Our upcoming Business Discussion Group meeting on Thursday, April 29, 2010 will focus on the challenges and strategies in developing great employees.
Being a good boss is both challenging and rewarding. Many of us have experienced great bosses. They challenged us, recognized our efforts, commanded respect and got our loyalty. Was this easy? No, especially given the current economic environment.
I recently read an article, “How to Be a Good Boss in a Bad Economy” by Robert I. Sutton (Harvard Business Review, June 2009). Sutton discusses the challenges of being a good boss and strategies to help our effectiveness.
The author explains that our current economy is unsettling for employees and is causing “fear and paranoia”. This fear and paranoia causes employees to watch and scrutinize every move managers make. He explains that employees are trying to make sense of their work environment by observing the behavior and actions of the “boss”. Interesting! How are you behaving and acting in the work environment? Are you adding to this fear and paranoia or relieving it.
The author outlines in his article 4 strategies to meet the needs of your employees and help them release and get over their fear and paranoia:
1.
Providing Predictability – providing predictability is critical, even during unpredictable times. The author explains that “when a stressful event can be predicted, the
absence of a stressful event can also be predicted”. What does this mean? Basically, letting people know that times are uncertain and the possible outcomes that may come from that uncertainty so they can brace and manage themselves through these times. But ALSO letting people know when there is a period of certainty (even if it’s only for a short few months – i.e. the last 3 months of sales allows us to meet the financial demands of the business through the summer). This period of certainty helps employees release their fear and paranoia, if only for a few weeks or months. Predictability is letting your employees know “what” will happen and “when”.
2.
Increasing Understanding – is about letting your employees know the “why” and “how”. The author informs us that “human beings consistently react negative to unexpected events …that it is better to give an explanation they dislike than no explanation at all, provided the explanation is credible”. After letting our employees know the
what (i.e. reduced work hours) and
when (starting next week), it is also important to explain the “
why” (revenue down due to drop in orders) and “
how” (customers are cutting back due to the economy) of the business. It’s important to talk about how you’re combating these challenges, such as, new pricing structure. Conveying this information takes more than a single conversation or email. When employees are fearful and paranoid they have difficulty hearing and digesting information. To get them re-engaged we need to communicate with them multiple times using different words and methods. Per the author, we need to “design the message to get through to people who are distracted, upset, and apt to think negatively”.
3.
Affording Control – helping people “have as much say as possible in “how” and “when” it happens”. Employees come to work to do meaningful work and to make an impact. When they are fearful and paranoid they become frustrated, lose focus and some become helpless. Can you see this in some of your employees? The author recommends finding ways to create focus and acknowledge accomplishments, however minor. Help employees focus on those “small wins”. Re-engage them and together define key goals for them. Create goals for the day, week, and month. Visibly track progress against these goals within the office. Create excitement around achieving the goals. And most of all celebrate! Make the celebrations simple – simply acknowledge their efforts, thank them for a job well done or even create “certificates of achievements”.
4.
Showing Compassion – comes in many forms, especially during times of high stress. The author offers that bosses should be more available to their employees during challenging times; listen to their concerns and share as much information as possible; make a sincere effort to reassure them when and wherever you can. This can be difficult when you, the boss, is under a lot of stress. But the author reports that there is “compelling evidence that compassion affects the bottom line in tough times” and it creates loyalty in your employees. How do you know if you’re doing this? When your employees perceives “you have their backs”.
In summary, being a good boss can be challenging in the best of times, but by providing predictability, increasing understanding, affording control and showing compassion to our employees we can become good, if not great bosses, in these challenging times.
Looking forward to seeing you at our April 29th meeting!
Sincerely,
Sue Smedinghoff
