Managing Type As.
Type As. get bored quick, quicker than most, all of them have been there and done that, and of course they can always do it better than their current supervisor. Managing anybody is hard enough, much less teams that have just as much or more experience than their manager. But there are ways to make the working environment a happy and stress free place. I have found that a few key areas are always a good place to start.
I always like to make it clear from the start who is in charge. By doing this no one can ever tell you they did not know or were not made aware. Establishing the Alpha male or female among Type As gives guys and gals an individual to look up to or refer to in case anything happens. The threshold for abuse and accountability has to be high on this individual, no matter what the decision, good or bad this person owns everything and is responsible for all Team and Individual actions. As the attitude described in this paragraph is displayed among the teams, people tend to know they are well taken care of and that they are being counted on but will not be crucified for doing what they are told to do. Anybody taking advantage of this umbrella will be noticable.
Establishing a clear chain of command is also a key factor in Management, especially if there are many players involved. Having one boss is bad enough but imagine if you have 2 or 3 people telling you what to do and they all have a different idea on what you should be doing. Make life a little easier for the guys and get a communications tree out there so they know who to approach for whatever reasons.
If somebody does approach the chain of command to either complain or provide decent input, make sure you do more listening than talking. Don’t be quick to counter or shoot anything down. Make sure that you take the time to analyze exactly what that person is trying to say. You may pick up something else after careful thought.
Establish clear objectives or milestones for all your missions or individual employee projects. This gives the employee clear direction and goals every step of the way. These will usually come with timelines and drop dead dates, a must have for any project.
One of my favorites is to instill camaraderie, especially fo the long winded projects where teams may have to work closely together, people get on each others nerves, no two are alike, even besties can grow apart. Take some time to get out and do different things together. Sometimes it’s also good to separate for a while, go the opposite direction. Respect each others space when needed and let loose when you can, time and place for everything. Then get back to work recharged.
To see how Eagle Eye manages teams first hand contact: operations@eessinc.com