Leaders/Managers who "care" about staff

[mikeiow]

LimaDelta said:

Don't pretend to care. People aren't stupid, they will know.

Be honest, no BS, no management speak. Give people straight answers. Most people IME would prefer a honest and definite 'no' rather than a waffly 'maybe'. If the answer is no, then give reasons. Again, no BS. Be prepared and able to justify your decisions and admit when you are wrong.

Loyalty works both ways. You can't expect your guys to be loyal to you if you are not willing to go to bat for them when the time comes. Sometimes that means you need to stand up to the next level of management above you (if there is one). Loyalty is not unfaltering obedience. Sometimes loyalty is speaking up to prevent a bad decision. Make sure people feel they can do this.

Yup.
As David Brent might have said....people don't care what you know, they want to know that you care. So take a genuine interest in the team members, esp the things outside work, goes a long way.
I'd say I have been very fortunate in my managers over the years.
My best manager was also a great social beast within the large global company.....willing to take to heart that it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission when it came to staff entertainment opportunities!
Shielding the team from 'corporate BS' is also a great trait....& of course you need to let the team know you have done it so they can appreciate it
Having trust in the team to deliver what is needed without nagging helps....but sometimes it might be necessary to nag.

[Countdown]

valiant said:

Used to employ staff. Easiest win for me was when I had taken over a new branch I inherited a very established team. One of them was on long term sick (totally genuine) and wouldn’t be back for some time. Held a review with her with and brought in the one lady as witness/ note-taker who I knew wouldn’t keep her mouth shut afterwards. Sick employee was close to exhausting company sick pay and was extremely worried about paying her bills and might have to come back early even though she was evidently not fit for work.

“Nonsense! You’ve been with the company for XX years and are an asset, it’s now time for the company to look after you. You’ll be paid until you’re better and you’re not to come back a minute earlier than that.”

Word got round and they couldn’t do enough for me and turned into the most loyal workforce a boss could ask for. Yes, it cost a few quid in wages but the trade-off was worth many, many multiples of that.

Thanks for this, it's an interesting real-world example. I have to admit my first thought was that your approach could open a "can of worms". For example;

1. What will you do if there's a case of Long-term sickness absence that you feel isn't "genuine"? (Our HR team have told us that Managers are not qualified to decide what IS and ISN'T "genuine". If the employee has been signed off sick by their GP then it's genuine). So, would you waive the Company sickness policy for all cases, or would you pick and choose?

2. What's the risk of your team thinking that you have "favourites" where you apply company policy in some cases and not in others?

3. What's the risk that you're going to be seen as a "soft touch" where you've granted somebody lots of paid leave when people in your team think that the employee is taking the mick? Bear in mind that in the majority of cases your team won't be privy to the facts of the illness or how Management have tried to support the employee. They'll hear a 2nd-hand or 3rd-hand version which will be biased to fit somebody's agenda.

Some of the words I'm hearing in peoples responses are Fair/Honest/Transparent/Consistent and there's a risk that your approach might not meet some of those.

[deckster]

Taita said:

deckster said:

FWIW, you've just failed the first test.

Why?

As others have said it's an indication of attitude...if you have "staff" then you are not a leader and it's unlikely that you'll be a good manager either.

Leading people is about providing direction and inspiration. Managing people is about giving them the space, freedom, and support to perform effectively whilst making sure that the right things get done at the right time. All of these involve recognising people as being people, and not as being "staff" or "resources".

[Coilspring]

From my experience there are many more poor (or worse) leaders and managers than good ones.

The good ones are people, who treat others as people.

The others generally work to kpi's or other such measurement methods and never look to understand what the figures say, and why. They rarely deem to ask, or act upon, comments about the business or work involved, including how to achieve the desired results.

Probably due to people getting promoted via good talking rather than good working. The need to prove themselves generally means de motivating thevactual workers ! Have seen so many people passed over and demotivated because of such. Management in this country is generally poor. So the few good ohes stand out.

Best way to understand good management is to understand bad management, and change it ! But simply put, treat people as individuals and treat them all fairly. Doesn't matter how hard the job is, or the rules and restrictions. As long as they apply equally, to ALL, then ask and LISTEN to what they say.

I know of a major multi national company that operates locally to,me, I have a lot of customers from. The attitude there sounds horrendous. Experienced people tell me they feel 1 day away from being sacked. Everybody says a happy company produces more, so why do they make it such a poor attitude place. Nobody will dare speak up for fear of being victimised . These are not just the drifters talking, these are experiended responsible people. From my experience that is more commonplace than a progressive modern setup.

Treat people how you want to be treated.

[Chris Hinds]

djc206 said:

Is that a David Brent quote?

Not that I know of... it was a "me off the top of my head" comment. Regret I've never actually been able to sit down and watch "the Office"!

[bristolbaron]

Normally just saying ‘good job’ and giving a pat on the bum does it.

[djc206]

LimaDelta said:

Don't pretend to care. People aren't stupid, they will know.

Be honest, no BS, no management speak. Give people straight answers. Most people IME would prefer a honest and definite 'no' rather than a waffly 'maybe'. If the answer is no, then give reasons. Again, no BS. Be prepared and able to justify your decisions and admit when you are wrong.

Loyalty works both ways. You can't expect your guys to be loyal to you if you are not willing to go to bat for them when the time comes. Sometimes that means you need to stand up to the next level of management above you (if there is one). Loyalty is not unfaltering obedience. Sometimes loyalty is speaking up to prevent a bad decision. Make sure people feel they can do this.

I agree with you. I’d also add the need for humour. I work in an environment that doesn’t really need any regular management as such but we do have supervisors (I do the job a few days a month) who have to make spur of the moment calls which are always obeyed (we hold the safety accountability). As a supervisor if I make a bad call even if it was the right thing to do with the information at hand at the time I will always own it and take the piss out of myself. The environment I work in is high stress so humour lightens the mood and builds a bond. People are more likely to trust your decisions if you’re known for taking ownership of the bad ones and rectifying them immediately.

Personally I can’t stand working with people who take themselves too seriously and if anyone ever tries the softly softly approach I get irritated, I much prefer direct and concise.

[phil-sti]

Just don’t be a dick with them, remember you are all the same and don’t lord over them, be honest, have a laugh and care about what they and their family do.

[brickwall]

Countdown said:

rog007 said:

The ‘loyality’ query is a little simpler; be loyal to your staff. Whilst this won’t garner 100% loyalty from your staff to you or the cause, but only by being loyal can you get any level of loyalty in return.

It can be a problem being loyal to staff when their attitude to work is different to yours.

This is key - and it depends what you need from people.
For people who are on my direct team - who I rely on and we succeed or fail together, then we need to have the same outlook and attitude to work. If they don’t, then you have to shuffle the pack until you’ve got the right people.

For people who I don’t directly manage - e.g. “shop floor” then it’s important to make the time for people to say what they think, and for me to genuinely listen. This is doubly the case if I think they’re going to be sceptical or resistant. When you think someone is likely to be difficult it’s easy to avoid a conversation - part of effective management is to explicitly make sure that conversation happens, even if you think it’s going to be uncomfortable. You gain a lot of credit as management for giving people a chance to speak and be listened to.

[Frrair]

Tried lots of ways some more successful than others, this is very simply because people react differently because they are all individuals and because they have different stresses and strains in their everyday lives they can be different each day.

IMO a leader should set a clear objective that is understood by all then does what’s needed to allow competent people to do it. If you don’t have competent people everyone else already knows and are looking for you to do something about it.

There’s a big difference between competence and making a mistake, making a mistake is called being human, accept it but ask everyone to learn from it. (Read Blackbox thinking by M Syed)

Mostly it’s very simple. Stop thinking you need to control everything, stop talking, start listening and be perceptive - the army officers have a moto - Serve to lead - you are there to facilitate success and by not controlling everything they will be able to make good decisions when you aren’t around. Think of it as a triangle not with a base supporter a boss but the other way the pointy bottom supporting everyone above to succeed.

Lastly be yourself and hopefully be likeable if someone’s brother is in hospital ask them if they need to go a bit early, if someone is caring for elderly parents cut them some slack but make sure they know their role is important and valued achieving the objective.

Oh and don’t be a dick yourself, admit you sometimes get things wrong but openly share learning.

If you just started listing the ten traits of your best and worst bosses and doing one and avoiding the other people will notice.

Good luck it will be a learning experience.

Edited by Frrair on Sunday 18th August 22:53

[LimaDelta]

djc206 said:

The environment I work in is high stress so humour lightens the mood and builds a bond.

This is very true, but humour is a fine line and walking it can be difficult in the modern workplace if the wail is to be believed. Obviously depends on the type of work and the type of workers.

Remember - Men bond by exchanging insults they don't mean. Women bond by exchanging compliments they don't mean.

[Scabutz]

Countdown said:

greygoose said:

IMHO it would involve getting to know the staff (obviously depends on the size of the organisation) but managers who know the names of people when they meet them, ask a question relating to their lives (how is wife/kids, what about team they support etc) seem to be better regarded than those who wander past everyone and just talk to the manager of wherever they are visiting.

Other things like looking after staff with illnesses, sick relatives, deaths in the family etc go down well too. Saying thank you is appreciated by most people, if there is a bonus then even more so.

Fair points - When you put it like that it sounds so obvious

It is mostly just about being a normal human being. A lot of leaders get an over inflated sense of themselves and think they are above everyone and no one likes them. Our old CEO for example, he was useless business wise, and was fired. But he was a warm and friendly chap, he would come in the morning, go round every department and say hello, he knew everyone's name (circa 350 people) and what they did. He could have a laugh and joke.

The new CEO is the polar opposite, cold, unfriendly, snooty. Only speaks to the big wigs, doesn't know anyone. No one has a good word to say about them. Bad thing is your could accept if they were competent but this one seems as fking useless as the last

[Tony Starks]

I think it depends on the people, some are just selfish.

My boss has paid for 3 staff to get their drivers licence, hes paid lawyers fees when ones marriage broke up. One gets a van and fuel card and only thinks of himself.

And he paid $10k for an operation for me, yet I'm the only one who appreciates whats been done.

[Jasey_]

The best thing you can do for your team is ensure there are no tossers in that team (including yourself).

[nonsequitur]

fesuvious said:

First thing in the morning I ensure I look at each staff members face, just for maybe half a second to a second.

Open minded. Just to see where they're at, before I say anything individually to anyone.

When I walk in I always say Good Morning, and insist on it being returned. We start the day with manners.

If the face check reveals nothing then crack on, but if anyone looks like something is up, they'll be asked within 20minutes, in private.

That's one thing / way

I would eliminate the word 'insist' from your management lexicon, with its heavy handed connotations. A face check? It sounds rather authoritarian to me.
A softer and empathetic approach, I would argue, is a better approach.

[Shakermaker]

Like many I guess I've had both good and bad managers in the past.

Bad managers - only ever speak to you when they want something, not necessarily unpleasant but won't generally go out of their way to interact with you even if you're in the same room as them or you see them in passing etc, and of course, everything going wrong is someone else's fault and won't listen to any suggestion to improve things that means putting their hand in their pocket

But a good example of a manager now, for example our new division's MD is in my opinion a good egg. He's seemingly got a good track record in the business so far and with the "bad" bloke before him gone, he's just taken over our bit as well as that of his existing bit and moved up the ladder. But he does take the time to talk to people and ask how they are etc. And then in a prime example of being a good bloke - he gave my colleague a bottle of Champagne, knowing that he was getting married over the weekend, in a nice gift box and everything. A good gesture. Oh and of course, profits are up, revenue up, debt is down etc etc, all the "good" things that those on top will be lookign for

[StevieBee]

I'm generally of the mind that 'Leadership' isn't something that can be taught but rather a skill acquired by working for good leaders and observing what they do to make them such. Not everybody has it within them to lead and this is fine but the the most ineffective and appalling leaders are those that 'think' they're a natural or good leader when they are anything but.

Some of the things I've picked up along the way, though....

Let people do the job you employed them to do - don't micro manage.

Overtly convey your trust in them to others in their company (such as introducing them in meetings as "this is one of our superstars...")

Give them the responsibility to help or guide another employee that may need it.

Talk to them regularly - even when there's no reason. Driving back from a meeting?.... call them up and ask how things are going.

Don't screw around with their wages. Pay them on time and reimburse them expenses as a matter or urgency.

Be friendly with them but do not become their friends. If the team are having drinks after work, join them for one but then bugger off.

The one thing you can improve through training is selection; appointing the right people from the off. Learning about how you assess a candidate based upon how well they integrate and such like can make your life much more easy,

And as others have said, don't 'try' to look like you're doing all this. There is a fine line between good, natural leadership and being David Brent or Gus out of Drop the Dead Donkey.

[Countdown]

Jasey_ said:

The best thing you can do for your team is ensure there are no tossers in that team (including yourself).

That's a very good point. The issue is that nobody, but nobody ever considers themselves to be the tosser. It's always the "other person" who's at fault. Which in turn suggests that good managers/leaders need to be quite "self aware"?

[nonsequitur]

Countdown said:

Jasey_ said:

The best thing you can do for your team is ensure there are no tossers in that team (including yourself).

That's a very good point. The issue is that nobody, but nobody ever considers themselves to be the tosser. It's always the "other person" who's at fault. Which in turn suggests that good managers/leaders need to be quite "self aware"?

I was the tosser in our team of pancake makers.

[djc206]

LimaDelta said:

This is very true, but humour is a fine line and walking it can be difficult in the modern workplace if the wail is to be believed. Obviously depends on the type of work and the type of workers.

Remember - Men bond by exchanging insults they don't mean. Women bond by exchanging compliments they don't mean.

Haha not the women I work with, they hold their own when it comes to insults!

You have to work out someone’s character before you barrel in with jokes. Some people lack a sense of humour or spend their entire lives seeking to be offended, thankfully I don’t yet work with anyone like that. I think a lot of office environments with mundane roles lend themselves to those sort of people and generally if someone is of such weak character that they can’t take a joke they’ll never find themselves in a high pressure role in the first place.