Re: Working later than the boss

Subject: Re: Working later than the boss
From: "Gene Kim-Eng" <techwr -at- genek -dot- com>
To: <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 10:08:57 -0700

I must have an unusual experience then, as I have never had
a problem finding people willing to accept delegated authority
in my absence. Unlike Anonymous' manager, however, I
would not attempt to delegate to someone who was unwilling
to accept it, or expect people to stay later than I do without a
corresponding adjustment to their starting times, lunch hours
or whatever else worked for them. As for hiring people to do
things I (or others in my group) don't want to do, if this was
not being done on a regular basis, there would probably be
a lot fewer tech writers in the world today. The trick to
doing it is to hire or promote someone who *wants* to do
the things you don't want to, and Anonymous' manager has
obviously blown it in trying to make Anonymous her selection
for this.

Also, because I only hire people who are more or less
self-motivated and generally only require my involvement
in their work if they need another perspective on some decision
they're having difficulty making or some manager level pressure
on some uncooperative person or group, "delegated authority"
in my group is usually limited to having someone in-office who
can sign off on a PTO request from a junior staff member or
send out the "Bob has gone home early with a toothache"
memo to the rest of the group after I've left.

However, I have previously made the observation that
there are a lot of people on this list who probably would
not like working for me. So just to be on the safe side,
the next time I post a position I'll be sure to provide a list
of which responsibilities in it are things I don't want to do.

Gene Kim-Eng




----- Original Message -----
From: "Mary Arrotti" <mary_arrotti -at- yahoo -dot- com>


> Janice makes some good points.
> Unlike service people you hire in your non-work life, a good manager shouldn't just hire people to do things or work hours that
> he/she doesn't want to.
> A manager's responsiblity isn't to make his/her job or life easier - it's to get the work done and to manage and develop people.
> When managers shirk their responsibilitues - that's an issue between the manager & upper management. It's not necessary (and is
> often unwise) for an employee to address this in any way. That doesn't mean that employees should cover for their managers or make
> unreasonable personal sacrifices.
> However, managers who do have the respect of their subordinates and lead by example are more likely to have employees willing to
> go the extra mile.

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References:
Re: Working later than the boss: From: Mary Arrotti

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