So during my trip to Beijing, my boss asked me how Andy's doing. I'm sure Andy's doing fine, but that's not what he's asking.
"So he's been working here for a month and a half. How's he doing?"
"Well, he needs to be told what to do for a lot of things, but I guess ..."
"You know, there just are people who need supervision and those who don't. I think you just need to figure out if we can afford to train and supervise him for much longer. Afterall, he's still in probation."
I promised I'll "think about it", and the conversation went elsewhere.
He's right. There are people who needs supervision, and there are those who takes initiative to learn what they do not already know. In a more "in your face" term, there are followers and there are leaders.
Andy was alright as a young engineer. When I ask him how he plans to do certain things, he'll usually give me a good enough plan. The problem is when I ask him some little details, "It'll probably work" is what I hear most often. i usually give him the "well, then you'd better test to make sure". For the first couple of times, it was fine. It was part of training. But after a while "It'll probably work" just gets old. "It'll probably work, I'll go test it out" would be at least an improvement.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not picking on tiny details that didn't matter. On site, everything has to work right. We can't afford to do research while we're there because (1) we don't have the time and (2) there's no resources, no internet, nothing. Before going, get your stuffs ready, really ready.
I really don't want to be firing a fellow young computer engineer, and I shouldn't be placed in a position to do so, but we'll see what happens.
"So he's been working here for a month and a half. How's he doing?"
"Well, he needs to be told what to do for a lot of things, but I guess ..."
"You know, there just are people who need supervision and those who don't. I think you just need to figure out if we can afford to train and supervise him for much longer. Afterall, he's still in probation."
I promised I'll "think about it", and the conversation went elsewhere.
He's right. There are people who needs supervision, and there are those who takes initiative to learn what they do not already know. In a more "in your face" term, there are followers and there are leaders.
Andy was alright as a young engineer. When I ask him how he plans to do certain things, he'll usually give me a good enough plan. The problem is when I ask him some little details, "It'll probably work" is what I hear most often. i usually give him the "well, then you'd better test to make sure". For the first couple of times, it was fine. It was part of training. But after a while "It'll probably work" just gets old. "It'll probably work, I'll go test it out" would be at least an improvement.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not picking on tiny details that didn't matter. On site, everything has to work right. We can't afford to do research while we're there because (1) we don't have the time and (2) there's no resources, no internet, nothing. Before going, get your stuffs ready, really ready.
I really don't want to be firing a fellow young computer engineer, and I shouldn't be placed in a position to do so, but we'll see what happens.
2 comments:
Hey Buddy,
I've been following your blog. It does seem that "Andy" is being made a scapegoat. And he is now thrown into the limelight. Every small detail about him is being highlighted. Especially his mistakes.
The main gripe seems to be the way he views things and his attitude towards knowing what he should know and acknowledging what he does not. Has he thought about the bigger picture? Like how the contractors view your company, how your boss is starting to get a little iffy about 'Andy", how your position is being compromised, you are being squashed in the middle.
I am of the opinion that it was not all 'Andy's" fault but it does highlight the need for him to improve on what he does not know about and check stuff to make sure it works. Otherwise, you are gonna have a busy few days ahead of you clearing up after potential mistakes from him.
Even if he goes, the situation will be at square one again. A new guy will still have to be trained, he is going to make whole new mistakes and there is no certainty that a new guy's attitude would be better. A known factor is better than an unknown one. What you know, you can work with, mould and change to your needs.
At least Andy's got some experience right now. That would seem to be the 1 positive thing about the whole episode. And if he can learn from it, your company would benefit from it and he would be a lot better than having a new guy around.
Oh yes, could you have some english in your blog to reply to? I really want to reply over there when i feel the urge and need but my chinese is horrible. Taa taa. And take care!
Glenn
Hey Glenn,
First off, I'm all for Andy not being totally at fault right here. He's, very simply, in the wrong place at the wrong time doing the wrong thing. That's why when the boss asked me about him, I'd need to think about it.
A few things really bugs me. It's been a good two months, nothing has really been changed. He still gives me unchecked works and unverified answers.
It's all about attitude, especially in engineering, and especially in projects. You want to do things right. If you think that way, you'd double check your work. You'd take time to ask if you don't know something. You'd be prepared for when things fail.
I guess the biggest mistake an engineer can make is assume any changes would work the way you want them to.
But yeah, I'll probably not tell my boss to fire him. I'm just ranting because of the extra work I have.
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