25% of your staff do not know what is expected of them,
while at work. Are you shocked at that figure - 25%?
So what can you do about it?
To have a successful career in any company you must
know how to build relationships.
And the most important relationship is between the
manager and their direct reports. The strength of
this relationship can have a direct result on the
success of a team.
Yes the relationship between the manager and
their staff must be 'open and 'trustworthy,
that's a given - but what else should you
expect from your staff as their manager?
During my 20 years plus management career,
I've observed and experienced that certain
behaviors, on the part of both the staff and
the manager, are conducive to productive and
rewarding relationships.
I share my views below and I hope that I can
help other managers, leaders, staff and teams
to improve their relationships and as a consequence,
their performance.
What I Expect from My Direct Reports:
Get involved
Successful managers know how to delegate.
But even more important, they know when a
situation calls for their immediate involvement,
whether it's in redirecting resources to a major
crisis or visiting their staff at a remote site.
If you see a problem rising, there is no excuse for
not taking responsibility. I expect my reports to
take the blame for things that go wrong and give
credit for positive developments to their employees.
That is part of being a manager - take the blame
but praise the staff/team when things work out
well.
It is the manager's judgment call to know when
your involvement is necessary and will have the
most impact on the business. I have found that
effective managers generally get involved when
one of these types of circumstances arise:
when somebody is falling behind in their commitments;
when important personnel matters arise;
in a crisis;
Generate ideas
A person who is innovative and creative is rare. I
actually encourage individuals to come up with ideas.
I listen to what they suggest and say.
Together we decide which ideas are taken forward
and implemented.
Be willing to collaborate and share
The number of people I come across who resist
collaboration or sharing credit amazes me.
Individuals think by keeping 'things to themselves'
they will become infallible or irreplaceable. The
team, department, company can achieve improved
results if individuals share their good ideas, practice,
ways of working.
As a manager, you have to take this very seriously
and I do.
Several years ago, I was hired to improve
the turnaround time of customer orders for a large
blue-chip company. Two of my direct reports just
did not get on; they didn't talk to each other; they
didn't turn up to each other's meetings; they
argued in front of customers.
All this meant they didn't and couldn't work
together and because they didn't work together
well, neither did their teams.
As a result, service was not improving.
The three of us met and I told them that it
didn't matter whether they liked each other
or not, but the way they worked together
had to change. They left the meeting with
the agreement they would overcome their
differences.
I don't know if they ever learned to like each
other, but they learned to work well together
- and more important, so did their teams.
Our overall performance improved considerably.
Be willing to lead initiatives
I love change and as a manager, I am always
impressed when someone volunteers to lead
new initiatives.
It shows courage, confidence and flexibility.
New initiatives often means new skills, new
relationships and new environments, for the
individual who volunteers.
Most individuals won't put their hand up to
volunteer because of the unknown. All I
can say, it that those that do, it will be
their careers they will accelerate and
their profile will increase tremendously.
Develop your staff as you develop
You need to manage your own development.
However, even more important is the
development of your staff.
Early in my career, I worked for a great manager.
He told me one day, he was going to do everything
he could to help me reach my potential.
From that moment on, he was more interested
in my development than in his own. He went
out of his way to criticice or praise me when
I needed it. I'll never forget him; he played a
very meaningful role in my career.
Drive your own development
Keep your own skills up-to-date. Your company
may not offer all the development you need.
You may have to do your own research.
In my career I have read many, many
management/leadership/business books
(some bad, some good, some excellent).
I have also had many mentors.
Ask your boss and peers for feedback. Get
yourself a mentor (inside or outside the company).
Accept and volunteer for new types of work - learn
from the new skills, relationships and environments.
Remember your own development is your responsibility.
A last word.....
25% of all staff don't know what their boss expects
of them.
As a manager, make sure 100% of your staff know
what you expect of them. It's easy to do - the
behaviors I expect are listed above.
You may have different ones. It doesn't matter -
just make sure your staff know. If they do, you
will see an improvement in your team's service.
Andrew
FEEL FREE TO SHARE this with your friends, colleagues, and
others who may be interested.
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