What is too close?

Why do employees so often feel like management is on one team and they are on another? As if they live in two different countries and each is speaking a different language?

A truly unproductive idea that many of us have been taught is that managers should never get too close to their people. I think that one is really wrong thinking. What exactly is too close? What would that really look like? Does that mean you would care too much? What bad outcome would occur if you were too close?

I have heard this answser: “if I get too close to my people they’ll forget I’m the boss”. Really?? Is that what you really believe?? I have never known or heard of an employee who was confused as to who their boss it. I think that everyone knows who their boss is every single day.

It is a widely documented fact that employees work harder and better when they believe that someone cares about their growth and performance at work. (http://www.gallup.com/consulting/52/Employee-Engagement.aspx) And that someone is almost always a manager.

Get close to your people. Talk to them. Often. Create genuine rapport. Ask questions. Listen to the answers. Ask more questions. Take action on their answers. In that way, you will naturally inspire people to “want” to do their best. And then some.

CH-ch-ch-changes

Do you think of yourself as a manager who skillfully leads the team through change? If your answer is yes, what is the last change you led? And how do you know whether you did a good job.

It’s really hard to lead or manage change, regardless of whether you “like” change or not. Lots of managers will say that they like change, but in real life, it’s the act of changing that they resist. To me, a true change agent is the manager who leads the staff through the desert of change. And hopefully, it won’t take 40 years of wandering.

Managing change requires a mountain of skill. And the “Don’ts” are as important as the “Dos”. A few “Don’ts” for change management:

Don’t tell people “you gotta find a way”. When I used to hear that my first thought was always, “YOU find the way and tell us about it”. It’s your job to work with your team and offer them HOW to find the way.

Don’t suggest that you have all the answers. Ask for feedback and help.

Don’t forget that the staff experiences the change very differently from management. Increase the level of communication so you understand exactly what they are going through.

Don’t be rigid. Change management requires you to change…along the way.

Don’t lie. About anything. Tell people every shred of information you can. Tell them consistently. And tell them what you don’t know.

Hiring is Hard

Hiring is always hard. Hiring well is even harder. Really hard.

One of our clients has finally committed to radically changing the way he hires and step one is the use of hiring tools such as DISC. Actually using the info from DISC is hard, too. Because the results often tell him something he doesn’t want to hear: the candidate is not a fit for the job.

Hiring tools have been used for decades. The good ones are expensive and worth it. They are the real thing. When they are used well they absolutely improve your ability to hire someone who is the RIGHT FIT for the job.

Hiring well is everything. If you aren't working to develop your hiring skills, start now. Go online and start googling.

I'd like to write a Mastercard ad for hiring tools:

Help wanted ads: $1000
Management time spent interviewing: $3000
Tools that prevent you from hiring the wrong person: priceless.