Posted by Eric Hubbs on Wed, Mar 24, 2010 @ 05:39 PM
By Eric Hubbs, Collaboration Team Member
You're busy. And if you're like many of the business owners we work with, you may be spending more time in day-to-day operations than ever before, which means you probably have less time to manage your employees. If you're lucky enough to have employees who are high performers and shining stars, then you may think you don't need to waste the extra time managing them, right? Uh, wrong.
Whether your employees are green to your company, are high performers being groomed for management, or are individuals who have no desire to climb the corporate ladder because they gain fulfillment in being efficient and productive, they still need to be managed - and led. Now is the time to show true leadership by managing your employees and giving them the guidance and feedback they deserve, which will simultaneously improve your business.
Here are some ways to start making managing a priority:
Set aside office hours. The practice of "office hours" stems from our college days - when no matter how busy our professors were, we knew that they had specific times during the week that we could drop by their office to get answers to our questions and obtain advice for moving forward. If you adopt an "office hours" concept in your business, your employees will feel appreciated knowing that you've made them a priority, even with your busy schedule.
Give feedback as it's needed. It's common for managers to wait until annual performance reviews to give their employees much-needed feedback. Although this may seem like an organized and efficient process, it ultimately creates frustration and setbacks for employees. If your employees are motivated by getting things done right, which most high performers are, the time they've lost while waiting for their annual review can be an impediment, a disincentive, or even worse - it may mean a loss of respect for your management methods. If you give feedback as it's needed, your employees can start working on the issue at hand immediately.
Focus on the praise. Praising and thanking your employees for a job well done is simply good manners, and should truly be a regular part of your management routine since most people are encouraged by praise. If you want to take it a step further, praise them not only for their accomplishment, but specifically how, and with what techniques, they accomplished the task. Ask them to document their processes so you can use them as best practices throughout your business.
While dealing with day-to-day business operations, fighting off regular business stressors, and not to mention overcoming a tricky economy, it's easy to forget about the people who are working so hard to keep your business thriving - your employees. If you discover that managing your employees has not been a priority recently, make it a priority by setting aside time for your employees, giving them guidance to improve their skills, and praising them for a job well done. You'll find your team will be happier and more productive, which will in turn improve your business.
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This article is inspired by two Harvard Business Review articles:
Bill Taylor, Should You Hold "Office Hours"?
Amy Gallo, Giving a High Performer Productive Feedback.
Posted by Eric Hubbs on Wed, Mar 03, 2010 @ 06:54 PM
By Michael Gunther, Founder and President, Collaboration-LLC 
Many business owners I've worked with are often challenged by their employees not performing at the level they expect. These leaders often get frustrated that "nobody does their tasks correctly" or that their employees "aren't worth the effort." What I show them is that they can typically improve their employee performance problems by looking inward and making a few adjustments to their leadership strategies.
Leaders, if you are not receiving the outcomes you want from your employees, it's probably a good time to assess your leadership skills. It is the business owner who clearly understands and accepts both their strengths and weaknesses as leaders, and who have the drive to improve their performance, that achieves the greatest success - both in their business and in their employees' performance.
The Challenge
As a leader, you create the environment that your employees will emulate. They follow your cues in terms of performing - or not performing. Most employees I speak with actually want to do a good job and care about the success of the companies they work for, but they feel that the leaders are not providing clear direction or clear expectations about what they want accomplished. In addition, the leaders often will not let go of certain tasks or decisions that the employees feel they can handle; these leaders can sometimes be referred to as Micromanagers or Directive Autocrats.
Do either of these scenarios sound familiar?
The Micromanager: You want your employees to make decisions, but when they do, you criticize the decisions they make, correct their mistake, or take the task back. In this scenario, what you are actually telling them is that you don't trust them to make decisions, and that you're not willing to provide them the opportunity to learn from their mistakes.
The Directive Autocrat: You provide some direction on a project, but when the project is complete, it doesn't meet the outcomes you expected. You criticize the employee's performance, correct their mistake, or take the task back. In this scenario, what you are actually telling your employee is that it's not worth their time or energy to take the initiative to take on new projects.
The Solution
Both situations portray a management quandary, where leaders want better performance from their employees and employees want to perform well for the leader, yet there is disconnect between the two. And the shift has to start with the leaders. You must learn to clearly communicate your expectations and to address employees at the time mistakes are made.
Making mistakes and missing the mark on outcomes are opportunities for both employees and leaders to learn. Years ago, I had a mentor who told me that if I was not making mistakes, then I probably was not making decisions and therefore I was not learning and developing my skills. (Note that this is not the same as if an employee makes the same mistake over and over, and needs to improve their approach or skills.)
Leaders, when your employees make a mistake or are not performing at the level you desire try the leadership approach that my mentor used: ask them a few questions. How could they have approached the task differently? What did they learn from their decision? How could you, as the leader, provide clearer expectations of the desired outcome? The answers to these questions will help you ascertain what was missing in the process (communications, skills, or strategy) and ultimately what prevented the intended outcome from being achieved.
The Bottom Line
Want your team to perform at the levels you desire? Then adjust your leadership style by setting clear expectations and if they are not met, use the opportunity to ask questions and learn what you or your employee can do differently to achieve different results. Building a strong team takes patience, persistence, and clear communication.
Is there a topic that you would like Michael to discuss? If so, email him at MGunther@collaboration-llc.com or call (805) 541-9040 to let him know.
Michael Gunther is Founder and President of Collaboration LLC, a team of highly skilled business professionals who are dedicated to assisting proactive business owners to build profitable, sustainable businesses through results-oriented education, coaching, and consulting services. Learn more at www.collaboration-llc.com.