Thanks to Larry Stamper for his response to yesterday’s post about Melanie’s dilemma.
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“Who is responsible for the team?” I asked again. “Who is responsible for the performance of the team, and all the things that affect performance?”
Melanie started looking around her office, as if someone was going to appear.
I continued. “If it’s not you, as the department manager, if it’s not you, then who?”
Melanie’s eyes stopped skirting the room. There was no hero that appeared. One last time, she floated her excuse, “But how am I responsible for one of my supervisors quitting?”
“That’s a very good question. How are you, as the manager, responsible for one of your supervisors quitting?”
“What, am I supposed to be clairvoyant?” Melanie snapped.
“That would be helpful,” I nodded. “But let’s say you don’t have supernatural powers. How could you, as the manager, know enough about your supervisors, to have predicted this departure?” -TF
People don’t quit companies, they quit managers.
I personally believe that attention to detail is so important. For instance, if an employee changes behavior or you notice that she just seems pre-occupied, look into it. It could be nothing (personal issues that pass) or it could be something lurking around your team that has caused an issue. Little issues can be cleared up quickly and easily by paying attention to minor details to you, but major details to the employee.
Krystal,
You are right on point. Keep reading over the next few days. I will talk about the context of this “paying atttention” stuff.
I couldn’t agree more with Krystal. We should never deny a change in behaviour. Something that keeps lurking arround will see daylight sooner or later. As a manager we should always be prepared for it. Lot’s of that info we’ll get by formal and informal conversations. The coffee machine is often a very good spot for that ;-)).