People gain their self-esteem from their work

Work takes up the majority of one’s life. The contributions we make, the feedback we receive, the new opportunities – all contribute to our self-esteem. When people feel good about their work, they communicate better, establish better working relationships, and feel more positive. When people are not treated fairly, they hold back ideas, don’t help their peers as much and sometimes might even have negative things to say to customers about where they work. All this is bad for the business. The role of the manager

There have been many theories established and management books written discussing what a manager is and what a manager should do. In my view, the most important aspect and often overlooked area of management is how people are included at work. It is not enough just to assume that because a person has a job, might be paid well and has an office, they are included. People need more from their work.

What people need out of their work

I have observed that people require the opportunity to make a difference in their work. This grows stronger as people get closer to their mid-thirties and beyond. Managers play a huge role in this. A manager has the ability to meet many needs that people have at work. One of these is the need to be included. When people feel included at work, they are more creative, have more energy, and have more capacity for innovation. This is good for everyone! More problems get solved and better relations exist, which all translates to the bottom line of profitability for the organization.

What prevents managers from including people?

Although not discussed often, this can be a result of a bias that a manager might have towards some of the workers. This can be a result of misunderstanding someone’s culture, being afraid to discuss and offend others, being afraid of discrimination charges, or just being afraid to open up to new ideas and new views about others.

What is a bias?

A bias is simply an inflexible belief about a particular group of people. This can be based on race, gender, political, and many other factors. Our biases come from many sources. I have observed that many biases are simply a result of incomplete information about others. People can get rid of their bias but it is a hard work, which is well is worth it. As a result, managers who have defeated their biases will find improved working relationships with those they manage and improved morale and productivity at work.

Do you have a bias?

Review this list of names for a moment;

Sam
Muhammad
Ajish
Pang
Juanita
Emeka
Olga
Shameka
Juan

Now, write down your first thoughts which come to mind. Now examine your first thoughts. First, if you find you didn’t write anything down, this is a good sign that for these names which represent a particular group of people, you don’t have a bias. If, however, you did write down a word or thought, examine where this belief might be coming from and whether it might be a result of incomplete information. Imagine for each name where you wrote down something, how this might impact your behavior at work with those who have similar names?

The best manager is self-aware and includes others

The more self-aware you are, the more likely you will be able to defeat your own personal biases and have better relationships at work. Ask yourself, does your bias affect your ability to hire the best people? Does your bias interfere with your group’s productivity? Does your bias keep you from including people?

Do you include people at work?

If not, examine what the reasons might be and aim to fix them. The people you lead will appreciate this and you will get better results with people!

l’ll be cheering you on as you go!

Craig Nathanson

Craig Nathanson is  the founder of The Best Manager, workshops, executive coaching and products to enable individual and organizational growth. Craig is the author of multiple books including “The Best Manager, getting better results WITH people”.

pics courtesy: intratrain.com

Senior leaders must ask people how they feel about the organization and be prepared to listen.

• Are business indicators improving as a result of new approaches to leading? They should!
• Are customers saying good things about the organization?
• Is the organization gaining new customers, getting more return business from existing customers?

All of these key business indicators through some analysis can be linked back to how leaders work with those they lead, how people feel about their work, and where they work.

Work gets done through people vs. under or over people.  Good leadership coaching breeds a culture of respect, quality communications, shared goals, and development.  Read More . . .

pics courtesy: insights.sererra.com

When leaders, especially top leaders start to coach, building stronger relationships with those who they lead, a new energy builds in the culture.

People feel more supported and, as a result, they enjoy their work more which leads to better productivity.  Customers feel the effect as well as those internal employees they deal with become the best offense toward enabling customer satisfaction and promotion of the organizational brand. Soon, the organization becomes an enabler of growth and collaboration.

New ideas emerge, challenges are solved faster, and teams work better with each other. People start to feel good about where they work, and this shows through their work and how they communicate with each other.  Read More.  . .

pics courtesy: changeboard.com

Many leaders are more comfortable with giving one way communications and expecting compliance. This can get short-term results scaring people into action but leads to long-term mistrust and burnout of those who they lead.

Many leaders have poor role models and are fearful that their new leadership behavior might place them outside the circle of acceptance from their own manager.   Finally, some leaders are not convinced that collaborative, supportive relationships at work lead to anything useful or productive.  They rationalize, it is more efficient to give out directions and expect compliance, rewarding those who cooperate and punishing those who do not.

Work expectations, however, from a global diverse workforce have changed from older generations, and people today expect and in fact demand a more harmonious workplace and leaders who get along with those who they lead. Otherwise, they will simply leave to a competitor.  Read More . . .

pic courtesy: leadershipsuccessnow.com

The first way is to start showing people what you want them to learn and do. Leaders as teachers facilitate shared learning through listening, guiding, and setting clear goals.

Next, leaders collaborate with the people they are leading. This is the opposite model from micro-management.

Leaders appreciate the diversity of the people they lead and strive to include all employees in decisions and projects.  Leaders treat the people they lead as vested owners of the organization valuing their diverse views and approaches.

Finally, leaders coach. That is, they ask questions, they offer ideas, and they have the best interests in mind for everyone whom they lead. This is not just a new management fad. Leadership coaching is the best approach for getting better results with people.  Read More . . .

pic courtesy: ronmartin.net

Many leaders and organizations make a mistake of placing the emphasis on the outdated reward and punishment model of management.  Programs that are meant to motivate others come and go.

People are given great rewards only to find out later that the expectations for rewards grow higher with each new bonus.  Employees are ranked and rated against each other to encourage competition only to find out later that this led to reduced collaboration between people.

The best way to motivate people, however, is to teach people how to motivate themselves in their work.  In this way, people do more, enjoy their work more, and everyone benefits.   Read More . . .

pics courtesy: geoffsnyder.com

The biggest challenge is to meet the needs of all stakeholders in a timely and efficient way.  The leader must show that the organization is meeting key objectives, meeting financial targets while growing the organization and showing off its best image to its customers.  The leader must deal with daily challenges, which will occur that range from unhappy customers, schedule delays, and unhappy employees. The leader soon understands that balancing the constant demands of a changing environment takes more than textbook advice. It takes courage, risk taking, and creativity.

It takes making lots of decisions, some unpopular, while constantly measuring and monitoring the organization’s progress against its most important goals.  Lastly, leadership involves making assessments, sometimes mistakes, and being bold enough to stand up against unpopular views when a different direction is needed.   Read More . . .

The leader though depending on the background, personal agenda, and experience might be concerned with his or her own well being and growth, perhaps financial success, sense of accomplishment, and recognition.  Read more . . .

Managers need to pay attention to the bottom line and check on the following:

• If those activities are on track in order to meet current goals?
• If people are clear on the objectives?
• If budget has been met?
• If current plans are sufficient in order to meet changing demands?
• If customers needs have been met?

Imagine a bus with a sport’s team on driving to the new game. The driver has to make sure that the team will reach the destination on time.  Along the way the bus driver ala manager checks that everyone has a seat belt fastened, that people are not making too much noise, and stay in their seat.  The manager needs compliance and people to understand and follow the rules to ensure a safe and productive journey.  The coach has another role on this trip.  The coach must make sure that the team is comfortable during this long journey and assigned to sit with those people with whom they felt comfortable.  The coach worked hard to prepare everyone to this game.  The coach wants to ensure that everyone’s needs met during the trip. The coach knows what to expect. The coach is always ready to listen to any questions and/or feedback.  Prior to the trip, the coach like any good coach had many practices with this team. The coach worked hard to get to the point when everyone had the right idea what to do. Given a choice during the trip, this coach was more focused on observing and giving feedback, than evaluations that were rigid and one sided.

Both managing and coaching are required for this team to win the game.

Craig

Think of a great coach you admire.

What does this coach do right?

Perhaps he or she is good at teaching the rules of the game, or at determining which roles each person must play on the team.   Maybe this coach is great at facilitating all team members to get along and play fair together.

In addition to this coach probably knows how to get the most out of people through positive feedback and encouraging words. Well, guess what, these same skills are needed for managers in getting the most out of their people at work.

Craig