“Everyone is worth saving. Everyone is worth saving.” Jimmy was muttering under his breath as he walked into my office. “Hi, Steve. I’m here for our one-on-one. I have a real problem.” “OK, let’s hear it.” “Frieda is a problem in my group.” “Jimmy, we have discussed Frieda before. I thought you were going to […]
Have you been in a position where you–or your manager–wanted to save a difficult employee? Maybe you felt as if you bent over backwards to save an employee? Don’t do it. In this myth, Management Myth #6, I Can Save Everyone, I confront the myth that every employee somehow has a place at every organization.
I have another management myth, this one about ranking systems posted up at Techwell. This one, We Can and Must Have an Objective Ranking System, I suspect will generate much discussion. Be my guest!
I’ve been writing a series of management myths this year. I didn’t realize when myth #3 went live and #4 went live yesterday. Management Myth #3: We Must Treat Everyone the Same Way and Management Myth #4: I Don’t Need One-on-Ones are up. Please leave comments over at Techwell.
One of the biggest management myths is, “I must treat everyone the same way.” In our organizations, we have career ladders that try to fit us into “ticky-tacky” boxes for promotion, assume that everyone brainstorms the same way, and that everyone likes the same kind of projects. Nothing could be further from the truth. Everyone
I have another management myth column posted over at Techwell: Management Myth #2: Only ‘The Expert’ Can Perform This Work. What do you think? Please comment over there.
How many times have you seen this in your projects: You need something specific done such as a new database, or a specific user interface designed, or you need a release engineer, or a user interface designer, or a part of the system tested and the normal person who does that work is not available?
A manager took me aside at a recent engagement. “You know, Johanna, there’s something I just don’t understand about this agile thing. It sure doesn’t look like everyone is being used at 100 percent.” “And what if they aren’t being used at 100 percent? Is that a problem for you?” “Heck, yes. I’m paying their
The full title of this management myth is: “If I just do a great job, the organization will run like a well-oiled machine.” Nothing like setting yourself up for failure, eh? Let’s unpack this myth. First, organizations are made up of people. And, let’s assume that they all come to work wanting to do a