Snow

We had our first big dump of the season here over the weekend. I’m not a fan of snow or winter in general but putting aside my general disdain for the lack of golf and hazardous driving snow brings, it is kind of pretty.
As I was watching it fall Saturday night, I recalled the old saw about no two flakes being alike. While this is apparently not the case, it make me think of something as we wind down the year.Managers have a tendency to speak of the folks with whom they work as “employees” or “co-workers.”  We generalize the folks with whom we do business as “clients” or “partners” or “customers.”  It’s useful to think of people in buckets as long as we remember the old snowflake saying as we do so:  no two are alike.

Ultimately if we’re going to be good at what we do, it’s critical that we treat each of these people as the individuals they are.   While the HR department needs to make rules that apply to everyone, there’s always someone who has a special situation – a sick parent, a needy child – for whom those rules need to be seen in the most supportive context.  While I may have a hard rule about not continuing to work for clients who are 60+ days behind on paying me, the reality may be that they’re a week from a huge deal and it’s in both of our interests that I help them get that deal closed.

People remember the exceptions just as much as they remember the rules, both positively and negatively.  For example, bosses who tell their employees that they’re to work a full day before a holiday and then leave themselves at 1 won’t have that exception forgotten quickly.

Which leads to the next question:  why some many rules?  Treat the individuals who work for you as adults and they’ll behave that way.  Make clear your expectations in terms of deliverables, make them responsible, and hold them accountable.  How they get there may be as unique as snowflakes.

How are the snowflakes in your life?