I think all managers on occasions struggle with which hat to wear. We live in a very confused world where people can have wildly different priorities that stretch from war in the Ukraine right through to gender neutral toilets.
Most successful managers evolve into highly efficient mangers of their time. They cover the ground fast, the old saying of “if you want something done ask a busy person” was attributed to American Benjamin Franklin who died in 1790. He was a polymath (someone of wide knowledge who uses different bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems), Franklin used this attribute in many fields as a writer, a scientist, statesman, diplomat, inventor, printer, and political philosopher.
But would Benjamin Franklin have made a good manager in the world of today?
How can we ever know?
What is certain is that Benjamin Franklin did more to shape the United States than possibly any other man.
What is different today?
What is the new normal today? Covid has thrown everything up in the air. One company I know grades their work force as either free range or caged. Free rangers can operate efficiently on their own remotely. Caged operate best with others in a defined area. There are those who can “WFH” and those who find it challenging for any number of reasons.
Today more than ever Managers are “managing by spreadsheet”, is there another way?
At Westaways we need more staff
I was pondering how we might double our work force; our compostable packaging is winning more and more business, and we need another full team to man another production hall.
It is then I saw the review heading up this blog. These three lines made me a) very happy and b) gave me the answer. We need to do more of the same.
So here are some ideas
Throwing money at the problem is never a long-term answer here are some thoughts, we all can do these better.
- Make sure new employees are welcomed to the team, have I met them, can I remember their name, what else do I know about them?
- Recognise them, open the door for them, check in with them.
- How did they get to work, was that easy? What if it rains?
- Celebrate success, note to self……we must do this better
- Surprise people, flowers in the office, birthday cake for all
- Muck in and join the team
Above all show that you care about we do and that you care about the whole team and be grateful.
If you want to be on my team talk to me and tell me what you want to do at Westaway Sausages.