City Manager Question:

While I find I do some of my best work under pressure, I know not everybody works that way which is why I like to keep a close eye on how everyone on my team is doing. If I start to notice stress or negativity within the team, I try to tackle it quickly and proactively. I’ll talk with the individuals and assess the situation and see exactly how I can help alleviate it. A few years ago, I was on a group project where we were tasked with finishing a large design for a client. Each of the team members were assigned a separate part of the project with the idea that we would come together at the end and present the final product. While the majority of the team worked well together, there was one individual who was consistently missing deadlines and slowing things down. This created friction and stress among the members of the group. Rather than let the issue fester and potentially jeopardize the project overall, I took the employee aside and we discussed what was going on. He confided that he was having some personal issues that were cutting into his work time. We went over some options and came up with a solution where he was able to switch his hours around and adjust his schedule to accommodate this issue. As a result, he was able to catch up with the group, we finished on time, and the client was ecstatic with the final results.