“ I don't know what to do with one of my abrasive managers.”

Dear Dr. Joe,

As the CEO of a medium-sized company, I need to address the performance of one of my senior managers who has worked for me since the beginning of my company. Employees of my company complain that he is rude, yells at them, and often is very insulting. What do I do? I think of him as almost a brother and can't get myself to give him necessary feedback.

Signed,
–CEO in Distress

Dear CEO in Distress,

You need to do five things with your “brother” the rude manager: 1) Give him feedback that the way he treats others violates the value system of your company, 2) Give him your expectations for his performance 3) Let him know that you will evaluate his performance monthly over the next six months 4) Get him an executive coach to help him work on his goals and to develop interpersonal skills and 5) At six months decide whether he has improved or if not, whether you will fire him. If he has improved, let him know his performance will be reviewed every six months to help him maintain his progress.

Regards,
Joe Siegler MD




“My piles of work are ALL coming home.”

Dear Dr. Joe,

I have been having a problem with procrastination at work. I put off doing tasks during the day and then have to bring PILES of work home. When I bring work home it interferes with my family life obligations. How can I make better use of my time at work?

Signed,
–Piles of Procrastination

Dear Piles of Procrastination,

The obvious answer is to get your work done AT WORK not at home. You clearly need to get disciplined, make your performance accountable to a colleague or boss, and stick to your goal of not taking work home. HOWEVER, the answer may be more complicated. Your description of your family life as “obligations” implies that you may be using procrastination to avoid your responsibilities at home. What you need to do is address the real issue – what is not working at home that you would like to avoid?

Regards,
Joe Siegler MD





“My excess weight holds my networking skills at a deficiency level.”

Dear Dr. Joe,

Maintaining my weight has been a constant struggle for me. My colleagues often go out on Fridays for drinks and appetizers. I feel that if I don’t go I will miss out on important networking opportunities. If I do go, I will go off of my diet. Is my obsession with my weight interfering with my networking or am I doing the right thing to decline the invitation to go?

Signed,
– Focused on Weight

Dear Weighted with Opportunities,

Don’t confuse weight issues with networking. For your weight issues you need to manage them with a program like weight watchers. For your networking issues, you need to go out on Fridays and drink water and count calories. Stop making excuses and manage both your networking and your weight!

Regards,
Joe Siegler MD





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