I run a small business (me and two other guys), and we all do fine most days. We all ride in my truck to and from work, know each others families, etc. But I have to be doing other things away from the site occasionally, and recently guy 1 has been complaining how guy 2 turns into a foul mouthed jerk when I’m not around. I cleared the air (or so I thought) a couple weeks ago, and just yesterday guy 1 came back with the same complaints. “He has a short temper, cusses himself and me and the door he’s trying to hang, freaks and stresses the hell out.”
Guy 2 has a tremendous work ethic, is fast, dependable, reliable, and I’ve never seen him mistreat anyone ever. What’s going on?
Replies
He's frustrated over something. Maybe at his place in life at the moment? Maybe at his home life?
All the girlies say that I'm really kind of fly for a white guy.
Maybe he has the hots for the other guy.
That could be what's frustrating him. LOL
All the girlies say that I'm really kind of fly for a white guy.
I guess my first question is, do you think that guy 2 is really acting that way when you are not around. Or is guy 1's description of guy 2 off base???
Might be some where inbetween. Guy 2's mouth is a little more foul, show's his fustration more when your gone. Guy 1 might be a little sensitive to this personality change.
I think your gonna have to set up a hidden spy cam to figure this out :)
-m2akita
maybe guy 2 is goofing off and guy 1 telling him to get off your @#$ and work, guy 2, cry and say "you cant talk to me like that, Im telling"and then complain to you,easy, boxing gloves, lock room, two guys in, one guy out.“Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations, may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong.â€
"easy, boxing gloves, lock room, two guys in, one guy out."This was my first suggestion, actually, but guy2 assured me that it couldn't be a personal problem, as they get along so well outside work. Also, guy2 is not very confrontational, so my suggestion of "Stand up for yourself and get some respect" didn't go so well.
Matt, I think your guy #2 is showing signs of self induced stress. I also think he's probably a good carpenter, but a poor foreman/leader.
I would surmise that the instant you leave, he puts the entire world on his shoulders and tries his hardest to keep the pace. He takes every minor setback too seriously and expresses his emotions with outbursts that normally wouldn't occur if he wasn't feeling the heat.
You've got to approach this differently.
First things first. Who are you putting in charge when you leave? If you aren't specifically declaring who's in charge, you are creating a situation of chaos. Somebody has to be the boss, when the boss isn't around. I would probably designate guy #1 as the boss because guy#2 has already shown signs of instability brought on by the stress of being on their own.
The next thing is to set some very specific goals for the time that you are away. Make them easily achievable and that will give guy #2 plenty of time to work through the inevitable minor problems that every task creates. If he feels that he will easily achieve the stated goal, he'll be less stressed out by a minor setback and he might just keep the problems to himself instead of venting.
Get the book "First, Break all the Rules". If you are managing people, this is a must read.
blue
I like blue's approach.
Thanks for the advice and the suggested reading blue. Maybe a little responsibility just isn't the thing for some people. I thought by showing confidence in my stand-in lead guy, I might inspire some self confidence in him. It makes sense that he's driving the both of them harder than I do and stressing because of it. I don't know how many times I've had the talk with the crew that speed comes third after safety and quality, it seems like every other day. I guess coming from a high production west coast framing crew to custom home building takes some getting used to.
very insightful, well thought out and expressed.... you get 5 stars dude...
even if i knew in advance what you were going to say there is no way i could have said it that well...
p
matt... both guy 1 & guy 2 should take up golf
hey... i went to the Women's Open on Sunday.. a great looking swedish player named Koch hit a bad drive... threw her club in the woods and it fell in a puddle
her caddy just kept on walking and she screamed something at him in swedish.. he yelled back and kept walking away
she yelled again and he threw a club to her from 50 feet
she went over , picked it up and used it to pull her driver out of the water..
someone in the gallery yelled at her... " I wouldn't pay him !"
she yelled back...."I'm married to him !"
anyways... great game, golf Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
"she yelled back...."I'm married to him !""
Thats funny right there . LMBO
Tim
Golf?You want a guy with a temper to relax by playing a complex and frustrating game that uses long metal clubs? Sadist . . . ;)
Stop it Ponytl, you're making me blush!
blue
If guy #2 is such a nice guy,why is he ratting out #1. If possible ,put them on different jobs. Guy #1 who cusses and has a short temper sounds like me.
mike
Shhoooot..thats nuthin. My coworker gets ballistic all the time..women probs, mostly. At first I thought is was concerneing enough to mention to our contractor....
Then I kinda got a kick outta him..scaring some other folks away, getting calls to the 'Office' and being scolded..for what we now call " making 'Friends' " with some of the jerks we work around...
Now, I wouldn't have it any other way when he rants and blows a gasket. Mostly , he is right.
We both are dedicated subs to one contractor more or less..and that person can handle it, so, so can I.
Now if I could just his phone away from him, we could double our work.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
There is no cure for stupid. R. White.