Learning new tricks every day!
Jun. 26th, 2008 04:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amanda_loddenHaving a teenaged intern is an interesting learning experience for me. Don't get me wrong, she's doing well and I'm glad to have her. But I base nearly all of my "management technique" (such as it is) on the core idea that my employees are responsible adults who can largely manage themselves as long as I point out what direction I'd like them to head in, and maybe set a few goalposts along the way for them to hit. N is excellent at following directions, as long as she understands them. Asking about the bits she doesn't understand... well, we all have our weak points. So when I gave her a list of things to do this week, she did all the things she understood, left the other three things alone, and skipped down to the "If you run out of other things to do, do THIS" item.
I also have this weird expectation that when I type up a list of instructions for how to do X, that her first question won't be "Where do I start?" before even reading the list. (Step Number One was "Locate the files you need, in \\server\long\ish\path\but\still\the\full\path"). I spent more time than I really expected going through basic concepts with her ("Numbers in (parentheses) are negative", "Invoices are not paid until they are paid in full", "Read the instructions that I typed out for you", "Yes, you have to do ALL of the lines in the spreadsheet, that's the point"), but I think she gets it now.
Definitely a new experience.
[Edit 5 minutes later: *sigh* And now we can add "Yes, you have to do ALL the steps in the instructions, not just the easy ones" to the list of concepts gone over.]
I also have this weird expectation that when I type up a list of instructions for how to do X, that her first question won't be "Where do I start?" before even reading the list. (Step Number One was "Locate the files you need, in \\server\long\ish\path\but\still\the\full\path"). I spent more time than I really expected going through basic concepts with her ("Numbers in (parentheses) are negative", "Invoices are not paid until they are paid in full", "Read the instructions that I typed out for you", "Yes, you have to do ALL of the lines in the spreadsheet, that's the point"), but I think she gets it now.
Definitely a new experience.
[Edit 5 minutes later: *sigh* And now we can add "Yes, you have to do ALL the steps in the instructions, not just the easy ones" to the list of concepts gone over.]
Re: everyone has to start somewhere.....
Date: 2008-06-27 04:28 pm (UTC)Re: everyone has to start somewhere.....
Date: 2008-06-27 06:09 pm (UTC)