LT: 3p||<

If you are in a position where you manage people, you ought to be careful about what you say to your subordinates. My ex-colleagues from another department had the misfortune to work under a manager who had these words of wisdom for them with regards to a project that was threatening to overrun the deadlines: “Don’t ask for a deadline extension unless you have worked 24/7 and over weekends as well.”

Perhaps that manager was misguided into thinking that the people under his charge will either be scared to the extent that they will work harder, or they will not be scared but still soldier on anyway. Unfortunately, he should have realised that people can also choose to walk away, and once that happens, domain knowledge and expertise goes with that same person as well.

Managers who take on the role as people-managers should realise that all their staff always have the option of tendering their resignation regardless of the importance or progress of a project. I’m just thankful that all the managers I had to report directly to so far in my career have not made such an unreasonable demand as the aforementioned manager. Even if deadlines are tight and cannot be moved, there are kinder and gentler ways to bring the message across.

It’s appraisal time now for people at many companies, so it’s also better to be nice rather than naughty. Don’t get your hands caught in the cookie jar, especially now!

However, sometimes the appraisal process may be given too much credit than its worth (hmm… sounds like subprime borrowers…) From many anecdotes that I have heard, the appraisal process is just a paper-play process to appease HR that a proper appraisal is being done. Too many people have complained that appraisals were conducted AFTER the employee ranking exercise was already done. This greatly devalues the appraisal and increases distrust in management.

Appraisal is not a one-time event but it should be a continuous process. Managers should not wait for a certain date on the calendar to give feedback and inform their subordinates that they are not satisfied with their work and progress. Problems should be arrested as early as possible to benefit all parties: the company, the manager and the subordinate. The appraisee should not be caught by surprise and thinking “WTF?” during the appraisal exercise. Ideally, it should instead be a review of the comments and feedback that were exchanged between appraisals. I’m sure the ideal cannot always be achieved, but it should be something that we all strive for.

One of the skills that we need to learn is “when NOT to take action.” In present times when almost everything is driven by benchmarks and deadlines, sometimes it may be prudent to take a broad overview of the various factors involved in a project and know when you should stop doing some things instead of forging ahead and finding yourself stuck between a rock and the very hard place.

It may sound counter-intuitive, but sometimes the best way to move forward is to either standstill or take a step back.