Here's a test that everyone has been waiting for (without really knowing it). This Rate-Your-Manager Test will tell you how good your manager is, and how he/she compares to other managers around the world.
But first a question:
How Motivated Are You to Do Your Work Well?
IMPORTANT! Please answer this question first, on a scale of 1 to 5!
(1 = Not Motivated at All and 5 = Extremely Motivated).
My Motivation = ......
And now, here is the Rate-Your-Manager Test...
Answer the following 12 questions by circling one of three possible answers.
| Question | No | Can't Decide | Yes |
| Does your manager let you know what is expected of you at work? | -1 | 0 | +1 |
| Does your manager supply you with the materials and equipment you need to do your work right? | -1 | 0 | +1 |
| Does your manager give you the opportunity to do what you do best (what you're good at) every day? | -1 | 0 | +1 |
| Did your manager recently give you recognition or praise for doing good work? | -1 | 0 | +1 |
| Does your manager seem to care about you as a person? | -1 | 0 | +1 |
| Does your manager encourage you to work on your (self-)development? | -1 | 0 | +1 |
| Does your manager make your opinion count? | -1 | 0 | +1 |
| Does your manager make you feel that your job is important? | -1 | 0 | +1 |
| Is your manager committed to doing quality work? | -1 | 0 | +1 |
| Would you be able to (or willing to) turn your manager into a friend? | -1 | 0 | +1 |
| Has your manager recently talked to you about the progress (of your work)? | -1 | 0 | +1 |
| Did your manager recently give you the opportunity (time/resources) to learn and grow? | -1 | 0 | +1 |
| Total | |||
The questions have been taken and adapted from the book First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently.
These 12 questions should give you a total anywhere between -12 and +12.
Now the last part... Please submit your results in the comments (anonymously if you want), or send them to me via email, like this (example):
My Motivation = 4
My Manager's Rating = +3
I will use your results to plot the following graph (which I will update once per day):
Last update: Mon 24th (8:00pm GMT+1)
It will be most interesting to see if there's a correlation between good managers and people's motivation.
Currently, my hypothesis is that bad managers can have both unmotivated and motivated employees. And good managers should have more motivated people. But let's see how my hypothesis works out...
If I'm wrong, it would give me a good reason to stop managing and get back to coding...
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