Month: December 2011

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Learning To Be a Manager

Linda’s comment to my last post has made me realise that I have been unnecessarily cryptic about the work I’m doing this winter.

So, let’s see if I can clarify that a little. I’m managing a four-building, 119-unit, apartment complex. How I got this job is still a little beyond me. I interviewed for a receptionist/accounting assistant position, but they were looking for long-term. Happy with my credentials, they sent me to do rent collection at their two apartment complexes, saying that I would be part-time and bouncing around until they got permanent managers for both complexes or I chose to leave, whichever came first.

I spent one afternoon at the other complex and then found myself here full-time. I think it was on my second paycheque that I noticed a notation that said I was being paid for being a manager. Um, okay, I guess that means I’m in charge of this complex!

I’ve never been a manager before. Oh, I’ve been a low-level supervisor, but I’ve never had any real sort of empowerment like this. I also have absolutely no training for this level of responsibility. I’m learning by the seat of my pants and the experience has thus far been successful. I’ve made plenty of mistakes in how I’ve dealt with certain situations, but my over-all performance has been surprisingly satisfactory. I have discovered that I am someone who can handle having power over others. Even the tenants with whom I have had Words have said I’m great to deal with, approachable, flexible, and fair.

One of the biggest challenges about being a manager is learning to go from jobs that were very task-oriented, where my days had a set pattern with specific things that needed to be done, to having a job that is situation-oriented. That is, while I do have a certain number of tasks to complete, they are not on a set schedule and the bulk of my time is spent dealing with issues that crop up. I can’t really ‘plan my day’ because any number of things could come up to derail that plan.

This job has taught me a lot about dealing with people. One of the first lessons I learned was to talk to people before sending ‘official’ letters of reprimand. If I had done that, I would have known that their file was very one-sided, that they were not dealt with fairly, and that an on-going long-term battle could have been resolved years ago. Well, I learned all of that, but only after having very hot words with a tenant. But I listened, mediated the issue he was having with a staff member, and resolved it. It’s amazing how people can be so convinced that their stance is the correct one that they fail to see an obvious resolution. That tenant and I got off to a very rocky start, but we’re on amiable terms now. Another thing I learned with this case was that saying “I’m sorry, I was wrong” does not lessen your authority.

This was evidenced by the same tenant who taught me another lesson, to look at the big picture. His wife asked if they could have a cat. They had been denied on numerous grounds for reasons I won’t get into. I approved them. My reasoning was thus, number one, they asked; they didn’t try to sneak the cat in. Number two, they didn’t balk at the conditions, which included paying a non-refundable deposit. I could have said no, they would have gotten the cat any way, and we wouldn’t have had that extra money set aside in case the cat trashes the carpets.

Another thing that I have learned is that while I don’t usually need to be told twice to do something or to have my work inspected, I am quite possibly an exception. If I tell a contractor to go do X and Y, I can’t just take their word that these things were done, unless I want to spend an hour cleaning up a mess.

One thing I haven’t had issues with is delegating. I’ve had plenty of jobs with subordinates to delegate to. I just sometimes have a hard time sitting and doing my bookkeeping while the housekeeper is vacuuming around me. I always feel like I should be helping her when we are both doing our job! I do do small repairs and maintenance jobs since our maintenance man is overworked, like changing light bulbs, unclogging faucets and sinks, and changing washers in leaky taps. I am also responsible for monitoring our boilers, a job that amuses me since it involves walking around with a giant wrench.

Being an apartment complex manager also means being a counselor, a mediator, a parent, a friend, a confidant, a teacher, and even an adversary. I am like the governor of a small community and it is my goal to see that this community hums along smoothly.

That said, unlike some managers, I am not on duty 24/7. In fact, only people with access to the building in which my apartment and office are located can reach me after hours as I do not have a phone hooked up (I negotiated the right to use the office phone for personal calls), nor am I reachable via the intercom system. This was something I stipulated before agreeing to work for the winter so that I can keep my own business as my top priority. I work about 30 hours a week, with weekends and most of the morning off, and this is working out just fine. Tenants are aware that I am available evenings and weekends by appointment and many are taking me up on that.

So that’s what I’m up to this winter. Feel free to ask questions in the comments and I will answer them if I can.

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Well, That Was Unexpected

I just got in from the staff holiday party put on by the company for which I’m working this winter. This was quite a treat. I did get a dinner out from the crazies at the RV park in Oliver (which was rather shocking), but otherwise this is my first staff party since the 2003 holiday season. Oh, we got a staff party when I worked the government, but we had to pay to attend, so it doesn’t count.

We had the party at the Regent Restaurant, here in Lethbridge. They serve Canadian-Chinese food. The owners ordered a variety of dishes and we ate family style. It was very good! There were a few chicken dishes, some beef, assorted vegetables, noodles, and rice. Chinese food is at the bottom of the list of cuisines I’d go out for, but I don’t hate it, I just find that it tastes like junk food. This stuff didn’t. If someone was to ask me to recommend a Chinese restaurant in Lethbridge, I’d say I’ve only been to the Regent and I can recommend it.

Everyone was given an envelope and I didn’t think much of it, assuming it’d be a thank you/happy holiday card. I opened it in the car and, sure, enough, that was it. But there was something else in the envelope, too, something that shocked me so much it took five minutes for me to recover enough to be able to drive. I’ll just say it was the most generous bonus cheque I’ve ever been given and I was able to order myself an iPad when I got home.

I’m off to stare at my Amazon order confirmation for a while. I don’t expect delivery until the New Year, but it’s on its way. Amazing.

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What a Nightmare

Well, I apparently didn’t catch all the little beasties the hacker put onto my server this week. I awoke this morning to find my entire webhost account suspended, right down to my email accounts. It took four messages and 13 hours for tech support to get back to me and tell me I was suspended for sending out spam.

I replied rather sharply that suspending my account and then ignoring my pleas for 13 hours was an inappropriate response since they knew I’d been hacked over the weekend and that I was working making corrections. Obviously, I did nothing wrong. It’s amazing how great 100 Megs was in regards to the original hacking issue, but how it completely missed the ball with the after shocks.

Today was a nightmare. I have had my @uskeba.ca email address for the better part of a decade. Changing it is really not an option at this point. I began to go over the steps for switching a domain to a new host and the work ahead nearly overwhelmed me. The blog had a recent backup, thank goodness, but none of my other sites do (guess what I’m about to do).

All day, I have felt like a a fire victim being kept away from her property and desperate to sift through the ruins to see what, if anything, was left. I don’t feel violated, just terribly angry that people have nothing better to do than screw around with people’s livelihoods. And I am also incredibly disappointed with my webhost, whom I praised so highly just the other day.

Finally, I am absolutely overwhelmed by the number of people who went out of their way to contact me today, be it through my .uskeba.ca address, Gmail address (I loathe Gmail…), Facebook page, or Squidoo profile. Thank you everyone for your support and concern. It means the world to me.

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Hijacked!

Earlier this evening, I became aware that my main site, uskeba.ca, had been hijacked by a hacker. There was a taunting message on the front page that made me sick with dread. I quickly tried to log into my control panel to discover that the password had been changed. The hackers had full access to everything under uskeba.ca, including my blogs and my email! Fortunately, the only obvious damage at that point was to uskeba.ca and its WordPress installation.

First order of business was to regain control. I emailed my webhost who responded surprisingly quickly (even though it felt like AGES). They reset my cPanel password and told me that the hackers got in through an old version of WordPress. I update the WordPress installations for my blogs immediately, but I rarely think to do so on the static sites.

The new password allowed me to get back in and make an inventory of the damage. I started by changing every single password–all of my email accounts, all of my WordPress installations, the cPanel, FTP, everything. The uskeba.ca WordPress installation had been compromised, so I scrapped it entirely and started from scratch (which was a nice reminder that I really need to work on make it look a little more professional).

The next thing I did was go through folders under uskeba.ca to delete anything that looked suspicious. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of files, but a list of recently access files provided by webhost provided breadcrumbs as to where I should search. I found several folders I could not delete, so I sent the list to my webhost who deleted them. Talk about stellar support! If you need good webhosting with solid support, you can’t go wrong with 100 Megs Web Hosting. I’ve been with them for years.

Finally, I made sure that all my WordPress installations were updated to the most current version.

I think/hope I’ve done everything needed. What a night!

It is about three hours past my bedtime. Thankfully, I’m not working tomorrow.

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Five Jobs Everyone In the World Should Have At Some Point

My guilty pleasure over coffee every morning is to see what’s new at cracked.com. This morning’s article about Five Jobs Everyone In the World Should Have At Some Point made me reflect on my own job path and how my various work experiences have shaped who I am today.

#5 on their list is waiting tables

I’ve never done that, but I have worked extensively in the customer service world, both in retail and in hospitality. I agree with the article that serving others tells you a lot about yourself and can influence how you treat others.

#4 is something with kids

My baby-sitting career lasted from about age eight to about age 20 and then I said, never again! But, again, I agree with the article that working with kids gave me a sense of being an adult and of being responsible. I wasn’t just watching kids for an evening. It could be for a stretch of a couple of weeks. I also supervised mentally handicapped adults during this period of my life, again for weeks at a stretch, while being responsible for the full running of the household. I felt more like an adult during those years than I have since.

#3 is tech support of any kind

I wore many hats during my first position in the Federal government, and one of them was telecom officer. I was responsible for getting phones hooked up, walking people through the set up of personal options, and troubleshooting problems. I was also the conference room scheduler who had to know how all the equipment worked, from the conference call telephones to the projectors. Yeah, I certainly learned how to deal patiently with people who don’t speak the same language as me.

#2 is something where you have power

I’ve had roles with weak power in the past, but nothing like my current position. I have the full weight of the Alberta tenancy act behind me in dealing with deadbeats and jerks. I decide if someone is going to get an apartment or not, if I’m going to be patient with late rent or evict them, let them have the cat, put up with their party, etc. I’ve never had a job like this before and I am shocked to discover that I am good at it. The comment I get from all my tenants, even those I have to be strict with, is that I’m the best manager they’ve had. I’ve discovered that I know how to use power positively and that I can command respect. This job has been transformative and I am truly grateful for the experience.

#1 is something mindless/labour intensive

I experienced this at the nursery in Oliver. My mind is too active for this kind of work, but I am glad to know that I can do it, that I can put in an almost relentless eight-hour day of bending and lifting or assembling cardboard boxes, one where there is no doubt that I have earned my supper.

I think that there is one job missing from this list, or, rather, there should be a sixth. Everyone should try working for themselves for a while. By doing so, I’ve discovered that I am actually a very disciplined person.

Now, would you believe that this post only covers about half of the jobs I’ve had? 😀