Policies established to create order often unintentionally keep people from thinking. “Let’s face it: corporate environments and modern organizations are the perfect setup for diminishing leadership and you have a certain built-in tyranny. The org charts, the hierarchy, the titles, the approval matrixes skew power toward the top and create incentives for people to shut down… Continue reading Policies can unintentionally keep people from thinking
Tag: policy
Having an Employee Performance Metrics Policy
About two years ago, pondering some of my new managerly duties, I wondered, “How do you rank employees?” Every year I have to rank employees and make tough decisions: Should we extend that internship? Should we promote that developer? How will we distribute raises? I can’t manage based on my gut. It’s not enough to feel… Continue reading Having an Employee Performance Metrics Policy
Having an Open Door Policy
When you become a new manager you might want to say to your folks, “Hey, my door is always open.” Then shoot them a crooked smile with your finger gun. I know I did. In the spirit of over-thinking everything I went further and posted a formal open-door policy. As with many of my ideas,… Continue reading Having an Open Door Policy
Everything I Do Doesn’t Have To Be My Idea
I want to take advantage of others’ experiences. But isn’t it phony for me to use some technique I read about in a business blog? For example, I might come across a podcast at Manager Tools that talks about how to give feedback. The podcast tells me rules to follow, words to say, and how to behave.… Continue reading Everything I Do Doesn’t Have To Be My Idea