Managing Employees for Results

Leaders set the culture in an organization. Employees look to leaders to guide and set an example for the company. Your success as a manager is highly dependent on your ability to understand employees. Having these skills will positively affect employees and improve performance and culture of an organization, according to the McKinsey Quarterly.

Lead with Confidence

The McKinsey Quarterly recommends using a strategy called “fake-it-until-you-make-it.” This means you need to make business and employee decisions despite your doubts. Use the best information available and move forward quickly. Having higher confidence will allow you to become a better manager and show employees that you’re a leader worth following. If employees sense low-confidence in decisions, they will start to doubt you too. Confidence is contagious. Employees will also become more confident in the company.

Also, don’t waiver on your decisions. Make a swift and definitive decision. Managers who delay and wafer from one decision to the next lose valuable employee respect. Choose a yes, no or I don’t know response and stick to it. Also, empower employees to make confident decisions.

Share the Credit

A manager usually gets most of the credit when a project goes well. It’s important to share credit with employees. Doing this will build moral and trust with your team. Managers who don’t share credit face hostile employees who simply aren’t motivated on the next project. Nothing is worse then not getting credit for a job well done.

Err on the side of giving employees more credit than they deserve. This will make your team admire your generosity and create a higher level of motivation. It’s a win-win situation.

Accept Blame

A good manager should always take responsibility for the team’s faults; even if a single team member was primarily to blame. This reinforces that the manager is in charge. The organization can be confident that the manager is leading the team, even in bad times. A study conducted by the University of Michigan found that managers who take responsibly for issues are perceived as more competent, likeable and powerful than managers who deny responsibilities. Employees will also have a higher level of respect for managers who share the blame, which increases employee morale.

Managers must also take immediate control of situations and make the necessary actions to correct all issues. A good manager will communicate what was learned from the problem. They will also implement and announce process changes to ensure the situation doesn’t occur again.

Forge Strong Employee Relationships

Effective managers need to forge strong relationships with employees. Create an environment where employees feel safe talking about new ideas and strategies. Employees should also be able to make mistakes without facing harsh punishment or criticism.

Managers who lead by fear don’t experience long-term gains. A manager must create a safe environment for employees to grow and prosper with the company. It is also important for employees to feel about safe about reporting issues and mistakes whether they are their own errors or other employees. One study conducted by the Harvard Business School found that nurses who fear their managers are less likely to report drug errors. Invest time in building a relationship with each employee to ensure they feel comfortable and safe in the working environment.

Protect your Employees

Create a positive team environment by letting employees know you’re on their side. The most effective managers create ways to minimize the emotional load of employees and protect them from negativity from other managers. Doing this will protect your team from a high stress environment and encourage them to take new risks to grow the company.

Managers also need to protect employees’ time. Getting rid of unnecessary meetings and tasks will free up employee time to focus on more important tasks.

Extend Gratitude to Employees

Employees appreciate compensation and other monetary rewards. However, a reward that is highly underused and doesn’t cost anything is a simple thank you. Projects need to end with a thank you when things go well. Even if the project doesn’t go as planned, thanking an employee for a job well done is still appreciated. The next time an employee tackles a difficult project; they will feel appreciated and work harder.

The most successful managers aren’t just focused on getting more out of each employee. Instead, they focus on building a culture where each employee wants to make valuable contributions. Employees are often a reflection of management. Managers need to evaluate how their own weaknesses are affecting the team. Focus on what is feels like to work for you. Changing your approach to managing employees will naturally boost the success of your team and the organization.

Resource

Robert I. Sutton. “Why Good Bosses Tune in to Their People.” McKinsey Quarterly, August 2010.


Mark Jordan is the Managing Principal of VERCOR, an investment bank that creates liquidity for middle market business owners. He is the author of “Driving Business Value in an Uncertain Economy”, “Selling Your Business the Hard Easy Way”, “Enhancing Your Business Value…The Climb to the Top” and co-author of “The Business Sale…A Business Owner’s Most Perilous Expedition” and “Selling Your Business The Practical Guide to Getting It Done Right”. For more information, contact him at 770.399.9512 or by email.