Inspiring coworkers 1

[PatrickIRL]

Reading through Thread654-1311171 it came to me that some of us have come across situations like that.

I'd like to flip this and dedicate this thread to the coworkers have inspired you and how they have done so? Be it a neverending fountain of knowledge, someone who makes you think, someone who encourages you to try or do something.

Thoughts anyone?

 

[SF0751]

A manager I had for several years, at another company.

She taught me the knack of getting along with (incredibly) annoying co-workers, and the importance of having complete documentation on EVERYTHING.

Susan
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls, and looks like work." - Thomas A. Edison

 

[Welshbird]

Oh great thread idea!

I worked for someone in my last company who taught me more than anyone else I have probably ever known. She taught me to understand the end-user properly - to understand the marketing ideals properly, and the team she ran would have ran off a cliff after her had she requested it.

The just managed to inspire us - make us laugh - make us work harder than we ever had and make us love the job.

And actually, I relaly miss working with her.

Fee

The question should be [red]Is it worth trying to do?[/red] not [blue] Can it be done?[/blue]

 

[BJCooperIT]

I once worked with a project leader who was very focused and extremely smart. At that point in my career I knew how to work hard and would practically kill myself to do the job no matter how unreasonable the demands.

Our team was working under a fixed deadline that had had us working 60 hour weeks for months. We were called to a meeting at which the account manager (a salesperson) told us that there were 200 additional hours of requirements that had to be incorporated in the software and delivered on the unmovable deadline date. I inwardly moaned, exhausted, wondering how my husband would react and how could I get additional babysitting coverage. Not so my project leader.

We do not have the resources to work an additional 200 hours by the deadline date. Here is our list of deliverables. What falls off the list so that we can work on your new requirements?

That blew me away! Up until that point, it had never ocurred to me that you could ever say "No!" to your boss. She had presented her case calmly, with supporting facts, and without budging one inch on trying to cram even one more thing into an already unrealistic schedule. The account manager's jaw dropped and it was apparent he had never had anyone refuse to do the work it took to make his precious sale. Believe me, he never again made promises to his customers without first consulting the support staff.


Hats off to her and the life lesson it taught me.



[sup]Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.[/sup][sup] ~George Bernard Shaw[/sup]
Consultant Developer/Analyst Oracle, Forms, Reports & PL/SQL (Windows)
My website: www.EmuProductsPlus.com

 

[MeGustaXL]

I was "in charge" of a workshop that comprised me and two junior technicians.

The laughs we used to have in that place, day in, day out made me realise that there is no substitute for a willingness to get stuck in, pull your weight and perform as a team.

The days flew by, and I still miss Bart and Matt.

Chris

I must only use this power to annoy! - Bart Simpson, aka Stretch Dude

 

[KenCunningham]

Similar here. Setting up an entirely new Government Office with the assistance of 'new to the civil service' managers. Getting that baby up and running and functioning effectiveley is something I shall always be proud of, but more importantly the team work (and laughs and setbacks along the way) was and remains an inspiration to me in how people can pull together in apparent adversity and still come out the other end as firm friends.

I don't mind people who aren't what they seem. I just wish they'd make their mind up.

 

[tazuk]

Happily - the people I work with now in a small company (currently 4 people) covering a national client base.
The boss (and owner) is one of those rare people that you always work with, never for. The support engineer is always cheerful and handles clients incredibly well without losing his sense of humour, whilst putting in incredible hours. We all get on well, when there's a problem it's handled positively and everyone pitches in regardless of their other duties. Even when there's a crisis on no-one loses their sense of humour.

I find it hard to believe I've been there 2 years already, but wild horses couldn't get me to move. In fact my old boss tried to headhunt me back 6 months ago and I laughed so hard coffee came out of my nose.


TazUk

Programmer An organism that turns coffee into software.
Unknown Author

 

[gbaughma]

I learned some "life changing" things with a supervisor of mine some years ago.

Remember the 3-day rule
Whenever you're upset about something, use the 3-day rule.
Day 1: Emotion. You're upset, angry, etc. Not the day to make decisions.
Day 2: Fact-finding. Review what happened, gather the facts, emotions are lower, so now you can get to the meat of what really happened.
Day 3: Decision time. Only make your decision after you have calmed down, put the emotions behind you, and gathered all of the facts.

You choose your own emotions
Nobody can *make* you angry. You *choose* to be angry, or sad, or happy. Choose to be happy.

If you win the argument, are you really winning?
I love this one. If I get in an argument with my wife, and win the argument, but end up sleeping on the couch for the next 2 weeks, did I really win? Ask yourself, before engaging, is it important enough to argue about? Are the gains of winning the disagreement worth the potential bad feelings of the person who lost? And most importantly, Is there a win-win solution?



Just my 2¢

"What the captain doesn't realize is that we've secretly exchanged his dilithium crystals for new Folger's Crystals." -- My Sister
--Greg

http://parallel.tzo.com

 

[Welshbird]

Greg - that is excellent advice. Shiny thing for you.

Fee

The question should be [red]Is it worth trying to do?[/red] not [blue] Can it be done?[/blue]

 

[jrbarnett]

I've got a fair few I could mention here.

One was my first post graduation boss. He was a walking, talking grammar and spelling checker and insisted on approving every written communication sent outside the company before clicking "Send" or posting.
He taught me the requirements and benefits of professional communication in a work environment.

Second was a colleague at that company. He was an all round techie and also understood the business requirements the company worked in.
His one flaw was that he insisted on talking in tech speak to non technical people, which made him difficult to understand at times.
He taught me the value of talking to people in language they understand.

Third was a boss I had only for 6 months. I was working as a temp at the time.
We were in a very overstretched team where the work never stopped, it was always coming in, a legacy of her predecessor and his predecessor as well that left the department we supported with a very bad opinion of IT in general, very poorly maintained equipment and a manager who had got to their position of authority by lying about his technical ability.

Within a few months of starting, the team had turned around, its reputation restored to such an extent that people from outside the team's support remit
were asking this group for IT assistance, and some of the people who had problems outstanding for over a year because "they can't be resolved" were fixed.

Like MeGustaXL, this was what put the "get in and get the job done" no nonsense mentality, plus the need to do things right first time rather than come back to
it again later. As a side effect this also instilled an intense dislike of charlatans.
She was also the first manager I had who would openly praise people for a job well done, but as well as managing people, would have no problem doing some techie work if
it was needed.

Finally was my previous employer. My manager there was the best person manager I have ever had to date, bar none. As well as regular team briefings, every 2-3 weeks or so each member of staff in her team would get a 1:1 private talk with her for about an hour.
At that time she would raise any forthcoming issues likely to affect that person, and allow us to ask questions back and raise any concerns that we had at the time.
It could include personal problemss, issues relating to existing work, requests to book leave etc.

John

 

[rosieb]

Two bosses really spring to mind, in both cases, after a serious disagreement each said something along the lines of "OK, I disagree, but I've given you the job and if you feel that strongly, do it - and I'll back you all the way."

In both cases, I was right/successful, and both made a big point of admitting they had been wrong. (OK, I was probably very lucky.)

(In another, similar, case with one of them I completely screwed up - but she still backed me.)

That taught me a lot about delegation and trust.



Rosie
"Don't try to improve one thing by 100%, try to improve 100 things by 1%

 

[KornGeek]

Rosie,

Wow, that's a big difference from the boss I had who said "OK, we disagree, but I'm the one who signs the paychecks, so we'll do it my way." (Almost word-for-word what was said.)

 

[rosieb]

KornGeekWhy employ/pay someone to make decisions, if you're going to overrule them?

Many managers don't apply this logic - that's why I value the experience, and why I really try to apply it.

Rosie
"Don't try to improve one thing by 100%, try to improve 100 things by 1%