Let The QB Make The Call

One thing that continues to shock me is the amount of micro management that happens inside businesses today and it only seems to be getting worse. Maybe I am mistaken, but throughout my career I have tried to make sure that I have the right person assigned for the right job. Or as one of my colleagues so eloquently put it, ‘there is a butt for every seat!’


Many of you already know about all the parallels I use between football and management. I do this to help illustrate internal structures and responsibilities. Even when somebody doesn’t really follow football, they do understand the basic principles and usually this helps to simplify the same rules that apply in business. So to continue along that theme this blog is about Micro Managers and their effect on a team.

I have always believed that you need to hire the right person for the position, train them on the policies and procedures, give them clear direction of your expectations, empower them to make decisions, and then hold them accountable for their performance. However, while this is all common sense, it is rarely common practice. It has been my experience that too many managers feel they have to get involved with everything their team does. While it is important to have spot checks and evaluate progress, micro managing will kill a high performer’s drive. It will also cause you to have an increased amount of workload, because you have instilled a sense of fear and dependency amongst your team and everyone is afraid to make any decision without your counsel. One easy gut check is to ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I have team members asking me how to do their job?

2. Do my team members come to me to make decisions for them?

3. Do I have team members coming to me with everyday simple problems?

If you answered yes to any of these questions then there is a chance you are micro managing your team. While all managers could answer yes to all these questions from time to time, if you are constantly being bombarded, you are probably a micro manager.

In football a head coach will put together the plays, the game plan, and probably even script out the first several plays. However, after the huddle breaks and the quarterback surveys the defense, he has the ability to change the play and call an audible. In other words the coach has empowered him to make a last minute decision based on his experience and training. Now don’t take this the wrong way, the coach and the quarterback have spent countless hours reviewing tapes and planning for required adjustments prior to the game, but when it comes down to it, the coach lets the quarterback make the call.

There are times that you will want your team to come to you for instruction or to make decisions, but that should be spelled out in your expectations and only apply to things that will have a substantial effect on the task at hand or the successful completion of a project. If you are handling, or getting involved in, day to day activities, then what purpose does that team member serve? Either you have the wrong butt in that seat (such as a linemen playing QB) or you have not provided that team member with the proper training & expectations nor empowered them to effectively own their role on the team.

Over the years I have seen many great managers, employees, and even interns ruined by micro management. As our economy continues to struggle, large corporations are putting in more policies and procedures (red tape) to try and have more control over everyday decisions that should be trusted to management. They are taking everyday decision making duties and “streamlining” them into corporate mandates, taking away any power the manager had to help influence his customer base, vendors, and team. They are taking away the ability of managers to make decisions that affect the bottom line and the profitability of their group. I have been slowly watching companies turn managers into figure heads for nothing more than to be a lamb led to the slaughter when the balance sheet dips into the red. If you want to lose your top performers, then this is a perfect way to do so. However, if you want to retain the best in the business you have to empower them to make those decisions and then hold them accountable. Real leaders and true managers want that power, and embrace it. They understand that they will be held accountable, but that they also control their own destiny. The best way to kill a strong leader or manager is to start holding them accountable for things they have no control over.

In the end it is all about job satisfaction and your team members wanting to do a good job. As managers we need to make sure that we are empowering our teams to be self reliant. We should all be taking the time to make sure that we hire the right butt for each seat. Train them and empower them with responsibility, and then hold them accountable to those decisions. All in all, let the quarterback make the call.

Only As Good As Your Team

Many management professionals, at some time, become convinced of their own superiority and forget how they were able to achieve their level of success. The truth is that behind every successful manager there is a highly effective team that helped put them there in the first place.


I know that I am nothing without my team, and they are the reason for our overall success. Every team member I have, from the woman who cleans the office, all the way up the corporate ladder, is an essential part of our operation. No one position holds more importance than any another. If one of us fails we all fail. This applies to every structure, in every job discipline, across all economic make ups. For example, I have seen many incidences where people will walk right by a receptionist without so much as a head nod of acknowledgement. But think about it for a minute. If the receptionist didn’t answer the phone and transfer the calls, your customers would have a more difficult time getting in contact with you. If the receptionist didn’t file the papers for you, then all of your documentation would begin to pile up. Or worse yet, you might have to file it yourself! OMG!

While it may be easy to appreciate your team when everything is ‘rainbows and unicorns’; it is when everything goes wrong that your team needs to know their value more than ever. I know that I am guilty, when thrown into a stressful situation, of firing off at individuals about where their mistakes were and how they had better get a grip on things ASAP! I would like to think that in most cases, after the first tirade, I make it a point to go back and help lend the support required to resolve the issues in a supportive effort. You need to take the time to remember that your team members are people too, and they will make mistakes. They want to do a good job and are more than likely just as upset about the situation as you are; in many cases even more distraught. It is in these circumstances when true character is revealed. When it seems that everything is falling apart, those are the times I realize how lucky I am, and how great my team is. When I have multiple offers of help, and when we all really come together to quickly resolve the issue.

In recent months things have become very stressful and multiple issues have surfaced during the restructuring process within our company. However, due to the help of my team and their relentless support, we are getting over the hump and getting things back under control. It became obvious that my team cared about me and the situation I was in by the way they came to my rescue. I believe that this is a direct result of the fact that I have cared about them as well, throughout my tenure. As Lee Cockerell said in his book “Creating Magic”, treat your employees the way you want your customers to be treated, and treat them as though they were your family. When you think about this, it is really pretty simple. I spend more time with my team at work than I do with my family. Right or wrong, that is the truth. I do truly care about them and their futures. I want to make sure they get where they want to in their careers, and I want them to enjoy coming to work.

Every morning when I get out of bed, I look myself in the mirror. I focus on trying to be a better person, a better mentor, a better father, and a better husband. This is a ritual I started decades ago but it has really helped me to become an all around better person than I was in my younger years. As managers it is important to spend some time self analyzing and paying attention to how you are affecting those around you. The best advice I can give when it comes to being an effective manager or leader is to let go of your ego and your narcissistic ways. Stop taking yourself so seriously. Stop thinking that your kingdom belongs to you because it doesn’t; it exists because of your team, and therefore it belongs to everyone. Treat your team the same way you want to be treated, the same way you want them to treat your customers, and care about their future more than your own. Take the time to try and better the lives of others and you will live a better life.

Plan Your Work

Plan your work then work your plan! It really is that simple. This article will speak to how to set up jobs prior to the boots on the ground startup of a project. I believe that this will give you the best chance for success on a project. However, this should also be translated into everyday life regardless of what kind of work you do. The idea is to break down the tasks involved into small bites and analyze each step and have contingencies in place for each step. If you do this properly you will have already virtually completed the project and uncovered any issues, and how to deal with them, before you ever even start the project. Some of this example is industry specific to Electrical Projects, but much of the data is transferable to any discipline.

Prior to bid:

Analyze the customer, scope of work, project schedule, experience you have in this line of work, terms and conditions of the contract, cost to bid the project vs. the likelihood of winning this project, and strategies to secure the project. This takes place to make sure that the project is a good fit for your company prior to spending any money bidding the project. For example: why bother spending the money bidding a project only to find out in the end that you cannot agree on the terms and conditions included in the contract agreement.

Bidding process:

Once you decide a project is a good fit, take the time to go through all the contractual documents. Document all plans and project specification dates on the proposal; any questions or clarifications applicable to the contractual documents or schedule need to have an RFI-P# sent to the Engineer, Owner and GC for clarification and documentation. Then the correspondence needs to be entered into an RFI-P log for tracking. I.E. substitutions, approved vendors, schedule constraints, etc… All communication needs to be logged and tracked. If there are any conversations on the phone, they need to be followed up by an email recapping what was discussed and agreed to by both parties then logged as part of the proposal package. Once the final price is ready for submittal, include all of the recorded RRFI-P#, the dates, and pages of the contract documents, and any correspondence log information as part of the proposal.

Upon award but prior to executing contract:

The contract and documents need to be checked against the proposal documents to assure there are no new changes to the terms and conditions, schedule, contractual documents, and that the contract includes all RFI-Ps and recorded correspondence. The PM and Superintendant that will be running this job need to do an entirely separate take off to compare to the original proposal and be in full agreement that the proposal is solid and nothing has been missed or overlooked.





After execution of the contract but prior to starting the project:

The Project Manager needs to completely build the project from the ground up in their head and prepare the following documents to prepare for the start of the project:

1. Build the budget and breakdown into cost codes; all like type materials and areas for tracking.

2. Build a loaded resource schedule showing all milestones, critical path activities, submittals, manpower, equipment, materials, release dates, etc… This schedule needs to have ‘float time’ built in for contingencies and changes.

3. Start a CO log, RFI log, and correspondence log for the project including all pre-bid RFI-P and correspondence.

4. Build buyout schedules with expected targets.

5. Build rental equipment schedules with budgets.

6. Build four week look-aheads for the first week and continued every week after.

7. Build pre-fab designs and schedules.

8. Draft detailed duct bank drawings.

9. Draft electrical and equipment room layouts and measurements.

10. Build DPO Tracking, if applicable, with release dates.

11. Build LIC worksheet / Indirect daily costs.

12. Build subcontractor buyouts, schedules, and targets.

13. Build schedule of values to keep cash positive based on the above schedules.

By completing all of these tasks (some of which many of my readers will not understand) the PM has virtually built the entire project from the beginning to the end in their head. This will allow the PM to analyze and address any issues before ever starting the project, and allow all long lead equipment or support to be ordered in plenty of time for the project.

Where most jobs go south is when one or more of these steps are skipped or not fully thought through. For example, contracts get signed with language that ties a contractor to something that wasn’t included in the original proposal, or long lead items were not identified in the release schedules, or there wasn’t enough time allotted for a specific activity in the contractual schedule, and so on. The key is to make sure before the job ever starts that there has been good communication between the team that bid this project and the team that will ultimately build this project. The fewer the surprises down the road the better off you will be in the end. It really all comes down to documentation. If you can’t provide proof of the conversation, then you cannot defend your position. So take the time to plan your work before you start the project. Because the truth is; that if you fail to plan your work, you are planning to fail.

While this is pointed directly at construction, and yes I know I left out many items, I used this to get the point across about planning your work. You would never take a trip somewhere without taking the time to plan and pack, but everyday people jump into a work project without taking the time to plan. This article was written to try and express the importance of taking those few minutes to plan your work before you start. It will greatly increase your efficiency and will also keep any surprises from derailing your efforts.

Follow Directions

To all my loyal followers, I apologize for the long delay between posts. We have gone through a large scale restructuring that took up all my free time and kept me from my weekly blog updates. I am back on track now and hopefully will be back to a weekly or at least bi-weekly blog posting. Thanks to all of you who have continued to follow me through this rough time, and I hope you enjoy this weeks post.

Follow Directions



Over the years I have managed multiple team members with a multitude of different personalities. In that time I have made some lifelong relationships with some of them, and had a tumultuous relationship with others. While you would think that the team members that I am still in contact with today would have been the best employees, you would be wrong. The truth is that over the years I have had to fire many team members that I really liked as people. Even though we could not continue as colleagues we were able to continue a relationship as friends. Other team members that I didn’t get along with personally were exceptional managers. This comes down to the famous saying; “it’s not personal; it’s business”. While I tried to help some of the people I liked personally, sometimes it came down to them not having the skill set required for the job, in many cases, not being able to follow directions.


It never ceases to amaze me how many people simply cannot follow directions. One thing I have always done throughout my career is make sure that I follow directions. When my boss asks me for something, it takes top priority over everything else I am doing. Never have I ignored a direction from a superior, or pushed it to the back of the line. However, I have seen this multiple times by other colleagues.

Many companies spend thousands of dollars, and countless hours training each employee on the proper way to complete a job within the most stringent safety guidelines. This is to insure that the job is done right and that the employee goes home safe at the end of the day. However, despite all the efforts and emphasis on procedure and safety, some rogue employees take it upon themselves to break the rules and do things “their way”, putting the company, their lives, and their jobs, at risk.

As a manager I task many of my team members with specific assignments that need to get done. We will go over the details of what I need and a time frame for completion, ending with a Q&A period. However, more often than not, I have to send reminders to them asking again for the ‘deliverable items’ I originally requested. All I can say is thank you Microsoft for Outlook, because without it, I would have a hard time keeping up with all the reminders to ask again and again for the items from my team members. To this day I don’t understand this problem. If my boss has to remind me of something I am mortified that I let it slip. Never would I need to be reminded a second time. So how is it that I have some team members that I have to remind a third, fourth, and even fifth time? How long do you think I will continue to rely on them?

Now don’t get me wrong I have several team members that I never have to ask twice. I also have Managers that feel the same way I do and instantly return my requests ahead of the scheduled completion date. These are my Rock Stars and the team members that will go far with me. However, others will decide what is important and what is not important to them. I honestly believe they think I give them assignments just to keep them busy. The truth is, that if I asked for it, it’s because I need it. Maybe they don’t understand why, but that doesn’t reduce the fact that I wouldn’t ask them for something I didn’t think was important.

I have had many people ask me how I have achieved success in my career thus far, or advice on how they can move up the corporate ladder. In the end it comes down to following directions. If your superior tasks you with something, you need to treat the task as though your job depends on it. If a company has rules-- follow them, as though your job depends on it. There is a reason you were assigned those tasks, or why those rules are in place, even if you don’t understand what they are. Please understand that I am not suggesting that you follow blindly without question. I have never had an issue with a team member questioning my direction. In fact I enjoy it when someone challenges my ideas. I know I don’t have all the answers and I am always looking for another’s insight. What I am referring to is when people say they understand and agree with the assignment and then don’t deliver. If I have to ask two or three times to get something, then I begin to feel that either you don’t respect me enough to execute my request, or you don’t know how to do what I asked.

I have always believed that there are only four reasons why people don’t do what they are told:

1. They don’t know how.

2. They don’t have the proper tools or support.

3. They don’t want to.

4. They are just plain lazy.

Items one and two can be easily fixed by getting them the training, tools, or support they need as long as they let you know what they are lacking. Items three and four are different issues. If one of these is the problem, the only cure is to get rid of the team member and find someone who is motivated to replace them, and supply them with the training and support needed to be successful.

I want to close this article by stating that I am not trying to come across as a tyrannical fascist; but just giving all my readers the best advice I can give, based on my many years in management. If you follow the directions of your superior and the rules of the company, not only will you earn the trust of your superiors and start your accent up the virtual corporate ladder, but you may just learn something along the way.

The Sorcerer’s Techniques

Over the years I have seen many examples of managers casting blame upon others as though they were sorcerers casting magical spells. Throughout my management career I have always conducted myself in two ways. One, everything starts and stops at my desk. Two, I take all the blame and none of the credit. When something goes wrong it is my fault. I am the manager, who else’s fault can it be? I own it, and accept the consequences. Then I make adjustments that ensure it won’t happen again. When things go well, or I am given a compliment, I pass it down to my team where it belongs, don’t thank me, it was John, or Greg, or etc., which did all the work! If more managers would accept responsibility and stand up for their team, how much stronger would the American workforce be?


Unfortunately, in today’s world, I see more sorcery and finger pointing than accountability. It seems that more people are concerned with self preservation than with doing the right thing. Many managers are interested in setting themselves up in a position with no accountability. When something goes wrong, they divert the focus to a team member and the blame game begins.

As a manager I try to make it very clear to my team what my expectations are and how they will be held accountable to those expectations. If ever I cannot apply accountability, then I know there is an issue with structure. So the question has to be asked, how do people get themselves into a position of power with no accountability? Unfortunately, I can’t answer that question, but I can help by giving advice on how to keep it from happening to you.

If you are in a management position be sure to check your structure. If there is no accountability to a team member, group, or division, then more than likely you have a sorcerer in your organization. Here are the basics: You shouldn’t have responsibility for something you have no control over, nor should you be held accountable to something that you have no control over. Same goes for your team. Take the time to think through your reporting lines and make sure that everyone has a way to be held accountable for everything under their control. Then make sure that all team members truly have control over all they are being held accountable for.

Recently I had a discussion with a good friend of mine (we will call him Jim for this story). Jim is a Sr. PM at a competitor’s electrical company. He was expressing to me some of the frustration he felt due to a series of events he was involved in and I felt this situation would help illustrate the sorcerer’s techniques.

Jim was called in for a meeting by Ken, the Operation’s Manager, to review some of the projects under Jim’s “control”. When Jim arrived, Ken sat him down in his office and began asking Jim why his jobs were losing money. Jim tried to explain to Ken that after he had done his own project analysis, he realized that the estimating department on one of the projects had left out an entire page of the plans, which consisted of the whole third floor lighting and associated labor and materials. On a second project the purchasing department had purchased the generators for the project for nearly $500,000, when the estimate only had a total of $130,000 figured for generators. When you actually looked into the projects they were in good shape considering, all the mistakes made outside of Jim’s control. Once Jim finished with his explanations, Ken was upset and blamed Jim for the problems. Ken went on to let Jim know that he is the Project Manager, and it is his responsibility to make the projects financially successful. He went on to say that, mistakes in estimating are not an excuse for a bad project, every project has estimating mistakes.

So who is the Sorcerer? Is it Jim or Ken? The answer might surprise you. Actually they are both sorcerers. Jim blamed the estimating department and the purchasing department, and Ken blamed Jim. I would be willing to bet that the chain of blame continued in both directions. More than likely the estimating department will say they weren’t given enough time, and the purchasing department would say they got a great deal; and Ken’s boss would say that Ken needs to figure out what’s wrong with his whole group.

If Jim had gone through the plans himself and done his own take off before they started the project, he could have brought this to Ken’s attention before the job went south, and then Jim wouldn’t have looked like he was making excuses since at that point the job hadn’t even started yet.

Ken should have a process in place to make sure that an estimate is right prior to submittal, or at least before accepting the contract, and not put all the responsibility on the PM. That way, if there is something missed, you know before signing a contract and have time to correct the numbers, or take the risk.

For this particular scenario our chain of checks and balances goes like this: as soon as a team is awarded a project, we name a project manager and a superintendent. The project manager, superintendent, and the original estimator take an entire new, and separate, take-off of the plans. Then all three get together to compare notes and only once they have all agreed that the take-off is correct, do we move forward. There is also a high level legal contract review done to avoid contract language pitfalls. This includes the PM, Legal Counsel, Division manager, and a VP. Only once all agree that this is a good project, do we move forward with contract execution. While some people may feel that this expense is unjustified, just think about the amount of money lost on the two examples above.

While there is no guaranteed solution to eliminate all blame, you need to do your best to make sure that everyone is working together to the successful completion of every project. If you can commit to your team and they can count on your support and integrity, you will win and lose as a team with little to no blame or finger pointing. The sorcerer relies on smoke, mirrors, and misdirection and eventually they are reveled for the frauds that they are. It doesn’t take magic to establish accountability but it does take a brain. And remember, thinking is hard work. That is why so few do it!

The Danger of Silence

If a tree falls in the forest, and nobody is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Basic physics can prove the answer to this question, and it is Yes! It absolutely makes a sound. However when a customer is disappointed there is no way to be sure they will make a sound.


Many of us have seen the survey cards, emails, or call backs asking how a company did. Were you satisfied, etc…? I applaud those companies because at least they are asking. Furthermore they are taking an extra step to try and understand their perceived value, and if the customer enjoyed their experience.

The problem is that most people don’t want to be bothered by these surveys. They are way too busy to take the time to fill out a survey or comment card, or spend time answering questions. Many studies have been done, and the average is around one percent of patrons actually fill out a survey or comment card. If you dig deeper into that statistic you will find that, a majority of the surveys that are filled out are not complimentary. Therefore, you can reduce it down to approximately one out of a hundred people will actually take the time to tell you how you are doing, and usually it is only if they were dissatisfied. So what about the other 99 customers? Where they all happy? Of course not!

This blog was inspired by an experience I had this weekend. My wife and I went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant. Actually, it used to be her favorite restaurant. When we arrived we spent about five minutes waiting at the door with no one acknowledging that we even existed. Finally we had someone come over to and take us to our table. Then a waiter came up and took our drink order. About ten minutes later he came back with what must have been a very complex drink order, two waters and a diet coke! Then, before we could say anything, he said he would be right back to take our order.

As we waited for at least another 10-12 minutes, I couldn’t help but notice there were hardly any people in the restaurant. While the bar was pretty crowded, the actual restaurant was empty. What could cause such bad service at what used to be an excellent restaurant? The more I thought about it the more I realized that the last several times we had visited this restaurant the service and food had progressively lost the quality it once had.

Just then the waiter came over, and took our order. After we waited for what seemed to be an eternity, the cook actually came and brought us the food at last. I guess the waiter couldn’t be bothered? My food was not only a disgrace to Mexican cuisine, but the cook hadn’t even remembered to stuff the peppers I ordered. After two bites I pushed the food to the end of the table, and figured I would send the food back when the waiter came back to check on us. Roughly 30 minutes later the waiter came to our table and asked if we were done as he took up all the plates, completely ignoring the fact that I hadn’t eaten any of my meal. At this point I was so angry I figured I would just keep my mouth shut and leave.

My wife and I left and talked about how sad it was that they could let, what was once a great product, become such a disappointment. We will continue to spread the word to everyone we know that this place is a dive, and will never again recommend it to anyone. Once more we will never patronize that restaurant again.

So the question I put out there is how many customers do you have that are not saying anything to you, but are saying a lot about you? In the past if I came across this situation I would take the time to express my dissatisfaction to the manager. However, in the above case I was pushed so far over the edge that I was just done with this establishment. Most people are not going to say anything to you regardless of their frustration level. They will just disappear.

Today I have had a chance to calm down and I plan on stopping by the restaurant and letting the manager know what happened and why I will not be returning. Being in business, I feel I have that obligation. However, it will not change the outcome.

Too many companies in today’s world feel that ‘no news is good news’. I hope that this example helps illustrate how dangerous silence can be, as well as the importance of having a specific process and continually monitoring its success. That which is not measured cannot be improved. So how are you measuring your customer’s satisfaction?

The truth is that I love to hear from happy customers that sing my praises. However, I need to hear from the ones that are not as impressed. Every time a customer has a problem, I have the chance to excel. It is my duty to my customers to always be looking for ways to improve their customer experience and reward them for choosing our service over the hundreds of other options they have.

So if you don’t currently monitor your customer’s satisfaction, you really should start to think about implementing a plan. While yes, there will always be a small group that is willing to tell you where you went wrong, it is the silence that is the true danger to your bottom line.

Problem Solvers

It has been my experience that problem solvers hold the most value within a company. For that reason, I try to surround myself with team members that look for solutions. Since my first job, I have always felt that my duty was to make my boss’s job easier. I figured that it was my job to find ways to solve my superior’s problems. This same attitude flows over into the customer service side of business as well. No one wants to solve your problems, they want someone with solutions.




Yesterday, I was speaking with a colleague, and he was telling me that he is sick of people bringing him problems. He doesn’t need people to bring him problems; he can find them all by himself. In fact, problems will ultimately present themselves in almost every occasion. So why am I paying people to bring the problems to me? This was a very insightful view and quite accurate.

Over the years I have encountered many of these types of team members. Most of them fall into one, or more, of the following categories: gunslingers, time travelers, and tenants.

The Gunslingers will shoot holes into the best laid plans. They are only concerned in casting blame and showing where all the problems are in any given situation. You can spend hours trying to help them solve problems, but they will just continue to tell you why those ideas won’t work. Try to stay away from these types of people. They are rarely trainable, and I have only seen a few that could be converted from their pessimistic outlooks.

The time travelers are the employees that either want to know the future or can only focus on the past. A time traveler will always stay focused on what happened yesterday or what will happen tomorrow. The best way to deal with these team members is to constantly reinforce the fact that we can’t change the past, and we don’t know the future. I have found that if you can get them to start expecting the best but planning for the worst, you can break them of this bad habit. My experience has been that you can learn from history but you need to focus from this point moving forward. Finally you want to have contingency plans in case something does go wrong. However, you cannot afford to stop production due to fear of the unknown.

Our last category are the tenants. I call them tenants because I think of the relationship between a tenant and a landlord. All the tenants do is bring the landlord their problems to fix. While that might be the job of a landlord it is not the job of a manager. Over the years I have used the following technique to stop the tenants in their tracks. When I have someone who continuously brings me problems, I simply ask them the question, what would you do if this was your company? Based on their answer you will know if they are the right person for the job or not. If not, maybe some mentoring is needed? I will get into mentoring next. However, if they can handle it without having to come to you, then why are they coming to you? The simple answer is that they are afraid to make the wrong decision. I have a simple fix for this as well. When I get someone who constantly comes to me with problems or questions, and I know they are capable of handling it without my involvement, I tell them the following; “From this point forward I don’t want you to ask me anymore questions that I can’t answer with a simple yes or no.” For example, don’t come to me with a question about what do I think you should do about….. Instead come in with a statement. I was going to do this about ……is that ok? This will show me that the manager has at least taken the time to think through the problem and come up with solutions. Therefore, bring me one or multiple solutions to choose from. This will eliminate the fear factor and cut down on the interruptions. Over time the manager will also start to build confidence, and realize that they don’t have to involve you on every decision.

My last comment is about mentoring. This is a lost art. Many people today think that they can just hire the perfect employee, and that doesn’t work. While I have spoken about many specific problematic personalities, you have to be honest with yourself. This whole article only applies to skilled and seasoned team members. If you continually have people coming to you with questions, is this a personnel problem or a training problem? If you look back on your own career I am sure you will remember many people who took the time to teach you the skills you have acquired. Make sure that you make time to mentor and train others. I personally have time built into my weekly schedule for mentoring. You cannot just hire the perfect employee. There are too many differences from one company to another. However, if you spend the time to train them properly you will build a relationship with a valued team member that will solve your problems and in the end give you more time to train others.