Stepwise Success : Career Development, Management

The Truth About Management

Scott Warner — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 11:00:00 GMT

Maine is a small state, and most of us in laboratory management know each other. We share empathy over job stress: regulations, physician demands, nursing demands, staffing shortages, and personnel issues. One manager complained, “When someone walks into...(read more)

Change is Always Good

Scott Warner — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 11:00:00 GMT

“People hate change,” we are lectured, as though it is a law of physics. Change is constant, change is expected, change is inevitable, but people will always resist it. Managers are told to expect that a certain percentage (17% or so) of employees will...(read more)

Ask the New Guy

Scott Warner — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 11:05:00 GMT

From Black Friday until after the holidays, it’s bargain hunting season. Like most bargains, a new hire in your laboratory can be good or bad. And your lab will play “Ask the new guy” to figure it out. If management does its job, the news is good. Great...(read more)

How Hard Do You Work?

Scott Warner — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 10:06:00 GMT

In the 1999 comedy Office Space , the protagonist explains to a productivity expert why working harder doesn’t pay off: “My only real motivation is not to be hassled, that and the fear of losing my job. But you know, Bob, that will only make someone work...(read more)

Playing Politics

Scott Warner — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 10:03:00 GMT

At a management seminar we divided into personality groups – blue for introverted, yellow for outgoing, red for director, and green for supportive. In a room full of lab techs, blue and green were the largest groups. Ever labeled an introvert, I joined...(read more)

Getting Ready for Inspections

Scott Warner — Mon, 09 May 2011 10:02:00 GMT

Our boot camp drill instructor was a shorter-than-average, matter-of-fact man named Sergeant Panamarenco, starched and polished down to his speech. I remember his barracks inspections vividly. Strutting behind our bunks he would flip open lockers and...(read more)

Handling a Bad Boss

Scott Warner — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 09:41:00 GMT

I once attended a workshop at which the presenter insisted there is a difference between a “boss” and a “leader.” A boss is an autocrat, an eavesdropper, a person who takes all the credit for your best work and throws you under the bus without a second...(read more)

Public Speaking Fears

Scott Warner — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 09:44:00 GMT

My father once said, “If you’re interested, you’ll be interesting.” I think that’s true. And that’s one way to quell public speaking fears. If you’re sincerely interested in your topic -- and your audience -- speechifying is easier. I recently spoke about...(read more)

Breaking in Your New Boss

Scott Warner — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 10:02:00 GMT

When a new lab manager is hired, grumbling ensues. “Now we have to break in another one!” Your new boss is worried about motivating you and your coworkers, but the opposite is also true. How do you get a stranger to do things your way? First, some questions...(read more)

More Management Myths

Scott Warner — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:05:00 GMT

Last summer I blogged about "mythconceptions" we have about managers – that we are trained, authoritarian leaders – and I thought I'd give it another go. There may be more ideas you haven't considered that can help you succeed on the bench. Talented bench...(read more)

The Bus

Scott Warner — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:13:00 GMT

Recently, I had a dream about a family trip. We stopped for ice cream, and I went inside while my wife and kids stayed in our van. I placed our orders, and as I waited a voice called my name. Turning, I saw a woman standing at the door. "You're wanted...(read more)

Mind the Glass

Scott Warner — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:24:00 GMT

An optimist will tell you the glass is half-full; the pessimist, half-empty; and the engineer will tell you the glass is twice the size it needs to be. - Anonymous The lab tech will tell you it's not properly labeled, but that's another blog. Merriam...(read more)

The Purpose of Discipline

Scott Warner — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:39:00 GMT

"The purpose of discipline," a nurse once told me, "is to correct behavior." According to one article in HR Magazine, the purpose of discipline is "to create and maintain a productive, responsive workforce" to "rehabilitate" employees. And one human resources expert on About.com insists it isn't about punishment, but about helping the employee "to overcome performance problems and satisfy job expectations."

Where do I begin?

First, if we're talking lab rats getting periodic electrode jolts at the end of leads implanted in their brains to make sure they turn left in a maze, then, yes, "discipline" can "correct" behavior.

Second, if those few employees who really are intractable or incompetent can't be fired outright, then perhaps progressive steps--oral warning, written warning, etc.--may convince them to change their behavior, at least in your presence. (How often does that really happen? How often is "discipline" a legal cover for the employer?)

The above words--correct, productive, responsive, performance--hint that the purpose of discipline is to maintain a behavioral status quo the employer defines, making the potential for abuse enormous. And every employee with a pile of bills at home knows it.

A stick is always a stick, in other words.

Alternative words are listen, understand, enlighten, inspire and even partner. An employer's responsibility doesn't end with defining "standards" of behavior. The larger scope of the work environment, from hiring to mentoring to rewarding, needs to enable "correct" behavior. A manager who writes up an employee without first listening to all sides and looking inward is cheating the employee, the organization and especially the patients.

It may sound like armchair psychology, but if people are the most valuable resource, they should feel valued. This means eliminating a culture of fear ("correcting" behavior) and establishing an open culture of collaboration. Wouldn't it be wonderful to view your manager, your pathologist or your CEO as a colleague? Wouldn't it be wonderful to not be afraid to report an error? Wouldn't it be wonderful for all parties involved to say, "How can we do better?"

Millennials and Perennials

Scott Warner — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:11:00 GMT

According to a Wikipedia article about them, 97 percent own a computer, 94 percent own a cell phone and 76 percent use instant messaging. Morley Safer described them on 60 Minutes as arriving at work around noon in flip-flops, expecting a manager to talk to them like a TV therapist instead of a boss. They are educated, ambitious and connected. They are Generation Y, the so-called millennials, those born in the eighties just entering our workplace.

A recent survey finds millennials want to choose their technology and are disinclined to follow company IT policies. There is a disconnect between what an organization provides and what these workers demand, who more often than not prefer instant messaging to face-to-face interaction or even e-mail.

You may have interviewed them already. They expect, but more importantly are likely to be attracted by, not just new technology but also choice suiting their needs. For an industry where the lowest person on the ladder gets the night shift and AM draws in the bargain, that's a challenge.

Those of us already working are likely to be over fifty. We have stuck around year after year--let's call us "perennials"--and we are, perhaps, less ambitious than our opposites. We prefer face-to-face interaction and eschew "instant" communication. Technology is a tool, not an extension of ourselves. Education is one thing, but experience often separates leaders and followers.

We perennials are in for a shock if we expect millennials to pay dues or listen to experience. According to one consultant, they need mentoring, opportunity and a fun working environment. Their personal activities are as or more important than work. "A rigid schedule is a sure-fire way to lose your millennial employees," she writes.

The last few people I've hired are over forty. But I can see internal customer service--how we treat others in our workplace--becoming as important as how we treat patients to attract and keep these new workers. This should be interesting.

Meeting Fatigue

Scott Warner — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 20:02:00 GMT

The other day at work, I joked we needed to form a committee to appoint a sub-committee to develop an agenda for yet a third committee that would, in time, determine the definition of 2 p.m. We all waste time in non-productive meetings when we could be taking care of patients.

How many meetings are a droning list of procedure reminders, administration demands or the ranting of one person who hijacks the agenda? How often is a meeting consumed by complaining instead of discussing plans that really fix problems? Too many, too often.

A 2005 study proves the obvious: too many meetings are stressful and lead to burn-out. And burned-out workers who are overburdened and overwhelmed are more likely to be tardy, absent, perform poorly or quit. Enough is enough, sometimes.

Meetings can be exhausting. Here are a few reasons for meeting fatigue:

Reason	Effect
not the right people	"Why am I here?"
not on time	"People are always late." or "This meeting takes too long."
no clear purpose	"Why are we meeting?"
no agenda	"What are we meeting about?"
no structure	"Who will control the complaining?"

The problem may be organizational, as this consultant points out. Starting on time and focusing on an agenda are important. But it's also important to review the meeting, part of the "Seven-Step Meeting Process." A meeting needs to do something.

If a meeting leaves people feeling confused, drained or frustrated, then something went terribly wrong that should be fixed before the next meeting. Perhaps, more structure or a timekeeper is needed. At least, it should be clear to people exactly what the meeting is about.

Maybe--just maybe--we don't need to meet so often. Until that happens, I just hope I can attend enough meetings to decide what time it really is.