The One Thing You Need to Know: Know Your People
“Why do managers think it is too hard and too much work to develop their employees through their natural strengths? Why do they think it’s just easier to dictate what and how to perform based on their preferred style?” – Sarah, from St.Paul, MN.
#Managing means developing the unique strengths that belong to each member of your team. Share on XManagers need to balance their fear of the unknown, of not knowing how each individual on the team prefers to work, to learn, and to be recognized – with doing what is right for their team and ultimately gaining higher performance and retention. It’s hard to take the time to learn these things about your team, but if you lead with fear, you’re not leading at all.
One Comment
Comments are closed.
Asking employees directly is almost always a good idea as long as they are comfortable. But, it should not be the only method used to understand them. They have their own biases and may assume you already know something about them. They also may have traits/interests/fears that they don’t tell ANYBODY. I ask them to take the Standout Survey and use that as a talking point. I learn much more about them that way. I also interview the people with whom they work the most. People know a lot about their peers. Once everyone understands that I use the information to help with their development they begin to trust me more.