I never took it as overboard when I knew I was in the wrong
exactly....
@dougie I guess having to pick my own switch so grandma could whip my rump and it better not break messed me all up lol. Oh did I deserve everything i got though. Wish I could go back and tell that little brat and punk teenager a thing or two. Hard headed and stubborn is what i was for sure. I don’t know how my mom managed to keep me. Every grey hair had to come from me. Geezers lol. I remember my dad saying you better not. Then smile as he knew for sure i was going to try. And yes well i learned eventually.
@hi-staker Good luck in your approach but you may want to consider adding a timeline for improvement. Some individuals get it and some don't, we have no control over that.
I once hired a young Crew Chief that seemed promising. It didn't take long before he started making significant mistakes regarding not following standard procedures or written instructions. It was a constant drain explaining to him over and over again how to do things and why we do them that way. After about six months of him not grasping basic concepts, I had to let him go.
Everybody deserves an opportunity to learn and grow with proper guidance but only a select few will learn from constructive criticism, there comes a time to cut your losses when your guidance is not being followed.
@olemanriver : If I was told to go get a switch I would come back with a rock for her to throw at me because I knew she couldn't hit the broadside of a barn.
My Mom spanked me with a plastic hair brush, once, and it broke; I laughed...
Psychological abuse is more effective.
Many years ago a Fifth Grade teacher needed to deal with a significant behavior issue with a student just as the final bell for the day was ringing on a Friday afternoon. She told him he would be punished on Monday. The student was worrying over the entire weekend about what the teacher would think was appropriate. His worry was so evident that his parents finally got him to explain why he wasn't behaving normally. First thing Monday morning, those parents were at the school chewing the teacher a new one long before the bus arrived with their son. The principal supported the student's side of the issue and reprimanded the teacher.
In my day, the teacher would have punished me immediately, then driven me home so she could explain to my parents why she did what she did. After she would have left, I would have received more punishment. Fortunately, I was a perfect angel.
agree with most of above and a sit down is long overdue. Have learned a lot from one person I work with as he takes lots more time than me to do a job but he is meticulous and I do not have to go back behind him - just the opposite of what you are faced with. Put your person in a position they can be successful in and if you both cannot find that let them know they is not cut out for this profession.
Had a LS who could not make a decision and got 'flustered' when the going got tough. He left us and went to work with a big box firm and then figured our surveying wasn't for him - he is happy to teach school and stops by to say hi now and then.
Having 90 percent of what it takes to do the job right is what causes the greatest internal issues. Many times, the goal is to have someone ahead of you to take the heat by telling you precisely how something is to be done. Being able to handle the heat and being the BIG DOG results in a paycheck difference that can be outstanding.
I've found that going in the field and showing the young guys how I expect things to be done is more effective with a stubborn one than handing lists to him. As a Dad I learned that each kid is different and sometimes you have to modify your method of parenting. That applies to LSIs just as well.
I'm that one friend...
He sounds distracted to me. There is such a thing as adult ADHD. I have a couple friends with it. Can't stay on point. They have trouble completing tasks fluidly without seeing a squirrel go by.
Some people hate check lists, but for this kind of person, it's exactly what they need. They might even find that it's just what they want to help them focus on one part of the job at a time rather than having a big jumble of tasks to complete.
If it's not ADD that's contributing to his issues, then I have to question your assessment that he has a good work ethic.
You also mentioned the searched-not-found for monuments that exist. Some of us have been doing this long enough that we forget that finding monuments, while there are a few naturals among us, a learned art form for most. even for the natural monument hunters, there are things that one learns only by experience and only by having someone with that experience show us. If you don't have a seasoned chief to send him out with, you need to make some time to spend in the field with him. That means having him right with you as you explain how you know to look in a particular location or why you suspect that a particular location may hold a monument.
I'm sure you're busy and finding that time won't be easy, but it's easier to find the time to teach (if the student wants to learn) than it is to have to make the time to constantly check up on and clean up after someone.
@dave-lindell my grandma might throw a cast iron skillet with hot grease lol. I loved her but never defied her. Lol
@stacy-carroll I will say this. Having a PLS go to the field once in a while is worth more and sticks in one’s brain more than 6 months of telling them the same thing. I aggree. I remember still many times a pls met us. Laughing joking and teaching as we or he showed us what to look for. I believe it is a great way to teach and it doesn’t have to be all the time just once in a while. Makes a huge difference. For me anyway.
@hpalmer Some people have a unique gift they can just look at something and the error or issue just jumps out at them. New an imagery guy that could look at several images overtime and in minutes identify all the changes small changes that even algorithms are just now catching up to be able to do. Unfortunately he had to retire as his eyes went bad. Just unbelievable at change detection. Same with surveyors. I had rotaded some text and didn’t have it along a line but eyeballed. Boss marked it. He said check this. I was like degnabit. Another mistake on my part.
My dad was like that... I could work on a plat for 3 days straight, and he could find all misspelled words, and other anomalies in 3 minutes.
Dad's gone now. But of all things I miss, I miss his criticism. Not many say that. But, good criticism is very valuable... We usually don't know that when it's happening!
Now, I'm finding myself becoming more like dad than ever.
Nate
For a fighter: it's more about how you can take a punch; not how good you can throw one...
@dougie We haven't had the opportunity to sit him down just yet. He had a 4 day weekend scheduled and won't be back until Monday AM. Task #1 will be sitting him down and laying everything out.
Maybe his "hint-catcher" is broke......
Give him a written evaluation. Put his good and bad qualities & habits on paper for him to read & acknowledge, making sure to keep the criticism constructive and professional. Give a reasonable deadline to correct his bad habits, and consequences for failure to obtain significant improvement, ir. demotion and reduction in pay or termination.
You could also hire a seasoned Party Chief and put the LSI under him on a crew. If that happened to me, I would probably quit on the spot. If he quit, you would already have his replacement in-house and your stress level leaves with the LSI. If you have made recommendations for this gent to complete his path to licensure, you can revise your recommendation and hopefully prevent a sub-par candidate from obtaining his professional credentials.
My $0.04 opinions. Good luck with your decision.
Bring up specific examples to demonstrate where the gap in communication versus the results that were offered as done weren't done and why they weren't and what your expectations were.
my $0.02