Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with managing

On how to be the type of supervisor that doesn't drive people crazy

geegollygosh — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 19:57:45 -0800

I'm going to be supervising people for the first time this summer. How can I do it well? I'm going to be coordinating a day camp (the kind with kids) this summer, which means among other things supervising five 20-something staff and a weekly revolving cast of 3-4 high school 'staff' throughout the summer. Four of the five older staff are returning from last year so they kind of know how things go.

So it's a fairly fun and informal atmosphere, but also one where things will be pretty crazy with small children everywhere and not a ton of room for error (trying not to lose any children!). Keeping this type of thing in mind, I want to keep the work environment as fun as possible-- the kids will have more fun if the staff is having fun, and honestly it's not a super well paid job so I want staff to at least have a good time.

The overarching organization is pretty defunct in a lot of ways which is going to drive me crazy but is not really in my control so whatevs, I will deal with it as best I can and try to keep things as functional and bs-free as possible within my realm.

I've thought a lot about what I've liked in past supervisors (or, well, actually mostly what I DON'T like), things like:

-Being on the ball with their end, making sure I have what I need to do my job
-Being specific about what they want me to do, writing things down for me if directions are finicky or not common-sense, having written procedures I can refer back to
-Being funny and upbeat
-Respecting my time-- not asking me to stay late unless there's a very good reason, not unnecessarily taking up my time if I have things I need to do during the workday, being succinct during meetings
-Appreciating me-- letting me know if I've done a good job, bringing in treats if it's a particularly stressful week
-Admitting it when they made mistakes rather than trying to cover them up in unconvincing ways

What are some good/bad supervising practices that you can think of, trying to keep in mind the context of a summer camp and young-ish staff? What have you learned about supervising people you wish you would have known when you started? There are similar ask mefi questions but they tend to be more geared toward a corporate environment or people with more work experience.

10-year plans don't say what needs to be done tomorrow.

Anonymous — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 15:59:11 -0800

How can I better "manage my managers" who can only think in the long-term? They have lots of really great ideas which never go anywhere because they don't schedule people to work on them. I work in a very small company for a couple, one of which is sometimes in the office. They have wonderful plans for their company, and the employees all agree we have great goals, but we are getting more and more frustrated that we never get to work on them because we are stuck doing day-to-day and/or fire-fighting stuff. I understand this is the money-making side, but to be honest we're only just breaking even. The bosses think their new ideas could be much better money makers, but they don't seem to understand that they need to invest some employee time into research and development to make them really happen. We really can't do what they're suggesting without significant changes to our schedules.

How can I/we talk to them about this? What phrases can I use? I have already suggested we need to build a 'roadmap' and I think they understand that. But every couple weeks there is some new idea, we all chat about it, and then nothing gets done. How can we all break out of this frustrating cycle?

I want to be an awesome manager. What books should I be reading?

Anonymous — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 17:09:51 -0800

I want to be an awesome manager. What books should I be reading? I work for a start-up. The entire company is about 200 employees, and I am a new manager to about 30 of them.

What books -- both "classics" and new-school stuff -- should I be reading to give me a well-rounded understanding of what good managers do (and don't do)? Things geared towards start-ups would be especially good.

Managing your boss

pakora1 — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 09:10:49 -0800

Managing your boss or her expectations I recently started a contract position. In the initial phone interview with the manager, I wasnt too impressed and felt that the interview didn't go well. To my surprise I was invited to meet the team and then selected for the job. I had conveyed my initial impressions about the manager to my recruiter. Fast forward to this week, my impressions were confirmed. Although not a complete loss, she does have a condescending attitude and tends to micro manage like crazy. Everything that I say is met with a rebuff. One theory that I have is that my qualifications are way over hers (our title and job duties are the same) and she is threatened a bit by me. I finally snapped at her and the next day she was a bit better. It could also be that she is looking for a replacement which is fine but I am just curious about some things here.

Some questions-

Why would someone hire you if the phone interview didn't go that well?
Why would someone be short/rude/condescending right from day one (I have had no spats with her, frankly not even enough interaction to do so)
How do you handle a boss who is almost your peer (same title, same background or less, who micro manages and is rude to you from day one)
How do I guage if this is just me or she is the same with others. I havent seen that behavior for others in her but the rest of the team is far away from where I sit.
I believe she has never managed anyone before, what do you think I should do in this case?
I could leave anytime as my qualifications are highly transferable but I love this work and want to complete the 6 months I am there.

Would love your thoughts and experience in such a case. Like I mentioned.

Thank you

how do I manage a foundering co-founder?

Anonymous — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 19:49:47 -0800

How can I be less strong at work? I am managing equity development for a start-up in Europe. Bad times so please don't bother mentioning it. I have had a good run since I arrived in October and was rewarded with two staff for my department last week. Problem: one of them is the co-founder of my company. He is not capable of working on a project he will not get public credit for. I am at my wit's end with his shirking of deadlines and his "right away" promises. How do I deal with this difficult position? I have a strong sensibility around Getting Things Done and I try to lead by example by doing a lot of research and planning ahead. I probably write two or three proposals a week. I began to have problems with this co-founder when I came. He was generous to offer time for me and then continued with a line of behavior which made clear to everyone that he could not complete assignments in a timely manner. He frequently will not do a job at all and then give an eloquent reason for his lack of responsibility. Which is extremely frustrating. I had told him that personally I could see him elevating back to being in line with me in six months but now I am in doubt. I feel like I am partially at fault because I am a strong manager who gets things done and he can take advantage of my getting things done so he doesn't have to.

What can you recommend that I do?

Any jobs that deal with classifying or indexing information?

stedman15 — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:17:03 -0800

Please help me come up with jobs where the main duty is organizing or classifying information. I have been an attorney for the past 7 years and despise it. My undergrad degree is in business administration, but I've never used it.

One thing I've noticed that I enjoy is when I'm asked to organize or index information. I've created several indexes to help me find information I need personally or professionally. I've never taken any formal coursework in this area. I also like to index information I find on the Web in blog or notebook form so that I can forward things on to people when asked or post it to help someone.

I know librarians are very involved in information management, but I would like to avoid going back to school if possible. I also know there are database management jobs, but I don't have any IT experience. I would be willing to learn the IT stuff on my own if necessary.

Are there any jobs where a law or business degree would allow me to do what I propose?

(in theory) I'm a manager, how do I get my staff to start treating me like it?

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 12:05:48 -0800

(in theory) I'm a manager, how do I get my staff to start treating me like it? When I started this job a year ago, I had no managerial experience. The staff is very small (besides myself, there is the owner, a manager and 4~ other staff members).

I was asked if I'd like to become assistant manager after the current one started to act flaky. At the time, another coworker, who'd been working there for about a year before this, thought he was going to take that role.

His work performance began slipping though, and so they asked me. I accepted, and was very excited. I learned how to manage the safe, counting the cash and dealing with the bank stuff. I learned how to do the labor logs. I've been doing the stores inventory sheets for the week by myself for 6 months now.

But the coworker who assumed he'd be taking the position I did was pretty resentful, and made this clear pretty passive-aggressively. He was nice to me, as long as it was not mentioned that I held this position. And any time it was mentioned he would launch into a rant about how he should have had this position, to any of the other workers who were around (this was not necessarily true, he really wasn't all that great. He was quick! But he did not do any work without specifically being told to do it, but because he never got in trouble for any of this from the other manager or the owner, I never wanted to complain about him. It was clear they both really liked this guy.)

He pretty much made it clear that I was only manager by default. And I'm pretty sure the other employees came to believe this too. And now I find myself believing it, whether it is true or not. (He was eventually fired, but the whole staff who works here were there when he was treating me this way as well).

And it's affecting my interactions with the staff, and with my management. I'm not especially socially adept to begin with, and now that I feel everyone's judging me and feeling that I'm not really in charge I find myself faltering anymore. And they've asked me to do firings, and I've helped with hirings, and training, so I do believe this role is more than just a title.

Especially now, because the other manager is leaving, and I'm going to be learning how to do the weekly orders, which is the only thing I don't know how to do. I will be manager, not assistant manager, anymore. And yet part of me can't help thinking this is circumstantial too, like I'm only getting this promotion, again, because I'm the only one available.

So what I need to learn asap:

1) how to interact with my bosses (and coworkers) without being so awkward. I have a hard time even striking conversation (small talk, even) with the bosses lately, and a hard time taking myself seriously with the staff

2) how to be a boss, how to take myself seriously so they will take me seriously too. Things to say, how to act. Mantras to repeat to myself, or something, when I start to doubt myself.

As an aside, I know my performance is not a problem, which makes this even more frustrating. I know that I do a great job, they leave notes for me telling me how I've done such-and-such well, and yet I still feel awkward around my bosses.

How do I manage a team that was manager-less?

Anonymous — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 07:47:38 -0800

Does MeFi have any tips or tricks to help me start managing a team that has already 'formed' without a manager? I am due to start a new job in the next month. I will be managing a production team who work on a wide variety of material including print, web, social media and video.

The whole department is new and my role is the last to be filled due to it going through the first round of interviews without them wanting to employ anyone. The team will have been together for about 3 months by the time I start.

My team (of 6) will be made up of people who already worked at this organisation - having been moved or promoted into these roles - and total newbies.

I have never taken over a team that has already formed and was wondering if MeFi had any top tips or tricks to help me?

Don't steal this book.

Anonymous — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 09:26:08 -0800

One of my employees has been accused of theft. Please help me investigate. I'm a supervisor at a university library. We have a reserve collection of textbooks for each class, which are available for two-hour checkout. These are not meant for students to use instead of buying their own books, but are for when a student has left a book at home or in the car or whatever. We only have a couple texts for each class.

One title in particular, a supplement to a textbook, is gone. We had two copies. Neither are checked out in the system. Now a student has come to tell me that he saw one of our student circulation workers with that supplement (clearly marked as a library book) in class.

Our student workers do have the ability to take books and desensitize them without checking them out, and this particular worker has done that in the past. He was warned, and as far as I knew, had stopped doing that. There have also been complaints about him on other issues, and I know that he has been officially reprimanded by university administration, although I don't know the details.

If the worker did indeed steal, or perma-borrow, this book, it's a major honor code violation. He could be expelled. I'm sure he knows this. How do I find out if this accusation is true? If I ask him, I'm sure he'll deny it. Do I ask to search his bag? Do I give him an opportunity to return the book, no questions asked, as long as it's back on the shelf tonight? How far should I pursue this?

How do I learn to manage up?

Anonymous — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 10:41:56 -0800

tips and resources for "managing up?" i like my job, my team, my coworkers, and my VP.

in-between me and my VP, there exists a director. nice guy, wants to be everyone's buddy...which means he does as little as possible to manage, plan, skirts responsibility, avoids confrontation or advocacy for his team. he's always johnny-on-the-spot when [major brand client] calls and wants a contact @ our co., but unavailable when his team is in the line of fire or resourced inadequately for a project.

i'm new to this experience. how do i turn this frown upside-down?

(anon because a few coworkers are on mefi, thanks)

How can I be a better leader when there's adversity?

Melismata — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:45:13 -0800

How do you carry out, and encourage, instructions that you really, really disagree with? I realized recently that one of the reasons why I was a mediocre supervisor at my last job was because I totally didn't believe in the way the higher ups were running things. (I wasn't the only one; there were lots of problems there.) For example, I would say that we needed a dedicated assistant to do administrative tasks, but the HUs would say, no, you all need to spread that work amongst yourselves, and it's your job as the supervisor to make it happen. Then, when people got aggravated and quit because the work wasn't challenging, HUs would yell at me for not encouraging people to stay. But the fact is, I couldn't do that because I completely agreed with them! They would complain and I could only reply, "yeah, it sucks, doesn't it, but the HUs won't give us any help." (I had the numbers to prove we needed administrative help, but HUs only reply was that I should get people to work faster, and then they'd have time for everything.)

Another example: I head a national committee on some guidelines on how to format some stuff, and everyone has decided that we need to add some guidelines that are, IMO, unnecessary and a time-sucker. I know, because I had to follow them informally for a while and I asked some end users what they thought, and they agreed that it was a waste of time. But still, all the national people voted to add them and so I not only had to write the formal guidelines but encourage my committee members to use them. I wound up being very neutral in my emails about the whole thing, but I didn't go around promoting it, which perhaps I should have since I was the leader.

A third example: I direct a church music group, and the new head priest has decided to put us in a new location that everyone hates. He also has placed limits on our repertoire, because he has definite ideas about how the church service should go, something that has never happened before, and all our members are outraged. I wanted to be a good leader and say, "there there, it will all be ok," but the fact is, I'm just as pissed too. (In our denomination, the head priest has the final say on these matters.) I think the priest expects me to sooth the group, though he hasn't explicitly said so.

The president of my old company told me, when I was butting heads with my supervisor, that "it was my job to carry out her instructions, regardless of whether you agree, and that's what makes a good leader." So my question is, how exactly do you do that?

This is not a question of "how can I learn to get along with higher-ups better?" If you're going to answer with "just learn to suck it up and get along and stop nitpicking" or "just figure out a way to agree with them," then please give thoughtful reasons as to why you think so. There must be examples of some head honcho at, say, Microsoft, who thinks that Gates's new idea is crap but he'll have to promote it anyway. How does that happen? Does it require lots of bullshitting, or acting? Or becoming a tyrant to those I'm trying to lead, which is the only thing that might have worked in the first example? Perhaps I'm not cut out to be a leader, but before I throw in the towel I'd like to see if I can work on this issue. Is there some Leadership 101 book that I should read? I'm kind of introverted and don't expect to run a company any time soon, but I'm smart and don't mind taking charge some of the time, and I would like to have a better answer than "yup this sucks" or "don't complain to me, I agree with you!"

Thanks! Sorry for being so long-winded.

Help Me Learn to Manage Difficult Volunteers

cobaltnine — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 13:57:52 -0800

I need your book suggestions for managing volunteers or communicating with people. There's plenty out there, but I can't seem to find anything regarding my specific problem: I have really old volunteers, and few younger ones with cognitive problems. First off, I should mention that I'm the kind of person who needs to take notes when reading Andrew Carnegie. I'm half-engineer and I got my socialization genes from him. I'm not in the best position to manage volunteers, but if I don't do it, no one will. Basically, though, it comes down to needing books (preferably) or other resources on managing the following types of volunteers:

1. The much older. All books I can find on managing older volunteers are aimed at the '55-65 recently retired' group. Mine are about 80 and of varying levels of mobility - most of them still drive, though, and most of them are still mentally fine. They're social, rather than efficient. Suggestions I find for the elderly are all 'have them knit things,' which isn't useful for a historical society/museum.

2. The cognitively impaired. One of the volunteers has some age-related cognitive problem and is difficult to communicate with. For example, last Saturday, when I wasn't there, she flipped out that I emptied a display case and it was sitting there, empty. The problem is, we emptied it *together* on the Tuesday before. Another volunteer has metal fragments in his brain and shell-shock. He tells increasingly strange, and pointless, lies (like how he knows certain languages.) This wouldn't be a problem except that he interrupts tours with this misinformation and, because he's kind of loud and big, he scares the crap out of the few visitors we have. We've tried just giving him things to do, but he has phobias we can't predict (ladders, the view out one window) and so we don't really know what to do with him.

Thank you in advance for suggestions - I'm managing the first group okay, but the second group is disproportiately causing difficulties reaching my goals (whipping this place into a decent-looking museum --> getting a paying job in a museum elsewhere.)

How to import updated bookmarks from IE to Firefox?

casarkos — Mon, 08 Mar 2004 19:24:31 -0800

Finally decided to make Firefox my default browser, but the bookmarks it imported from IE are four months old. Is there any way to get the updated ones without handcopying?