I’ve worked for many terrible managers in the past. Most have killed any kind of work ethic and enthusiasm I had for their places of employment. One place had me playing games on their computers for an entire 6 months as no customers came in then straight up told me off for doing zero work after having delegated no duties to me whatsoever. Crazy, huh?
That being said though, I’ve had some amazing managers and when I’ve had zero work to do they’ve found me something constructive to do with my time, and no, not just giving me work for the sake of work, these were useful self-development projects.
My last manager at my previous job was an amazing person, but she didn’t receive much credit for her work in our team. She let her employees have a voice all the time, and although they would see that as weakness, I saw that it was a strength. To know that you can speak without feeling judgment is an amazing gift from someone that supervises over you — perhaps that’s why she was a manager and not those guys. Anyway, I learned a great deal from her!
Management isn’t just about molding your team into a well-oiled engine; well, it is, but if you aren’t concentrating on how they are as people too then you’re missing out on some good productivity tips. When I came to my last job, I was probably about 10% effective at what I contributed to the team. I didn’t like large groups of people and I certainly wasn’t confident enough to speak my mind. This was all drawn out of me through a great manager and a helpful team. They had turned my 10% into well into the 90s because I was complimented on the fact that my projects were the most successful they ever had.
I’m an investor in people. It isn’t always about making sure if they are doing what they should be doing or checking that they aren’t taking too many sick days. It’s about looking deeper inside of your team, spotting where the cracks are and filling them in with some of your own brand of awesomeness. It’s also about letting them shine their light on whatever they do and making them realize what they are doing is genuinely appreciated. I would always make it a point to thank everyone for their hard work at the end of the day because they deserved it. Their effort, however little or much it was, deserved it.
My very first job was working as a kitchen porter in a very small pub/restaurant and through the winter our lives were very boring. I can remember some days I’d have about three or four plates and cutlery to wash up and perhaps maybe a pot and pan. Now our cook loved tidying the kitchen daily and giving me work that really wasn’t necessary. Whereas if she had noticed that I was an eager beaver and soaked up information like a little sponge then she would have realized that she could have had me learning with her and developing my skills. She would have had an extra hand, and I would have had extra experience, we both win. I call this personal development.
I was big on personal development as a manager, not just with my staff but myself too. I was high enough up the pay scale to undertake this on my own, my staff, on the other hand, needed to be guided. People see personal development as higher education related and going to college, but to me personal development can be as small as saying ‘hi’ to your team in the morning if you don’t regularly do so. It’s about stepping out of your comfort zone and learning something new that is beneficial to you and beneficial to the job that you’re doing.
The first step on the ladder of development I put myself on was to speak up in group discussions. It may seem easy for you but for me, it was impossibly hard. We all have our boundaries and limits, it’s all about testing them and seeing how far you can take it.
When I hired staff, I’d always make it my duty to learn a basic understanding of their personal life and if I could help out in any way I would. Asking them about their lives and remembering about it for further discussion later works wonders with people. You have no idea how many people don’t care in this world today; taking an interest sets you above the rest.
It helped when I was able to give them days off when they would not normally expect it if I thought they needed to resolve something at home. A happy worker with nothing on their mind makes for a more effective team. A day off now may keep them from having several a month later.
Basically, I invested in my staff. I didn’t see them as output machines ready to be ground to a pulp and thrown away when another young, naive person comes along with a spark in their eye and something to prove. I also rarely had any problems on my team, and my employee retention was very, very, very high. That’s not to say I didn’t screw up every now and again because I think everyone does, but you know the most awesome thing about that? My employees had my back, because they knew I had theirs.
If employees are satisfied, then your productivity goes through the roof.
Just saying 🙂
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