Between a rock and a hard place – that’s how many managers feel today. The traditional pressure from superiors and shareholders has been added to by the increasing expectations of subordinates. How can you be a good manager for them and what does that mean exactly?
According to Gallup, 51% of American workers are thinking about changing their jobs. 89% of the managers losing their people believe that the cause is money. However, higher salaries in the new company is the reason behind only 12% of resignations. As many as 50% of employees leave their jobs due to weak, often “toxic” managers, in order to improve their quality of life!
The problem of staff turnover will increase as representatives of Generation Y begin to dominate the employment market. They have different approaches to life and ambitions than their older colleagues. Without thinking twice, they resign from positions that don’t suit them, which means that, in the eyes of the managers who are unable to retain them, they appear to be unstable and demanding.
Meanwhile, the problem is more complicated, as the expectations of millennials declared in surveys testify. Attractive remuneration packages are not so important for them. They value inspirational leadership, the opportunity to develop, sense in what they are doing, feedback, a good working atmosphere and work-life balance.
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As can be seen, these are not excessively high requirements. However, the market still does not satisfy the need to work in a more humane environment: without an autocratic style of management, poor communication, unappreciated input of employees and constant overtime.
In this light, the following maxim grows in significance: “Be, above all, a person, and only then a manager”. This is exactly the starting point for the workshop „Manager as Leader. How Good Could You Be?” dr. John Scherer, a world-class expert in the fields of leadership and development in organizations. This general principle leads to many of his other tips about how to travel along the path from manager to leader.
Behaving like a sociopath (at one time popular in business) does not create a friendly atmosphere that favors effective work. And that is true regardless of the number of training courses attended in the areas of professional and soft skills. According to Scherer, the leader of an effective team is one who sees people in their co-workers, and also takes care of their development and personal well-being. Because a good manager is simply… a good person.
Find out more about how a good manager builds engagement!
