What employees wish their boss knew

What would you like your boss to know? 

Your Rant: I have 10 employees who are working for me and they all seem to be moving in slow motion. What can I do to get them to perform better?

911 Repair:

The U.S. Court of Appeals overturned the “armed” robbery conviction of Deshon Odom. Sure he was carrying a gun when he robbed the bank. But since the gun was in his waistband, he hadn’t intended for anyone in the bank to see it, he was considered not “legally” armed. The court said the federal statute only applied to using a gun, not merely carrying one.

Odom escaped his armed robbery conviction because he wasn’t armed in the eyes of the court. Unfortunately, most managers would be unable to use that defense. I’m not saying that you’re carrying a gun, but as long as you have the ability to discipline an employee, you’re indeed “armed and dangerous” in the eyes of the people who report to you. There are ways to overcome this challenge and to earn the trust of your people. For more, check out “I Wish You Would Just…” by Todd McDonald and Kyndra Wilson (www.walkthetalk.com).

Do you tell them what’s going on? Most managers have access to a lot more information than the people who report to them do. Executive briefings, reports and meetings can provide more information and context on what is really happening with your company. How ambitiously do you share this information with the people who report to you?

Do you let your people learn from their mistakes? Think back on your career; when did you learn the most at work? If you are like most people, you learned the most when you screwed up. Welcome to the club. Yet most managers tend to create a zero tolerance attitude around mistakes. I’m not saying you should encourage mistakes, but appreciate that a certain number of non-fatal mistakes will allow your people to grow and develop.

Do you do what say you’ll do? My mail is full of people who complain about bosses who don’t do what they say they’ll do. Or worse, who say one thing and then do something totally different. Your people appreciate it when you are as dependable as you expect them to be.

Do you say thank you? I can hear what you are thinking, “Isn’t a paycheck thanks enough?” In a word, no. Everyone likes to be acknowledged and thanked for their contributions. Go out of your way to thank your people and you’ll quickly find that they’ll go out of their way for you.

Do you ask for feedback? We are all customer-focused today. Well here is a simple question, who is the customer of your bossing? Your employees. When was the last time that you asked that customer for feedback? Even if your company doesn’t do 360 evaluations, you can do your own.

Follow these tips and you won’t need to be armed and dangerous, your people will do the right things for the right reasons.

What is the most important thing that a boss can do?

Let people learn from their mistakes, 14.9 percent

Ask for feedback, 18.4 percent

Say thank you, 26.8 percent

Do what he or she says she’ll do, 39.8 percent

User Strategy:

Our winning strategy comes from A.H. in Cyberspace: “I have 16 employees in my organization and I observed that there is friction when there is lack of information. My Solution: The first 10 to 15 minutes of each morning we all gather in a common area and discuss what we have on our agenda for that day. I have the opportunity to sense their level of stress, satisfaction, and I have the ability to adjust the workload if necessary. I take this opportunity to share information that I receive from the community that may or may not have a value to them or relate to the job they confront.”

Bob Rosner and Sherrie Campbell author the nationally syndicated workplace911 column weekly. Bob’s a best-selling author and award-winning journalist who has responded to over 50,000 emails from employees, bosses and entrepreneurs. Sherrie’s a relationship expert and award-winning comedian who has offered quick, intuitive and humorous responses to over 30,000 people. He’s been called “Dilbert, with a solution.” She’s the counselor with a kick. Together they’ve turned rants into raves via TV, radio, print and live on their website at workplace911.com.