Are you getting in their way?

Listen here:  

Imagine a workplace with the best employees, great product/service but somehow doesn’t seem to work.  Scary right! However this is a reality and the company is either going along steadily or grows at a slow rate.

What’s happening? One possibility is the boss (you!) What??? I know it’s a subject we don’t usually focus on, however we do talk about leadership.  So the question becomes – is your leadership style affecting your employees? Is it always positive?

Here are some examples of how your style can be positive. You allow employees to think through a process, provide limited feedback or use questions to get them to think more. You provide words of encouragement when needed. You listen to ideas and have discussions. You explain to your employees how they fit into the overall goals of the organization.

Here are some examples of how your style can be negative. You treat your employees as order takers “do this, do that”. You don’t allow for their input.  You micromanage all their activities. You are not convinced they have your best interest in mind. You are sure they are up to no good.  You yell or criticize loudly. You feel that you need a policy to cover all possible scenarios.

If some of your leadership style can be found in the negative list – how do you change it? First, make a list of your “negative behaviors” and next to it, write why you act that way.  For example: Treat employees as order takers because I can be sure the work gets done.

What to do with this information? Let’s take a look at your reason why and dig a little deeper.

In our example we say it is because we can be sure the work gets done.  Here are my questions to you – does the employee know what is expected of them? Is it in writing? Did you train them in the specifics of the job?  If not – you need to do this in order for your employees to be able to do their job. Now the expectations don’t have to be fancy – make it straight to the point with a list if necessary of daily, weekly, monthly, etc. activities. If you have done this – then you need to follow up and make sure your people understand their expectations, allow them to ask questions, ask them what seems to be causing the problem.  Only by speaking with them can you make corrections and clarifications.

Let’s take another example – you create policies for every situation. Again, why do you do this? Do your people know what is expected of them? Do you do this because you hear “it’s not my job”? The “it’s not my job” is my personal pet peeve – if someone (usually a co-worker) is asking for help, why won’t you help? Ask yourself – why do your people say this? How often are you saying “thank you” or “please”? How do you recognize someone who has done a great job? How do you make someone feel useful in their job? These are just some of the ways to get your people past “it’s not my job” and by doing so – you can save time by not writing policy upon policy.

What are some of your negative behaviors? What are some of the negative behaviors you have been a witness to? Share and together we can get you past it.

Don’t be the person who is getting in their way.