Good leaders do these
Posted by MJ on 8 October 2007
I’m not a manager now but this is what I want from managers. I hope when I’m a manager, I would be able to practice these too.
Say it, mean it, do it.
There are interviewers who claimed, “Oh we’ll call you next week to let you know” but you’ll never hear from them again except for a promotional email into your junk box.
Perhaps they are very busy, have other projects (more important) to handle, simply forgot what they had said or they think you are just not the right person – hence, no need to contact you.
If you say it without sincerity, people would listen but wouldn’t trust you. If you say it, mean it but don’t do it, people would learn in the end that they definately cannot trust you to keep your word.
However, there are interviewers who deliberately do not respond to your contact to check how much you want the job. Desperate people would always ask them for status. Stalkers would ask every day and if possible, hang out at the office hoping to catch a glimpse of you and then lung at you asking for updates.
In a job I had applied, I was told that the manager would reply back with me the early next week but there was no news. So I asked the manager almost at the end of the working days in that week and got no reply – twice.
2 weeks later, I emailed the manager and got a reply immediately, “The position is no longer available.”
The manager explained his no reply tactic earlier, ” FYI, I don’t even have time to talk with my call center team. I have 10 messages popping up in instant messaging. I do not reply all of them. We may use different tactic to see employee interest…in this case through lack of follow-up to see your response. You need to learn!”
I had heard of managers deliberately make applicants wait for hours just to see their reactions – would they be patient, impatient, browse products and brochures available, walk around, leave, etc. But I just think it reflects how these managers work – they are slow, manipulative, egoistic, selfish and not good leaders.
Lead by example
Because good leaders lead by example. They know how to do the field work. If they don’t, they’ll ask to be trained or at least learn the basic so that they’ll know how to manage their staffs.
Can you imagine managing a team of experts in their own field yet you don’t know much about the field? You could make the wrong decision!
Take responsibilities
When someone in your team screwed up, ask yourself – is the person trained or skilled to do the task in the first place? If not, who put that person to that task without guidance? Who is/are going to solve the problem?
As a manager, you may cry, “That’s unfair! I didn’t step on the customer’s toe! He did!” You point at your staff.
Is making sure your team has the optimum skills, tools and exposure part of your job description?
Share credit
When your team or someone in your team do good work and other people praise or let you know that they are very pleased with the results, you should always let them know that, “Oh, everyone / [who who] was the one who did [that]. I’ll let them know your feedback.”
Communicate this with your people to let them know they are appreciated! Sometimes managers are so zoned into 1 thing that they just take and forget to give.
Be open minded to ideas from the lower end of the pyramid
1 of my ex-companies’ manager – a really successful, humble, serious and lovable at that – was transfered to another outlet to fix the problems reported to HQ. He suggested several solutions and asked for more resources to implement the solution but every suggestion was rejected.
Dejected, he resigned and joined another company because, “When I asked for help to solve your problem, you reject. When I resign, you want me to stay. What do you mean by this?”
Let love guide you instead of ego (or sex)
Ego plays a huge part in our lives. We do not want to appear stupid, poor, sick, etc. Even when we are wrong, sometimes we are still adamant we are right simply because we don’t want our competitor to have the satisfaction of laughing at us and knowing they are better than us.
Sometimes though, that’s what we think of our competitors or other people. They may not have the same big ego or opinion as us.
Reward and control at the right time
Good results and effort (because sometimes hard working and smart ideas do not always generate the results immediately) should be rewarded. Praise in public.
When problems crop up, ask first before you shoot. You’ve only heard of 1 side of the story. Hear the other before you make a stand and take action. It should always be discussion in private and not scolding – unless you have lots of evidence!
Keep communication in the right channel
Is there any point in letting a non-related person know about a specific project or task?
There was a job I applied and the manager answered my question to a mutual friend! I only hoped my friend didn’t feel as if she was the relayer and stuck in between us.
Update!
When a company is having problem, it’s better to let the staff know. Who knows, the staff may have creative ideas on how to solve the problem?
Even if they do not offer any good solutions, the least a company that is going to be closed down could do is to let the staff know about the current situation so that they have options – to stay or leave. That way, there would be less hard feelings. If the staffs are already earning meagre wages, they would be pretty pissed off at your insensitivity and manipulation.
Likewise, if your company achieves any award or have activities, let everyone in the company know. That can foster tighter relationship which would enhance the environment. Positive environment always encourages productivity.
