1. I hate this part of the job… Taking Corrective and Disciplinary Action

2. What was I supposed to do?!?!

3. Life and personnel issues is about… Finesse

4. Finesse  Opposite of coarseness or crudeness  Light touch…not heavy-handedness  It's spirituality, subtlety, and intelligence, that leads to a deeper understanding  It’s perceptiveness combined with a great deal of sensitivity to feelings  It’s not a flourish, or an add-on but rather something fundamental about who we are Elements of Cooking Michael Ruhlman

5. Finesse is about… –Context –Humility –Courage –Doing the right thing at the right time

6. Context Context is the key to understanding everything

7. What’s the context of your office?  We “game” performance measures  We give up thinking we can do better  Managers are seen as powerless with no solutions  Use shortcuts forget they are compromises  Conflict as units prevent cases from coming in or “dump” cases on others Dee Wilson Presentation to the Legislature January 18, 2008

8. What’s the context of your office?  Transfers from tough units/programs to less demanding units  Social workers leave the work  Multiple vacancies put unit into crisis  Increase in sick leave  Few care about quality Dee Wilson Presentation to the Legislature January 18, 2008

9. “The truth will set you free! …but first, it will piss you off” Gloria Steinem “The truth will set you free! …but first, it will piss you off” Gloria Steinem Gloria Steinem Gloria Steinem Humility

10. Humility  Aware of your feelings and behaviors  Honor others Feelings / Context / Dignity  Reality of the situation

11. Humility is accepting the message sent by your actions…  Cheap? Always bring that $1 bottle of soda pop / rarely pay your share  Don’t Care? Forget special days / meetings / conversations / names  You have rules I don’t! Set rules you don’t follow? (Come late to work - Leave early)  Complain and Gossip? Vent frustrations with staff

12. Humility Survey says!... Supervisors fail when they:  Show anger easily  Can’t handle stress  Awkward with your own emotions & emotions of others  Lack the ability to understand / sympathize  Unaware and/or don’t care if your emotions affect others

13. Emotional Intelligence & Evidence based practice!

14. So what? How does this help with personnel issues? –Understand the problem –Manage the fallout with others –Take care of yourself

15. Let’s talk… Restaurants

19. All great restaurants are alike…  Create a dining experience  Fresh Ingredients  Great Chef  Great Service  Respects the Customer

20. All great Chef’s are alike…  Know great food  Details matter  Takes charge  Handles stress  Thick skin

21. You are the…  Owner  Chef  Servers  Customers

22. Caution! From the outside it may seem funny… but from the inside there is nothing funny about it

23. Context:  Everyone knows the truth  Food is lousy  Chef can’t do the job  Owner does not know what she’s doing  System of cooking – Microwave old food  Attitude of Owner  Chef is the Owner’s favorite  Rescues / Shames / Treats Chef as a child  Value System - “Family”  Owners style of feedback – Hit and Run  Anxiety of the Owner over HR issues more important than:  Customers / Her Debt / Other Staff having a job

24. Owner  Debt $2 Million – No customers  You have already let go of 33 staff  You know the food is poor  What’s holding you back?

25. Chef  You did not create the cooking system  You hear the complaints – how does that feel?  Do you like how the Owner treats you?  As the job changes can you do the job?

26. Servers  What’s it feel like when customers complain?  What do you think about the Chef?  What do you think about how the Owner treats the Chef?  Why can’t you be honest with the Owner about the Chef?  Are your customers leaving a tip?

27. Customers  Do you care if the Restaurant closes?  How does it feel to complain about the food?  Are you coming back?

29. What could the Owner do?  What changes can you make to address HR decisions in the future?  If the TV cameras were not there would you have replaced the chef?

30. So… What are you going to do?

31. Find your Courage Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage Anais Nin Anais Nin

32. Courage to be…  Honest with yourself  Honest with others  Misunderstood

33. Honest with ourselves We may not be as good or as bad as we think... ?

34. Honest with ourselves “There are many people who think they want to be matadors, only to find themselves in the ring with two thousand pounds of bull bearing down on them, and then discover that what they really wanted was to wear tight pants and hear the crowd roar.” Terry Pearce Leadership coaching …A Contact Sport

35. Honest with others… The Jerk (attacks / insults / belittles - offers nothing) The Slacker (does little or nothing to help) The Depressive Pessimist (Life sucks… give up) 30% - 40% drop in group performance

36. Now what? The proper use of power and authority is to bring peace

37. Leadership through Compassion “ I’ve learned to at least attempt compassion with everyone that I deal with. And if compassion doesn’t work to calm the person down, then I have to have compassion for myself and not blame myself when people make the choice to still have anger towards me. I have to treat myself well when I get home so I can still be a good person on the job.” Police officer – Madison, Wisconsin

38. “ “Perhaps I can find new ways to motivate them…” Darth Vader

39. What are we looking at?  What cannot change  Motivation (Attitude & Drive )  Thought pattern (How they think )  Personal style (Who they are)  What can change  Skills (Within limits)  Knowledge (Content)

40. So what are you going to do?

41. Disciplinary Action  Know your audience  Know what do we do and why do we do it?  What policy supports this?  What does the data say about the person, unit or office?  What are the faces behind the numbers?

42. Know the Rules...  This is an evaluation… or performance feedback session… or reprimand… not a negotiation  A personnel file is a file about the employee; not the employee’s file  Screaming at your supervisor is not protected under the Bill of Rights (Administrative Policy 18.64) (Administrative Policy 18.64)

43. B U T...  But… what about all the good things I’ve done?  But… I need more training!  But… I won’t sign the evaluation, performance feedback memo, etc…  But… I need more supervision! (I can’t believe how much time this guy takes!)  But… others are not evaluated like this!

44. Is there something you need to tell me?  Do you need a Reasonable Accommodation?  Is there something else going on?

45. It’s hard work…keep going… “If you are going through hell, keep going” ~Winston Churchill~

46. Leadership is not safe Pursue the OSM!

48. OSM! “ The first time I went down that run, I was going way too fast, and I realized I’d just made the biggest mistake of my life. When I got to the bottom I couldn’t wait to get back up and do it again” Jimmy Shea Olympic Gold medalist Skeleton event Salt Lake City Winter Olympics

50. Pursuing the OSM is not safe… You are going to make mistakes! Some things are just bad luck… Some things are just not a great idea…

57. You are not alone… The inventor Thomas Edison was asked why he needed a team of 21 assistants? “If I could solve all the problems by myself, I would”