“The Power of Leadership”

I was scanning through the book, Getting The Best From People by Martha I. Finney, for ideas. I ran across the following statistics; “A study reported in late 2006, showed that 92 percent of managers say that they’re doing an “excellent” or “good” job managing employees. But only 67 percent of the employees agree. An additional 10 percent say that their bosses are doing a “poor” job. You do the math!

In a separate survey that has been tracking employees’ overall esteem for their executive teams, there has been a noticeable decline in the employees’ respect and trust that their management is making decisions that will ultimately result in a healthy and competitive company. Only 49 percent of employees say that they have “trust and confidence” in their managers’ performance – down from 51 percent a few years earlier. Employees are also reporting less confidence that their managers are behaving and making choices that reflect their company’s core values.

The above surveys were from 2006. With the troubles facing companies worldwide in 2009, it does not appear things have gotten better, but are getting worse. “Poor” management continues to be the number one reason worldwide that high-value employees leave their companies for perceived better opportunities. Maybe it is time that you took a serious look at how you are selecting your managers? On what basis you are promoting your managers? How you measure the performance of your managers? How you train your managers? This is not rocket science. It does take common sense and removal of the rose colored glasses as you look at your past selections. First, you might want to keep a self-diagnostic test running consistently in the back of your own mind as you move through the day.

Again from Martha I. Finney:

* Do I make sure my employees know how their jobs are tied to the organization’s overall strategy?
* Do I make a point of keeping them informed on all news and changes affecting the company and their jobs as soon as possible?
* Do I get back to them immediately when they’re waiting for a decision from me that affects their own lives – such as vacation leave requests and promotions?
* Do all my actions reflect and support the company’s values?
* Do my behaviors set the example for the kind of healthy, collaborative culture I want to establish in my group?
* Do I keep their personal issues confidential?
* Do I speak positively about them to their coworkers?
* Do I pay attention to each of my employees individually, demonstrating to them that I care about their personal and professional development?
* Do I take all the necessary actions to show my employees – both as a group and as individuals – that I appreciate all that they are doing for our department and the company as a whole?
* Do I keep my promises to my employees?

“To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.” … Bertrand Russell

Have A Good Day!

Russ

Russ M. Miller, LLIF – Chairman & CEO
Performance Institute (Human Capital Development)
Global CEO Academy (Management Training)
Sunny Hong Zhang – Managing Partner – China
Shawn M. Miller – Managing Partner – USA

P.S.  Your thoughts on our Thoughts are valuable to us and other readers, please post your comments in the Reply box…