A happy New Year to all of you!
To start 2014 smoothly, here a short and easy-going article
on leadership:
We have probably all learnt to treat others the same way we
want to be treated. However, being in a management position, you should forget about
this “golden rule” of life.
Since we are all different and show unique traits, each
employee will respond differently to certain situations than his or her
co-workers. Thus, it is essential for managers to understand all their employees’
attitudes and personalities in order to manage people more effectively.
The article proposes a couple of illustrative examples in
which managers should reconsider treating every employee the same.
Have you, in the context of past work experience, ever perceived
situations in which an executive treated everyone within your team the same
(e.g. with regard to giving feedback, setting individual objectives, or
establishing training opportunities), even though every member within your team
would have needed a more customized approach? Or have you had a manager who actually
does adapt his/her style of management to each of his employees? If yes, do you
think this individual treatment positively contributes to employee performance
and satisfaction, or do you think this rather is a waste of time and
unnecessary spoiling of employees?
Thanks Ulli, I've found the article really interesting. Even though we have all been taught that the "golden rule" is the most applicable principle in life and it sure makes sense in a lot of situations, I totally agree with the assumption that in management you should focus more on the individual requirements of every employee rather than treating every employee the same. For me this is also a reason why it is so important for team leaders or managers to know about the employees and how they should be treated. Only through a customized feedback and appraisal approach, employees can learn and develop and only then their performance will improve.
AntwortenLöschenThe experience I've made during my PTS was unfortunately rather the standardized approach as our manager usually gave feedback (if we got any feedback at all) for all interns generally. Therefore the feedback was very general and didn't involve a lot of personal aspects and hence we couldn't really improve our performance.
Thanks for the article, Ulli! I totally go along with Anja in saying that individual treatment of employees will eventually be the more effective strategy. However, for several points, I might consider a standardized approach with regard to giving praise for instance – an aspect that was also covered by the article. Seeing that one colleague is constantly being praised in front of the staff while another one is hardly ever or never might make the other one wonder if the colleague being praised in front of the staff has done better work (even though the other one might not even prefer or want to be praised in front of all the others.)
AntwortenLöschenHowever, for the majority of aspects when dealing with your employees a customized approach is totally essential in order to give every employee the chance to individually develop their skills.
As I worked for the same company as Anja, I unfortunately didn’t enjoy a lot of individual treatment either. Nonetheless, after a couple of weeks I was assigned a particular working field that I was – beside daily activities – most in charge of. Regarding the feedback I received (if I received any at all), the feedback provided was sometimes rather questionable if valuable at all.
I am sorry to hear that you had such "bad luck" with your PTS with regard to feedback and general management abilities or your supervisor.
AntwortenLöschenI must admit, that, in contrast to your experiences, during my PTS, I was able to get to know a management style very close to what is actually recommended in the article. We were 10 people in the division and each of us had different and entirely unique attributes, characteristics and nees - especially with regard to praise and feedback. Our supervisor seemed to be absolutely aware of "who needs what", thus her management approach was very well-tailored to our individual needs.
The same holds true for training and development. Our line manager was always up-to-date on each of her team members' training needs with regard to development and on-the-job advancement opportunities, and learning progress (we had to complete mandatory e-learning modules regularly and there were always customized training courses offered).
I also assume that customizing your management approach will become even more important in the future (probably anyway the "norm"), as work and its environment are constantly changing - along with it the attributes and attitudes of employees.
We have heard so often, that monthly pay is not the single driving motivational force for employees any longer. What employees rather need and expect is acknowledgement, respect and rewards (such as good feedback) for good performance.