Castaway MMA v2.0

osubuckeye4 said:
There's a couple ways you could do it.

1) You could schedule a 'performance review' or 'touch base' or whatever you want to call it meeting and go over everything (positive and negative... don't pile on with the negative) and praise him for what he does well while clearly defining your future expectations from him and making sure he's on the same page as you.

2) Every time you have to do one of his duties for him or correct something he messed up, you can email him and let him know so that he's aware. You want to be careful with that one if the guy has stress issues though... might push him over the edge and backfire. Me, as an employee, I prefer this one and I've told our senior management if I fuck up... even if it's a small procedural thing and not a major issue... they better let me know so I can fix it. Some of the people I work with get really offended if senior management calls them out on the little stuff though. That's a tricky one, really should only be used when you are sure you have a read on the person.

3) If you have time to do it, you could always take him under your wing a bit and mentor him on the aspects of the business that he doesn't seem to be able to pick up on his own. Schedule some time to meet and go over best practices. Maybe you show him some 'demo' letters and tips and tricks for how to perform better at those aspects of the job.



Just some ideas... when I had employees that weren't getting the job done my first inclination was to meet under the umbrella of a 'general performance review' and subtly ask them why. I wouldn't shut the door and throw the fuck-up in their face. It was more of a, "here's the good stuff, here's the bad stuff, here's what I expect from you going forward" and then based on their response I would figure out how I would proceed.

I'd say a good 50% of the time they weren't even aware that there was an issue, and it would get solved simply by me going over the thing they fucked up and them saying, "oh, I was taught not to do it that way... I'll do it your way going forward".
Click to expand...
Thanks for that. There are a few things that I took to heart and will try to accomplish. I appreciate your effort in responding.
 
I do your number 3 all the time. I'm not the be all and end all of project management, but I am pretty good at it. I have a few tricks up my sleeve.

If you didn't notice, I can be witty. That's one of the things you have to sharpen as a project manager. Construction is a very unforgiving venture. You have to be sharp and relentless, and also friendly with soft skills.
 
That's pretty much why I'm going to write and preach a sermon on my own at church, two weekends from now.

Any suggestions on what I should preach about?

I'm thinking I should do a sermon on being an outsider and becoming a Christian as a sinner. Like me, I'm a sinner.

I think I should preach on believing Jesus is Lord, even when you are a totally deprived human being. Believe in Christ and you will be saved.
 
mrducks said:
That's pretty much why I'm going to write and preach a sermon on my own at church, two weekends from now.

Any suggestions on what I should preach about?

I'm thinking I should do a sermon on being an outsider and becoming a Christian as a sinner. Like me, I'm a sinner.

I think I should preach on believing Jesus is Lord, even when you are a totally deprived human being. Believe in Christ and you will be saved.
Click to expand...

Hmm, I've never given a sermon or thought about how I would go about doing it.

My general advice towards voluntarily public speaking is to try to stick to things you know/believe in... and to make an attempt to generalize those things enough so that just about anyone in the audience can follow along.

Seems like that is what you're doing, so I think you're on the right path.
 
mrducks said:
Thanks for that. There are a few things that I took to heart and will try to accomplish. I appreciate your effort in responding.
Click to expand...

osubuckeye4 said:
Hmm, I've never given a sermon or thought about how I would go about doing it.

My general advice towards voluntarily public speaking is to try to stick to things you know/believe in... and to make an attempt to generalize those things enough so that just about anyone in the audience can follow along.

Seems like that is what you're doing, so I think you're on the right path.
Click to expand...
Thanks man. I will do my best. I already know what the topic will be. John 3:16. That's what I need to do for my first attempt at a sermon.
 
mrducks said:
Thanks for that. There are a few things that I took to heart and will try to accomplish. I appreciate your effort in responding.
Click to expand...
And, I'd add, document, document and document. If you are giving him feedback, do it in writing.

Eventually, you've got to separate the "like this guy" from the "boss" part of things if he continues to underperform. My least successful leadership role was my first one from like 25 years ago, I was part of a team and we were all drinking buddies, traveling all over the country auditing regional operations during day and partying by night; then I got put in charge. I had a difficult time transitioning from "buddy" to "boss" and giving the tough feedback when needed. Granted, I was like 28 and didn't have any leadership experience, but I think it's still in the ballpark of what you are describing. But that separation is vital to effective leadership. Not that you have to be a dick to the guy or anything, but it sure sounds like a firmer hand and more clear message is warranted.
 
mrducks said:
He's been with our company for 3 years. The dude is an absolute stud at doing meetings and briefings. His military background is a real asset.

But, he's screwing up in other areas. Particularly in doing change orders and in accounting for costs. The private construction world is different from being in the military. I do everything I can to help him. I write his letters, if they are important. I help him deal with subconractors.

That's what I do. I'm a project manager. I like to be nice, but sometimes I need to be firm, and almost lawyer like.

I love my veterans though, and wil continue to employ and stick up for them.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a people pleaser. That can either be sharpened and used to actively manage other people and situations, or it can be tip-toed around until the very people he intends to please are all pissed at him.
 
Brick said:
And, I'd add, document, document and document. If you are giving him feedback, do it in writing.

Eventually, you've got to separate the "like this guy" from the "boss" part of things if he continues to underperform. My least successful leadership role was my first one from like 25 years ago, I was part of a team and we were all drinking buddies, traveling all over the country auditing regional operations during day and partying by night; then I got put in charge. I had a difficult time transitioning from "buddy" to "boss" and giving the tough feedback when needed. Granted, I was like 28 and didn't have any leadership experience, but I think it's still in the ballpark of what you are describing. But that separation is vital to effective leadership. Not that you have to be a dick to the guy or anything, but it sure sounds like a firmer hand and more clear message is warranted.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that Brick, I think you are correct and knowlegable about this.
 
mrducks said:
I'm not bashfull about writing stuff on here. I just need to write a sermon that will last about 15 minuted.
Click to expand...
How about humility. Start with the Greek word Humus, which means earth, ground, or soil.

Take it from there Mallard.
 
ABB said:
Sounds like a people pleaser. That can either be sharpened and used to actively manage other people and situations, or it can be tip-toed around until the very people he intends to please are all pissed at him.
Click to expand...
He definitely is a people pleaser. Lieutenant Dan. I love the guy.

I will never fire him, but maybe put him in a different role? He's so good at doing briefings. I mean, he's really good. He used to brief the Marines before battle.
 
mrducks said:
He definitely is a people pleaser. Lieutenant Dan. I love the guy.

I will never fire him, but maybe put him in a different role? He's so good at doing briefings. I mean, he's really good. He used to brief the Marines before battle.
Click to expand...
Is he caving to change order proposals from subs? If so then he needs to learn how to push back on those, which doesn't mean rejecting them outright as much as it means breaking the CO request down to smaller pieces and allowing some of those pieces through while rejecting others. If he's the guy I'm thinking of then it's important to him that he's liked by his subs. If he doesn't show the ability to be firm and hold the line then subs will walk all over him.

If he's been with you for 3 years then he's shown an ability to be teachable. You can teach him without wiping his ass.
 
Brick said:
And, I'd add, document, document and document. If you are giving him feedback, do it in writing.
Click to expand...

100%

Every performance review I did I'd have a checklist (one I created on my own time, but that I had our HR sign off on) that was pre-filled out that I'd give to the employee for their records... and which I'd retain on my end and be able to provide to HR if the employee ever tried to circumvent me and go over my head.

I found the key was to make an honest effort to be balanced. Don't just pile on with what they are doing wrong, make time to meet to highlight the good as well. Most importantly you need to set clear expectations. A lot of times people don't even realize they are fucking up until you point it out to them.


I'll also add that sometimes you do everything right and get stuck with someone who is unwilling or incapable of doing the job... better to catch and release that person early (for both your benefit and theirs) than let them linger on for years and get comfortable.
 
ABB said:
Is he caving to change order proposals from subs? If so then he needs to learn how to push back on those, which doesn't mean rejecting them outright as much as it means breaking the CO request down to smaller pieces and allowing some of those pieces through while rejecting others. If he's the guy I'm thinking of then it's important to him that he's liked by his subs. If he doesn't show the ability to be firm and hold the line then subs will walk all over him.

If he's been with you for 3 years then he's shown an ability to be teachable. You can teach him without wiping his ass.
Click to expand...
You hit the nail on the head. That's exactly what he's doing.
 
ABB said:
Is he caving to change order proposals from subs? If so then he needs to learn how to push back on those, which doesn't mean rejecting them outright as much as it means breaking the CO request down to smaller pieces and allowing some of those pieces through while rejecting others. If he's the guy I'm thinking of then it's important to him that he's liked by his subs. If he doesn't show the ability to be firm and hold the line then subs will walk all over him.

If he's been with you for 3 years then he's shown an ability to be teachable. You can teach him without wiping his ass.
Click to expand...
I'm not the sole proprietor like you are in your business. But I still have a lot of skin in the game.
 
mrducks said:
Thanks for that Brick, I think you are correct and knowlegable about this.
Click to expand...
A couple days ago, I reminded you that you told LidMo you didn't like me and told me to fuck off. And you did say the same thing about @Brick.

Now, you like us! WTF? Which one is REAL? And please don't say it's because you were drunk.
 
mrducks said:
I'm not the sole proprietor like you are in your business. But I still have a lot of skin in the game.
Click to expand...
I'm a corporation. A small corporation, but not a sole proprietor.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top