RE: Non-TW supervisor

["Dana Worley" <dana -at- campbellsci -dot- com>]

On Wednesday, May 10, 2006, Laurel Hickey wrote: 

> Inexperienced, yes. Untrained, hopefully not.... Your orientation
> should have covered these... 

Training? Orientation? Now there's an interesting concept. Does 
"Here's the keys to the filing cabinet" count? :)

While I'm sure there must be some management seminars that are 
useful, I have found training of that type mostly bunk. At a former 
job, I went to quite a few "Management Skills for Women", "Dealing 
with Conflict in the Workplace", etc. type of workshops -- all of which 
were a nice break from work but not really worth the time. Well, 
wait. I did find out that I am a type "C" personality -- analytical, 
logical, and systematic <surprise surprise> -- and I learned not to kill 
the goose that produces the golden eggs ;)

Really, I think much of *personnel* management (as opposed to 
project management, which I also do and in which I am also not 
trained...) is common sense and behaving in a reasonable and 
rational manner. If someone is coming in late? Talk to them about it 
and document the discussion. If someone is not meeting deadlines? 
Talk to them about it and document the discussion. If someone is 
coming in drunk? Send them home immediately, talk with your 
superiors regarding appropriate courses of action, and document it. 
Talk and document. Talk and document. When in doubt, speak to 
your boss or your boss's boss. Once again, it's common sense. 

If I am a total jerk and lack interpersonal skills to begin with, no 
amount of training or workshops is going to change that. When you 
are being hired from the outside, it may not be easy for others to 
judge your managerial skills. However, if you've been at a company 
for a few years, they are well aware of your skills (or lack thereof). In 
either game, an employer is hedging their bets and taking their 
chances.  

2 cents,

Dana W.
Inexperienced, Untrained, and Running Amok!



***************************
Dana Worley
Manager, Software Support Group
Campbell Scientific, Inc. 
Microsoft MVP, Windows Help 2003-2006


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