Manage with concern for employees’ well-being
Every parent knows we only learn how to raise kids by the process of raising kids. Every spouse knows we learn how to be in a committed relationship by committing to one, just as every manager knows we learn to manage people through the stream of dynamics that we are exposed to over time.
Relationships in life are the greatest reflection points we have into our own characters, aspirations for self and life in community with other people. Indeed, the builders build the building while the building builds the builders.
Good parents know that they cannot punish their kids for breaking rules they don’t understand, for crossing boundaries that have never been clarified, or for actions they can’t control. Parents are constantly assessing what is reasonable for their children to know and understand. When behavior requires correction, good parents always seek to redirect toward the best interest of the child, however strong the protests. The goal, at all times, is to see to healthy development into their full potential as individuals in society.
How much better could we be as managers if we thought the same about our people? Not that they’re our kids; toss that patronizing idea out right now. Our work, as managers, is to learn to cultivate a level of interest in our people that can rise to the highest expression of concern for their well-being. Consider that we have a stake in the long game for each and every person who works for us. That perspective is a shield against the resentment that can build when a relationship goes south.
Holding employees accountable is one of the hardest things a manager must do. Figuring out the difference between reasons and excuses, when to coach and when to discipline, can be incredibly nuanced and difficult. Sometimes we get it wrong. Either way, our actions toward accountability are often met with strong resistance. We can get defensive and, once our guards are up, even start becoming adversarial. This is the pathway to the dark side, friends.
Always remember that you have relationships in life, perhaps outside of work, that have taught you what it means to not give up when things are hard. Always remember you might be wrong. Question your assumptions about the motives of others and carry hope for their good intentions, even when you only see the negative. Remember that you are a part of their life history. Just as we eventually come to see the actions of our parents covered under a shroud of good intentions, try to act in ways toward your people that will cause them to come to see you as someone who was always doing the same. As always, the choice is yours to make.
Under Daniel Flowers’ direction, the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank has been consistently named one of the NorthCoast 99 Great Workplaces and the Feeding America Food Bank of the Year in 2012, the highest honor achievable by food banks.
