Why is it that every time I talk to someone about their manager, what I hear from them is how bad things are with their boss? I ask myself “Is this the norm? Does that happen to everyone?“
With all of the management knowledge available, I would think that managers should be able to lead in any situation involving people. Conferences, training, experience…..It would seem obvious, but I still wonder: “Do we really understand how to lead others? Do we understand the simple things that we can do to be effective leaders?
Or are we simply stupid leaders?
After working as a consultant for many years, it certainly seems like many leaders simply don’t understand how to lead teams effectively. This thought became crystal clear after speaking to my neighbor on a train ride into the city. We had a conversation about work (I live in Chicago so sports are out of the question during baseball season). I asked him if he had ever had the privilege of experiencing an effective manager. His answer was similar to many others I have heard recently. He said “No.”
He told me after working for the same company for the past few years, that he was not going to take the bad behavior of his manager any more. He quit his job. What made him quit? I asked him if it was it harassment? No. Was it a hostile work environment? No. Was it favoritism? He said that it was nothing that nefarious. He said that it was a simple lack of common leadership courtesy. Once again, someone quits their boss.
He related a couple of recent incidents:
For instance, when he came in 5 minutes late because he had to take care of his new born child, his manager immediately called him into her office and grilled him about it. But, when he stayed until 11:00 PM on a Friday to make sure the client’s project went live successfully, there was no response or acknowledgement. Being late: unacceptable. Staying late: expected.
In another case, his boss refused to reimburse him for a meal when he was working over the weekend at a client site to make sure a project was implemented correctly because he “did not get approval for the meal.” However, she did not say anything about how great it was he was working over the weekend. The lack of common courtesy was palpable!
Unfortunately, that sounded very familiar to me. It probably sounds pretty familiar to you, too. We have all heard numerous examples that sound just like my neighbor’s. It’s likely that there are hundreds of examples at which we all could point collectively.
So what is the problem?
The problem is that many managers and leaders don’t think about how simple actions from them can have huge upside emotional and productivity impact. Things like acknowledging when someone gives extra effort and stays late; giving a high performer some slack about start time; or giving recognition to an individual or team that finishes a tough project costs nearly nothing, but has massive performance implications.
These are not “rocket science” ideas. It is not about giving people money or plaques; it is about treating folks with dignity and respect. Gone are the days that employees would be willing to stick with a job or leader that doesn’t do the simple things. Sure, they will take the job now or stay with a bad manager until the economy changes. But when the economic environment does get better, they will be gone in an instant. Stupid leaders beware.
Where should you start?
Take the time now to do the simple things to treat employees like human beings. Make sure to recognize what they do well and efforts that rise above the call of duty with as much zeal as you point out what they did wrong. Simple leadership techniques will encourage people to work harder, be happier and enable all of us to reap the rewards. It is critical that you concentrate on a few fundamentals especially when times are tough.
Anthony Tan , Managing partner of Cue Ball Venture Capital writes the following:
1) Help create a meaningful role. Ask in an interview what she would be doing if she had all the money she needed; explain and remind the employee why her role is critical and how it fits into the bigger picture. This is the foundation and most critical component of long-term retention.
2) Give feedback . Do so regularly, with both honesty and thoughtfulness.
3) Offer professional development . Keep her larger career path in mind; ask what she wants most to learn. People want to know where they are heading and that you care in helping them get there.
4) Say thank you . This means both intrinsic and extrinsic recognition — that is, reaffirm your appreciation for their role (a simple hand-written note or verbal thanks from time to time goes a long way) and pay them fairly.”
Ask yourself any of the following questions…
- When was the last time you thanked an employee for extra effort?
- Do people dread coming to talk with you, doing so only when they have to?
- Do you only coach people when there is a problem?
- Do you praise your folks in public and reprimand in private?
- Do you know if people genuinely like working for you?
If you don’t know the answers to the question, you could be a stupid manager.
I am not suggesting giving people a standing ovation for coming into work, but I am saying that treating people like adults goes a long way. Taking the time now to make simple investments into good management will go a long way when the economy gets better.
Don’t be a stupid manager. Don’t fall into the habit of only coaching when something is wrong.
People leave companies because of bad leaders. Do the simple things that will make your team, the people you are around, and in the end YOU, more successful!
What are you doing to insure that you are proactive against acting like a stupid leader? What steps can you take to insure that you are thinking more effectively toward the real motivators of your team members? How can you create new communication gateways that help lesson the likelihood of your being thought of as a stupid leader? I would love to hear your thoughts!
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Anil Saxena is President of cube214 Consulting.
He can be reached at [email protected]
Image Source: 3.bp.blogspot.com
Simply brilliant!
As a consultant I am coming across this issue regularly.
In the SMEs I come into contact with the root issue is the same, but the incidents/outcomes are a little different.
However the great thing about this post is that the solutions are the same!
Fantastic post.
Why thank you! I appreciate your comments.
Some of the “my boss is a jerk” issue comes under the heading of “it’s easier to comment on golf than it is to play it.”
Wally,
I agree that it is easier to talk about managers than to actually manage others. However, it is my observation that many managers don’t do the things that are easiest to do to work effectively with their folks. As a manager for a period longer than I would like to admit, I know that leading people effectively is challenging. In fact, I dare say that it is one of the most challenging jobs in most corporations. However, we could make it much easier if we simply treated folks well. They would be more apt to take on more and therefore make our jobs easier.
Thanks for the comment! I appreciate the thought.
I think both managers and the managed need to consider the “net” contribution the other makes over a period of time, and be less reactive to the details.
For the manager, it’s not simply politeness that should drive professional courtesy, it’s the compelling math:
The ratio of
– An occasional bit of acknowledgment and encouragement, whether direct (costs nothing) or indirect, as in a “free” meal during overtime work (costs little)
Over
– The extraordinary efforts a responsible employee will typically make towards a good outcome – given that little bit of encouragement
is very, very low.
Best ROI you’ll ever achieve.
Thanks Trevor. I agree that it’s usually the easy stuff that reaps the most benefits. I tell a lot of my clients that they should look at how their managers treat their folks to determine the trend of turnover. It sounds trite but organizations that really pay attention to the little things are the kinds of places that people love to work. Think about Southwest. They make it fun and thier managers MUST appreciate people. Again, its not about standing ovations for turning in work on the day it’s due. It is about having people see you are paying attention when they do something over and above.
Agreed. And some managers seem to operate very intuitively when it comes to the mood of their employees as individuals, and as a group (not sure how much of that intuition is genetic versus learned). There is no one style, but the awareness and capacity to act at the right time to alleviate employee angst is striking in great managers.
Several I’ve seen even had a “morale budget” that they maintained (usually but not necessarily with the blessing of their higher-ups), and they used that money judiciously to encourage the team or let them blow-off steam in an “unplanned” off-site.
This is an excellent post. I was thinking that in my professional career, I’ve had less than “6” formal performance reviews, about the same amount of “real feedback and thanks for a job well done” conversations.
I haven’t forgotten the lack of leadership and I’ve believe it’s made me more aware, engaged and cognizant of how teams and individuals should be managed and enabled.
Unfortunately, there are companies that thrive on inept leadership, and those who “quit their boss”, rather than the company and people they enjoy working with.
In this Great Recession, more inadequate leaders are surfacing and unfortunately find themselves on the outside looking in.
Anil,
You’ve proposed an excellent question… Why don’t managers take the opportunity to do these “simple things”? Is it that they are all truly ignorant of their actions? Could it be that not a single one of them had a mother or father who taught the golden rule? Could it be in this era of literacy that they have not read any book on managing or leading?
I only ask because this simple topic stands to have some significant impact on some research I am performing on effective leadership traits. Why do managers and leaders, who undoubtedly know what they should be doing, refuse to do the right thing?
Daren,
You raise some excellent questions. Is it possible that they were taught how to manage like this?
What about the idea that some (maybe more than some) managers know what to do and care about their people but are being held to other expectations or are just too overburdened to do the simple things?
These managers may not be able or willing to put in 80 hours to get it all done or maybe they are not an elite manager that can juggle it all but they could be good (or even great) managers if their role was realistic. Are companies asking too much of line managers by piling on more administrative and functional tasks?
How much has been done in the last ten years to make manager’s job easier or to lessen their load? I would say nothing. If you were to suggest technology solutions, I would argue that automation only increases the expectation to turnaround more in a shorter time frame.
In the end, the “working manager” is being given more and more work, so is the question really about stupid managers or stupid organizational expectations?
Scott,
What an excellent comment. I totally agree that front line managers are overworked and under-appreciated. As a former line manager myself, I think that manager’s jobs have only gotten tougher. That being said, it is hard for me to believe that folks don’t have a moment to comment when someone does something over and above. I don’t disagree that expectations are probably too high and there is not enough emphasis on taking care of people. The problem is I don’t see that changing any time soon. What I have found is that staff is willing to take on more from a manager they respect and admire. Doing the simple things I outlined in this post can go a long way to earning that. Being a manager is still the toughest job next to a parent.