Dear Coach Paradise,
I read your article "It's a Zoo Out There." I was in the same place, and your suggestions were right on. The one thing that you didn’t focus on too much was how to get your former coworkers on your team rather than in a different camp. It’s not easy, but doable, and I’m hoping this will help your manager in distress and any of your regular readers.
The fact that you already know what is involved in doing the “floor” aspects of the job is a big plus. It’s important to “keep your memory green." You really understand what makes doing the job a breeze and what gums up the works, and now you are in a position to do that stuff you wished your manager had done (or not done).
The other big plus is that you know your team really well — no lengthy getting-to-know-you period. You know their strengths and their weaknesses. Knowing what people do well is the key: You can put together projects and promotions that fly because the right people are in the right places. You can shore people up and provide opportunities for them to grow and learn.
I was a pretty well-liked coworker, and am a well-liked and respected manager, so there is a lot to be said for an upbeat attitude, enjoying your job and being the kind of person who sees the glass as half full and starts any conversation (or performance review) with what is working and a word of praise — before suggesting that there may be another way to do or look at an area that needs some tweaking.
You asked your writer to picture how they’d want to show up and be greeted. I love getting hellos and hugs and warmth, as well as people coming to me with their problems and concerns and their successes. If power doesn’t go to your head and you see management as an opportunity for everyone to get ahead, that’s the secret.
Keep up the great columns.
Signed,
Happy Manager in a Happy Department
Dear Happy,
Thank you for writing my column for the week! I couldn’t have said it any better. Coming from a real manager who has been there, done that, is worth its weight in gold.
You have really brought to life the coaching principles that I keep talking about, whether in one’s personal or professional life. They all stem from acting authentically by being true to your values and what matters most to you, choosing to focus on what is working and what you want to create, and understanding that being a really great manager means being a coach for your employees.
Coaches are dedicated to empowering their clients to become able, competent, conscious and confident and moving forward toward their dreams and goals. Managers do the same. Managers have the additional mandate to do this in the service of a larger mission, as well as needing to figure out the best way to channel all this wonderful energy toward accomplishing the goals of the company or corporation. This is an exciting and challenging role, and many managers and CEOs have their own coaches to empower them, keep them on track and find solution-based/out-of-the-box way to deal with problems. I commend you for being a great role model, and consider your employees and your employers very fortunate to have you in their camp.
To your outrageous success,
Coach Paradise
Editor's note: Coach Paradise (AKA Anne Nayer), Professional Life Coach, is a member of the International Coaching Federation, an MSW clinical social worker-psychotherapist and a medical case manager with 30 years experience working with people of all shapes, sizes and challenges.
For further information about her services, call 774-4355 or email her.
