Knowing the people!
Jun 24th, 2009 by shifuxu
It is common, unfortunately, in business that the leaders of the companies generally do not know their people. They may pass each other day to day and unless there has been some drama surrounding this person, they will usually not speak except for the cordial “Hello”.
Back in the “Old Days”, this worked because it had to, and to some extent it continues today for the same reason. The bosses tend to believe that since they gave you the job, you should be grateful to them. They contolled all the power. In todays world, that just doesn’t work anymore, or should I say, work very well. With the advent of home based businesses, the internet, iphones, etc., technology has given open doors to just about everyone. No longer does a person have to worry about not being trained in a certain field, because they can learn all about it in a day. At least enough to get through an interview and get hired.
I think the time has come, and has been here awhile, that the leaders should take much more time in making their employees feel more appreciated. The lowest staff on the proverbial “Totem Pole” is highly important to most organizations.
Take a look at the pyramid. I have nothing against the structure as long as it denotes the concept of who is supporting who. You will see that the troops are supporting the managers and leader. So it really isn’t hard to figure out who the most important people are in your organization.
I was always told and have used many times, the expression, “Take care of your tools and your tools will take care of you!” As a leader, you have to realize that the subordinates are your tools. You must keep the tools happy. You must make it so that they want to do more.
How do we do this? Well, people love to be recognized for what they do, they want to feel secure, needed, important, valuable, etc. All this can be accomplished by showing them that you are genuinely interested in them. Get to know their names, their spouses names, pets, kids, hobbies, skills, likes and dislikes. Show them that they are very important to you and the organization and that there is no fear at this time of them being let go. Just sitting with them to listen to what they have to say will say volumes. Let them speak out on isuues they may have and devise plans to help each other overcome those obstacles.
Do these things and a little more and you will be amazed at just how fast your companies attitude will turn around. Everyone will begin to enjoy coming to work, or should I say play!