http://www.jrothman.com/blog/mpd/2006/01/flipping-the-bozo-bit-back.html Management, especially good management, is hard to do. This blog is for people who want to think about how they manage people, projects, and risk. Fri, 18 May 2012 15:02:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://www.jrothman.com/blog/mpd/2006/01/flipping-the-bozo-bit-back.html/comment-page-1#comment-276 James A. Ward Tue, 24 Jan 2006 22:07:56 +0000 http://jrothman.com/blog/mpd/?p=8085#comment-276 Having been the new guy in organizations that had been poorly managed, I would say that two things are very important. First, don't act too quickly to make changes, don't be a hip shooter. Every environment and culture is different. To build trust and confidence, your first moves have to be right. Get the lay of the land, and, if possible, get concurrence of your manager (unless he or she is obviously part of problem, in which case you have to ask yourself what you're doing there in the first place). Second, delegate. In most poorly managed organizations managers horde power, they don't allow their subordinates to make decisions. Trust, as Johanna points out, is essential. It is always a two way street. Your subordinates usually know more about the details of a problem than you do. Guide them toward the right decisions, but don't always be the one to make all the decisions. Empowerment is liberating, can show your employees that you trust them, and they will build trust in you. Having been the new guy in organizations that had been poorly managed, I would say that two things are very important.
First, don’t act too quickly to make changes, don’t be a hip shooter. Every environment and culture is different. To build trust and confidence, your first moves have to be right. Get the lay of the land, and, if possible, get concurrence of your manager (unless he or she is obviously part of problem, in which case you have to ask yourself what you’re doing there in the first place).
Second, delegate. In most poorly managed organizations managers horde power, they don’t allow their subordinates to make decisions. Trust, as Johanna points out, is essential. It is always a two way street. Your subordinates usually know more about the details of a problem than you do. Guide them toward the right decisions, but don’t always be the one to make all the decisions. Empowerment is liberating, can show your employees that you trust them, and they will build trust in you.

]]> http://www.jrothman.com/blog/mpd/2006/01/flipping-the-bozo-bit-back.html/comment-page-1#comment-275 Jason Thu, 19 Jan 2006 07:14:38 +0000 http://jrothman.com/blog/mpd/?p=8085#comment-275 How do you define "not pulling weight on the team" or "impossible to work with"? Maybe they are that way because of the bad mgt they had to deal with previously. How do you define “not pulling weight on the team” or “impossible to work with”? Maybe they are that way because of the bad mgt they had to deal with previously.

]]> http://www.jrothman.com/blog/mpd/2006/01/flipping-the-bozo-bit-back.html/comment-page-1#comment-274 Will Sargent Wed, 18 Jan 2006 01:28:05 +0000 http://jrothman.com/blog/mpd/?p=8085#comment-274 It seems to me that the hardest bit would be recognizing when the bozo bit has been flipped. After all, no-one likes to think of themselves as a bozo. So how do you know? It seems to me that the hardest bit would be recognizing when the bozo bit has been flipped. After all, no-one likes to think of themselves as a bozo. So how do you know?

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