We've gotten off to a great start with our new PSM course. Thanks for an engaging and interesting first session... lots of ideas were thrown out there: some of them may have stuck, others may be floating in the air, waiting to get tied to something practical in your lives. Please use this space to pose questions, offer opinions, and comment on issues raised in our sessions together.
The blog is new for PSM. The summer group didn't use it much, and my own time to pursue it became fragmented. Hopefully, it will be useful to our learning this fall -- please offer suggestions for its improvement, as well. Take a look at the two posts below and feel free to offer comments. If you'd like to become an 'author' of new threads and postings, please let me know and I'll grant rights for doing so.
You should also know about the Leadership and Management Resources site at OHRD:
http://www.ohrd.wisc.edu/home/HideATab/FullyPreparedtoManage/LMDRESOURCES/tabid/132/Default.aspx
Take a few minutes to check it out...
Harry
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Experienced Managers -- How do you Succeed?
I have invited some graduates of our "EMSCP" (Level 3) program to share their perspectives on this question in the coming weeks. Hopefully, this will stimulate some further questions, commentary, and learning for all of us. Participate!
To kick things off, here are a few quick thoughts:
The UW is a paradoxical organization, both valuing independent thinking and a loyal hierarchy to role and tradition. Sometimes, it's hard to know which is essential in any given environment: You think you need to 'check in' with supervisors to get permission to move ahead on a project, only to find they want you to 'take the lead' on it. On other occasions, you find yourself getting criticism for not 'checking in' and 'keeping everyone informed' as you took independent action to improve service in a given area. This can be frustrating and confusing.
I find that if managers do three things consistently, it helps a great deal:
1. Keep Your Promises
2. Approach Crisis with Creativity
3. Act from a Place of Generosity
If we keep our promises and follow-through on our commitments, we generate a sense of practical trust and respect in our work environments. Our staff and customers can count on us; we don't vaguely leave them, "I'll check into that..." and never return. If you don't have the information yet, let people know the status of what you DO have... communicate regularly, and most importantly, do what you said you were going to do.
We all face crises, unexpected challenges that feel strange and overwhelming. As our staff approach us with these, or as we notice them coming down the road, it is important to stay flexible, share the burden of seeking answers, and look at creative responses to the situation. If the budget challenge is met with, "Well, we're gonna just have to make 10% cuts across the board," we are failing to consider other options. Instead, we need to take a step back, consider both cost-savings and revenue opportunities, and as a group think through the issue from a variety of perspectives. We might even engage a few key customers in helping us do that thinking.
Finally,when I say 'generosity,' I mean going beyond sharing your time and mentoring new staff... that is necessary, but not sufficient. Generosity means genuinely seeking ways we can share with one another the wealth we have: knowledge, services, etc. and often it means seeking partners and thinking first of customers. An example comes from the last budget crisis (yes, we have had them before) several years ago. Our Director, Don Schutt, responded by "temporarily" waiving the $110 fee for the PSM course required of new supervisors. Since department budgets were pressed, he didn't want the price to be a barrier to engaging in a required and important course. By doing so, people stayed engaged in professional development (which also broadens the role of our services) and our value of access to services was maintained. That 'temporary' fee waiver was six years ago...
So, those are three ways you get things to work around here, from my perspective. Contribute your own ideas! Read those of others!
My two cents,
Harry
To kick things off, here are a few quick thoughts:
The UW is a paradoxical organization, both valuing independent thinking and a loyal hierarchy to role and tradition. Sometimes, it's hard to know which is essential in any given environment: You think you need to 'check in' with supervisors to get permission to move ahead on a project, only to find they want you to 'take the lead' on it. On other occasions, you find yourself getting criticism for not 'checking in' and 'keeping everyone informed' as you took independent action to improve service in a given area. This can be frustrating and confusing.
I find that if managers do three things consistently, it helps a great deal:
1. Keep Your Promises
2. Approach Crisis with Creativity
3. Act from a Place of Generosity
If we keep our promises and follow-through on our commitments, we generate a sense of practical trust and respect in our work environments. Our staff and customers can count on us; we don't vaguely leave them, "I'll check into that..." and never return. If you don't have the information yet, let people know the status of what you DO have... communicate regularly, and most importantly, do what you said you were going to do.
We all face crises, unexpected challenges that feel strange and overwhelming. As our staff approach us with these, or as we notice them coming down the road, it is important to stay flexible, share the burden of seeking answers, and look at creative responses to the situation. If the budget challenge is met with, "Well, we're gonna just have to make 10% cuts across the board," we are failing to consider other options. Instead, we need to take a step back, consider both cost-savings and revenue opportunities, and as a group think through the issue from a variety of perspectives. We might even engage a few key customers in helping us do that thinking.
Finally,when I say 'generosity,' I mean going beyond sharing your time and mentoring new staff... that is necessary, but not sufficient. Generosity means genuinely seeking ways we can share with one another the wealth we have: knowledge, services, etc. and often it means seeking partners and thinking first of customers. An example comes from the last budget crisis (yes, we have had them before) several years ago. Our Director, Don Schutt, responded by "temporarily" waiving the $110 fee for the PSM course required of new supervisors. Since department budgets were pressed, he didn't want the price to be a barrier to engaging in a required and important course. By doing so, people stayed engaged in professional development (which also broadens the role of our services) and our value of access to services was maintained. That 'temporary' fee waiver was six years ago...
So, those are three ways you get things to work around here, from my perspective. Contribute your own ideas! Read those of others!
My two cents,
Harry
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
What makes an "Outstanding Manager?"
In our first session, we shared experiences we have had with 'outstanding managers' in our lives. What are the qualities we wish to carry forward to our own work? How do these qualities mesh with your own strengths? How well does your organization support the type of approach that you would value? What are some of the challenges and obstacles that keep us from behaving in ways that are consistent with what we know would be helpful?
In our pre-class reading from Bob Rosen's, Leading People, we learned that developing a trustful, respectful, work environment isn't just 'nice' but also leads to improved production and, as relevant, measurable profit. His work on healthy companies and organizations is a great justification for our efforts at UW (through courses like this one) to promote respectful, inclusive, participatory workplace environments.
Please share your perspectives on these questions!
Harry
In our pre-class reading from Bob Rosen's, Leading People, we learned that developing a trustful, respectful, work environment isn't just 'nice' but also leads to improved production and, as relevant, measurable profit. His work on healthy companies and organizations is a great justification for our efforts at UW (through courses like this one) to promote respectful, inclusive, participatory workplace environments.
Please share your perspectives on these questions!
Harry
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