Playing Where’s Waldo? With Your Team

Just Make Sure Everybody Is Winning

Modern managers are often pushed to do more with less staff, and it sometimes makes it difficult for them to offer enough face-to-face time to their team.

For the employees the boss’s absence can be a mixed blessing. It could lead some of them to show more initiative and use their own organizing skills – they are able to figure out what they need to do. The other may lack guidance they need in order to do their best. They may be scrambling for answers to meet a deadline; or they may feel their work is unimportant, with their motivation sinking low.

Modern technology makes it easier than ever for a manager to be able to do his job while being anywhere but in his office. The manager’s task in this regard is to make sure he stays available even when away.

The employee’s responsibility is to have a good idea of how much personal time he needs from his boss, and find ways to get that time. Proper communication is crucial, of course, but there are other important issues you should be aware of. For more tips, I recommend the article How To Thrive When The Boss Is Never Around, by Forbes.com writer Jacquelyn Smith.