In
our last few issues, we’ve discussed the current state
of the economy and the fact that obtaining skilled workers is
more difficult as Baby Boomers retire, fewer people are available
in the overall workforce, and unemployment is hovering at or
near all-time lows. Since there isn’t much you can
do about the unemployment rate or the number of people retiring,
let’s concentrate on something you can do something about—your
own department.
Your
long-term success may be determined by the people you manage
and the teams you assemble, organize, and develop. Look
over your staff, evaluate its strengths and weaknesses, and
determine if you’ve been able to attract and retain the
top performers in your industry. If not, the first person
who may need to change their thought process is you!
In
our last issue, we discussed the attitude of making employees
your allies and working together toward established and agreed
upon, measurable goals. Let’s explore some of the
specifics of how to do that.
Within
an organization, you are given performance targets to achieve
and numbers to reach.
You know that you need the best staff working for you in order
to achieve your group goals. Following the logic of looking
for top performers, the first question to ask is, “Why would
a top person want to work on my team?” That question gives
you a great perspective on how your department is organized and
whether or not you can attract top people.
A
manager vs. a leader
What kind of a manager are you? What is the difference
between management and leadership?
It’s been said that a good manager enforces policies, rules,
and details so that goals can be achieved. A leader, on the
other hand, inspires people to be responsible to create and expand
their positions, enabling them to achieve set goals and beyond.
Employment
Guru Dale Dauten’s most recent book, How Gifted Bosses
Hire and De-hire Their Way to Success, details what it
means to be an exceptional manager (or should we say leader?),
what he terms a “gifted boss.”
While
interviewing top managers around the country, Dauten noticed
that they still had turnover. Some of their best employees
were leaving for great jobs, while some less talented people
were leaving “because the gifted boss was escorting them
out, usually with such grace that they gladly moved on to a position
better suited to their gifts." This, in Gifted Bosses,
is called “de-hiring.” And as Dauten sees it, “with
firing, struggling or difficult employees are being told to leave.
With de-hiring, those same employees are invited to stay, but
only if the conditions are right for the person and the team.”
Establishing
a standard of what Dauten calls “GEO” (Great Employees
Only), a gifted boss supports his team and establishes a high
level of accomplishment and achievement for all the people
on that team.
If
you have a person who is not happy and you can’t salvage
them as a productive employee, then do all you can to assist
them in finding a better position where they will be happier.
This involves no blame or fault finding, but an honest effort
to support them in what they enjoy doing. If you have a
sincere desire to help them, you can save your relationship,
and if they can transfer to another group within your company,
you can also retain a happy employee. In addition, you’ll
also open up a position in your organization that can be filled
by a possibly outstanding person.
Surprisingly,
Dauten also noted that the gifted bosses he observed were not
brutally demanding bosses, firing anyone who made a mistake,
but “lovably demanding bosses” who looked out for
and genuinely cared for the people working for them to ensure
they were where they wanted to be. So, to have “leadership
success,” 90% of what you do is hire and de-hire, while
the other 10% is to inspire the team you’ve developed. This
goes well beyond production meetings designed to push the numbers
in your department, but rather involves an understanding of
each individual and what’s important to them, as well
as working with them to achieve their goals.
Blow
past your goals for 2007
So, how do you bring exceptional people into your department? Very
simply, you get what you deserve! You need to be the person who
will attract those people, and you need to develop an organization
that provides opportunities for people to excel. If you’re
satisfied with an organization that does average work and has a
level playing field for all employees, you’ll attract average
people. If, however, you make it your goal to have outstanding
opportunities for stellar people, those people will be drawn to
your organization. Performance-based pay, to some degree,
assists in attracting top people, but you also need to be the manager
who appreciates what people can contribute and then support them
in their efforts.
Another
benefit to developing an organization that exceeds its performance
goals is that your group begins to gain a positive reputation
within your company. Second, the accomplishments of individual
members, the group overall, and you as a manager will earn
you bragging rights, as well. And finally, it also enables
your group to attract even more top performers, each with a
passion to succeed. This process perpetuates itself,
and your success becomes contagious!
Treating
employees as allies is the first step toward building your “dream
team.” Becoming a gifted boss and leader is next,
and creating the proper environment, one that attracts top talent,
will enable you to realize the full potential of your employees
and their ability to work together. If done correctly,
you won’t just meet your production goals for 2007; you’ll
blow right past them. And in the process, you’ll
be cultivating the type of work atmosphere and environment where
excellence is the rule, not the exception.
(While
attracting top performers begins with you and your ability
to create the right team and an attractive environment for
star candidates, there are also other factors involved in
the equation. If you truly want to become a company
where top performers clamor to get in the door, you must
be versed in the “WIIFM” principle—more
specifically “What’s In It For Me?” In
next month’s issue, we’ll examine this principle
and discuss ways you can use it to ensure that your team
is composed of the people you need to take your production,
and your company, to the next level.)
©
Copyright 2007
