Page 54 - Becoming a Successful Manager

Understanding Each Person in Your Department 45

Do not follow the same routine with each employee, to avoid
giving the impression that each interview is identical. Instead, apply
the concept of planned spontaneity. This means that you know in
advance what you hope to gain from the meeting, you know where
you want to begin (making sure you don’t start off with the same
question with each employee), and you allow the answer to each
question to determine where you go with it. Planned spontaneity

can lead you to beneficial discoveries and pleasant surprises. All
you need to do is listen intently and ask appropriate questions.
(The dos and don’ts of asking questions are the subject of a later

chapter.) You may find that you spent the entire lunch hour exam-
ining only one of the questions you hoped to discuss. That’s fi ne as
long as you learned something valuable about your employee and
vice versa.

Discovery Lesson

In your journal, list as many qualities you can think of that you would
like your staff members to feel about you (e.g., respected, trusted, appre-
ciated, important).
On a separate entry, for each feeling you listed, note your answer
to this question: What specifi cally do I need to do to foster this feeling?
Refer to this list of desirable behaviors as often as necessary throughout
the course of your managerial career.