(eleventh in a series titled Issues Managers Face in the Workplace)

I enjoyed a brief vacation recently in the beautiful red rocks of Sedona, Arizona. One of the local shirt shops sells t-shirts and sweat shirts that are washed with the red rock dust of the local landscape. The one I bought has this written on the front:

“Life is Short – Play Dirty.”

Early on while attending graduate school at the University of St. Thomas, I held a part-time job loading semi-trucks for UPS. My shift was 9pm to 1am, provided a good wage and full medical benefits. It was a dirty, physically demanding job. Each loader averages 2,000 20lb packages per shift. The environment was fast-paced. If I wasn’t keeping up with loading my trucks, the chutes would get full of packages and the conveyor belt to the entire dock would have to be stopped. If this kept up for too long, the unloaders on the other side of the building would have to stop. You get the idea: DO NOT STOP! Our dock supervisors were not part of the union. They had strict instructions to “never assist with the forward motion of a parcel” and to focus on “managing” the dock and loading employees. They even had to wear ties. The holiday season is fraught with a significant increase in package volume. I was in charge of three semi-trailers and was starting to fall behind. This happened to all of us. We would help each other out – literally three minutes of tag-teaming a chute and semi-trailer could get one ahead again. Three minutes. Yet everyone had three times the volume. My dock supervisor jumped in, tie and all, and helped me for three minutes. Saved me, really. He didn’t think twice about getting dirty because the job, the goals of the organization, and his team, required it.

Get Dirty

Doing the work of a manager means getting to do strategy, planning, integrating, thinking, directing, and leading. There isn’t much time for any ‘doing’ – that’s why you have a team, right? What good could you possibly do if you try to do the work of your team? Being an enabler is not what managing is about. Yet with scarce resources and unexpected challenges, sometimes getting along side one of your employees and helping out is exactly what you should be doing.

Do Not Muddy the Waters

The error of exuberance happens when a manager starts to get involved in absolutely everything. No job, no decision, no meeting happens without manager input, approval, and validation. One cannot operate like that. Why do you have a team of smart, dedicated employees if you are going to do all their work? Be mindful of taking on your team’s daily work when they truly need help, not just when you feel like inserting yourself because you have some extra time.

Culture of Dirt

Establishing the ability to interact with your team – trust each other – is key to getting dirty. If your employees are afraid to ask for help, you’re too ‘strategic’ to get dirty with them, or they feel your intent is anything but a willingness to serve, your efforts will be for naught.

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Joe Raasch :: Feb.22.2008 :: Employee Engagement, Innovation, Leadership :: 4 Comments »