I'd be interested to hear comments about teaching a young party chief about leadership and accountability. I want to make guys understand that they are in a supervisory position and that they need to step up and own it. Any comments are appreciated.
Certainly
I've let everyone that has ever worked with me and for me from brushape to party chief know from the beginning that they are responsible to me and the client for everything they do while on the job.
They are also informed that they are responsible for keeping up and caring for the tools they use and the expense of fixing or replacing them may come out of their pockets if they are careless.
I let them know that if they have an idea that may prove to help us get thru the day, spill it and we'll talk it out and see if it will fly.
If the crew can't think on their own, you will find yourself having to tell them how to tie their laces before they leave the office.
Transitioning from follower to leader is tough in any industry. Young teachers often fail because they don't realize their leadership role in the classroom, and I've witnessed the same phenomenon in two other careers. Understanding and accepting the responsibility along with the title and the pay seems to be a high hurdle for lots of folks. Some people truly don't want that responsibility and will not do well if it's thrust upon them.
This article gives some broad guidance for training business leaders, but different people react differently to leadership and leadership training. There is some food for thought here, though.
Choosing the right person is the first challenge. Leading that person to success is the second. He's unlikely to make it without support.
MathTeacher, post: 351891, member: 7674 wrote: Transitioning from follower to leader is tough in any industry. Young teachers often fail because they don't realize their leadership role in the classroom, and I've witnessed the same phenomenon in two other careers. Understanding and accepting the responsibility along with the title and the pay seems to be a high hurdle for lots of folks. Some people truly don't want that responsibility and will not do well if it's thrust upon them.
This article gives some broad guidance for training business leaders, but different people react differently to leadership and leadership training. There is some food for thought here, though.
Choosing the right person is the first challenge. Leading that person to success is the second. He's unlikely to make it without support.
Thank you for the article. Your reply went straight to the heart of my question.
Lee D, post: 351780, member: 7971 wrote: I'd be interested to hear comments about teaching a young party chief about leadership and accountability. I want to make guys understand that they are in a supervisory position and that they need to step up and own it. Any comments are appreciated.
I've had bullies, know it alls, and humble teachers and have learned from them all in regards to the practice of surveying or life, in general. A young party chief needs to know that he is still learning. No matter how many years they do it, there is always something new to learn. Secondly, they must pass on their knowledge without fear of their subordinates taking their position. A smart and capable I-man makes you look good. He is also a human being or may be several years older than you and demands respect. My current I-man was my chief 30 years ago and I can't treat him like a bratty millennial. Thirdly, we make mistakes. They become fewer in time. The chief is responsible for his mistakes as well as the mistakes made by the crew. If field comps for a stakeout are busted, you have to figure that out on the fly. Sometimes with the client staring at them.
How you teach him should never change, but alas with today's equipment it is the how long do you teach him that is the big question. Maybe more important is how long can you afford to teach him?
I would suggest that you offer to pay for a class, online surveying or even a CADrafting class at a local community college. If he balks at education as a part of the learning process move on to another man. If he cannot understand that he is the beginning of an end process how can he understand leadership. If he is willing then you have to invest time and money in him. After a day or part of a day in the field you have to be with him as he connects the dots. Not as easy as it sounds. If he is working with another crew member then you need to find other work for the crew member or pay overtime and work with the new man after hours or on another day. you may not be able to create the best draftsman but you must a minimum educate him what happens to his field work. this can easily cost you 2-3 times your normal drafting time.
If it is an online surveying class then you have to be his go to guy for questions. That means you invest time in creating answers to similar homework problems but are not doing his actual problems.
It also means you take him along on things you can easily do yourself; such as reconnaissance, getting deeds, filed maps or records of survey. Reconnaissance is more than just going to the field, it is online tax maps, Google Earth, statewide orthophotos, LIDAR or USGS, etc. If you have a CAD station in your office then put him there occasionally. That way you are close to answer questions and he is close to overhear your conversations with clients and engineers. He should learn what it is that is required as the end result of his field work. You do not want to discuss costs in front of him, but then that should always be by a written proposal anyway. At some point you do want him to learn how what he earns is a part of the overall project costs.
All in all, educating him is a bigger commitment on your part than his. I have been on both sides of the above at various stages of my career.
Paul in PA
I have found that if you actually explain each employee's responsibility to them personally they understand a lot better. When I was a young man I was always frustrated by supervisors that never really let me know about a "responsibility" until a failure. Like "how was I suppose to know I had to tell someone we were low on flagging?"...when that responsibility had never been explained to me.
It is easy to fall into a "learn as you go" routine with new employees, but that is counter-productive. An employee should have a pretty darn good idea of what is expected from him or her the first day their boots hit the ground. Somewhere around here I have a printed list of duties and procedures. Sitting down in a comfortable setting and going over the list always seemed to help.
Employee safety, vehicle operation, proper field procedure and equipment care top the list. I also try to leave employees with the concept that someone is responsible for everything. An accident, incident or mistake in the field is SOMEONE'S failure to be responsible. There is no "sh*t happens" around here.
paden cash, post: 351918, member: 20 wrote: I have found that if you actually explain each employee's responsibility to them personally they understand a lot better. When I was a young man I was always frustrated by supervisors that never really let me know about a "responsibility" until a failure. Like "how was I suppose to know I had to tell someone we were low on flagging?"...when that responsibility had never been explained to me.
It is easy to fall into a "learn as you go" routine with new employees, but that is counter-productive. An employee should have a pretty darn good idea of what is expected from him or her the first day their boots hit the ground. Somewhere around here I have a printed list of duties and procedures. Sitting down in a comfortable setting and going over the list always seemed to help.
Employee safety, vehicle operation, proper field procedure and equipment care top the list. I also try to leave employees with the concept that someone is responsible for everything. An accident, incident or mistake in the field is SOMEONE'S failure to be responsible. There is no "sh*t happens" around here.
Would love to see that list if you come across it.
One of the things that fascinates me is the connection between leadership and technical proficiency. Often, people are promoted to leadership positions because of their technical proficiency. But, the higher they go and the further they get from the technical work, the less technical proficiency matters, and the more people skills matter. Yet, leaders must be ahead of the curve on technical innovations and applications. General understanding becomes paramount; technical proficiency less so.
A crew chief seems to be right in the middle. He can't lead effectively at that level if he's not technically proficient and he is the implementer of new technology and methods. He has to have both management and worker mind sets; both short-term and long-term focuses.
It's got to be a heckuva tough position to fill.
I've struggled with this question ever since getting licensed and soon after finding myself in that position of leadership and having to learn to delegate responsibilities to others and it is tough. You want that young party chief or whoever your delegating to, to step up and take ownership and think on their feet and have confidence in their abilities.
I'll be studying this thread with interest because I have much to learn myself about what it takes to be a good leader. I've cobbled together some good advice I've received, some of it from other members of this forum, much of it learned by way of hard knocks.
One thing I think is key to being a good leader, is to know how to be a good follower. I mean that by way of a 'can-do' positive attitude. For that young party chief to be turned into a strong leader, he first must learn to be a good follower and not take everything personally. His ego must be resilient enough that they isn't flattened by some small set back and is quick to learn from his mistakes, but not so un-giving that he can't or won't admit to his mistakes or worse yet, not admit that he does not know all the answers. So I guess temperament is important. We are all followers in one way or another, whether we acknowledge it or not and those who are not team players will always struggle to play on a team, much less lead one. On of my biggest challenges has always been I'm a lone wolf, but I've never been afraid to push to find my limits and on occasion, fall flat on my face. Young party chief's will make mistakes. The quicker they are to acknowledge them and learn, the better off everyone will be.
Clearly communicating expectations at an early stage is very important. None of us are mind readers and nothing is more frustrating than trying to fix our sights on a moving target. Talk to that young party chief and tell them clearly what you expect and put yourself in their shoes. Most likely that was you at one time. Let them know you have their back and you expect the same in return. Encourage him or her to ask questions. That is what we do. Making snap assumptions based on limited or possibly defective information is a good way to look like a dufus and can shatter a young party chief's confidence. Encourage that young party chief to listen and ask questions. I mean really listen to what people are saying. That goes for all of us. One thing I've noticed in this electronic age is that attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. Really listening and understanding the question or problem is critical for that young party chief to arrive at the correct solution. Too many people are busy formulating their next thought or listening to themselves speak to really be listening. Tell grasshopper to slow down and listen, and don't be afraid to ask questions that clarify the mission. Communicating isn't typically a strong point of surveyors, but it needs to be.
Don't talk poorly about others around your young party chief, or anyone for that matter. If you do talk about others, do so in a positive light. Negative reinforcement does not work and will only lead your young chief to assume you will talk poorly of him around others as well.
Old saying I heard once. 'The speed of the boss is the speed of the crew'. Best way to lead is by example. Best way to discourage others, is by example.
One thing I also learned along the way, you'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar. People will go above and beyond the call of duty for you, if they like and respect you. If they don't, they will resent you and give their bare minimum effort. With that said, you cannot force people to like you, nor should you. That young party chief may have great potential, and he may not. It's up to you to give him the support to find out.
One more thing. When your talking with your young party chief. Tell him to learn to trust his instincts and listen to his inner voice. When that voice is saying something doesn't look or feel right, take two steps back and reevaluate their assumptions.
and your door is always open, except when it is not.
Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
That double challenge is to maximize the technical capabilities that come with the increased responsibilities that come with the promotion to a leadership position. For example, in my case the same person that I want to do all of the courthouse type work is the same person that I want to lead the crew following those clues to find the existing survey control. So there is a need for two very different types of technical ability plus the need for the people skills to lead the crew.
As far as taking ownership of the work goes I think that Paul and Cow are on the right track with broadening the scope of work exposure.
Working solely field from a background of all on the job training it is very difficult to get the big picture. It is hard to take ownership of work you do not understand; a person will just end up chasing their tail around. For older surveyors who were trained in the classic tradition I think this can be hard to grasp.
Leadership is tough, one riff on the "need to know how to follow before you can lead" line of thought is that you also need some experience as a leader to know how to be a good assistant. I have seen some people really gum up the works with an honest desire to help but a misplaced idea of what that looks like, the chainman who suggests an alternative approach at every command comes to mind or the party chief who measures every point as if it were the golden spike.
If I were in a hiring position I would consider not bringing on any employee who had never held some position directing at least one other person, doing what would be irrelevant.
Williwaw, post: 351926, member: 7066 wrote: One thing I think is key to being a good leader, is to know how to be a good follower. I mean that by way of a 'can-do' positive attitude. For that young party chief to be turned into a strong leader, he first must learn to be a good follower and not take everything personally.
An upcoming Party Chief that can exhibit the qualities you mentioned above is a born leader. 🙂
Leadership is a belief. If you want someone to take charge, you have to accomplish a few things first. Instill confidence and pride and belief in that individual. Motivate them along the way to be better.
I'm prior service and spent several years in the Army as a Cavalryman. I learned that you develop leaders. It takes time and structure. One must create a path from day one as someone else mentioned in not so many words. Essentially, it's baby steps up the ladder with each step having more responsibility. By the time that individual reaches the top, they feel confident in their abilities and taking a "true" leadership position isn't such a huge undertaking.
So in each phase of the growth, one is becoming technically proficient, tactically proficient (best way to accomplish tasks) and gaining real life experience along the way.
The struggles if given this role too soon becomes "what type of leader" am I. And this to develops over time. All of you have worked for one of these 3 leadership types over the years. All are "effective" but not all are respected.
-Authoritative
-Participative
-Delegative
I listed them in an evolutionary order. At first your nervous and just barking out commands. Then after you fail a few times and stress levels go through the roof, you realize that all might not understand what your barking. So you dig in and get your hands dirty. Finally after seasoning, you Delegate, instruct, follow up, reward and punish as needed. And the next leader is born.
I'll leave you with this. It was what I carried around in my wallet for years as a scout leader and I still reference it to this day. It's a simple checklist to live by and I believe it applies to all in a leadership position.
It is simply BE- KNOW- DO
BE ÛÒ this is all about your character as a leader and is foundational to your ability to lead. It gives you the courage to do what is right regardless of the circumstances or the consequences. As part of BE, you should be aware of your personal core values as well as your organizationÛªs values. For the Army, their values are:
Loyalty
Duty
Respect
Selfless Service
Honor
Integrity
Personal Courage
KNOW ÛÒ This is about the knowledge and skill sets you need to be competent as a leader and cover four areas:
Interpersonal skills
Conceptual skills
Technical skills
Tactical skills
Your mastery of the knowledge and skills required for your role are essential to the success of your organization.
DO ÛÒ Leaders act. They bring together everything they are, everything they believe, and everything they know how to do to provide purpose, direction, and motivation. This involves the following three leader actions:
Influencing
Operating
Improving
Good stuff - I expected a lot of good advice and comments here and I haven't been disappointed. Thanks y'all!
I've seen a couple of help wanted adds that weren't far off from this:
Help Wanted: Survey Party Chief
Must possess the patience of Buddha, the morals of Jesus, the resolve of Gandhi, and the strength of Thor.
Must be proficient in all survey software ever made as well and all measuring devises ever implemented.
Must be willing to travel, work weekends, nights, and holidays.
Pay: $12/Hour
I am open with my crew about the prices for the surveys we perform. I assume that they work to earn money that can then purchase security. I give them goals to which I affix pay increases. The first goal for a green employee is to be able to set up and back sight effortlessly and correctly for which I reward them with another dollar an hour. I don't expect altruism from employees I expect a desire to increase their wealth.