ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 23, 1997 TAG: 9702210034
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: WORKING IT OUT
SOURCE: CAMILLE WRIGHT MILLER
Q: Our company is requiring employees to develop Individual Development Plans. I'm don't know where to start.
A: Consider the company, its values, where the industry is headed and your job description. What skills, abilities, behaviors will your company need in one, five and 10 years? What do they require now that you lack or could improve? What skills, abilities and behaviors will each successive career move or promotion require?
Keep in mind that you want to develop several areas: technical, interpersonal, managerial and industry standards.
Your list should be extensive. Set priorities. What do you need now? What could be accomplished in one year? In two? In five? This is your master to-do list.
While your list should be comprehensive, it should also be flexible and doable. Your forward-looking plan should provide direction for the next five years; however, as technology changes and industry standards shift, you should be ready to substitute development goals.
Where will you gain the skills and abilities you've identified? Where, when, and how will you master these skills and abilities?
Your plan should show a logical progression of your development direction. Make sure you can commit to meeting these goals before offering them to your boss.
Done correctly, your Individual Development Plan should stand as a model for others within your company - a great first step in further developing your standing.
Q: In the company where I work, someone else punches the time card for a fellow employee who is always late and who frequently leaves early. We've told management, but nothing has ever been said to these two. The problem continues day after day. It's unfair to other employees.
A: The situation is unfair to other employees who work the time stated on their cards. Your tardy co-worker has given himself a raise by being paid for more than his actual work hours. It's also unfair to the company. It's paying for work never received.
If management's aware and won't act, there's little more employees can do. Engaging in passive-aggressive behavior, such as hiding the time card, will backfire on responsible, honest employees. While management may view this as too trivial to worry about, it's clear the situation has created resentment and lowered morale. But time often has a way of resolving unfair situations.
Problems like this often get resolved in ways that entertain responsible employees. One day, for example, the time card puncher may find he's punched in someone who called in sick. It will happen.
Q: I'm teamed with a co-worker who never delivers. For example, I write the reports for our joint projects. His role is to evaluate and critique my reports for lapses in logic, grammar or spelling. I'll give him a report a week before I need it back to make revisions.
He'll call, say he hasn't had a chance to read it fully but it looks fine. The day it's due, he calls and says he just read it and has corrections.
A: You may feel a loss of control because your deadlines aren't adhered to; however, your partner may feel left out of the process because you're making all the decisions. It's equally possible that you're organized, which differs from his more relaxed approach. Or, it could be that your partner is setting you up - telling your supervisor that you're solely responsible for errors since he wasn't given ample opportunity to read it.
Open a conversation and explain your expectations and how you feel. Ask your partner to explain his expectations. Work toward a mutually agreeable, beneficial and different arrangement. Could you trade writing/editing tasks? When writing the report, can you give it to your partner in smaller chunks with immediate deadlines to keep him focused?
Is the problem one of ownership or control, or one of work styles? Understanding the cause will open up the many possibilities for restructuring the work.
Your discussion should be aimed at improving the work process and results to the professional benefit of both. Keep that in mind when entering the discussion.
If nothing else works, seek help. Talk with your supervisor; remain as objective as possible while explaining the problem. You may find there's already awareness of the problem.
If all else fails, informally partner with someone who is interested in the company's welfare and who is willing to give feedback in a timely manner.
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