Performing - Office Level
Why is there a need for us to perform when our bosses are around?
I juts find it strange that people need to be at their best whenever the "big boss" is around. I mean, why not do your best all the time so that you won't have to overexert? Or even feel the need to perform.
That just gives me the impression that people tend to be mediocre whenever they think that they are not being supervised or when they think that no one is watching.
I used to work for one of the biggest BPOs in the Philippines. One of their biggest accounts was the leading cable television service provider in the US. At that time, the account had been doing poorly, so poorly that one manager even went as far as to beg his team that they should perform for the sake of his family (wife and kids). I used to like that manager because I am friends with his wife, but my opinion of his character quickly changed when I heard about what he said to his team. The account was doing so poorly that their senior manager went as far as to yell at my partner and I to provide immediate solutions to the communication problems of their agents. Her demand earned her blank stares and raised eyebrows.
And things got so bad with the account that they let go of one of their senior managers. He moved over to a different site where he was also let go because he was basically an arrogant POS who could not deliver in spite of his "experience."
So the big bosses decided to come over and visit the site. The purpose of the visit was unclear. They could either be visiting to inform management that they were going to take their business elsewhere or they could be adding another LOB (Line Of Business) to the account. The tension shot up to 100 when the account's managers got the news. And since they were (and still are) the company's biggest client, everybody started panicking.
Facilities started cleaning the carpets which had seen better days. They borrowed the new chairs that were assigned to a different account. Headsets were replaced. The walls were repainted. It was like watching an episode of Extreme Makeover. Oh yea. They even asked their employees to dress better, like, Sunday best better. I know right.
So Judgement Day comes, and the clients are welcomed by a full-on Dinagyang drum line and dance. Oh, excuse me, cultural presentation. Everybody was smiling. Girls were giggling over the cute white guys who came with the team. Guys were ogling the girls who were wearing skintight clothes. After a few hours, people were asked to gather in one of the production areas. Since I was one of the site's technical trainers (not account specific, but company trainer), my trainee and I were asked to sit in during the town hall session (I had a trainee at the time since I was about to leave the company).
I noticed my trainee taking down minutes of the meeting. When I told her that she did not have to do it, she told me that she was told by one of the senior managers to do it. I was so mad at what he did that I was frowning during the entire meeting. When it was over, I went over to the manager and gave him a piece of my mind. We were training specialists, not employed by the account but by the company. Any requests he had should go through our manager, and that included writing down minutes. Why he felt the need to show off his authority, I cannot figure out until today.
The clients did not even stay for one whole day. They only stayed for a few hours. All the panicking and the stressing out for a five hour visit with a one hour meeting. How lame.
So going back to my statement on performing - I think it's funny that the only time that people are prompted to do their best is when their boss is around. But when left unsupervised, their performance is mediocre at best. I am not talking about everyone, I am talking about a large number of the working population. Why don't people do their best all the time so they won't feel stressed whenever their bosses are around? Excellence should be practiced everyday and not just when people think people are watching.
As for me, I have learned throughout the years that I have been working that you should do what you're supposed to be doing so you won't get caught with you pants down. I still act like the brat that I am even when my boss is around. I might cut back on my snide remarks during meetings (I am prone to bouts of making snide remarks) but aside from that I'm still the same opinionated person who will judge you if your lipstick or brows are crooked. Hell, I even go to work on sweats on Fridays and weekends when my boss is onsite.
My point is, do your best everyday. Make doing your best a habit. So when the time comes that you are asked to do your best, you won't have a problem performing since you are already used to being at your best. It's going to be hard, I know that. But being the best never came easy, not even to people who are considered as GOATs (greatest of all time) in their chosen professions. Even the great Micheal Jordan himself said that he's failed more times than he can count, and that failing made him work harder at being a basketball player.
Don't be afraid of working hard and failing even when you tried your best. Be afraid of never even trying.
I juts find it strange that people need to be at their best whenever the "big boss" is around. I mean, why not do your best all the time so that you won't have to overexert? Or even feel the need to perform.
That just gives me the impression that people tend to be mediocre whenever they think that they are not being supervised or when they think that no one is watching.
I used to work for one of the biggest BPOs in the Philippines. One of their biggest accounts was the leading cable television service provider in the US. At that time, the account had been doing poorly, so poorly that one manager even went as far as to beg his team that they should perform for the sake of his family (wife and kids). I used to like that manager because I am friends with his wife, but my opinion of his character quickly changed when I heard about what he said to his team. The account was doing so poorly that their senior manager went as far as to yell at my partner and I to provide immediate solutions to the communication problems of their agents. Her demand earned her blank stares and raised eyebrows.
And things got so bad with the account that they let go of one of their senior managers. He moved over to a different site where he was also let go because he was basically an arrogant POS who could not deliver in spite of his "experience."
So the big bosses decided to come over and visit the site. The purpose of the visit was unclear. They could either be visiting to inform management that they were going to take their business elsewhere or they could be adding another LOB (Line Of Business) to the account. The tension shot up to 100 when the account's managers got the news. And since they were (and still are) the company's biggest client, everybody started panicking.
Facilities started cleaning the carpets which had seen better days. They borrowed the new chairs that were assigned to a different account. Headsets were replaced. The walls were repainted. It was like watching an episode of Extreme Makeover. Oh yea. They even asked their employees to dress better, like, Sunday best better. I know right.
So Judgement Day comes, and the clients are welcomed by a full-on Dinagyang drum line and dance. Oh, excuse me, cultural presentation. Everybody was smiling. Girls were giggling over the cute white guys who came with the team. Guys were ogling the girls who were wearing skintight clothes. After a few hours, people were asked to gather in one of the production areas. Since I was one of the site's technical trainers (not account specific, but company trainer), my trainee and I were asked to sit in during the town hall session (I had a trainee at the time since I was about to leave the company).
I noticed my trainee taking down minutes of the meeting. When I told her that she did not have to do it, she told me that she was told by one of the senior managers to do it. I was so mad at what he did that I was frowning during the entire meeting. When it was over, I went over to the manager and gave him a piece of my mind. We were training specialists, not employed by the account but by the company. Any requests he had should go through our manager, and that included writing down minutes. Why he felt the need to show off his authority, I cannot figure out until today.
The clients did not even stay for one whole day. They only stayed for a few hours. All the panicking and the stressing out for a five hour visit with a one hour meeting. How lame.
So going back to my statement on performing - I think it's funny that the only time that people are prompted to do their best is when their boss is around. But when left unsupervised, their performance is mediocre at best. I am not talking about everyone, I am talking about a large number of the working population. Why don't people do their best all the time so they won't feel stressed whenever their bosses are around? Excellence should be practiced everyday and not just when people think people are watching.
As for me, I have learned throughout the years that I have been working that you should do what you're supposed to be doing so you won't get caught with you pants down. I still act like the brat that I am even when my boss is around. I might cut back on my snide remarks during meetings (I am prone to bouts of making snide remarks) but aside from that I'm still the same opinionated person who will judge you if your lipstick or brows are crooked. Hell, I even go to work on sweats on Fridays and weekends when my boss is onsite.
My point is, do your best everyday. Make doing your best a habit. So when the time comes that you are asked to do your best, you won't have a problem performing since you are already used to being at your best. It's going to be hard, I know that. But being the best never came easy, not even to people who are considered as GOATs (greatest of all time) in their chosen professions. Even the great Micheal Jordan himself said that he's failed more times than he can count, and that failing made him work harder at being a basketball player.
Don't be afraid of working hard and failing even when you tried your best. Be afraid of never even trying.
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