Some great advice so far.
I want to key off of this...
Quote:
Originally Posted by IKE
Great leaders can customize their leadership to the individual's needs.
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My biggest belief is that the best managers and leaders know how to tailor their style to each of their team members. So often its so much easier to just "do it yourself" than to figure out how to get someone else to do it, to figure out how to motivate them.
I believe motivation is getting trickier and trickier. If someone figures out the key/trick to motivating current students, I'm 100% all ears! As a workaround, I've found the best way is to get to know each student as an individual and figure out what it is that makes them tick. Is it recognition? Is it a pat on the back? Is it a monetary reward? Is it a word with their parents? Is it an ice cream cone? a new Xbox game? a leadership role? a Trophy? a Blue Banner? a star on CD? a certificate at an awards banquet? Every single person is different in their motivations. Finding what really motivates and inspires each of your core students is key.
Now why do I say core students? Well, as hard as any of us can work, you as one person cannot be with every single student at every single minute, so if you can get your leaders to lead, they will help with the motivation. Individually working with every person on the team is a lofty goal, and one I have attempted in the past, but its near impossible to reach everyone (on a good sized team) yourself.
Now, once you've worked on the motivation/inspiration... its time to move to the management. My very first boss was one of my favorite examples. He got to know each of his employees and knew exactly what each of us needed to keep going. I was very self motivated and just needed someone to answer questions. He never micromanaged me, in fact after the first few weeks, never even checked in, but he did give me positive feedback on occasion. Another of his new hires would sit in his office with nothing to do until someone told him what needed to be done. He would provide the level of micromanagement that this new hire needed.
This can be hard for many managers/leaders to learn. I am working with a program manager right now who refuses to micromanage, and it drives me up the wall. He just expects that everyone knows what needs to get done, and should do it, and while the first part is true - they know what needs to be done, they often get side tracked and go off on tangents that don't need to be explored, thus putting us behind schedule and overbudget, and we become reliant on heroes to pull crazy hours and race to get things done in the end. If he applied an ounce of micromanagement, we'd be better on track.
There is also a difference between micromanagement and clear guidance. There are some people that are really hard workers, but they need a very clear set of defined tasks and steps to get towards an end result. There are others that need the detailed checkins of a micromanager to stay on track. Still others are very self motivated and just need a vague goal, and they will find a way to get there.
So how does this apply to robotics? Well students and mentors are the same. I am finding more and more students either need the very clear guidance or micromanagement. Fewer that I have seen lately are the self motivated type that deal well with vague goals. So for your chairmans example, setting dates and deadlines is a good start, but did they know that you expected good grammar? You may have assumed that - it seems like common sense, but they may not have thought of it, or may have assumed you would do the final edits. Too many kids are used to having things done for them these days - I hear about so many parents writing college applications, revising essays, picking classes, etc. Its become the norm more than I would like. Or in the poorer sections, kids aren't taught that they can be something more, and may figure good is good enough.
And even further, show the team that you expect more of them. When they don't perform, let them know you are disappointed, that you know they can do better. It doesn't mean yelling at people, it just means voicing your disappointment. Don't just expect that they know you are disappointed. I had a recent incident where I was helping out my old team, and I was helping run the scouting. I had a commitment at the end of the day, and gave the kids clear instruction to finish up the robot photos and pit scouting, only to come back to find out that they left 20 minutes after I walked away and hadn't finished any of it. I called up the student in charge and by some terms "laid into" him... I didn't yell, but I very clearly told him I hadn't taken off from work and come to the competition to help to just have them walk away from their responsibilities. I spent about 15 minutes discussing this with him. I found out later that the parents who were around him at the time told him "OMG if I had known she was yelling at you, I would have taken the phone from you and yelled back! She can't talk to you like that!". The student simply replied "I deserved it. I blew off my responsibilities, and I shouldn't have." I was blown away at his maturity. (BTW at Champs, he had 100 robots scouted in 3 hours!!! Faster than we've ever done!)
The summary?
1. See if you can understand motivations (this is probably the hardest) for EACH individual. Never apply the same thing to every person.
2. Determine what type of management style is required for EACH individual. Never apply the same thing to every person.
3. Don't be afraid to show disappointment, let them know you know that they are capable of more.
4. Don't forget to provide positive feedback, everyone needs to know when they have done a good job. (But DON'T overdo it!)
Good luck... we are rooting for you!