Helping Your Manager is Helping Yourself
Think of managers you love working for. What makes them stand out? The successful manager value you and make you feel appreciated. They create a workplace culture where people feel respected and valued. You have permission to fail” because at the end of the day if no one has died, everything else can be fixed. Now think about how you go about your workday. Are you enthusiastic? Will you willingly take on more responsibility? Do you like being there? I’m guessing the answer is yes.
But what about that “other” manager? Are you holding back on the work? Do you “dumb down” your efforts because you’re fed up with the way things are handled? Are your “mental health” days on the rise? Again, I’m guessing the answer is yes. At this point, things start to spiral and you wind up with a bad manager and a bad employee and there’s no way to figure out who’s the chicken and who’s the egg (as in which came first). How do I know? Been there, done that and the truth of the matter is I did things to make the problem worse. I was not happy to discover that it wasn’t entirely my manager’s fault. After all, I’m the expert here (we’ll save ego for another post).
I’ve talked about skills managers need to succeed, but what about team members? Should the team be held responsible for developing skills and tools that help the manager be better? You bet they should and should is not a word I use lightly. Should is about setting expectations and both parties “should” expect a civil and respectful culture because ultimately the culture is about the organization and making sure it succeeds. The good news is that the skill set is pretty much the same for both parties.
Skill No. 1 Know Your People
I insist that managers know their people. By this I mean see employees as people first. What are they like, what do they need, What do they want? How do they see their role in the workplace? Guess what? It makes sense for you to do the same with your managers. Remember, s/he is a person first. Boss in a bad mood? Maybe it’s not the job. Care enough not to jump to conclusions.
Skill No.2 Know the Job
Is part of the problem that some people just don’t know what they’re doing? You know those people – everyone is talking about how awful they are and how they drag everyone else down. So what are you doing to help? If someone can’t or won’t pull their weight, find a way to solve the problem. Helping others remove obstacles makes the job easier for everyone involved and promotes a healthy work culture. If your manager doesn’t see the problem, help them take notice. You don’t have to “snitch”. Try brainstorming with colleagues on ways to strengthen the team. Then find a way to get the information to the people who can make it happen – even if you just drop a note in the suggestion box. If nothing else, suggest that there be a suggestion box– you have to start someplace.
Skill No 3. Develop Self –Confidence
This isn’t so much a skill as an attribute. Believe that you can make a difference and then act. Once that suggestion box is installed – use it. But here’s the thing, don’t just throw a note in and wait to see what happens. If nothing happens, find out why. Not everything you suggest will be approved but at a minimum find out what happened. As my wife likes to say “nothing changes if nothing changes”.
Skill No. 4 Strengthen Your “Soft Skills”
You already have the “hard skills” necessary to do your job. You’re a great ______ (fill in the job description) but what about those skills that can’t necessarily be quantified? For example, how are you at Critical Thinking, Communication, Leadership, or Stress Management? The good news is if soft skills are not your strong suit they can be taught. Check out local Adult Ed, Community Colleges, Online Learning, and of course Management and Leadership Coaches. The really good news is that if you start to develop these four basic skills you may wind up adding “Manager” to your next job description.[