Everything I Know About Management I Learned in Kindergarten

by Rieva Lesonsky

I read a lot of small business newsletters, including several about management and leadership. I’m always amazed at how many articles cited in these newsletters state the obvious (to me, anyway). I’m talking about tips like “Good Leadership Requires Moral Standards” or “Treat Your Employees Like People, Not Numbers.”
But maybe sometimes, we need to hear what seem to be the basics that everyone should already know. With that in mind, here are things I learned about management from kindergarten.

Say Please and Thank You

I’ve noticed some people in management roles order people to do things — not good. Others tell them to do things — better, but still not ideal. A simple “Please” when giving directions — “Julio, have the report ready by 3:00, please” — can work wonders in making employees more willing to work hard for you. So can a “Thank you” when they complete the job.

Share

Share the information your employees need to do their jobs better. Also share as much information about the company, its outcomes and your plans for it, as makes sense. Last, but not least, share the credit for any job well done with all the team members who helped make it happen. Don’t hog all the credit for yourself. The only thing you shouldn’t share? Blame when something goes wrong. Remember, the buck stops with you.

Take Turns

Lots of managers love to hear themselves talk, which can lead to meetings where others feel too intimidated to speak up and share their ideas or opinions — or simply can’t get a word in. Good leaders listen more than they speak. Say what you need to say, but then let — in fact, actively encourage — your employees to speak up, too.

Play Fair

If there’s one thing that sours employees on a workplace faster than anything else, it’s unfair treatment (or treatment they perceive to be unfair). Make sure you’re not playing favorites among your employees. Apply the same policies to everyone — or, if you make an exception for one person, be ready to make it for the rest of the staff. Keep in mind that even if you feel you’re being scrupulously fair, your employees may not feel the same way. If any action you take has the possibility to be misinterpreted as favoritism, be sure you explain it to your staff — and make sure they’re truly satisfied with your explanation.

Say You’re Sorry When You Hurt Someone

Just because you’re the boss doesn’t mean you’re infallible. Nor does it mean that you can just walk away when you’ve done something that hurts an employee. Apologize to the person — directly, immediately and honestly — with the same degree of “publicity” with which you hurt them. In other words, if you embarrassed an employee in front of the entire staff at your Monday meeting, you need to say you’re sorry in front of the whole staff, too.

Clean Up Your Own Messes

Has something gone wrong in your business? It’s your job to make it right. Never ask employees to do what you wouldn’t do yourself, or to take responsibility for an error that you made. By taking responsibility, you earn the respect of your employees.
What lessons from kindergarten do you apply to managing your employees?


culled from:smallbiztrends.com

The 5 Things All Great Managers Do

By Chad Brooks

If it seems like your boss isn't cut out for their job, you're probably right.

Despite the importance of putting the right people in charge, companies fail to choose the managerial candidate with the right talent for the job 82 percent of the time, according to new research from Gallup. The research revealed that, overall, just 1 in 10 people possess the talent needed to manage others.

The study's authors said that while many workers are endowed with some of the necessary traits, few have the talent needed to help a team achieve excellence in a way that significantly improves a company's performance.

"These 10 percent, when put in manager roles, naturally engage team members and customers, retain top performers, and sustain a culture of high productivity," the study's authors, Gallup managing partner Randall Beck and Jim Harter, chief scientist in Gallup's workplace management practice, wrote in the research. "It's important to note that another two in 10 people exhibit some characteristics of basic managerial talent and can function at a high level if their company invests in coaching and developmental plans for them."

Gallup listed these five talents of great managers.

    They motivate every single employee to take action and engage employees with a compelling mission and vision.
    They have the assertiveness to drive outcomes and the ability to overcome adversity and resistance.
    They create a culture of clear accountability.
    They build relationships that create trust, open dialogue and full transparency.
    They make decisions based on productivity, not politics.

"Very few people can pull off all five of these requirements of good management," the study's authors wrote. "Most managers end up with team members who, at best, are indifferent toward their work -- or, at worst, are hell-bent on spreading their negativity to colleagues and customers."

The research suggests that companies miss the mark on hiring managers because the conventional selection process is ineffective. When Gallup asked U.S. managers why they believed they were hired for their current role, they commonly cited their success in a previous non-managerial role or their tenure in their company or field.

"Most companies promote workers into managerial positions because they seemingly deserve it, rather than have the talent for it," the authors wrote. "This practice doesn't work."

Researchers say the good news is that sufficient management talent exists in every company.

"It's often hiding in plain sight," the authors wrote. "Leaders should maximize this potential by choosing the right person for the next management role using predictive analytics to guide their identification of talent."

culled from:businessnewsdaily.com

If it seems like your boss isn't cut out for their job, you're probably right.
Despite the importance of putting the right people in charge, companies fail to choose the managerial candidate with the right talent for the job 82 percent of the time, according to new research from Gallup. The research revealed that, overall, just 1 in 10 people possess the talent needed to manage others.
The study's authors said that while many workers are endowed with some of the necessary traits, few have the talent needed to help a team achieve excellence in a way that significantly improves a company's performance.
- See more at: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6129-good-manager-skills.html#sthash.Jdnav9Do.dpufIf it seems like your boss isn't cut out for their job, you're probably right.

Despite the importance of putting the right people in charge, companies fail to choose the managerial candidate with the right talent for the job 82 percent of the time, according to new research from Gallup. The research revealed that, overall, just 1 in 10 people possess the talent needed to manage others.

The study's authors said that while many workers are endowed with some of the necessary traits, few have the talent needed to help a team achieve excellence in a way that significantly improves a company's performance.

Be a Team-First Manager and Watch Your Customer Service Soar

Mark Davis

Contributor

Most founders have two stakeholders to please: customers and employees.
While that sounds easy enough, it isn’t always simple. There are times when the best interest of a customer is at odds with that of an employee. For example, imagine an upset customer who is becoming demanding of an employee. How do you solve this? Is the customer always right? It begs the question: Which group is more important to management? This question is an important one. It is critical to determine which group to build your company around, as it can magnetize your management decisions in one direction or another, leading to policy shifts and more broadly defining the overall ethos of your company.

But, can’t they be equally important? Any successful manager has to be thinking deeply about the needs of both groups. I do, however, think that management teams need to take a position -- when it hits the fan, who do they care about more?
Just to clarify, I’m not talking about extreme situations. When a member of the team is underperforming, the client deserves their due. When a customer is making unreasonable demands, you have to shield your team. But this question goes deeper than relatively black-and-white situations. It’s about ethos, culture and how the company is built.
Let me ask the question another way. Which would you rather lose -- all of your customers or your entire team? There’s no right answer of course, and the thought of either stings. I personally would rather lose my customers. In most businesses, hiring and training is a bigger lift than acquiring customers. I personally believe that the right team will stick it out through hard times and find more customers. That might not be how all managers think about that question, but it’s how I do. I’m a team-first manager.

I don’t think I’m alone in this view. While founders of companies with extreme customer concentration might choose to prioritize their customers, I think most other founders have already unknowingly chosen to put their team first. Have a mobile app with tens of thousands of users? You’re very likely to be team first. But what if you just have a few dozen clients? The choice might be more difficult.
What does putting your team first mean? What it doesn’t mean is undervaluing customers or delivering poor customer service. Quite the contrary. It means that investing in culture, training and employee well-being is priority number one. The magic is that prioritizing your team and culture actually leads to a healthier business. Happy teams fight to keep their company alive so they don’t have to get a job they’ll like less. When people like their work environment and colleagues, they train each other and enjoy solving the hard problems the business is facing before those issues fester.
Retaining team members and hiring new is easier. And, what happens when people work hard and are happy? They almost always deliver an incredible customer experience. I believe that if you put your team first, you’ll have a stronger company -- and ultimately deliver better customer service.

culled from:entrepreneur.com

Why Every Company Needs a Dream Manager

Matt Mayberry

Contributor

Increasing employee engagement, creating a healthier culture and building a world-class organization that sees exceptional growth every year is what all leaders in any industry wants for their organization. If that is the goal for most leaders, then why do so few organizations succeed at the above three?
There are a ton of reasons that may be hindering an organizations success, but one key area that majority of companies completely neglect or refuse to pay any attention to is their employees’ personal dreams and desires.

I recently spent some time with Infusionsoft at their headquarters in Chandler, Arizona. You may have heard of them already, but Infusionsoft is a complete sales and marketing automation software for small businesses. I was completely blown away by their positive and healthy culture, employees and everyone’s eagerness to build the company to even greater success.
There are plenty of people who deserve credit for the culture at Infusionsoft, especially their CEO Clate Mask. What took me by surprise though was to find out that they have someone on staff who is actually labeled as their dream manager. Dan Ralphs, who is the dream manager at Infusionsoft, has one job description -- to help the employees of the company achieve their personal dreams.
One of the company’s employees a few years back had read The Dream Manager by bestselling author Matthew Kelly. He loved the book so much that he desperately wanted to get it in the hands of Clate Mask, the CEO of the company. Being an avid reader and leader who is always looking to grow himself, Clate accepted the book and read it on a flight. Once he was finished with the book, he immediately knew that Infusionsoft was going to going to have a dream manager on staff.
In the book, Kelly writes, “The future of your organization and the potential of your employees are intertwined -- their destinies are linked.” At Infusionsoft, you see this clearly, as employees are actively engaged in the workplace while passionately helping the organization build towards the grander vision while in return, the organization is passionately helping employees work towards their biggest personal dreams.

culled from:entrepreneur.com