Management | dranthonysblog

January 14, 2012

Management by Anger

Filed under: Uncategorized — DrAnthonysBlog @ 1:05 am
Tags: accidently, actions, allowed, amazes, anger, applies, Army, assembler, bearings, behavior, Blog, boss, Business, calm, commander, craft, create, cuss word, deserved, Detail, disciplined, dropped, effected, employer, everywhere, example, explanation, factory, facts, fairness, Favorite, figured, general, goes off, golden rule, happened, heard, HR, Human Resources, individuals, infancy, introspective, judgment, justice, lead, leader, leadership, loss, majority, Management, manager, minute, misbehavior, morale, negatively, officer, organizations, people, precision, problems, productivity, Professional, psychology, react, reason, research, severaly, situations, sociology, Soldier, solution, subordinate, successful, supervisor, talked to, team, temper, trigger, unload, upset, Work, worker, workers, workplace, wrong, yelled

How many of us have seen, heard, or been on the receiving end of a supervisor, or manager, yelling or losing their temper at work? Based on my experience working for all types of employers, I am guessing the number is very high. Since many employers today are more leanly staffed, with correspondingly high workloads, it is probably happening even more now than in the past.

The reason I bring this up is because I do not think it is talked about near as much as it should be. Yelling or losing your temper at work in many instances probably does little to correct whatever behavior triggered the response and indeed may needlessly create other, likely larger, problems for all concerned.

When someone yells or “goes off” on you, how do you react? Are you inclined to be more introspective and say or think “gee, I really screwed up and need to correct myself?” Or is your reaction more likely to be “wow (fill in your bosses name) is really acting like a (fill in your favorite cuss word) today?” I am guessing that more would agree with the latter than the former. Since most people have probably figured this out when they were young, why do many of us still use anger when managing others?

Without getting into the psychology of it, which is far better left to those with clinical backgrounds, for whatever reason they are doing it, and it happens a lot! An example of what I am talking about occurred when a young Army officer became upset with a seasoned subordinate soldier because she failed to follow a process correctly. The officer yelled at the soldier who became so upset that she cried and he angrily dismissed her. She left his office, visibly upset, and was called into the Commander’s office as she walked by. He asked her what was wrong and she said that she just spoke with her supervisor and he yelled at her for something that was done by another soldier. He was so upset that he did not allow her to explain that important detail to him.

The officer ended up being “talked to” by his supervisor, the Commander, which could have been avoided had he simply not allowed his anger to control his actions. The soldier he yelled at also lost respect for her supervisor, which negatively effected office morale.

Another example of management by anger happened when an assembler in factory accidentally dropped some expensive precision bearings on the ground that he should not have moved in the first place. The manager yelled at the employee who then yelled right back at his boss! Unfortunately, for both, the general manager was in the area and overheard much of the exchange. Both manager and subordinate were severely disciplined as a result!

In another situation, a supervisor in a sales division yelled at an employee for being late the minute he stepped into the office in front of several other staff members. The employee had already been talked to and disciplined once for the same offense and the supervisor really needed him that morning. Unfortunately, the employee later told a friend what had happened and he told his neighbor who was at that time considering doing business with the company. The neighbor decided, in part due to the incident, to take his business to another “more professional” organization.

Unfortunately, I could provide many more examples, but regardless of whether the employee deserved it or not, the majority of the outcomes were negative for the organization as well as the individuals involved. What truly amazes me is that, though most of us know this, the behavior of managing people by anger continues in organizations everywhere.

In managing employees, the goal should be to simply correct undesired workplace behavior, whenever it happens, and encourage productivity, however that is defined. Managers and supervisors should not take advantage of an employee’s inappropriate behavior to unload on her or him, however much they feel it is deserved. Even if it is deserved, and we all know this, the behavior really will not get fixed that way!

When faced with these situations, managers and supervisors who are really upset at an employee should do the following;

Be sure to get all the facts before to talking to the employee (this is often not done but can make a big difference in your understanding of the situation!)
If it can wait, delay having the conversation until after you have calmed down
If it cannot wait, do what it takes to calm yourself down first, or have someone else talk to the employee instead
Once you do speak to the employee, ask them to tell you what happened and do not assume, even if you think you have all the facts, that you know why or completely how a certain situation happened (i.e., giving anyone a chance to explain their actions, will almost always help in successfully resolving situations)
When they speak be sure to really listen to what they have to say and reserve your judgment until after you have completely heard and understand their explanation
If it is a complex situation, take whatever time you need to fully understand it, so you will be able to come up with the best solution
Lastly, even the best employee has an off day, so when you are thinking about how to respond to a situation, be sure to take that into consideration as well!

A lot of solid research has been done try to understand human behavior, and misbehavior, especially within organizations. Nonetheless, the art of managing people in professional organizations is still very much in its infancy, so when you are practicing your particular craft the golden rule still applies!

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June 30, 2011

Job Interviewing Tales

Filed under: Uncategorized — DrAnthonysBlog @ 11:18 pm
Tags: afternoon, anonymous, anxiety, applicant, appointments, articles, believe, Blog, books, briefcase, Business, candidiate, Career, chance, coffee shop, confidence, Conversation, crazy, degrees, demeanor, early, examination, example, experience, Family, friends, hiring manager, Human Resources, importance, important, inseparable, irrational, job interviews, job seeker, library, Life, Management, managing, mock, money, nervousness, News, opportunity, organization, people, preparation, professionalfather, qualified, recognize, reluctant, rolodex, scheduled, significant, success, tales, unemployed, Unemployment, unremarkable, wrong

Unless you were born into lots of money, you have likely had to interview for a job at some time in your life. Many of us can recall without too much effort how we felt about the experience with nervousness being a common theme along with nausea in some extreme cases. Whatever your experience has been few of us would probably say that it was fun or enjoyable; even those who consider themselves good at it!

My father, having started his professional career in personnel, would help his friends and members of the family by setting up mock job interviews. We would later hear afterwards how these really helped the person to overcome some of their anxiety about the process and do well on it. Many people prepare in this way or study the organization and review questions that they believe may be asked with varying degrees of success. Numerous articles and books have been written about it as most of us recognize the importance of doing well in what amounts to an oral examination to get offered a job.

Some people, however, do little preparation and essentially leave everything to chance. These individuals either have lots of experience, great confidence, or both. The outcomes in these situations depend very much upon having significant amounts of both present to be offered a job.

Interestingly, there are also those who probably do none of these things and actually, for whatever reason, show up for an interview and do crazy, or irrational, things. The outcomes for this group are as varied as their approach and are the subject of this bit of writing. The below tales are from personal experience, though the names and some of the details were changed to ensure they remain completely anonymous which is important for reasons that are probably apparent once you read them.

Inseparable? – It was an overcast fall day when I received a call from Mrs. Jones. She said that she was calling for her husband who was scheduled to be interviewed for a senior management position next week. Spouses sometimes call in my experience, so I was not too concerned when she started asking questions about benefits. When asked what she should wear to the interview is the precise instant I knew something was not right. After recovering from my shock at her question, I explained that interviews were done with just the job candidate present and members of the interview team. She would hear absolutely nothing of that and insisted that she be allowed to sit in on his interview. I told her I would have to get back to her as to whether we could allow it, but that I was sure that she could not.

My second shock came when I consulted with the hiring manager, a very senior person in the organization, and he said he would allow it. When I explained my many concerns about allowing a spouse sit in on any interview, he patiently listened and then said that the candidate could significantly help the organization (in English – he had an extensive industry specific Rolodex that the organization wanted) and for that reason he would allow it. At this point you can probably guess the outcome and so yes he was eventually offered the job. He helped the organization as predicted but he also caused, in my opinion, far more problems than he fixed! His wife continued to be as involved as she could, much to the employee’s detriment, though I am sure he does not know that to this day!

Pass the mustard – It was late-morning when a professionally dressed candidate showed up a little early for his interview. The position he was interviewing for was a mid-career professional job and over the last few days the organization had interviewed several good candidates for the position. He was in his mid-30’s and well-mannered.

I invited him in to the room and we began the interview. He detailed his background as it related to the job in effective manner as I listened intently thinking at this point that he may be a good fit for the organization. Everything was going well when he casually pulled out a sandwich from his briefcase, un-wrapped it, and took a bite before I could say anything! While he was chewing I explained that we could have a better discussion if he would hold off eating until after the interview. He offered no explanation and did not get the message and so we continued the interview and he continued to eat!

After we were done he went to the hiring manager and her staff to be interviewed by them. Afterwards, I was told that they would like to bring him back for a final round of interviews until I explained the behavior he exhibited during interview. Once they heard that, they decided that the lack of judgment could be a liability and so he was not brought back in for another interview and he did not get the job. I must admit the sandwich looked good but probably not worth losing the opportunity that he did over it!

Party time! – I knew something was wrong with this one when I saw the candidate run for the restroom, covering her mouth the whole way. She emerged a few minutes later looking slightly green. I invited her in and when she shook my hand it felt clammy. When I sat down I made a mental note to wash my hands after the interview as I thought she might be ill. I asked her if she was feeling OK and added that if she was not we could always reschedule. She said that she did not sleep well last night but that she would be fine for the interview.

Midway through the conversation, which was going well except that it was obvious that she was not feeling well, she asked if she could take a short break. No sooner had I agreed when she got up and walked very quickly (almost ran) for the restroom. When she was gone I was feeling bad for her as I thought she was ill and was thinking of another way to ask her if she would like to reschedule, when I caught a strong whiff of alcohol coming from the area where she was seated. Shortly after she returned we completed the interview. On her way out, I noticed that she tossed a bottle in the trash.

The bottle turned out to be exactly what you would think it was (Vodka actually). In this case, the interview panel did not select the employee, without even hearing about the above details.

The Auctioneer – John (not his real name) was a well dress man in his late forties was interviewing for a job in sales. He showed up on time and had a pleasant demeanor. After I asked him a question, however, he responded with a detailed answer but the rate of his speech would have impressed the most seasoned of auctioneers. After a couple of more such responses, I gently reminded him that we had plenty of time and to feel free to use it when answering the questions. He did not get the message and, due to his rapid fire responses, the interview was finished in less than half the time they usually took!

He was otherwise a solid candidate and would have been a good fit for the organization. Unfortunately, he continued with the same rapid fire responses with the other people who interviewed him and he did not initially get the job. I say initially, because shortly after the position was filled it became vacant again. After recruiting a second time, the pool of qualified candidates was such that the decision was made to bring him back for another interview. He must have received some feedback in between because the second time around, I was told that he spoke at a more natural rate and was offered the job where he stayed for many years and did great work!

Less is more right? – Monique was a 30-something, stay-at-home mom who was seeking to reenter the workforce after a 10 year hiatus. She had a bachelor’s degree in English and had 7 years of experience working in operations. When she was brought in to the office she was very professional and had a terrific smile. When asked questions, her responses, however, were brief and with precious little detail. When asked if she had anything to add (to try and draw her out) she flashed her smile but declined saying that she felt comfortable with her response.

Regardless of the question asked her responses were always concise and devoid of much detail. She did not display any nervousness and her answers actually addressed the question but did so in such a way as to leave the interviewer wondering. An example of this is when she was asked to describe her experience in Managing people. She replied that she managed 3 staff members in her last job, two manufacturing coordinators and one specialist. She continued that she enjoyed the work and would not mind being a supervisor again. On the surface it sounds like a reasonable response but she missed an opportunity to provide information about her challenges and accomplishments.

She did not get a job offer, however, I saw her 3 or 4 weeks later as she was entering the building. She had signed up for a temporary employment agency and was hired to handle customer service for the organization. Several months later she was hired into a regular position, though not in the field that she interviewed for.

The early bird catches the worm? – It was just after 9:00 am one morning and I had settled in to work on a project for a few minutes before attending an important meeting. As soon as I started to work my phone rang and it was the receptionist informing me that Ms. Wong (not her real name) was here for her interview. I checked my schedule and confirmed what I already knew, that Ms. Wong was not scheduled to be interviewed until 1:00 pm that afternoon! Showing up a few minutes early was one thing, but showing up 4 hours early was something else. I asked the receptionist to send her in and that I would talk with her and find out why she was so early.

Moments later Ms. Wong was in my office and we were shaking hands. I asked her why she showed up so early when her interview was not until the afternoon. I was honestly expecting her to say that she wrote down the wrong time, when what she said was simply that she always liked to be early for appointments. I explained that being a few minutes early was always a good idea but that most organizations scheduled interviews as they had other responsibilities to take care of that often could not be changed with no notice.

I informed her that she could not be interviewed until her scheduled time and that she would have to come back then. She told me that she had no place to go, so I explained that there was a coffee shop and a library nearby as well where she could go. She left reluctantly and actually showed up a few minutes late that afternoon. Her interview was unremarkable otherwise and she did not get the job, though not because of her early arrival, but rather due to the fact that there was another more qualified person who was offered the position.

Job interviews are stressful events that sometimes cause people to do crazy things. If you are ever in a position to interview candidates for a job remember these tales and be prepared to encounter all manner of behavior. Equally important to note is, if you have a job interview scheduled, relax, prepare as you see fit, and try to behave rationally!

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May 24, 2011

Lessons learned from a career spent working in Human Resources

Filed under: Uncategorized — DrAnthonysBlog @ 7:49 pm
Tags: Administration, Applications, Aptitude test, Awards, Blog, Bullying, Business, Candidate, Career, Collective Bargaining, Common, Compensation, Continents, Democracy, Departments, Disorganization, Education, Employees, Enlisted, Equity, Fair, For profit, Glamorous, GPHR, Growth, HR, Human Resources, Industry, IPMA-CP, Jobs, Labor, Layoff, Lessons Learned, Management, MASH, Mediation, Mentored, Military, Negotiate, Nonprofit, Officer Candidate School, organizations, Personnel, Privately held, Professional, Recruiter, Restructure, Romance, science, significant, SPHR, Summarize, supervisor, Travel, TV, Vice President, Work

My career started with a job as a Personnel Administration Specialist years ago and I have since spent the majority of it in Human Resources Management. I have managed personnel in very large to small organizations, on four continents and across such diverse industries as medical, engineering, government, training, military, contracting, and consulting. These have included for profit, nonprofit, privately held and publicly traded organizations.

It has been an interesting experience though like many careers it has included more than its share of challenges resulting in numerous successes and a few set-backs. Overall I have enjoyed it and I have been fortunate to work with some terrific people and have assisted my employers in creating numerous positive outcomes in their organizations.

You would probably not be surprised to learn that I definitely did not grow up thinking that I someday wanted to be a Vice President of Human Resources or even a Personnel Administrator. Rather, as often happens, I stumbled into the career by chance more than anything else. At 16, I started college and was focused on a career in the hard sciences, but along the way, probably because of my age, I changed my mind several times. After a couple of years, I realized that I needed to take a break from university life and see the world. This is when I decided to join the Army, which I probably selected after watching way too many MASH episodes on TV when growing up!

I took the Army’s career aptitude test and my scores were such that I was told that I could choose any field that “was open at the time” (the quotations are because I was told that not all careers were open at any given time). Even though I had the education, I decided against officer candidate school, as I wanted the enlisted experience like my parents. I also knew, even at that time, that the military would not be a career for me but rather just a start to my professional life, whatever that would be.

I spent several hours with the recruiter discussing all of the “available” career options, and about half way through it was obvious to both of us that it was clearly a process of elimination. Another couple of hours after that and I was discouraged because none of the careers that “were open” at the time appealed to me. Finally, one of the last options that the then completely exasperated recruiter mentioned was Personnel Administration Specialist. I was skeptical and asked the recruiter what the job entailed, to which he replied that it was an office job that involved the usual filing, typing, answering the phones, ad etc. He also added that it included extensive interaction with people and that I would be involved in sometimes complex problem solving that goes along with it. The last part of his response was the hook that interested me and so I signed on the dotted line, which in the case of the military is literally what I did that afternoon!

When I think back, I realize that I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into! Since then, I have counseled many, broken up fights, mediated (literally), negotiated, convinced, listened, advocated, and endured (at times) just about every situation that you can think of that could occur in the workplace and some that you would not! These include but are not limited to; promotions, bullying, interviewing, demotions, awards, deaths, restructurings, layoffs, job offers, collective bargaining, accommodations, workplace romances, and more. I have had to help long term employees pack up their belongings, due to a bad decision or two that they made, and have tendered job offers for very large compensation packages and have sometimes been told that it was not enough! Job candidates have also occasionally falsified their applications and one even had associates lie to cover it up! Unfortunately, I also had to tell family members that their loved ones would not be coming home again. On the positive side, I have developed employees and watched as they were promoted, mentored workers, and rebuilt and built Human Resource departments from scratch that supported significant organizational growth!

I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Human Resources is about managing people at work, and all of the good, bad, and indifferent aspects that are associated with it. It is also about equity and perceptions about what is fair and, more often, what is not. As an organizational function it is not a glamorous job, nor is it still completely understood or fully appreciated. It is nonetheless important, especially when you are the employee who has an issue and needs assistance or when you are a supervisor trying to get the job done.

Since you are still reading this, I am sure your question is, that is all great but what lessons have you learned from all of this Anthony and can you really distill it in a few lines, because this is a blog and not a book after all? My answer is, and you would expect no other, that yes, I absolutely can summarize the most important lessons learned and here they are:

Three or more sides are common – This is why situations must be understood based on facts.
The workplace is not a democracy – This is primarily because Employers are organizations that are focused on either providing services or making goods, ideally, as efficiently as possible.
Laws are not just for others to follow – This also applies to policies and work rules as well and if they are not followed the result is disorganization, which is the opposite of organization!
Some people actually enjoy their work – I have met many who do, so I know they are out there!
Some bosses really do care – They usually do not advertise this and are often modest about it!
Indecision is a choice and it is often the wrong one to make at work – Avoiding problems on the job frequently makes things worse!
People are important – I could not have spent so many years in the field without believing this!

We all have lessons learned at work, whatever field you are in, but when your career involves people, as Human Resources does, the lessons learned are relevant for everyone!

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