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...

Working for a Family Business Can Be Rough

Working for a Family Business Can Be Rough Some of us work in big corporations; others of us in small corporations; and some are employed by in a family business. I want to focus on some of the particular challenges face d by employees of the firm who are not related to those who own the business. A family-owned business can be great If you’ve been lucky, you’ve worked in a family-owned business in which both ‘family’ and ‘bus...

Differing Orders—Refuse the Project?
Power for Employees / December 6, 2021

Differing Orders—Refuse the Project? The CEO of your company encouraged working across silos, but your boss Sean has a differing view. In the last post, you asked Sean’s permission to go ahead with a cross-silo project. He was either angry or gave you a chance. Problem is you don’t know which one it will be before you ask. Wouldn’t it be best to refuse to undertake the cross-silo project with your buddy, given you know that Sean...

Mismatched Orders—Ask Your Boss?
Power for Employees / November 29, 2021

Mismatched Orders—Ask Your Boss? Your CEO (Danvers) gave a rousing speech about breaking down silos which seem mismatched with your boss Sean’s views. In the last post, you and your buddy Ethan from another section decided to go ahead with a cross-silo project. Sean did not react well. Given this, should you have asked him first even though you think he would have said no? Let’s see what happens. Asking your boss about mismatched ...

Clashing Orders—Follow the Big Boss?
Power for Employees / November 22, 2021

Clashing Orders—Follow the Big Boss? In the last post, you went to an inspiring all-staff meeting where the CEO, Ms. Danvers, encouraged everyone to work across silos to create greater team work. You think it’s a great idea although your boss Sean seems to be giving off vibes clashing with the CEO. But your buddy Ethan from another unit (silo) of the company is also enthusiastic and suggests you work together on a great new app. You...

Inconsistent Orders
Power for Employees / November 15, 2021

Inconsistent Orders You can get into trouble when the big boss is saying one thing and your immediate boss is giving conflicting orders. Let’s look at the following situation with inconsistent orders. You’ve just come from an all-staff meeting. The CEO seems great. She’s all fired up about a new approach to teamwork which encourages employees to work across silos to share expertise and resources. You’re eager to give it a try. Y...