The Best Project Solution
Photo by Javier Allegue Barros on Unsplash
In the seven years when I was a boss of a remote team, I can pick out what was the best project solution that happened.
I'm referring to those instances when the university assigned Program Managers (mid-level management but truly low-level management, one drop kick above the bottom) to tow a particular project with our teams. We were assigned MANY of these. As a university fascinated with its own navel, we had to engage in constant projects with the goal to improve student completion rates (also similarly known as Satisfactory Academic Progress, SAP).
Many, many, MAAAAAANNNNNNYYYYY of these. At least one a month (minimum) was assigned to us Managers. I'd think of them as the MBA word-of-the-week projects or I'd call them Joe Babies (snicker, named after one of my bosses).
Oh the number of times I'd have to stand in front of my team with one of those large white note pads, pose a quandry, and then gather responses-- SOO many. Rifs on the theme: Post-it ideas, round circles, etc.
Photographic examples:
But BY FAR, when I think about the BEST solution that arrived [note my wording] during my tenure as a boss, I point to this one solution:
The project was: On our every 18 months Great Places To Work survey, Teams scored higher employee satisfaction than the University overall. The University thought that was BS....if employees are happy with their Team, they should be MADE TO BE just as happy with the overall University.
Translation: employees had the tendency to think that their immediate boss was trying their best under the working conditions, but the university frequently launched bonkers ideas that everyone was forced to comply with. (this data came from one of my 360 performance evaluations)
So I posed the question to my team (I was towing the line):
What would make this place an even better place to work?
My team came back with the answer. It was brilliant. I take no credit.
They said:
Taking leave of any kind (sick, vacation, even an afternoon off) is very difficult. Can we make taking leave better?
They were right! When I moved from Teachers College to General Education, asking about taking leave was my first question...because it was nearly impossible over in the TC.
This place would be better if we could support each other when we take leave. That includes all aspects of taking leave: asking, receiving, notifying, allocating of work load, and recovery time (climbing Mount Outlook).
OK, I said. Let's put this into action.
And my job was to do just that: make leave easier to take. I showed consistency in establishing and applying rules for leave. I took work upon myself if I could.
But the solution itself was my team's idea. And I loved them for it.