I recently switched positions at work and the supervisor has asked me to become the lead man for his department. I am the newest to the group and I have the least amount of experience. My concern is that the already lazy employees there will become even lazier and not respect me because I haven't been there as long as them. How can I get them to listen to me without being overly aggressive? This is the first time I will have employees working under me.
You will need to set the example by your own hard work.... Good luck, reward or acknowledge those who deserve it, stick to what you know is right.
This is actually what is most likely going to happen. The guy is not gonna get fired but he is going to get moved to another department. Sort of like a demotion cause the other department sucks.
Hope this ends up helping you but don't be shocked if it doesn't. How many people report to you and how big is your company locally?
Agree with win. Or you can also have a poster board on the wall with their names on it. Then whoever performs well for the team gets a gold star next to their name, and so on and so forth. This worked well from my personal experience almost 2 decades ago.
If the Army taught me anything it is that yelling and making people do push-ups will get work done faster
Find out this person's social and hierarchical status within the group and get feedback from other employees in confidence. Then report that info back to them along with any conditions and consequences of continue poor performance and see if their work improves. All the while you should be prepared to pick up their slack or re-distribute to other personnel before even thinking about firing them. Leadership is less about controlling or punishing people than it is about influencing, incentivising and endearing people towards higher levels of productivity.
In my opinion, nothing you can do. People are who they are. I would try to move them to other departments.
You have to work with what you got. Use incentives to motivate them, if it doesn't work then you are out of options. Its very possible these people just aren't happy with where they are at in life or don't expect to get anywhere with their current position. Getting aggressive would be the silliest choice as it is usually counterproductive unless that is what makes a few of them tick, but not many people will respond positively to that. You need to find creative ways in making them work harder and even subtle things can work....
Show them this... <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ATkdbXGNE04" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> They will surely be motivated...
Getting aggressive with them is the last thing I want to do. My first strategy will be to complement them on the good things they do and have lots of pep talks to keep the morale up. Also, is it fair to hold them up to the same standards I hold myself; work ethics wise. Should I lower my standards a bit?
This is simple to fix, take them all out on the basketball court and shame them with your sick mid range game. No but really, work hard and be a good example, do what is right. Tell them the truth about what needs to happen and what they are doing well. Don't get mad if they don't get better, just continue working hard and doing what is right and keep good records of what is being done and not done for your boss to see. Praise in public, admonish in private.
