I once worked in an office with someone who’s desk looked like it had survived World War III. Files and papers strewn across the top, as though a file cabinet had thrown up.
How could anyone work that way? How could anyone get anything done?
I had files on my desk but I kept them in neat stacks. I could quickly find what I needed. I wrote phone numbers and notes on legal pads, not scraps of paper, and then I transferred those notes to the appropriate files.
Reasonably neat and organized, but not obsessively so.
Despite his messiness, the guy did get things done. I’m sure he spent extra time looking for things, but he did his work and did it well.
He had his own style of working. We all do, don’t we? We work at a different pace, our energy levels differ, our short-term priorities might not match, but as long as we get the work done, it shouldn’t matter how we get it done.
You may be aggressive and work at a fast pace and have an employee with a completely different style. He may work slowly, put things aside and come back to them later, and be a perfectionist. You want the work done immediately and your employee’s style may drive you crazy, but do they really have to do it the way you would do it?
The best employers, like the best leaders, don’t micromanage. They lay out the big objectives and let the individuals figure out how to accomplish those objectives.
That’s difficult to do sometimes, especially since your employees are the face of your practice. But you can usually find a way to accommodate an employee’s style without compromising your interests. If you don’t want your clients to see your assistant’s messy desk, for example, you could have them see clients in the conference room.
On the other hand, you could always tell them to shape up or ship out. It might not make you boss of the year but what the hell. If you don’t put your foot down once in awhile, the next thing you know your employees will show up with green hair and spikes in their face.
It’s good to be king.
