Page 175 - Managing the Mobile Workforce

154 � mAnAgIng the moBIle workForCe

next cycle. Are there some business processes that are broken that just
get in the way? Are there some broken relationships that need to be
mended? Are you giving the right support? Is the employee right for
this kind of work? Candor, even though difficult and sometimes hurt-
ful, is your most valued asset here, and will build a climate of respect
between you.
Then you can start the whole cycle all over again. Seek excellence
in your own management growth. Your own performance manage-
ment goals should be clear. One of them should be learning how to
develop and sustain a high-performance environment for your mobile
organization.

` Autonomy or not Autonomy?
thAt Is not the QuestIon

We posed a false dichotomy to you in Chapter 6. The solution is not
one or the other: autonomy or not autonomy. What’s required is to do
what the job and the person calls for. Some jobs are more conducive
for automation; some just aren’t. Some people fit right into a more
structured environment and like it better, and some want to set their
own structure. As we say in Chapter 9, everyone is different, and ev-
eryone is the same. Not all jobs can be treated the same way either, so
you’ll just have to figure out what’s right for you.
That’s, of course, why you get the big bucks.
Right?

` summAry

Performance management is the heart of managing mobile workers.
It’s where the rubber truly meets the road on a daily basis. It is the
litmus test for managers—if you can do this well for mobile workers