Getting older people to respect you.... (Page 2)

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2007-05-11 11:37 PM
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2007-05-11 11:44 PM
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2007-05-12 10:46 PM
in reply to: #797944

Coach
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Subject: RE: Getting older people to respect you....
Rynamite - 2007-05-11 10:23 PM

I'll give an example so you can better understand. Today we had a shipment that had to leave today. I'm not involved with outbound shipping much anymore, but the owner asked me to take care of it because he knew it would get done. I got all the ducks in a row, had my secretary schedule the pickup for 3pm (this was at 8 or 9 am) so they had plenty of time to get it ready, I made a list of what needed to go and where it was going and created an invoice. I went out and told Mike (new guy) what was going on and what needed to happen. First the questions were "Well why didn't we ship it earlier in the week?" and "Why do they need it so fast?" and "Why are we using UPS Frieght instead of New Penn?" So after I answered all of those questions and started to walk away... the questions became "How am I going to fit this all one 1 pallet?" and "Should I band it or shrink wrap it" and "Should we put something over the corners so they don't get messed up in shipping?"

I basically said "Whatever you think man, just as long as it's ready by 3"

Fast forward to 2:45 pm. Mike comes into my office and says that the truck driver is here for the pallet, it's not ready yet because he's early (15 min???????) and they aren't sure how they should get it all on the pallet..... Again, I give the old "However it'll fit is fine, let the driver know that it'll be ready in a few minutes" (the drivers get pretty impatient, they run a tight schedule) So Mike says "You won't even come out here and give us a hand?"



It sounds like he's stuck in a no man's land. He's asking good questions (why didn't we ship it earlier), but is also less experienced than you want him to be(should I band or shrink wrap it?)

You obviously have experience that would have gotten this job done in 15 minutes, and he is asking for your help, judging by these questions. It will be a challenge for you to find the right balance of not losing patience and still taking the time to teach him what you've learned.

Now if he's already had a course of "5 reasons to Band instead of Shrink Wrapping" or "10 ways to Stack your Pallette", then I can see your frustration. If these practical skills havn't been taught and you are expectingg him to figure it out like you did, then maybe you are in for a disappointment, and he will get resentful that you are "not being helpful". Just because you figured it out, doesn't mean he should...he should learn from the companies experience.

how much these things balance between micromanaging (this is how you should stack this palette) vs. learning the tricks of the trade based on years of company experience will be your biggest challenge.
2007-05-13 4:14 PM
in reply to: #798431

Elite
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Subject: RE: Getting older people to respect you....

AdventureBear - 2007-05-12 8:46 PM  It sounds like he's stuck in a no man's land. He's asking good questions (why didn't we ship it earlier), but is also less experienced than you want him to be(should I band or shrink wrap it?) You obviously have experience that would have gotten this job done in 15 minutes, and he is asking for your help, judging by these questions. It will be a challenge for you to find the right balance of not losing patience and still taking the time to teach him what you've learned. Now if he's already had a course of "5 reasons to Band instead of Shrink Wrapping" or "10 ways to Stack your Pallette", then I can see your frustration. If these practical skills havn't been taught and you are expectingg him to figure it out like you did, then maybe you are in for a disappointment, and he will get resentful that you are "not being helpful". Just because you figured it out, doesn't mean he should...he should learn from the companies experience. how much these things balance between micromanaging (this is how you should stack this palette) vs. learning the tricks of the trade based on years of company experience will be your biggest challenge.

I agree.  It sounds more like he's unsure of the best way to do stuff (or why you do it the way you do) and so he's asking questions to make sure he doesn't mess up.

Have you tried going through your reasoning process with him?  "When this type of order comes in here's your options - here's what I do and why..."  Then sorta walking him through it the so he can see the decision tree in process.  It kinda sounds like you gave him minimal training (expecting he would pick things up like you did) and then left him on his own - and he's not comfortable with that.  

Some people pick things up and figure it out on their own and take charge, and some need more information before they feel comfortable with being on their own with the decision.  Sounds like you're the first type and he's the 2nd.  Which is probably why you are where you are (in charge) and he's where he is (working for you.)  I'd try working with him more closely - doing lots of explaining - and then pulling back gradually as he feels like he knows more of what is going on.  Work with him on it.  In this case - a good manager question might have been "It sounds like you're not quite sure of how this process needs to happen.  Where do you feel like you need more explanation of what to do?"  Think of it as training him to "be" you - so you can then go off and do the next thing. 

Also, since you DO want him to have your job - pulling him aside, and telling him that, that you're grooming him - and having a discussion with him about what he needs to be ready for that will bring nothing but positives, IMO.  Might be that right now, he's not seeing that - and so he's feeling like you're asking him to take on more than the other guys - and why should he?  He's not getting paid more.  Give him a big picture view.  Then sit down with him 1-on-1 on a regular basis and discuss his progress and what else he needs to be/have/do to be effective.

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