Construction of an Instruction

I was juz walkin bak in the cool night breeze, when I thot abt the ppl im managing. I realised that there are 4 different ways in which an instruction is interpretted by a subordinate.

One type of ppl will see an instruction as an order, they will execute it to the letter in the easiest way they can, or mostly, the way they know it. They usually come back to you with a finished solution that leaves you shocked by its incoherence. A sub-sect of this group will face eternal problems with the project and will get back to you every now and then that will leave you frustrated to an extent you feel you can develop yourself.

The second type of ppl will view an instruction as a suggestion, and leave a lot of things as "Pending" as they feel that its the wrong way to do things or there are problems associated with it or they need further input. But the worst is that they wont get back to you on that until after the deadline. Mostly, whatever they have managed to finish will also be in a way tied down to the things they havent done, which will render the whole solution lame.

The third type of ppl will view an instruction as a request, they feel the superior will be honoured and grateful if they do the job for them. These kind of people usually give an unfinished job and after the deadline, will get back to you saying that they had "other more important things" to do. Often the other things that they mention leave you irritated and agitated.

The fourth type of ppl will view an instruction as an instruction and think about the best way of doing it. They will get back to you with potential problems and will give you suggestions and ask you for clarifications. Ofcourse, the ideal type for any superior.

So how to manage these guys?

In the short run, the first type will stick on but in the long run, will switch jobs. They are the people to "fill the spaces", so to speak. Note that its not the work they do but the quality of work they do that determines their passiveness in the organisation.

The second type of people needs a consistent monitoring, and constant reminder of how to go about doing things. Any let up on this and they will get back at you for giving incomplete instructions (ofcourse after the cause is lost)

The third type of people needs a reality check and an occasional pampering to keep them and their egos going. They MUST know that you are listening to their opinion. Else, there will be a revolt and the project is static.

The fourth type needs encouragement and plenty of listening. If they feel they are being listened to, it increases their productivity, else if they feel the project is going the wrong way, they wither away and get disillusioned.

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The search has just begun !!! (to incorporate these into practice)