I recently read the Gallup article by Ryan Pendell outlining these ‘8 Habits’; they are very ‘right on’, so here they are to share with you, along with my thoughts and suggestions.
In every dimension of business success, the manager makes the difference. From diversity and inclusion to productivity and retention, the manager plays a singular role in the life of an employee.
In fact, Gallup’s analysis has shown that the quality of a manager accounts for 70% of the variance in team engagement.
And yet most managers learn how to manage based on managers they’ve had (who may have been good or bad) — or based on stereotypes in their head about what “leadership” is.
Here are the recent findings from Gallup’s 2019 Manager of the Year finalists suggestions on: 1) how they lead, 2) how they navigate change and 3) how they developed successful teams. Here are some of the highlights:
1. Always communicate the reason why.
Nearly every organization today is going through massive change. One manager in the healthcare industry explained how she leads during change:
“We go through a lot of changes in healthcare. And it’s really important for people to know the ‘why’ — why the change is taking place. If everybody understands why we need to do this.
Only four in 10 U.S. employees strongly agree that the mission or purpose of their company makes them feel their job is important. This means that most employees are at least a little unsure about how their work fits into the “big picture.”
Big Hint / Idea from Alysia:
Make sure that all levels of the organization + all generations + all levels of all teams, have been explained in detail, the Vision, Mission, and Values of your organization. Review especially the ‘Mission’ (the current ‘business’ that you are in) every 12 – 18 months, to make sure the organization and staff, know the current direction of the organization.
If managers don’t know why their team is being asked to do something, they should ask leaders for the purpose behind the task or project.
What if your leaders won’t give you a reason why? “Keep asking until you get one!” one manager laughed. “Good leaders should appreciate questions, and debate.”
2. Be open to new ideas from your team.
Change requires innovation. But how can managers inspire more innovation from their workers?
“If you know the people on your team, you know who the creative thinkers are. You have to get everyone to speak and voice their opinion.”
New managers often feel like they ought to be the ones with all the answers. But asking for ideas to help solve problems and improve performance is actually a sign of manager confidence.
Only a third of U.S. employees strongly agree that their opinion at work seems to count. But when a manager takes an employee’s opinion seriously and acts on it, that employee feels respected, connected and committed to the team. And, of course, a good idea improves outcomes for everyone else.
Even if you can’t make additional changes to a plan, hearing someone out is still valuable.
Big Hint / Idea from Alysia:
In addition to asking team members, individually and within the group, on a regular basis, for their ideas, ask new hires too! Within two to three weeks of a new hire’s start, take time to ask them what they see as possible changes to current processes, that could be changed; and see how you can use at least 1-2 of their ideas. It reinforces the sharing of innovation, and further engages the new employee and your staff as a whole.
3. Admit and accept mistakes.
One manager described how they developed a culture of safety at his workplace:
“Every morning we have a safety huddle. I ask, ‘Has anything happened?’ We created a culture where it’s OK to say we messed up. Everybody knows we’re a team, and we are going to work together to fix it.”
Big Hint / Idea from Alysia:
Daily (or at least weekly) have a Stand Up Meeting, with your whole team, just 5 – 10 minutes to review, what is happening today / week in each person’s area of work; what does the team need to know of what is on the horizon. When at Starwood Hotels, our Management Team (one person from each department), met in the Lobby at 8:30 each morning, to quickly say what to expect from them / their department, for the day / week (the good & challenges). So very quickly, we all knew and could help the other departments if needed.
4. Communicate a lot and connect frequently with team members.
Most managers realize that communication matters.
According to Gallup, managers agree that they connect with team members on a daily or weekly basis. That’s surprisingly rare in most workplaces.
Gallup finds that only 20% of U.S. employees strongly agree that they have had a conversation with their manager in the last six months about the steps they can take to reach their goals.
Continual improvement can only be achieved through honest conversation.
More often than not, the cause is a system problem — and that means that other people and teams need to learn and change to truly fix the root problem.
However, these conversations don’t always have to be strictly about getting work done. Managers should ask questions that get employees to talk freely about themselves, sharing their desires and frustrations with candor.
Big Hint / Idea from Alysia:
Talking with your staff members daily & weekly, can avoid system and process issues, and solutions can be made quickly, helping employees and the organization to accelerate productivity.