Just Say No to National Boss’s Day
Today is National Boss’s Day in the U.S. I am officially declaring the start of a Just Say No to National Boss’s Day campaign. In fact, I’m declaring that the word “boss” should be tossed out, too. Just stop it. And if you have a Boss’s Day card just move straight to the trash bin. It’ll feel good. Go ahead. Don’t be afraid. Your “boss” won’t know.
Hey, is there a National Oppressed Employee Day? We should get that going.
My Sugar Packet Philosophy
I love pithy little phrases. I’m a sucker for the well-turned flick of the tongue. I read quote compilations for fun.
Guess where my favorite quote came from. A sugar packet. Here it is (provenance unknown):
Never apologize. Your friends don’t need it and your enemies won’t believe you anyway.
A Brilliant Turn of a Management Phrase
Jay Shepherd’s Gruntled Employees is one of my favorite reads. Jay’s the CEO of an employment-law firm and writes about what he calls, “How to keep employees gruntled.” That makes me chuckle every time I read it.
Yesterday, he wrote my favorite phrase of the year:
Ept managers lead to gruntled employees, which in turn lead to minishing profits.
Click on over and see what that means. He’s on his way to the Universal Theory of People Management.
About Shared Responsibility
In HR we talk about “shared responsibility” a lot. There’s a shared responsibility to invest 401(k) funds appropriately — the company provides funds and employees make good investment selections. We talk about shared responsibility in self-directed teams, employee empowerment, and employee engagement. Shared, shared, shared. But is it?
I read this essay about real Responsibility (with a Capital “R”) today on 48Facets. It’s the story of a father-son dynamic when the 16-year-old son accidentally runs the family car into the garage. You see, in this definition of “responsibility” it’s not about letting anyone off the hook. In 2007, I fear that too many times we say responsibility without really meaning it. Here’s how this story played out:
This weekend he damaged my car. The fault was his alone. It was totally preventable. He woke me up to let me know about it and he was sincerely remorseful. Sometimes I think that he believes that is all that is needed. Being very angry that night I decided to wait until the next day to decide how to handle the situation.
[snip...]
I had spent a good part of the day thinking about what to do. I decided that he needed to take full responsibility for the damage he caused. Yet I neither wanted him to begin to avoid all risks just to know that taking risks has consequences and that an adult learns to deal with the consequences of his actions.
I told him that he needed to fully pay for the repairs which I estimate will be at least several hundred dollars. To his credit he accepted my judgment though I was informed that it was a little “harsh”. We agreed on a plan that would combine cash payments and working off the remaining debt. He knows that I expect him to follow through on the chores even if it means giving up a night with his friends or a few hours of video games. He claims that he is committed.
This, to me, is what shared responsibility is about. It’s not about getting off the hook and it’s not about being given a free pass. It’s about standing up and being committed. It’s about doing the right thing. And it’s not all downside. There’s shared responsibility for celebrating the right things as well.
The 48Facets essay gets it right. As JFK once famously quoted from the Bible: For of those to whom much is given, much is required.
No Problem Without a Solution
My first significant boss had a saying when we were solving some particularly difficult polymer physics challenge: No problem without a solution.
What he meant was, “Don’t bring me a problem and think I’ll be the one to solve it. Bring me possible reasons why and alternative approaches to the issue.” That helped me hone my critical thinking, and was a great benefit in my maturing as a professional. It’s a mantra I repeat still.
So, I was struck by a BBC article about a Russian mayor “who has issued a list of excuses that he will not tolerate from civil servants.”
Alexander Kuzmin, mayor of Megion in western Siberia, said that officials must stop using phrases such as “I don’t know” and “it’s lunch time”.
Mr Kuzmin said city officials should help improve people’s lives and solve their problems, not make excuses.
I’m not big on excuses. In my business, things need to get done. If I ever get to meet Mayor Kuzmin, I’m going to tell him “spasiba.” That’s “thank you” in Russian.
-
SUBSCRIBE
-
-
-
