Hi all, I found this site yesterday while searching for some insight into management. Doing some searching I ran across the O3 talks and started to wonder how I could use this tool.
Some background. My group, established in late 2004, is a relatively addition to the company. The vast majority of my directs are Gen Y and looking to (rapidly) grow and advance in their careers. We currently are located at an offsite location with plans of returning to the main campus in late 2008. The "exile" makes it difficult for them to interact with the main campus employees and discover areas to grow.
The other difficult thing about their work is that is a very independent work. Each direct edits chemical information and adds it to the system. It is a true production environment where the wheel always keeps turning and the work has very, very, few differences. It is a tedious, highly repetitive job. The directs really don't need to interact with each other to accomplish their goals. I try to encourage interaction through cross-training, potlucks, lunches out, group production and currency goals, etc.
The O3 sounds like a way to share my insight into the company's mission, increase their interaction with me, and help my directs recognize the paths available and the patience and hard work they need to get there. It might also help with the turnover we have had in the position. (3 directs left the company last year, due to career advancement or marriage opportunities)
I do have one small problem with weekly O3's. I have 24 directs (yes, twenty-four) and all are professional staff. One direct is located in other state. I can't commit 12 hrs a week to O3's and get my other managerial assignments completed.
So how would you go about setting up O3's? Currently, I have individual meetings one a month. Is this frequent enough in such a static environment? Should I meet more frequently with some directs vs other directs, i.e. newbies vs established directs? Can I start with a few directs and then add others as I get comfortable doing O3's or would that cause some directs to feel dismissed/unimportant?
PS Sorry for the length. I'm not typically so verbose. :oops:
Thinking of starting O3
I would handle all of them the same way. So if you do O3s for one, do them for all 24.
That said, once a month isn't really frequent enough. Could you do them every other week? Schedule half for week 1, half for week 2 and keep that schedule going forward. This way the load is spread over the week for you making it easier to accomplish AND the contact is frequent enough to get the full value from it.
There's an email template you can use tied to the podcast article - it's a great way to tell them what you hope to accomplish and begin the scheduling!
Thinking of starting O3
slbound,
Think of the 12 hours per week as a short-term investment. After a couple months of weekly O3's with your staff, you should start seeing some increases in overall team performance.
Also, there are some podcasts about your calendar that suggest that you probably aren't as busy as you think [can somebody help me out on which ones?], especially if you look at your calendar 3-4 weeks from now as opposed to the coming week.
I had 22 direct professionals working for me early in my managerial career and I did 1-1's with all of them every week. And this was an IT group inside a company that was doubling in size year over year for many consecutive years (now an F100), so we had plenty to do. :)
And I didn't have MT, so I made a lot more mistakes. :)
You can do it, and the rewards will be worth it! Good luck!
Thinking of starting O3
SLBound-
Glad you're here and trying to grow your managerial skills. I assure you, the investment you spend on these skills will pay off far greater than any other set of skills for the vast majority of career progressions.
And, I just don't think you can learn enough here in the forums about One on Ones to make you effective enough with 24 directs. You just can't ask 4-5 questions, even to the giving folks here in our community, and expect to know what you need to know.
PLEASE listen to all of the casts on One on ONes
http://www.manager-tools.com/category/one-on-ones
Start at the bottom, spend a couple of hours (less than a book or the first class or two in a course), and then think about how they might be applied.
And, I know managers with THIRTY directs who run thier one on ones just fine. The time you INVEST (not spend) has an ROI greater than one (or one hundred percent, depending on your metric).
It's the best thing you can do. It's hard...but I was once taught never to confuse an easy life with a good life.
Mark
Thinking of starting O3
Gee, talk about my missing the obvious!
Listen to the podcasts...it's almost like Ragu...it's in there!