i hate this part of the job… taking corrective and disciplinary action
TRANSCRIPT
I hate this part of the job…
Taking Corrective and Disciplinary Action
What was I supposed to do?!?!
Life and personnel issues is about…
Finesse
Finesse Opposite of coarseness or crudeness Light touch…not heavy-handedness It's spirituality, subtlety, and intelligence,
that leads to a deeper understanding It’s perceptiveness combined with a great
deal of sensitivity to feelings It’s not a flourish, or an add-on but rather
something fundamental about who we are
Elements of CookingMichael Ruhlman
Finesse is about…
–Context
–Humility
–Courage
–Doing the right thing at the right time
Context
Context is the key to understanding everything
What’s the context of your office?
We “game” performance measures We give up thinking we can do better Managers are seen as powerless with no
solutions Use shortcuts forget they are compromises Conflict as units prevent cases from
coming in or “dump” cases on othersDee Wilson
Presentation to the LegislatureJanuary 18, 2008
What’s the context of your office?
Transfers from tough units/programs to less demanding units
Social workers leave the work
Multiple vacancies put unit into crisis Increase in sick leave Few care about quality
Dee WilsonPresentation to the Legislature
January 18, 2008
“The truth will set you free! …but first, it will piss you off”
Gloria Steinem
Humility
Humility
Aware of your feelings and behaviors
Honor others Feelings / Context / Dignity
Reality of the situation
Humility is accepting the message sent by your actions…
Cheap? Always bring that $1 bottle of soda pop / rarely pay your share
Don’t Care? Forget special days / meetings / conversations / names
You have rules I don’t! Set rules you don’t follow? (Come late to work - Leave early)
Complain and Gossip? Vent frustrations with staff
Humility
Survey says!...Supervisors fail when they:
Show anger easily Can’t handle stress Awkward with your own emotions & emotions of
others Lack the ability to understand / sympathize Unaware and/or don’t care if your emotions affect
others
Emotional Intelligence & Evidence based practice!
So what?
How does this help with personnel issues?
– Understand the problem
– Manage the fallout with others
– Take care of yourself
Let’s talk…
Restaurants
All great restaurants are alike…
Create a dining experience Fresh IngredientsGreat ChefGreat ServiceRespects the Customer
All great Chef’s are alike…
Know great food
Details matter
Takes charge
Handles stress
Thick skin
You are the… Owner Chef Servers Customers
Caution!From the outside it may seem funny…
but from the inside there is nothing funny about it
Context: Everyone knows the truth
Food is lousy Chef can’t do the job Owner does not know what she’s doing
System of cooking – Microwave old food Attitude of Owner
Chef is the Owner’s favorite Rescues / Shames / Treats Chef as a child Value System - “Family”
Owners style of feedback – Hit and Run Anxiety of the Owner over HR issues more important than:
Customers / Her Debt / Other Staff having a job
Owner
Debt $2 Million – No customers
You have already let go of 33 staff
You know the food is poor
What’s holding you back?
Chef
You did not create the cooking system
You hear the complaints – how does that feel?
Do you like how the Owner treats you?
As the job changes can you do the job?
Servers
What’s it feel like when customers complain?
What do you think about the Chef?
What do you think about how the Owner treats the Chef?
Why can’t you be honest with the Owner about the Chef?
Are your customers leaving a tip?
Customers
Do you care if the Restaurant closes?
How does it feel to complain about the food?
Are you coming back?
What could the Owner do?
What changes can you make to address HR decisions in the future?
If the TV cameras were not there would you have replaced the chef?
So…
What are you going to do?
Find your Courage
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage
Anais Nin
Courage to be…
Honest with yourself
Honest with others
Misunderstood
Honest with ourselves
We may not be as good or as bad as we think . . .
?
Honest with ourselves
“There are many people who think they want to be matadors, only to find
themselves in the ring with two thousand pounds of bull bearing down on them, and
then discover that what they really wanted was to wear tight pants and hear
the crowd roar.”
Terry PearceLeadership coaching …A Contact Sport
Honest with others…
The Jerk (attacks / insults / belittles - offers nothing)
The Slacker (does little or nothing to help)
The Depressive Pessimist (Life sucks… give up)
30% - 40% drop in group performance
Now what?
The proper use of power and authority is to bring peace
Leadership through Compassion
“I’ve learned to at least attempt compassion with everyone that I deal with. And if compassion doesn’t work to calm the
person down, then I have to have compassion for myself and not blame
myself when people make the choice to still have anger towards me. I have to
treat myself well when I get home so I can still be a good person on the job.”
Police officer – Madison , Wisconsin
“
“Perhaps I can find new ways to motivate them…”
Darth Vader
What are we looking at?
What cannot changeMotivation (Attitude & Drive )Thought pattern (How they think )Personal style (Who they are)
What can changeSkills (Within limits)Knowledge (Content)
So what are you going to do?
Disciplinary Action
Know your audience
Know what do we do and why do we do it?
What policy supports this? What does the data say about the person,
unit or office?
What are the faces behind the numbers?
Know the Rules . . .
This is an evaluation… or performance feedback session… or reprimand… not a negotiation
A personnel file is a file about the employee; not the employee’s file
Screaming at your supervisor is not protected under the Bill of Rights
(Administrative Policy 18.64)
B U T . . . But… what about all the good things I’ve done?
But… I need more training!
But… I won’t sign the evaluation, performance feedback memo, etc…
But… I need more supervision! (I can’t believe how much time this guy takes!)
But… others are not evaluated like this!
Is there something you need to tell me?
Do you need a Reasonable Accommodation?
Is there something else going on?
It’s hard work…keep going…
“If you are going through hell, keep going”
~Winston Churchill~
Leadership is not safe
Pursue the
OSM!
OSM!“The first time I went down that run, I was going way too fast, and I realized
I’d just made the biggest mistake of my life. When I got to the bottom I
couldn’t wait to get back up and do it again”
Jimmy Shea Olympic Gold medalist
Skeleton event
Salt Lake City Winter Olympics
Pursuing the OSM is not safe…
You are going to make mistakes!
Some things are just bad luck…
Some things are just not a great idea…
You are not alone…
The inventor Thomas Edison was asked why he needed a team of 21 assistants?
“If I could solve all the problems by myself, I would”
