People quit managers, not companies.
Or as my father put it; ‘A fish stinks from the head’.
Growing up in the family business, this was one of my dad’s mantras.
‘A fish stinks from the head.’
As a working teenager, and in my twenties, I understood only the beginning of that truth. My dad, as an owner, president and boss, understood that the buck stopped with him. He took full responsibility for his company and everything it encapsulated. Including the employees.
Now that I’ve been in the game a few decades, I understand the full impact of his wisdom.
Turnover is a nasty disease. Managers have two incredibly important responsibilities:
- Keep good employees happy
- Cut bad employees lose
Give and Take
Call to action for management
You want to be a successful manager. You want a successful team. You want impressive business metrics that allow for bonuses, growth and industry recognition.
Good managers are thoughtful, insightful and reliable. Good managers are collaborators. Good managers give support, encourage new ideas, and recognize bad ideas.
Good managers follow these rules of give and take:
Give.
Prioritize Work Life Balance by designing schedule options.
Work-life balance has evolved in this age of technology advancement, strides toward equality and appreciation of cultural differences. It is as modern as the self-parking car. This is not your father’s Oldsmobile.
Find the way back to a 40 hour work week. Or, better yet, a 30 hour work week. Your employees can accomplish the company’s goals and aspirations AND their own, and live full, gratitude-filled, heathy lives.
Working fewer, more productive hours will:
- Increase productivity
- Reduce errors
- Promote good health
- Inspire loyalty
- Allow employees time to learn and grow
Consider 4-day work weeks, abbreviated Fridays, and staggered start times.
Move away from pay-by-the-hour and toward pay-by-workload. Keep in mind that work expands to fill the time allotted. When we have less time to accomplish a task we tend to focus more intently and avoid distractions.
Always consider individual circumstances. Don’t expect an employee who has just gotten a divorce, had a child, lost a parent or received a diagnosis to go on as if nothing has changed. You both need to adapt.
Create a team and create partnerships within the team.
First and foremost, be sure your work environment is free from gossip, undermining and back-stabbing. These are poison and should not be tolerated! Create a team environment where anyone’s success is everyone’s success.
Beyond the team of co-workers, each person (all the way to the top of the ladder) should have a workmate or two that they partner with. These teams of two or three co-workers know everything that’s going on in each other’s work world. A person’s workmate can cover for them when life happens. They keep things rolling, allowing their counterpart to actually unplug on a day off. They don’t have to get ramped up because they are already there. They rely on each other and are accountable to each other.
Plan for employee success, not company success.
Give them training. Encourage team and individual continued education and exploration. Always make promotion and department changes based on what is best for the employee, not the company. Let them try things on, and let them change their minds.
Take
Lay out clear expectations.
This rule of relationships works everywhere in life. Let me know what you need from me. Let me know what you expect. Give me realistic yet ambitious goals. Don’t penalize me for poor performance when you never told me what performance was expected.
Recognize the good and the bad.
Annual reviews are all well-and-good, but don’t wait until an anniversary to tell your team that they are either doing great or dropping the ball. Be specific and be timely with concerns as well as with recognition! Everyone wants to know that they are appreciated. Everyone needs validation. Nobody wants to find out too late that they blew it.
Don’t let bad situations drag on. Don’t hold on to people who are toxic for your team.
Truth is, not everyone is a good fit. Develop clear steps for setting expectations, reviewing and evaluating, modifying and then reevaluating. Don’t be unclear when someone is not meeting expectations. Don’t be shy when someone is poisoning the team with gossip or dishonesty. Staying within company and government laws, deal directly with issues and draw the line when it becomes clear that the problems can’t or won’t be fixed.
A team is a reflection of it’s leadership.
‘A fish stinks from the head.”
Sharing ideas and discoveries about living a happy life and maintaining work-life balance.
Loving life.
More lessons from the family business:
