Free Reluctant Worker Essay Sample
In the essay, the odds are not in favor of Tim Aston. He is the new project manager in a company where all the workers have the experience and the relevant competencies to perform all that pertains to their job descriptions. As such, he approaches Phil Davies who is the director of project management for a quick fix solution of the problem.
After having a lengthy discourse on the issues that seem to bedevil the future of Tim Aston’s in the company, nature and character of the people, reality dawns on Mr. Aston that he has to work with and motivate his subordinates.
The case on this chapter tests and portrays a number of skills as understated:
Skills on self-management-these skills are important since they help an employee know whether his or her personality fits with that of the company he/she works for, the bosses and his/her subordinates. Tim Aston to some extent knows how to relate with his director but seems to lack enough self-management skills on how to deal with his subordinates.
Tolerance-to some extent, Tim Aston is tolerant. Despite the behavior of the reluctant workers, he shows them some level of tolerance and is always there for them in case of anything despite being young and inexperienced with the company and its people.
Motivation skills-Tim Aston lacked creativity in his motivational skills to those who are working under him hence they could not endear them to him.
As contained in chapter 4.2 of the book, the young Tim Aston exercised the following skills as referenced below.
Being tired-Tim Aston is a tired man. Inwardly, he might really be regretting why he handed in the resignation letter that saw him out of his former company. Contrary to typical causes of tiredness like engagement in meetings, developing reports and other forms of documentation , Mr. Astons tiredness can be attributed to unsuccessful attempts at motivating his subordinates, albeit unsuccessfully. He therefore uses his communication skills to express the whole idea to Mr. Phil Davies.
Feeling depressed- Mr. Tim Aston feels he is not part of the team. No one goes to him to enlist his help. His subordinates leave too soon for external engagements. This has seriously battered down his self esteem and he feels dejected. The demand of the project which presents him with the task of having to motivate his reluctant team of subordinates is not bearing any fruit.
Despite this odd, Mr. Tim still has the impetus to continue. He proves to be enduring even though he is at the lowest point in his career.
Being physically and emotionally exhausted-this is normally when a project manager considers himself capable and faster at performing an arduous task. Ironically, Mr. Tim’s juniors are more hard-nosed than him. He is the youngest employee in the company. He therefore utilizes his skills in leadership capabilities where he regards team building as imperative.
Burned out-Mr.Tim appears to be emotionally exhausted but physically, he is still going strong. Therefore, he passively gets along with his project staff despite them acting in total disregard of him. He perfectly uses his resilient skills to cope with the situation beforehand.
Being unhappy-Mr. Tim might have assumed the responsibilities that were bestowed upon him with a lot of alacrity for impressive results in the future. But his tragic twist of fate makes him being able to learn which is manifested when he sought help from Mr. Phil.
Feeling trapped-Mr. Tim remains trapped in the situation. His future in his new company remains with the mercy of his work staff. He uses his friendliness skills and ability to get along with others just to cope with the situation.
Feeling worthless-the project manager feels worthless. His work staff does not enlist his help. He feels beneath the situation. Being new to the company, he fails to motivate his working staff, some who have been in the company for long. The workers view him as having no value to add in the performance of their duties. Hence they remain focused on their own job affairs and other social responsibilities outside the company.
Feeling hopeless-he feels the project objectives are beyond his reach. This coupled by the unbecoming behavior of his members of staff worsens the situation further.
Feeling rejected-his endeavor to build working relations between him and his work staff seems to bear no fruit.
In the light of being tolerant with self managerial skills, Mr. Tim was not a creative motivator.
The company gave little in support of Mr. Tim in his predicament. Mr. Tim ought to have been supported by treating affairs of the project as a company affair. Contrariwise, everything was left for Tim to handle single-handedly with lack of any proper guidance.
Resource allocation and personnel motivation should be treated as a company affair before the rest of the work is left for project managers to supervise or implement. This would have jolted all members into action rather than being reluctant.