Please lead me! Don’t ask if you don’t want my opinion

I have had a lot of jobs, there are some crazy statistics about my generation and the number of jobs we have all gone through at my age and I would say I’m leading the pack. I am no exception to the 10 jobs before 25 rule, (not sure what the specific stats are but it’s some crazy number like that) I think I am an exception in the fact that two of my jobs were held for 5 years each though, so I’ve got both long term and short term jobs on my resume. This also means of course, that I have had a lot of managers and been on the receiving end of a variety of leadership and management styles. This blog post is the start of a series, Please Lead Me! Where I’ll cover a variety of topics that I can think of in regards to situations I have encountered as an employee and hopefully have them to refer back to when I am leading employees myself, in order to not fall into some of the same traps my managers have. 

I really appreciate managers who ask my opinion on situations or department purchases, I love being included in the process of decision making. I know it will make me a great leader when I have the chance, and I try to pay attention during these situations and learn from my managers. However, one of the most frustrating situations for me, is being asked to participate in the process of purchasing gear or decision making and then having my manager argue every point I make. I feel like I’m being asked to include my opinion only so my boss can “show me up” by arguing their point and ultimately choosing the same route they were going to in the first place. Honestly if this is your approach, I would rather be left out of the discussion in the first place. I usually only participate in these conversations when I feel I have some authority to my stand point, if I don’t already know at least a little about the gear or the topic, I usually say so at the beginning and don’t even start a conversation. So if I have chosen to engage, I probably have experience and I feel I have an opinion or viewpoint worth discussing. I don’t need to be told that my opinion is wrong, why did you ask for my help in the first place? 

So my encouragement to all managers and leaders, if you take the time to engage your employee and ask for their opinion, listen. Obviously, you probably have the ultimate responsibility to make the final decision, I respect that, here are some tips on how to handle a conversation that will not just leave the employee frustrated at the end.

     1) Actively listen - You took the time to ask, so you respect this employee’s opinion, show them you respect them by fully engaging your listening skills when they are sharing their idea.

     2) Don’t become argumentative - If you disagree with the direction of their opinion, try to figure out why. Maybe they are coming at the problem from a different angle, maybe they see the situation from a different perspective, this is probably why you asked their opinion in the first place, right? At this point you can help coach the employee to show them your angle and see if they can come at the situation from your perspective and then give you feedback from there. Or you can change your angle and try to have them explain how and why they came to the conclusion they did. The last thing you want to do is tell the employee their opinion is wrong, they will be less likely to contribute to this type of conversation in the future and worse they may end up being less productive for the rest of the day because they get frustrated, or they may eventually quit if this happens a lot. This becomes a hostile work environment that is not very healthy for employees. 

     3) Respect their time - Your employee has a lot going through their head at all times just like you, if this is a big decision that may take a long conversation, ask your employee if they have 15 minutes before just interrupting whatever they are doing and asking for a detailed opinion. Give them time to think about their answer, silence is OK, or even better, send them an email and say I want to discuss this with you in a half hour, please do a little research and be prepared to give me some help. Also recognize that if you ask them to do research, they are using up time in their day to help you reach a decision and if you become argumentative right off the start and then tell them you are just going to do it your way, this will add to the frustration they will feel when telling them you are going to go a different route. ALWAYS thank your employee for their honest feedback even if you go a different route, showing them you value their advise even when you don’t use it, will ultimately lead to a better relationship with that employee and make them feel valued.

I don’t need a manger to always agree or use my solution, what I do want is for them to take the time to let me explain my solution fully, let me explain why I feel it would make a good solution and then respect my time. If a manager has asked me to do research, I want them to at least take that research into account, if they hired me because of my knowledge in a certain area, at least take my opinion into account! 

Can you think of other ways to include employees in decision making without causing frustration for either the manager or employee?

Classroom goals 2011

I am quickly discovering all the different branches of audio/visual and the nuances that each present. In the church environment each gear purchase and room set up is usually done with the consideration of a volunteer running the gear. I never thought I would say this, but that actually has some advantages over the educational environment. In the church world, gear has to be relatively easy to learn, but I always knew the techs who ran the gear would have SOME training and usually they would be under the direction of an experienced tech the first couple times with the gear as a failsafe. My team at the church could keep control over who used the gear in each room, we could usually trouble shoot problems over the phone because we knew how each room was set up and the state it was left in after each use.

At the University, I’ve got 18 rooms with computers, projectors & sound systems that have to work solid for 8 different faculty members each day, most of whom have no experience outside of an on-switch. Those that do, are good at troubleshooting basic problems on their own, but they rarely leave the room in a usable state for the next class. Our classrooms have about 10-12 A/V configurations so I never know what the starting base is for any room when I get a call, making it almost impossible to troubleshoot anything over the phone. This has presented a whole world of new thinking for me as I figure out the best ways to keep these rooms functioning, up to the high tech standards the students demand yet simple for the instructors who are easily intimidated by technology.

The previous team that ran A/V did not have a lot of professional A/V experience and the gear I have to work with is evidence of this. They did a lot of quirky band-aid fixes that are now failing and it’s sometimes difficult to trace wire through the rooms.  Oh yeah, did I mention the campus is an old 1950’s Seminary that still has the original electrical capacity and wiring? Yep, my office is an old priest’s dorm room, complete with a sink and built in dresser and armoire for storage. The classrooms we are using were not built for 2011 technology and I’m quickly maxing out the spatial and electrical constraints of the rooms.

So with all these challenges, here are some of my big 2011 goals.

1)      Phase out the last 6 old NEC projectors and get them updated to Epson classroom projectors (to match the rest of our stock).

2)      Get network cards for our large rooms projectors.

3)      Start testing out tablet options to replace overhead projectors.

4)      Work with faculty to get VHS tapes transferred to DVD so we can phase out VCR’s.

5)      Work on training procedures and materials for faculty.

6)      Purchase a camera to shoot short lectures for online classes.

7)      Get dead control panels out of classroom racks and re-wire audio through mixers.

8)      Test out super short throw projectors in a couple of our small rooms.

I think that is all the big stuff I can think of for now, most of the actual work will happen in the summer when I can get clear classrooms for a few weeks and the gear can be purchased with the new budget year. Keep an eye out for update posts as I start to work on some of these tasks.

What challenges do you have as a technician in your space? What are some of the ways you have creatively solved those challenges?

Why Distressed Stereotype?

Hello!
I think an introduction post is in order, seeing as though it's a totally empty blog right now otherwise. I've been a blog consumer for several years now, I really enjoy reading blogs and just learning about all kinds of random things from the human perspective, not always from a marketing perspective. I am working towards a B.A degree in communications and want to step up my writing skills. I know a lot of writing is just practice, and so I figured I would move from the consumerism level in the blog-sphere to a contributor.

So, why Distressed Stereotype? I have been an audio visual technician for almost eight years now, for five years I was on staff as a video director for a church. Through this experience I have fallen in love with technology and how to utilize technology resources creatively; within a church setting, in the conference world and now in an higher education setting. I have also over time, run into lots of unique perspectives about female techs both in and outside the church. Last quarter at school I was the only female for several of my classes, and most of the time it wasn't a big deal, I got along with most the guys and most of them were supportive and we were able to learn from each other. One situation though that stood out to me happened during the first week of a video production class; After working on a quick shooting assignment during class I was told by a classmate that I should not bother learning to edit or produce and instead I should go become a continuity director because that's just what all females in the industry do.

I wish I could say that had been the first time in my life I had been told I wasn't adequate or I should find a new profession, but it was just one of many times I've heard some version of that remark. You know... as much as I want to be seen as an adequate team member in a production environment, I also can recognize that I thrive a bit on comments like those. I do feel the sting for a bit, but then I usually turn it into motivation for putting out my best work, and I'm proud to say I ended that quarter with the only A in the entire class.

As I was thinking about blog names, and what I wanted to talk about, I really wanted to name my blog shattered stereotype, then two things happened...I looked up the blog name and it's already taken, so bummer on that note. That got me thinking through some alternatives, and I started thinking about what shattered meant, and how it usually indicates broken, right? Well the stereotype is definitely not broken... well not yet, but each of us who takes a stand against a stereotype, no matter if it's being a tech savvy female, or a guy who enjoys dance, or an Asian race car driver, we are contributing to to the breakdown of barriers between humans. We are distressing a stereotype. We are inspiring others with our story and encouraging more diversity amongst the human population.

My hope is that you will find encouragement to try something new, to share your story and to pass the encouragement along to a fellow human. I will be writing about technology, being an A/V tech, bridging the gap between tech and creatives, college campus tech tips, social justice awareness, and of course being a female in a male dominated industry :)

Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment, give topic ideas you want to see discussed here,  or send me an email. I'd love to hear from you!