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Submitted by pucciot on
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In the  :

Morning Greeting Podcast

https://www.manager-tools.com/2012/06/morning-greeting

It is recommended that Managers greet everyone first ting in the morning adn that we don't close our door in the morning.

* I have a conundrum between this advice and the advice to sit down and plan your day first thing the morning.

 

Usually, when I do my morning greeting I get pulled into the work and tasks and issues of the day with my directs.

I find it difficult to get back to my desk and do a daily planning time.

Even if I do get back to my desk I have already been distracted and make some commitments to do a few things and send a few emails.  And there is somebody waiting for me.

In short ---

When I get out of my car and walk in the office I am finding it more productive to sit down and start planning out the work that I have been thinking about during my commute.

They only way to do this focused work is to close my door.

 And then after about 45  min I go out and greet the folks.

** Any Suggestions - To Solve this ?

TJPuccio

 

Helen C's picture
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Hi TJ Puccio,

It is so very important for you to greet your staff every morning.  Initially, not for you but for them.  The pay off will be later.

I transferred with my job with a large financial organisation to their processing centre and the first thing I noticed was that each morning the Executive Director would drop his briefcase in his office and, 'walk the floor' saying good morning to everyone he saw and used their name.  

This fascinated me.  I had never seen it done before and when he greeted me personally each morning it made be feel that I was a valued member of the team.  

If someone had an issue or wanted to discuss something he would say things like, 'can you come and see me later'' or 'I have meetings this morning, can you speak with so and so'.  His walk would take him about 15 minutes and then he would return to his office and start the day.

This was Clive's routine and everyone knew it and because he gave us his first priority in the morning, we all respected his time after that.

Perhaps that approach will help?

Is it possible for you to plan you day on your commute home the day before?  I found this better when I became a manager.

(I had previously tried getting in early before most of the staff but the early starters just wanted to chat before clocking on or had first dibs on my time and that didn't work)

By planning the day before, I found my schedule had time to gel in my brain and by the next day I could almost unconsciously know what needed action and what priorities to throw or push back.

In summary, greet your staff then redirect their request for your time.  They will value it and in turn value your planning time later.

Helen 

 

 

shellandflame's picture

The best manager I ever worked for made this a priority.  He blocked it out on his calendar to ensure other meetings wouldn't be scheduled to prevent him from doing it.  Similar to Helen's reply above, he would greet people, give them a slot later in the day to discuss a longer form issue, then process his email/ planning.

Conversly, I worked for a manager that never spent time with the staff outside of appointed meetings.  This hit him squarely in the face when an employee put in his two weeks notice.  The manager asked the employee if they could talk about why he was leaving.  The employee responded "You've never cared to talk to me before, why should we start now?"

Don't be that guy.

pucciot's picture
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Thanks

I love the morning greeting, perhaps too much.

I don't accept early morning meetings.

I have been trying to be better with my calendar management.

And left to my own devices I don't do my daily planning.

I spend my morning with the greeting and then forget to write things in my planner.

Then all of a sudden I'm doing email, doing my work or off to a late morning meeting.

Or into an O3 with a staff member.

--  I've tried to plan the night before - it doesn't work for me.

-- I've tried to plan in the car parking lot before I walk into the office - that isn't much better.

 

* I have found I plan best sitting at my desk after a cup of coffee.

 

I will keep working at it.

 

Thanks

 

TJPuccio

angelicdoctor's picture

Perhaps you can arrive at work earlier, that is, prior to your directs showing up for work?  I, too, enjoy my quiet time in the morning for prayer and then for the processing of email, the first of the three times per day, and this followed by my planning before the majority of my staff arrives to work or is online.  I have to further break up my greetings based on when my staff arrives all between 0700 and 0900 so this can be challenging to ensure gets done amidst early morning meetings and other distractions that can and do occur in that window.

pucciot's picture
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Thanks I'll try that.

I have staff that arrives as early as 6:45 am to as late 10:30 am.

And it is that early morning crew that I end up "gabbing" with when I first get in.

There is no way I can beat them to the door.

Coming in early (before 8:30am) on a reagular basis is a bit difficult for me, as it will require me to get to bed earlier at night.

This is not easy as I have some responsibilites at home that keep me up later.

 

And - Thanks for the advice -- I'll see what I can do.

 

TJPuccio

 

P.S.Prayer life is important.   I listen to the Audio Daily Office while I am getting ready in the Morning - and try to spread a Rosary out amidst the day - a decade at a time.