Resourcing humans

After working for four years, i've come to the conclusion that work boils down essentially to managing resources, whether it be people, time or money. And managing people and staff is frickin' hard. People can't be broken down into rules. They are essentially bundles of emotion, intuition, thoughts and bounded rationality that require a sensitive approach each time. Yes, you might find certain tactics over time, but in the end, it's not about what works for you, but what works for them. How you motivate someone, how you coach and counsel them. That's tough! But it can be rewarding.

The reason why I wrote the above is because it's that time of year when people are leaving my department again. And i just found out that one of my middle management staff is about to leave, and that person's gonna be tough to replace. And while I strongly believe that you need to hire the right person in, somehow it's a little hard to keep holding a place open when you see mediocre candidate after mediocre candidate and your other staff are screaming for some help. That usual adage of ideals meeting reality, i guess.

Add to that the fact that one of my potential management staff is under-performing, and the usual day to day staff management issues, and I end up wondering sometimes why people can't just all be happy, see the big picture, and get along.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoy managing and helping staff, and i think it's one of my greatest strengths. It just gets tiring sometimes. Perhaps because I care so much about doing the right thing, i also feel it when things don't work out even though i've tried my best.

Ah well.

Ajantis will relax by staring at movie trailers tonight....