have. Looks like the chang...

Is It Better to Be Respected or Liked as a Supervisor? So, a promotion. Well done. You have taken over your old boss Albert’s job. You will now be supervisor to staff who, until you got this new job, were your colleagues. Honestly, this is a tough way to start in management. I think it’s actually easier to supervise people you don’t know in your first supervision job. But a promotion is a promotion and there is the whole thing about gift ho...

Costs of Taking a Stand Sometimes, you must speak up to maintain self-worth. In previous posts, we’ve discussed how to do that. However, no matter how successfully you pilot through your initial conversation, there will be costs which you need to prepare for and accept as part and parcel of deciding to speak out. Costs you might face Depends on your boss and how open your company is to change. The following list is generally in order of severit...

How to Take a Stand or Defy Convention Whether you take a stand on something is entirely up to you. Only you can decide that. But howyou defy convention can lower or increase the chances of continuing to earn a pay check. Plan Don`t do a spur of the moment, blow your gasket thing. It`s too important. Take a moment to think through what to say. Be clear. Sometimes, moral outrage can be diffuse. What exactly is bothering you? Is it the problem or t...

Protecting Yourself against Idea Stealers
Lying for Employees / May 6, 2019

Protecting Yourself against Idea Stealers You assumed, incorrectly in this case, that Emmett was a good colleague who would help you hone and develop your idea. Frankly, I think that’s a good assumption to make generally (more of this later), but equally, you need to be aware if you are working with idea stealers. What can you do to protect yourself against idea stealers? You have already twigged to one strategy—don’t discuss idea...

Doing Nothing when Someone Rips Offs Your Idea
Lying for Employees / April 29, 2019

Doing Nothing when Someone Rips Offs Your Idea Emmett, a co-worker, rips off your idea. He denies it and your mutual boss, Len, doesn’t believe you when you complain. What’s left? Does that mean you should let Emmett get away scott-free? No way. Yes, possibly. The advantages of doing nothing I know, the idea sticks in your craw. But consider the following: It’s your word against Emmett’s. Emmett has more credibility with Len tha...

Complaining to your Boss when Co-Workers Steal Your Ideas
Lying for Employees / April 22, 2019

Complaining to your Boss when Co-Workers Steal Your Ideas In a previous post, your co-worker (Emmett) had the gall to steal your idea. As a result, the boss Len thinks Emmett is the cat’s pyjamas and has assigned him to develop the idea. Your idea. You tried confronting Emmett but got nowhere. So the next option could be to complain to Len. I mean, surely the boss cares about this type of thing. Complain to Len about the steal of your...

Confronting a Co-Worker who Stole Your Idea

Confronting a Co-Worker who Stole Your Idea If a co-worker stole your idea, should you confront him? After all, you can’t let people get ahead by copping others’ ideas. In the last post, YOU floated a new product idea with Emmett, your co-worker. He pooh-poohed it which discouraged you from presenting it to your mutual boss, Len. At the next staff meeting, Len praises Emmett for the same idea and assigns Emmett to work on developing...

A Co-worker Steals Your Idea

It happens. Doesn’t matter the industry sector, company, or complexity of work. But what do you do if a co-worker steals your idea? Let’s follow this scenario. Emmett, despite his name, seems like an okay guy. He showed you the ropes when you started three months ago. The other guys seem good too, but more often than not, Emmett picks you up for lunch. You think you’re getting the hang of the job and even have an idea you want to ...