Integrity. The
word itself brings many thoughts and emotions. Integrity is quite possibly the most important aspect of
one’s self, and how well it is protected and portrayed is up to you. I was taught that integrity was like
virginity: no one can take it from you, but once you give it up, you cannot get
it back. As I have grown as a
person, leader, and manager, I have learned that although this statement is not completely
true, it expresses the importance of the need to protect your integrity. I personally once took a hit to my
integrity–my fault completely–and it took years of hard work and
self-discovery to gain it back. I
fought hard, as will you if you choose to ever give any part of it up. Integrity is doing what is right,
always. Doing what is right is not
always easy. Doing what is right
when no one is there to see it is tough as well. You may be tempted to cut a corner when people aren’t
looking – that is a hit to your
integrity. You may take advantage
of your perceived power, and feel ‘above the law’ – that is a hit to your integrity. You may knowingly take advantage of a certain situation to
advance your own agenda and let others fail – that is a hit to your integrity. When you see something wrong, and choose to not correct it,
or say something – that is a hit to your integrity. If it sounds similar to trust, it is. You can gain and lose people’s trust
based solely on your integrity.
The question you need to ask yourself every moment of every day is, ‘am I willing to give up my integrity’?
Ultimately, giving up any part of your integrity is a choice, and all
choices have consequences.
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Management Principles #11: Verbatim Compliance
#11 Verbatim Compliance
For
the purpose of this portion, verbatim compliance is about following the
procedures and the books. The
procedures we use and follow every day in project management have been vetted
through the years. I often find that many people think they have better ways to
do business other than the way that has been written. However, their ways haven’t gone through a rigorous process
to be verified prior to being written and published. People run a risk every time they choose to not follow the
book verbatim. I understand that business adapts, but one should put forth the
effort to get new methods written and approved prior to using them. There should be no argument in
following procedure. You do not get to choose which ones to follow and which
ones to ignore, but you always have the choice to submit a change if you feel
there’s a better or different way to perform. I understand that in creative workplaces this may not always
be the case, and am open to the argument that verbatim compliance in some
organizations is not effective. However, in more traditional workplaces,
following the book is a necessity.
Management Principles #10: Responsibility and Discipline & #12 Symptom, Illnesses and Details
Management Principles #10: Responsibility and Discipline
& #12 Symptom, Illnesses and Details
If
you want to be a manager you must accept responsibility. This does not mean you are responsible only
for your actions, but responsible for the actions of others around you as
well. This is a very tough thing
for some people to understand. As managers,
we often reap the benefits of the successes of our subordinates. So it only
goes to say, if our people make a mistake, then we must be held responsible for
that mistake as well. This does
not alleviate those who work for you from being responsible for their own
actions, but you have a certain level of responsibility for those actions as
well. The toughest part is
realizing how to fix the mistakes that may have been made that you are now being
held responsible for. The first,
and perhaps most obvious step, is always stop the continuation of the
problem. The discipline you may
have to invoke should always relate to the mistake that was made. The second step is to identify the
source of the mistake and correct it so that it will not happen again. This may take extra time to do some
fact-finding, but will pay dividends in the end. Finding the root cause and the details will prevent the
entire group from making the same mistake twice, causing rework, falling behind
schedule, and budgets rising. It
can be as simple as an error in their training, or a lack of preparation for
the task. If you’re going to be
held responsible, fix the problem not the person. If the person is the problem, then you have to find out what
that employee’s strengths are and see if they would thrive better in another
role. Sometimes though, people just don’t work out. If that’s the case, you need to do both a favor and help
that person find something they may be better suited for. You cannot feel as if it’s your fault
that you failed them or let them down. You need to understand that you are helping
this person so they don’t fail again in this role. If they continue to fail, they will have low self-esteem,
and moving them can help them as much as your group. Bottom line: you’re responsible for your people and their
successes and failures.
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