I work in a very progressive not for profit.

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Anonymous

02/03/21 at 9:54PM UTC

I work in a very progressive not for profit.

I am a director that reports directly to the CEO. We have a great relationship and he trusts me to do my job without interference. I recently hired a coordinator for my department who is beyond a go getter but who tends to swim outside her lane. I have given her as many challenging projects as I can to keep her fulfilled and busy but she loves the exposure outside our department and is often volunteering herself for important tasks to other departments. Unfortunately, in a few cases I was the last to know (I know - not good). The CEO has noticed and has told me to try to rein her in - which I am trying to do! Any suggestions or a good book to read on how to catch a tiger by its tail without killing its spirit would be greatly appreciated.

26 Comments

Liz

Passionate About Helping You Achieve Your Goals!

02/03/21 at 10:08PM UTC

In your 1 on 1, let her know that she must obtain your approval before seeking and accepting other work assignments. Also see if she has any ideas for process improvements or other projects within your area that she can develop and manage. At my employer, we used to have a 80/20 program. Staff could ask to work in another area for up to 20% if their time, but it had to be approved by their manager and reflected in their record keeping. The primary unit’s work always comes first though.

User edited comment on 02/10/21 at 12:17PM UTC

1 Reply

Nicole

282

Podcaster. Speaker. Tech Leader.

02/04/21 at 1:40AM UTC

Great strategy!

Anonymous

02/03/21 at 10:38PM UTC

This is very useful. Thank you.

Anonymous

02/03/21 at 11:02PM UTC

I can tell you from experience that you need to get a handle on this behavior or it will come back to bite you 10x fold. Load her up with ever bit of admin duties you can and let her know that that list is to be completed during any downtime she has. Give her clear boundaries and consequences. Sounds annoying and micro managing but trust me this is a nightmare in the making. It is just in the enthusiastic phase right now. The undermining and disregard of the limits to her role comes much later. By then it's too late.

1 Reply

Anonymous

02/04/21 at 1:35PM UTC

So you're advocating what the OP said she DIDN'T want - to break her employee's spirit.

2 Replies

Karen lindquist

Sustainable Garden Design Boston area

02/04/21 at 1:55PM UTC

It is possible that the new hire going out of her lane without a supervisors consent is something that displays not so much “spirit” but a total disregard for anything but her own upward trajectory. It might not be about breaking her spirit, but giving her boundaries and parameters and clear instructions not to disregard them. There is nothing wrong with that. It’s standard.

Anonymous

02/04/21 at 4:06PM UTC

She is not spirited so much as in need of learning proper respect for the professional capacity she is working in. This is not acceptable behavior and she needs guidance and monitoring. You don't always come a professional role understanding boundaries and professional eticate. You develop filters and finesse when you work in an environment that provides directions and leaders who lead by example. If she doesn't learn it now she will learn it down the road but she will learn. She will do well to spend her spirit on performing her job and increasing her knowledge.

1 Reply

Anonymous

02/04/21 at 4:35PM UTC

You can set boundaries without beating someone down like you want to do with more and more and more work and micromanaging. Glad I don’t work for you.

Rachel Romero

Marketing Executive in Los Angeles

02/03/21 at 11:41PM UTC

One of the things that I have found useful from a team management perspective is process and related documentation. If someone reaches out to anyone on your team with a request, it's helpful to have the process on how to do so and who is the champion at each stage of response. May be a bit of overkill for your particular situation is you're in a more casual environment (but I have also found that setting a process in place early on AND documenting it helps with future team growth when onboarding new staff too!). Liz made a great point as well -- having regular one-on-one meetings with a set agenda to discuss workload is also a really great way to address this, if you're not already.

1 Reply

Anonymous

02/05/21 at 2:43PM UTC

Biggest issue I see here is the other departments are either looking to her for help, or accepting her help without coming to her supervisor. This has already set a precedence that will be difficult to overcome. The supervisor in this case should speak to other department heads and they should come up with a plan to either avoid the need, or assist when necessary. This comes from many years' personal experience being the one always approached to help others while diligently working on my own assignments. The supervisor could also give her 'permission' to say no to the requests. If she's volunteering out her time, and not focusing on her work, she may be bored or she is in the wrong position within the organization.

Anonymous

02/04/21 at 1:32PM UTC

A book will never replace a conversation. This is a performance management issue. So...sit down with her and LISTEN (I mean REALLY listen) to what she tells you. Then, approach it from the standpoint of changing her approach rather than the standpoint of "Stop it, the CEO doesn't like this." This is where you show that you're not just a manager, but that you're a LEADER.

1 Reply

Anonymous

02/04/21 at 2:30PM UTC

The book was a joke but yes, I agree. The problem is that I have had those conversations. She is great at her job and finishes her tasks, and the departments that she "volunteers" for sing her praises. So when I tell her to rein it in she doesn't see what the issue could possibly be. My one on ones are going to be more direct going forward.

Melissa Bruno

226

02/04/21 at 1:47PM UTC

I'd recommend having a candid conversation with her. Acknowledge her ambition and convey to her that you like to support her growth. I'd also mention that the CEO has noticed. I'd say: I'd like to support your growth and offer you some feedback. In the spirit of growth, would you mind me sharing what I've obaserved and heard? You hope she says yes. Then say: We all admire your ability to extend yourself outside the realm of your role and want to continue to nuture it. One of the best ways for me or others to support you in that journey is for me to be aware before you engage in those projects. Together we can assess the feasibility. Additionally, a wise person once told me early in my career: The how is more often more important than the what gets done. Meaning how you execute and who you bring along in the journey is most often a lot more important than the results you produce. Always bring people along with you. Right now, the how isn't aligned to your career growth ambitions and I want to help you get there....she may ask for an example. You can clearly states one with the CEO's comments. This approach is more about influencing her behavior to change, instead of commanding her to change. Good luck and I hope it gets better!

4 Replies

Anonymous

02/04/21 at 2:31PM UTC

Thank you!

Emma Shah

Human Rights Advocate in NYC

02/04/21 at 2:43PM UTC

This is a GREAT response!!!

1 Reply

Melissa Bruno

226

02/04/21 at 10PM UTC

Thanks Emma!

Anonymous

02/05/21 at 1:25PM UTC

Great response. I agree, a good conversation and a request to include you in her process seems reasonable and a good gentle first step. For being on the other side of this conversation, I have appreciated when my boss told me if something was likely not aligned with my career goals versus an opportunity to grow. It is important to work together, over the years we have developed a good system where I have more freedom to "volunteer" but always involve my boss on bigger assignments. It is based on trust and working together. It is wonderful that you care about your employee development and she will likely perceive your concerns and advice as genuine. Good luck!

Katie Kristl

Customer Support & Success Professional, Denver

02/05/21 at 3:03PM UTC

I agree with this approach! Often, in my 1:1s I remind my team members that their primary focus is on our team's priorities - I those prios are under control, we can talk about taking more on (both within/outside of our dept). But if things start to fall thru the cracks for their prios, we have to cut out the extra things (because they're becoming distracting). My team members have fantastic ideas, but I want to set reasonable expectations for how those ideas fit into the larger team and company goals, which they may not have viz into.

Jeanette Stein

02/04/21 at 1:47PM UTC

One minute manager has given me the right words to use for redirects. It's a quick, easy read. Also, I document all redirects.

Amy Langford

02/04/21 at 2:18PM UTC

Lis, Rachel, and Melissa have awesome suggestions! Quick question: why does the CEO think she needs to reign it in? Is your department suffering or her work not getting done? If she is adding value, it seems like an opportunity for a new, cross-functional position, maybe reporting to you and employing some of the other suggestions - like the ratio of %/% department work, process docs, regular one-on-ones. But also, non-profits always need more ... help, money, resources, initiative champions. What else can she take on that supports your mission? Sounds like a challenge, but one that could reward you as well. Best of luck to you!

Anonymous

02/04/21 at 4:14PM UTC

Future cluster in my opinion. Very fun to watch if you aren't in the same department but can be distracting and highly unproductive if left unchecked. While it's all harmless fun & games now, it's easy for this to spin out of control and then you'll be crushing her spirit or letting her go.

renee2

216

02/04/21 at 4:44PM UTC

This is really the most challenging kind of personality to manage. When you have your next sit-down with this person, let her know that yes, indeed, she is garnering attention outside of your department, but not in a good way. She deserves to know that. Then encourage her to work with you to find ways in which she can find greater satisfaction doing things that will help further her career aspirations. I know, you've already been giving her challenging projects and opportunities, but maybe if you include her in the decision-making about those projects, she might be more willing to accept your mentoring. My experience has been when you let these kinds of situations just "play out" it never ends well. You have an opportunity to really provide some valuable mentoring to this person. If she will accept it, it will be likely be a great learning opportunity for both of you.

Cyndy Trivella

Managing Partner, Media & Marketing Consultancy

02/04/21 at 4:54PM UTC

I suggest putting her on a career pathing plan. This should be well-defined and fit within the parameters of your business's culture, of course. Meet with her and discuss what this can look like and let her know that you recognize her enthusiasm and energy and that this career pathing plan will help steer her career growth in the right direction. This plan will give you a way to help her develop without diminishing her drive and give you the peace of mind in knowing that you are helping a young woman to learn better collaboration and communications skills (all necessary and important in any business). Meet once every two weeks for 30-45 minutes to discuss her progress and have her bring a list of what she's worked on and accomplished in those two weeks before each meeting so you have a productive meeting each time. I did this with a direct report years ago and it worked perfectly. A few years after we starting working together, his then wife-to-be couldn't thank me enough for helping him to mature and develop into the fine professional he became. Her comment gave me the warm and fuzzies and reinforced how important it is to give young talent a hand up. Good luck!

Pam J

Health and Human Services Supervisor in Colorado

02/04/21 at 7:31PM UTC

I think you've got some great suggestions above and that you'll have the ability to message them into a good fit for the organization as well as for your direct report and your team. It's not an all or nothing thing. She's getting good reactions from the other teams she's helping, but she's also bringing some negative attention to herself and to you by not following proper channels. If you can help her see the good and the not-so-good about her actions and reframe things within a structure that benefits everyone, it becomes win-win.

Nora Kased

146

Manufacturer in San Diego

02/05/21 at 11:23AM UTC

I’m not sure I like a lot of the advice given here. You are trying to load her down with work so she “stays in her lane”? Your issue is not with her; your issue is with the directors from other departments who are allowing her to take on difficult tasks when they know she is your direct report. Is she making big mistakes or failing to keep up with the work you assign her? If she is successfully handling multiple challenging projects, I wouldn’t consider that a “problem”. Someone who can perform difficult cross functional assignments is an asset and hard to find. Why does the CEO want to “rein her in”? This sounds like a pretty toxic work environment and too heavily focused on heirarchy.

User edited comment on 02/06/21 at 2:23AM UTC

LPetersen

On the hunt for a great new job!

02/05/21 at 3:52PM UTC

How about telling her the truth about what you have noticed. Acknowledge her abilities and drive and ask her about her desire for growth, be open to the possibly it could be in a different dept. If she is a great employee, and you genuinely want what's best for the company and her, then let her grow in the direction she is naturally gravitating toward. Of course until there is opportunity for this growth to occur, then she needs to follow directions and work within her own team and department unless it is discussed beforehand. If she cannot 'stay in her lane' as you put it after that conversation, I would consider that disrespectful and worthy of reconsideration. Also, how are the other departments communicating with you on the assignments they are giving her/allowing her to take on?