It is common knowledge that employees always feel being burdened by how most, if not all, management work. While the company may want to create a culture of collaboration and cooperation, some higher-ups simply get into employees’ skin for their management skills or lack thereof. These often marginalized employees making them feel like slaves being horsewhipped to submission through fear and coercion.
Truth be told, this strategy has no place in today’s business arena. This flawed leadership style does not only put employees in a state of anxiety and malcontent, it also hinders creativity, respect, and productivity. If you happen to be getting a lot of bad rap from employee feedback sheets, it is high time to have that paradigm shift via these tips.
1. Practice humility by fostering mutual respect with your employees. While you may still have full authority, it is imperative that you treat employees with respect. You need to understand that bosses do not have the monopoly to excellent ideas. Good leaders easily relate to their employees by being approachable.
2. Be constructive and compassionate. Yes, be ready to criticize but offer proactive solutions. It is easy to put the blame on employees but to humiliate or make them suffer is definitely out of the lead frame. When an employee makes an error, correct in private, encourage to do better, and to offer a solution to prevent recurrence. Brainstorm with everyone when mistakes happen and focus on key learnings as well as solutions.
3. Be appreciative. One of the biggest management problems today is the lack of appreciation to employees. Why is it so hard to say “thank you” or “good job”? Shout it out in your company’s social media pages if you may. Recognize them during weekly or monthly meet-ups. Incentivize such by offering free lunch or anything that will make them feel appreciated. This will help raise their spirits and encourage more productivity.
4. Be a role model by walking the talk. Character and value formation is often mirrored by employees. If you want them to be productive, work alongside them practicing what you preach. The values you pursue will eventually trickle down to your employees. Engagement as always starts with you on top.
5. Learn to have fun every now and then. All work and no play stunts creativity which, in turns, negatively impacts productivity. Infusing merriment like going on a fun team-building or group training will allow employees to develop camaraderie with their co-workers, loyalty to the company they work for, and more push to deliver excellent results.
6. Engage employees in the virtue of volunteerism. Crafting a culture of “giving back” to society will help open their eyes that there is more to the company than mere profit-making. Such sensitivity to other people or another marginalized sector will open employee consciousness to become better individuals and, in return, as better workers.
7. Learn how to practice the virtues of compassion, trust, respect, humility, and cooperation. Leadership is all about “giving” (or channeling) pieces of such virtues to others. Be reminded that you can only give what you have.
Fostering a healthy work environment, indeed, is no rocket science. To generate high performing employees, you need to strike them where it matters the most: their inner needs. Look after their happiness and tap on their inner strengths. In doing so, they will care more about their work and perhaps, even about you as their boss.
