We are slammed with projects and our team are not completing the items considered priority. Our project managers cant come up with any more excuses as to delays. Each day we are putting out fires and shifting our priorities based on which client is upset.
Where we are:
We are currently in a stage where each week we find ourselves with more than 5 projects in sensitive stages every week.
Where we want to go:
The goal is to minimize the amount of projects that are in the “sensitive stage” each week with client’s projects. I would like to move in a transition of finding ourselves focused working on time or ahead of time each week rather than catching up on projects every week.
Question: What steps can we take to get there? If you have any thoughts on this, please leave a comment below.
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I find myself having to pick up where my assistant left off b/c this individual takes forever to get it done sometimes. Despite that I prioritize what’s important, my assistant starts to fall back on what’s important and everything starts to pile up. I deal with a very competent individual and do not think firing is the solution. I wish I can see these assignments get knocked out without having to get involved. Any suggestions?
I am the youngest member of my team but recently took over the group’s management responsibilities. I got along with all these people before but I don’t feel they listen to me now that I am their direct boss. They tend to openly question me during staff meetings and always go to my boss when they don’t agree with a decision or directive. I was not sure if I was being too sensitive so I asked a colleague to observe some of our interactions and she confirmed my thoughts. I’m not sure what to do at this point.
On another note, I feel very uncomfortable in having disciplinary conversations with my team. I know some of them very well and socialize with some of them outside of the office. I read some management books but didn’t feel they offered any practical suggestions. Any help would be appreciated?
Let me start off by saying I work with a great team of individuals. We work in the advertising field and have to deal with a lot of pressure to perform under deadlines. However, as the lead on the team, I have become a little worried about the professionalism of the team. Things can get a little loose and informal around the office and at times some of my team have been offended by the comments of others. Usually the comments are meant to be harmless but I’m beginning to think someone is going to go too far one day and a major complaint is going to be filed.
I also worry about how some of my team act and conduct themselves while with clients. Sometimes I don’t think they know how to act like professionals and don’t realize how their image can have a negative impact on how the firm is viewed. Anyone have a similar experience. What did you do?
I have been the head of an international private banking department for the past couple of years. Life has been challenging over the past 6 months. It seems like we have so many different work styles in the office and no one seems to be getting along or communicating with one another. Some of my team has been with the company for more than 20 years and we also have many recent additions straight form college.My hunch is that all the different backgrounds are contributing to the issues we are having in the office right now but I’m not sure what steps I should take to address this. What I do know is that our projects are behind schedule and revenue is being negatively impacted.
I have a sales person that has been with me a long time and has been one of my top producers. However, he is always late to work and is not following some of the other policies that are important to a good work environment. He has even done some things which have really gotten clients upset and senior management always seems to brush it off. I have spoken to him about his conduct and he just ignores me. To make matters worse, he is a favorite employee of the CEO as they have been together since the beginning of the company and used to go drinking together before they both got married. What should I do as this is disruptive to the rest of the department and makes me look bad?
As you know we are currently facing a downturn in the economy and have too many people and are going to have to do layoffs. We have to figure out whom to layoff. We have a big dilemma because one of our employees that we are thinking about laying off is going through a big divorce and we are afraid if we lay her off the husband will try to use this against her in the custody battle. She has been a good personal friend but she is not as talented as one of our other people. This is just one of the examples of the struggle we are having choosing whom to let go as we love all of the people that work for us. What should we do?
I have been the director ofmy team of account executives for the past two years. All of them are receptive to feedback except for my most senior person, who has been with the firm for 10 years. Every time I bring something to her attention or point out a way she can improve, she becomes very defensive and begins complaining how overworked she is and how loyal she has been to the firm in the past.
On several occasions, she has even begun to cry and ends up leaving the room before we can resolve anything. I want to be understanding of her perspective but her workload is not higher than anyone else’s. I’m not sure how to approach her but I need to resolve this since it is having such a negative impact on our work relationship and it is beginning to affect the others on the team.
I manage a team of regional sales representatives for a nationwide pharmaceutical firm. The team performs well for the most part and reaches their quarterly and annual quotas. Unfortunately, I have a problem with my top sales person. While his numbers are great,I have received a couple of complaints from his territory that he is over-aggressive in his approach and sometimes uses inappropriate language or “slang” when visiting offices. I brought these issues up at our last meeting and his response was positive and he promised to change the behavior. However, in my last “ride-along” with him, I noticed the same behavior. I did not say anything because I am concerned that I might stifle his performance. So I need some help. How can I get this high-performing employee to address some of these problematic behaviors without impacting the skills that make him a great salesperson?
