Institutional Affiliate of American Congress on Surveying and - CLSA

Most 'Nice-Guy'
Managers Fail
"NiCE-GUY" MANAGERS <strong>of</strong>ten try
to become tough guys but frequently
fail. The winners: tough-minded
managers.
Nice-guy manager symptoms: Every
nice-guy manager prays that problem
employees will go away if he or she is
just pleasant with them.
Nice-guy results: The opposite happens.
Employees see through the
avoidance behavior and run roughshod
over the manager. The nice-guy
manager loses respect.
Finally, the nice-guy manager becomes
a tough guy, usually driven into
a rage by snowballing employee problems.
Angry, tough-guy actions, such
as an abrupt firing, follow. But the actions
fail, <strong>of</strong>ten because <strong>of</strong> inadequate
warnings or documentation.
The solution: Strive to be a toughminded
manager, solving problems
before a crisis develops.
• Meet immediately and privately
with an employee as soon as a
problem is spotted.
• State the problem factually and
specifically, letting the employee
know action must be taken now.
• Listen to the employee talk about
the problem but don't get sucked
into evasions or arguments.
• Get a promise <strong>of</strong> action that will
solve the problem, and follow up
on the promise.
• Document every phase <strong>of</strong> the problem.
Source: Gareth 5. Gardiner, associate pr<strong>of</strong>essor
<strong>of</strong> managemenl, Sangamon State University,
Springfield. IL 62794. Reprinted from Communicalion
Breitings, March 1989. ©
^Every man owes a part <strong>of</strong> his time and money to the
business or industry in which he is engaged. No man has
the moral right to withhold his support from an organization
that is striving to improve conditions within his sphere.^
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How to
Convince
Your
Boss
IF YOUR BOSS is the type who
doesn't usually react favorably to
new ideas, consider these approaches:
• Shape your idea so that it can
be approved by your immediate
boss. If the boss has to go
upstairs for approval, it might
never happen.
• Discuss the idea with your
peers and others who might
be affected. If the boss says,
"The others won't like it,"
note that you have obtained
support <strong>of</strong> the people who
would be involved in the
change.
• Find something is the company
guidelines or policies
that will support what you
want to do. Bureaucrats, especially,
love to follow manuals.
• Explain how the change will
help the organization get
where it wants to go faster,
easier, and perhaps cheaper.
• Use company jargon and
terms that are hot buttons in
your organization. If possible,
relate the change to something
that is one <strong>of</strong> the organization's
key goals or
objectives.
• Offer three reasons why your
idea should be accepted. Two
may not seem like enough
and four may be too many.
From The George Odiorne Letter, MBO
Inc., 5531 9th St. N., St. Petersburg, FL
33703. ©
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14 The California Surveyor Fall 1989