Overnight Delivery
The HR daughter
and fourth-year medical student, Rachel, called excitedly last
week to report that she had delivered her first baby! Even
though she had been working for 31 hours straight with only a
few hours sleep, I could tell by the excitement in her voice
that something extraordinary and wonderful had
happened.
I heard many
details about what happened, although not any reference, dear
HIPAA Compliance Officer-readers, to the name of the patient.
This was a time of celebration and satisfaction in knowing
that Rachel was there, knew what to do, was part of a strong
team and had prepared for contingencies.
I later recognized
that the elements are the same ones that make any project
successful. This includes those far less dramatic achievements
we see every day at work when we imagine a particular outcome,
develop a plan to make that outcome possible, anticipate
possible problems and symptoms of trouble we might encounter,
and prepare for likely contingencies. The result of this
process will very likely translate into a successful
project!
Our work "project
baby" will, hopefully, be delivered on time, within budget and
will achieve what it was designed to achieve. Our hard work
would have paid off as we leave at the end of the day to catch
up on our rest. We can feel satisfaction and excitement about
what we have helped accomplish.
The attending
physician in the OB/GYN unit said to Rachel, "Now that you
have delivered your first baby, youre a real doctor!" Not
quite true, although the milestone is significant. The reality
for a teacher in a medical school, or a mentor at work, is the
fact that our job as an executive is often to encourage other
people to accomplish their goals, sometimes through
constructive criticism, and to be ready with recognition and
praise when they are successful.
When a project is
assigned to a new employee, especially one whose career is
just beginning, it is also important for the mentor or
supervisor to recognize that a very big part of their
responsibility is "just to be there" in the case of a question
or a problem. Arguably, that is the major role of a physician
during childbirth.
For millions of
years, babies have been born to people who are not members of
HMOs and who had no attending physicians or medical students
in sight. The outcome, despite the lack of sophisticated
high-tech health care support, is overwhelmingly
successful.
Before we get too
arrogant as supervisors, its a good thing to look back and
remember that often our main job is to get out of the way of
other people and enjoy watching their success without
micro-managing it. "Just being there" Just being ready to
intervene if absolutely necessary is very important. Knowing
when not to intervene and letting a person grow from
experience and sometimes take a reasonable risk is equally
important.
Whether the
subject is delivering a baby, preparing a staff report on a
new project, or helping a manager deal with something new,
such as an employee disciplinary action, the need to be ready
to help without overwhelming or frustrating the efforts of a
colleague is a delicate balance to be learned through
experience not necessarily gained in a classroom. It is an art
to be practiced consciously. Achieving this managerial balance
between encouraging a subordinate to risk and excel versus
just jumping in, taking over and running the project, is
perhaps the best marker of a seasoned supervisor and
manager.
Years later, the
baby just delivered, the new project just approved by the
elected officials, or the brand new subordinate just out of
school may come back and pay you a visit so you can see
first-hand the achievement you helped to deliver.
All the best
wishes for speedy delivery of results.
Phil
Rosenberg The HR Doctor http://www.hrdr.net/
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