Paul Woelbing
President, Carma Laboratories Inc.
“An employee should never feel alone when they have a problem. I was a teacher for 10 years before I started working at Carmex and it was a great environment to learn how people are wired. It’s common to think ‘my problem is unique,’ but they rarely are. In a healthy work environment, employees have a team to help them – including managers.”
Robert Campbell Jr.
Vice president, Campbell Corp.
“While our lean manufacturing project managers have a vast amount of industry experience, we strongly encourage them to not micromanage our projects. Micromanagement is an unsustainable management practice and stifles the creativity and participation of staff. Part of what we do as a consultant is teach, and it’s not possible to transmit knowledge if we do all the work.”
Adam Brown
President, Sign Effectz Inc.
“Behaving inconsistently or unpredictably. Many managers forget about the amount of influence they have with their employees and the amplified impressions they leave. It’s important to be consistent. Your opinion can change, as long as it’s followed by some type of justification and that gets shared with them. It’s hard to walk on a moving bridge.”
Griselda Aldrete
President and CEO, Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee
“At HPGM, we say that strong managers listen intentionally and find ways to enhance their employees’ skill set. Managers cannot use a one-size-fits-all approach and must be mindful that no two employees are the same. Taking time to listen, learn and adapt can lead to fruitful working relationships.”
Mike Dover
President, The Wagner Cos.
“Managers should stop giving performance reviews on an annual basis and treat that opportunity as a corrective action step. Employees should be engaged with their manager on a much more frequent basis and the performance review turns more into a conversation with your employee on looking back at the accomplishments for the period and a plan for what’s next on the department’s list to support the business’ strategic plan.”
