Bait, Tackle, Ice, Advice and Beer Blog » Julie Silbar

Micromanaging: Is it you or them?

Julie Silbar — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 14:06:15 +0000

Just as you probably have, I have come across many managers who micromanage their employees. According to Dictionary.com there are two definitions: to manage or control with excessive attention to minor details and To direct or control in a detailed, often meddlesome manner. Most of you who have dealt with this type of manager know that it is not conducive to a comfortable, productive, and stable working environment.

If you think you are this type of manager, please pay attention. There are two types of micro managers; one that manages their entire staff this way and one that manages one to two people this way, or better yet, none.

If you are managing your entire staff this way then the problem is you and you need to change your ways quickly. If you trust your staff to do the job they were hired to do and you continually see good results then you need to back off. Let your employees do their jobs without being smothered by you. Competent, smart employees do not need your input on what type of paper clips to buy or need you to question every decision they make. Let them flourish and only step in when they need or ask you for guidance or you see that something that needs to be corrected.

If you are managing one or two people this way, then it’s probably for a good reason; and that reason should be that they have done something to warrant being scrutinized for a while to assess their job performance. Meaning, it is them, not you. If by micromanaging for a bit you can correct their behavior and get them back on track then great! If you do not see a change in job performance then it is time to cut them loose. You, as a leader, have better things to do than to continually manage in this way. Not to mention it is not fair to the rest of your team.

I am, in no way, stating that you shouldn’t offer your staff feedback. Positive or constructive feedback from time to time is beneficial. In fact, I have a different blog I will write soon to cover that subject.

So, in summary, if you are meddling in your staffs’ business on a daily basis, stop it. If you trust your staff to do their job and you keep your interference at the 20,000 foot level, rather than the 2 foot level then keep up the great work. You will have happier, more productive, employees because of it.

><(("> Julie Silbar

Julie is a ><((“> Friend of Catch Your Limit, a management and marketing firm with offices in Tallahassee, Florida and Richmond, Virginia. To contact Julie email her at julie.silbar@redlion.com or to learn more about Catch Your Limit, visit www.catchyourlimit.com.

Know When to Hold ‘Em; Know When to Fold ‘Em

Julie Silbar — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:52:00 +0000

I wish I would have written this, but I must give credit to our VP of HR. It is spot on. Enjoy.

Know When to Hold ‘Em; Know When to Fold ‘Em
As a leader, if you find yourself complaining about your associates, you should consider whether you are doing something wrong — or not doing something right. You might not have figured out how to find or keep good people, or you may have kept the wrong people, or you may have unrealistic expectations. I have made every mistake.
I believe that if you want to run a great operation, you should be happy with 100 percent of your people. It is better for your customers, it is better for your associates and it is better for you. There are many good, honest, hard-working people out there who are looking for jobs. If you keep someone who isn’t good, honest and hard-working, it’s not just your problem, it’s your fault. You’ve probably heard the old cliché, “you are only as strong as your weakest link.” It’s not just a cliché – it’s true. Take a good hard look at your staff. Do you have weak links? Why? Why aren’t you doing anything about it?
Being nice to everyone does not make you a good boss. It could, in fact, make you a bad boss. The purpose of business is to get the job done for the customer, to provide a respectful work environment, and to make a profit. [We are calling 2010] “the year of accountability.” It is the only way we will be able to achieve what we have set out to achieve for the year – having the right people, in the right places, doing the right things. Accountability often means making tough decisions to insure you have the best possible associates on your team.
If you want to run a great operation, you have to know when to quit, or in this case when to fire. Is it fun to fire? No. Does it make your life easier and provide a better product or service to your customers? Yes. Does it make for a better environment for your other associates? Yes. Does it make you a better boss, if you define better as being effective? Yes.

><(("> Julie Silbar

Break the Silence

Julie Silbar — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 04:04:00 +0000

I was sitting at a dinner with some colleagues from work the other night and there were a couple of lulls in the conversation. I started to think of fun ways to break the silence and get the conversation going again. I didn’t actually try these, but they were fun to think about. So, next time you find yourself in an awkward moment of silence, try throwing out these questions and/or thoughts and see where the conversation goes!

1) In Scooby Doo, how much less trouble would Velma have gotten into if she didn’t wear glasses? (she always seemed to be losing them)
2) Why do many rap and/or hip hop songs lately reference Patron Tequila and has it increased their sales?
3) How or why did anyone come up with any reason to open a clam, mussel, or oyster and then say “mmmm, this looks good to eat!”? (not sorry that they did, but just saying…)
4) Gilligan’s Island – this is just a great topic for anyone over the age of about 30. It can get a little out of hand though if comparisons between MaryAnn and Ginger start, so be careful.
5) Why do Canadians measure personal weight in pounds, height in feet, but use the metric system for everything else? (we actually did discuss this at dinner because one of the guys was Canadian)
6) What if the Bermuda Triangle is really a time portal and that’s why ships and planes disappear?
7) Seriously, why does McDonald’s only serve breakfast until 10 or 10:30am? Who wants a Big Mac that early?
What’s the grossest thing you’ve ever seen someone eat?
9) Talk to the people you are with as if you are continuing a conversation that you had with someone completely different that day.
10) Propose marriage to someone at the table who is the opposite sex. Be completely serious.

I’m sure I could think of many more, but feel free to give it a go. They can certainly liven up a conversation!
Disclaimer: I do not guarantee that you will have success using these and do not recommend them for job interviews.

><(("> Julie Silbar

Confrontation Can Be Healthy

Julie Silbar — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 16:37:00 +0000

There are many people who are very uncomfortable with confrontation of any kind. I used to be one of them. However, what I’ve figure out about confrontation is that it is almost always healthy when handled in the right way, but it also depends on what kind of leadership style you use.

I had a confrontation with a co-worker the other day and at first it was very heated. We are both very passionate about our jobs and the issue needed to be discussed. Now, since she is the one who initiated the conversation, I could have easily just listened, let her speak her mind, and let the conversation end with me being upset. However, what would that have gotten me? It would have pacified her for the time being, but left a huge elephant in the room because I would have had all sorts of points to make that were never spoken and possibly vented to someone else about it. That type of reaction is counterproductive and can be very dangerous. Instead, I shared with her my point of view of the issue, while still listening to her. By the end of the conversation we were both able to admit that each of us had valid points and agreed to work on the issue together.

To put my usual “movie spin” on my blog, there are numerous scenes I could have chosen to use as an example, but I happen to be watching the movie Office Space and found a great one. There is a scene where two consultants for a company are discussing productivity efficiencies and a person of interest named Milton comes up. It is revealed that he was actually let go five years earlier, but due to a payroll glitch and lack of communication he was never told and still thinks he works there. The “leaders” ask the consultants if they took care of it and they say “no, we took care of the glitch [in payroll]” and that by doing that the problem will just work itself out. Unfortunately, sweeping situations like this under the rug do not help anyone. It doesn’t help the associate and certainly doesn’t help the organization/leader. I realize this wasn’t necessarily a fight scene, but it does demonstrate how being afraid to confront someone with something and just ignoring a situation might be the easier solution short term, but will just end up hurting both parties worse in the long run.

Confrontation, also allows one to work on leading with their conscience rather than their ego. Leading with your conscience is a very small part of a leadership style called servant-leadership – you may have heard of it. By putting your ego aside and letting your conscience takeover by telling you what’s right and what’s wrong, you can more easily see someone else’s point of view and then learn from it. It doesn’t mean the other person is always right, but it frees your mind from the shackles that your ego can put on your decision making and leadership skills.

Handling confrontation is easier said than done, but it is so much healthier for relationships than one or both parties being passive-aggressive. So, the next time someone confronts you or something is bothering you about a situation don’t ignore it or bottle it up. Try to talk it out. It will most likely turnout positively, especially if you put your ego aside, open your mind, and really listen to the other person. If they don’t, so be it, at least you will have done what you know is right.

><(("> Julie Silbar

How do you know your leadership style is a good one?

Julie Silbar — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 01:56:00 +0000

As leaders, I think we sometimes wander around wondering if we are being effective. How do we really know? There are all sorts of measurements: did we meet our bonus goals? Did we meet budget? How did our associate surveys turn out? There are many things that can tell us how we are doing at managing our departments and personnel, but how do we know we are good leaders?

I believe there are two things that can tell us if we are being an effective leader. One, I believe that the biggest compliment can come from those you are leading. If they appreciate you and show it, if they follow your leadership examples, if they trust you to lead the way; those are all huge compliments and signs that you are a good leader.

The second way I believe you can truly tell if you are a good leader, and that your leadership style is working, is by getting a compliment from your peers. That wonderful thing happened to me today. Not only did it happen to me today, but it happened in a meeting with many of my peers. In addition, my CEO was in attendance. Not one, but two Directors, who I respect greatly, commented on how much they admire how I run my departments – yes, plural, I have two departments that I oversee. One of my peers made the comment that she wished I could bottle up my leadership style and give it to others. I was floored. It was such a huge compliment. To have it said and then seconded by another peer in front of my CEO was priceless. I was humbled and flattered.

Truth is I wish I could bottle it up to show others. It is so easy for me, yet so hard for others, but it took years of practice and lessons, hard lessons. I learned that you have to listen, you have to problem solve, you have to concede at times, you have to be assertive, and you have to care. Most importantly you have to put your ego away, which I’ve blogged about before. That does not mean that you can’t be confident and even arrogant when needed, but for the most part your ego has to be hidden from view. Ego gets in the way of making decisions that are good for all.

There are so many more nuggets of “great leadership made easy” that I would love to share, but I will simply leave you with this: listen (no, really listen) to your staff, be assertive in order to get things done, help problems solve, really care about your staff, and put your ego away. I guarantee if you can do those things, you too will get compliments from those you lead and be admired (and even envied) by your leadership peers.

Good luck!

><(("> Julie Silbar

The Friendly Skies?

Julie Silbar — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:59:00 +0000

I read an article recently on Yahoo.com about the top 7 things that passengers do to annoy flight attendants. I actually appreciated the article because, as a frequent flier on multiple airlines, I could empathize with (and yes laugh at) many of the things on the list. Since my husband has elite status on 2 major airlines, for about the 7th year in a row, and a friend of mine works for a major airline, I even forwarded them the article knowing they would also get a good chuckle out of it!

However, in fairness to us lowly passengers and in light of the fact that I am currently sitting on an airplane, I decided to write a top 10 list of things that flight attendants do that annoy passengers. I tried to stop at 7 to keep it fair, but I just kept thinking of things.

Disclaimer: not all flight attendants act this way, but the ones who do really make flying miserable…

Let me start by saying that I consider myself a good passenger. I always say please and thank you. I smile, even though I don’t always get a smile back. I step into the row when boarding, just like their little announcement says to do, even though the passengers in front of me don’t. I actually check a bag and don’t try to shove everything I own in the overhead bin. I shut my cell phone off before they even make the announcement. I try to make their lives easier. Today, though, I’m wondering why I even try.

Here goes…
10. Going along with one of the things I mentioned above: When a passenger smiles, try to smile back. If you can’t, then maybe bring it up with the airline that you’d like to start charging for smiles, since you charge for everything else. At least we’d be guaranteed a return smile.

9. When someone says thank you, try saying “you’re welcome”. Even my 3 year old daughter can do that without being reminded.

8. When you’re handing us a drink and we’re in the middle or window seat, try to actually look where you are handing it rather than leaving it to chance that we’re going to have a firm grip and not dump it all over our fellow seat-mate’s laptop. What your fellow flight attendant did last night is not nearly as important as making sure we don’t spill our precious 4 oz. of liquid that we have to ration like a refugee for 2 hours.

7. We realize that you are trying to do your jobs as efficiently as possible, so you can get back to the galley area to read another magazine or gossip (yes, I’ve overheard this many, many times), but advances in technology are helping us endure these long flights while we’re locked in a 16×48 inch space. Therefore, have a little tolerance when you ask what we would like to drink and we have to take a second to either pause our device or take our earphones off.

6. Please make up your mind on the segregation of restrooms on the plane. You make the announcement that passengers in first class should use their restroom and passengers in coach should use theirs, but yet you let passengers from coach use the first class restroom. I could care less either way, but either enforce it or don’t announce it. Also, that whole post-9/11 rule about no line forming in the front galley should also be enforced.

5. Remember that your coach seats are designed for people under 5 feet tall, so on a long flight we actually like to get up and stretch, so our legs actually work when the plane finally lands. You get to walk around the entire flight, we don’t. Show a little sympathy without rolling your eyes and sighing when we have the gall to stand up next to our seat for a moment.

4. As with this flight, don’t get bent out of shape when the captain waits until 2 hours into the flight (no turbulence at all) to turn the fasten seat belt sign off and then get annoyed when half the plane gets up to use the restroom.

3. On that same note, when we do get up to use the restroom, don’t get equally as annoyed when you decide at that very moment to serve another round of 4 oz. beverages and roll your eyes and sigh when we are trying to get back to our sardine can seats.

2. Award tickets = people who fly your airline ALL THE TIME and have enough miles to spend on a ticket (probably multiple tickets). Award ticket ≠ someone who is too cheap to buy a seat and should be treated like a beggar on the street and who should feel privileged to be flying your airline. Award travelers should almost be treated better than someone who bought a ticket because it means they are loyal to YOU! Shouldn’t that count for something?

1. Unless you’re going to start having a dress code for first class, stop treating young, casually dressed passengers different than 40 plus year old men in business suits. I can wear a suit too, but since I travel so much I like to be casual and comfortable. Yes, this could mean jeans, sweats, a hat, etc…, but I do bathe everyday and put pants and shoes on just like the person in the business suit. However, being dressed casually does not mean I am any less of a person than “business suit” guy and I should be treated with the same respect you give him. Use my name just like you do his, look me in the eye, hang my jacket up, serve me a drink, etc… just like you do for him… with the same friendly smile.

If you can manage some of these things, then I will continue to be a good passenger and not do anything on your top 7 most annoying list which, by the way, was really funny and very true! And, again, I realize not all flight attendants are like this. I’ve encountered many who do not treat me any differently whether I’m on an award ticket, in first class in sweats, or have to pause my movie or iPod when they ask me what I would like to drink, and they smile when I smile; and I appreciate it greatly!

Here is the link to the Yahoo.com article for those of you who want to make sure you are not one of the offenders!
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-28078669;_ylc=X3oDMTF2YWJnM21wBF9TAzI3MTYxNDkEX3MDMjcxOTQ4MQRzZWMDZnAtdG9kYXltb2QEc2xrA2Fubm95YXR0ZW5kYW50LTYtMi0wOQ–

><(("> Julie Silbar

Confrontation can be healthy

Julie Silbar — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 04:23:00 +0000

I had a confrontation with a co-worker the other day and at first it was very heated. We are both very passionate about our jobs and the issue needed to be discussed. Now, since she is the one who initiated the conversation, I could have easily just listened, let her speak her mind, and ended the conversation. However, what would that have gotten me? It would have pacified her for the time being, but left a huge elephant in the room because I would have had all sorts of points to make that were never spoken and possibly vented to someone else about it. That is counterproductive and can be very dangerous. Instead, I shared with her my point of view of the issue, while still listening to her. By the end of the conversation we were both able to admit that each of us had valid points and agreed to work on the issue together.

To put my usual “movie spin” on my blog, there are numerous scenes I could have chosen to use as an example, but I happen to be watching the move Office Space and found a pretty good one. There is a scene where two consultants for a company are discussing productivity efficiencies and a person of interest named Milton comes up. It is revealed that he was actually let go five years earlier, but due to a payroll glitch and lack of communication he was never told and still thinks he works there. The “leaders” ask the consultants if they took care of it and they say “no, we took care of the glitch [in payroll]” and that by doing that the problem will just work itself out. Unfortunately, sweeping situations like this under the rug and not confronting them does not help anyone. It doesn’t help the associate and certainly doesn’t help the leader and/or organization.

Confrontation, also allows one to work on leading with their conscience rather than their ego. Leading with your conscience is a very small part of a leadership style called servant-leadership. You may have heard of it. By putting your ego aside and letting your conscience takeover telling you what’s right and what’s wrong, you can more easily see someone else’s point of view and then learn from it. It doesn’t mean the other person is always right, but it frees your mind from the shackles that your ego can put on your decision making and leadership skills.

Handling confrontation is easier said than done, but it is so much healthier for relationships than one or both parties being passive-aggressive. And, trust me, it gets easier the more you do it.

So, the next time someone confronts you, or something is bothering you about a situation, don’t ignore it or bottle it up. Try to talk it out. It will most likely turnout positively, especially if you put your ego aside, open your mind, and really listen to the other person. If they decide not to listen to you, so be it, at least you will have done what you know is right and the next time will most likely have a much differnt outcome. And, if you need some help, don’t hesitate to ask!

><(("> Julie Silbar

Out of sync?

Julie Silbar — Sat, 16 May 2009 15:31:00 +0000

I was IM’ing a friend of mine the other day (funny how you can make any word a verb these days) and I was telling her that I just felt “off” and out of sync. Things just didn’t seem to be going right. I just chalked it up to work, school, being sick, etc…; you know – the usual suspects. She then told me that it was because Mercury was in retrograde. I couldn’t help but tilt my head to the side and say “huh?” as I know nothing about astrology other than I’m a Cancer, so I asked her what that meant. Basically, she said when Mercury is in retrograde it throws the universe totally out of whack.

Interesting. I decided to look it up and here’s what I found:

A planet is described as retrograde when it appears to be moving backwards through the zodiac. According to modern science, this traditional concept arises in the illusory planetary motion created by the orbital rotation of the earth with relation to other planets in our solar system. Planets are never actually retrograde or stationary, they just seem that way due to this cosmic shadow-play.

Fascinating. So, it’s a planetary illusion that is causing me to feel angst? I read on…

As a rule, retrograde planets mark a period of seemingly inevitable or fated events that relate to their sphere of influence. Unresolved issues from the past tend to rear their heads. Retro phases present us with a series of events over which we seem to have little or no conscious control, relating especially to the sign in which the retrogradation occurs.

Little or no control… hmmm… I don’t like not being in control, so that makes sense. What else?

Mercury retrograde gives rise to personal misunderstandings; flawed, disrupted, or delayed communications, negotiations and trade; glitches and breakdowns with phones, computers, cars, buses, and trains. And all of these problems usually arise because some crucial piece of information, or component, has gone astray or awry.

Aaahhh, it’s becoming clear. I’ve been trying to get a huge contract signed at work and have been going back and forth between the business groups and lawyers for weeks!

It is also a time when matters begun under a previous retro period will come to fruition, or completion as the case may be. Firm decisions that have been previously made when Mercury is travelling normally through the zodiac may be implemented or finalised while Mercury is retrograde without too much worry, for experience shows that this can be done without undue problems arising.

Yes! We did get the contract signed yesterday!

It all made perfect sense now! Mercury has been messing with my life lately! The good news, however, is that it is all supposed to be said and done by the 14th of June! Whew! Unfortunately, it is supposed to start again on September 7th.

So, if you’ve also been feeling out of control, out of sync, or just out of it, blame it on Mercury being in retrograde! I am!

Although it could simply be work, school, and/or being sick.

For further enlightenment on this subject please visit the site where I got this great information: http://www.astrologycom.com/mercret.html

><(("> Julie Silbar

Is There Anybody Listening?

Julie Silbar — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 21:54:00 +0000

Ok, so I chose the title from an old 80’s hair band song, but it works! Name that band if you wish.

Regardless, it is a valid question. I am constantly amazed by stories of vice presidents, CEO’s, managers, department heads, etc… who are basically tyrants and dictators rather than leaders because they refuse to listen to others. Seriously, if you are going to be a leader and have a management team or executive team to whom you refuse to listen then why have them? Wouldn’t it be easier and cheaper to skip the interviews, disregard work experience and educational experience and just hire a group of people you can pay the lowest possible salary, so they can just run around and do your bidding? For some CEO’s, that is exactly what they should do. It would save a lot of time and energy and stop wasting very talented people on “leaders” who refuse to truly listen to them.

“You have to be willing sometimes to listen to some remarkable bad opinions. Because if you say to someone, ‘That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard; get on out of here!’—then you’ll never get anything out of that person again, and you might as well have a puppet on a string or a robot.”
— John Bryan

Take a friend of mine’s company. It is a very prominent company in the travel industry. They got a new CEO about one year ago and he came in with the attitude that he knew how to do everything better than everyone else and he was smarter and had more experience than everyone else on his executive team. He is obstinate and leads with his ego. That is a very, very dangerous combination because it means he will not entertain the ideas of those around him. He has some very accomplished and smart people on his team, yet he refuses to listen to their ideas, suggestions, concerns, and issues. He simply wants puppets on strings. He is very close to losing some very gifted people and he doesn’t even realize it because his ego won’t let him. It is sad, but it will be a huge coup for other companies who can gain from these very talented people.

So, what is the big deal about listening? If you don’t listen you can never learn, which means you cannot lead. Leaders who listen to those around them are well informed about decisions they need to make. They can and should rely heavily on their peers and subordinates, as they are most likely very well educated and/or experts in their field. Sometimes the best ideas come from the most unlikely sources, but you have to listen first.

“We should never pretend to know what we don’t know, we should not feel ashamed to ask and learn from people below, and we should listen carefully to the views of the cadres at the lowest levels. Be a pupil before you become a teacher; learn from the cadres at the lower levels before you issue orders.”
— Mao Tse-tung

So, leaders please put down your ego, step away slowly and listen. Listen to your management team, executive team, or whomever else you can in your organization and truly hear what they are saying. Contrary to what you think, you do not have all the answers. If you are not willing or able to do that then you are wasting their time and talent and you are certainly not being an effective leader.

Find more fabulous quotes on listening at http://www.leadershipnow.com/listeningquotes.html

><(("> Julie Silbar

History in the Making

Julie Silbar — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 04:14:00 +0000

On a solo trip to the grocery store the other day, I heard the most amazing thing; a daughter was arguing with her father. No, that wasn’t the amazing part, that happens all the time. The amazing part was that she was arguing with him about history! I stopped for a second, but then I just smiled to myself and kept pushing my cart. I was so happy that on the day before one of the most historic inauguration’s our country has ever seen, a teenager was enthusiastically discussing one of the world’s revolutions with her father. Furthermore, he was intently listening and engaged by the conversation. I wish I could have eavesdropped a little more to be able to tell which revolution she was discussing; was it the French or the American? Or one of the many others? Oh, who cared! All that mattered to me was that she was discussing one of them.

I know sometimes we get caught up in the politics of public vs. private vs. home schools, but regardless of where this girl was getting her education, she was passionate about it. She was truly enthralled by history and to that I applaud her teacher, whoever it may be.

I was a tad envious, as it took me quite a while to get caught up in history. It took a mini-series called North and South, based on the novels written by John Jakes to get me engaged in the American Civil War. My keen interest in World War II has been building throughout my adult life and was fueled by a series on the History Channel called The Secrets of WWII. Most recently, I’ve become obsessed with Queen Elizabeth I. For you women leaders out there, watch, read, and learn from her. She was a woman who rivals many leaders, man or woman, even in this modern day and age.

But I digress. The point to this blog is that I am so very, very happy to have witnessed a scene between teenage daughter and her father that many people fear doesn’t exist anymore. A young girl who wasn’t talking on her cell phone, talking back to her dad, being sarcastic, etc… (yes, I was a teenager once) and a father who was truly listening to what his daughter was saying and encouraging a healthy dialogue about a very important piece of history.

So, a big thank you to teachers, to fathers who aren’t too busy to hang with their daughters, and to teenagers – we adults don’t give you enough credit sometimes. And here is to history, may we learn from it and keep making it.

><(("> Julie Silbar