Entries Tagged 'relationships' ↓

Most managers stuff up because they do not give their direct reports praise. One of the reasons they don’t show appreciation may be because they were never shown appreciation themselves.

People Remember Appreciation.

When employees are asked about the best and worst examples of management they have seen, it is nearly always linked to some sort of appreciation and whether it was received or denied. Everyone wants to know that the work they are doing is important. Furthermore, appreciation is free and has the potential to improve employee performance more than a measly salary increase.

Appreciation: The Skill

Remember to be specific with regards to the tasks that you appreciate and want to have repeated in the future. Remember to describe the impact of how that tasks fits in and has helped improve the bigger picture. Don’t overdo it. Too much feedback lessens its impact and can also come across as being insincere.

What People Want

What do Gen-Y employees need from their Baby Boomer managers that Gen-Xers don’t? How does gender affect employee-manager relationships?

Building trust and confidence among your direct reports is essential if you want to be an effective manager.

The Success Habit

When assigning tasks to your team, and more specifically to new members, give tasks that can be mastered and build from there. Don’t assign an extremely challenging task such that the poor employee is stressed, struggling and destined to fail. Start with the small success to faciliate the larger ones later on.

Furthermore, if an employee should fail at a given task, never criticize them publicly. Talk to them privately in your office and never make it seem like the end of the world. Explain why an action was wrong and how it should be done next time. Remember, people come to work wanting to do a good job.

Do You Expect Perfectionism?

I must admit I do, for myself, as a project engineer. But I don’t make the mistake of thinking that others are the same as me. People have different abilities.

As a manager, don’t pretend to be perfect – others will resent you for it. Involve your employees when formulating a plan to improve your business or divisional performance. This brings ownership and a better chance of success as your team want to “make their idea work”.

Building Trust

Some other ways to build trust:

• Give clear directions when you are assigning tasks. Explain why the task is required and how long they have to complete it.
• Share the vision or your goals. Don’t guard everything close to your chest because you think people only need to know the minimum to do the job. Communication is key. If you explain how each task fits in to the bigger picture, your team will appreciate its importance and take more care in their work as they understand how it affects other people’s work.
• Share your “success and failure” experiences. This makes you human and you will develop a better relationship with your team, making you a more effective manager.

Making People Management Easy

Use Employee Handbook Templates to help you manage your staff in half the time.
Note: these are designed for Australian businesses.

Trust or Bust: How to Win by Building Trust in the Workplace