Work Smarter Not Harder by Dr. Catrina Pullum
Interpersonal
relationships are a basic element of workplace environments. Navigating those
relationships, either as a “boss” or an “employee”, is key to workplace
happiness. In this post, I am going to discuss how to manage your boss and how
bosses could be sabotaging their subordinates.
Managing
your boss sounds counter-intuitive, but it is actually the opposite. A key to
building a great working relationship with your boss is understanding how they
think, process information, their strengths, weaknesses, goals, basically what
is going to drive them in their assignment. Once you understand these things,
managing to these expectations is how you truly “Manage your Boss”. Presenting them the information they need, in
a form that they can quickly and effectively process it, shows how much you
value their time and energy, and allows them to focus their time and energy
where you want it, solving your major issues and accomplishing your goals.
Why are low performing employees at the
bottom of their workforce pools? If it is not energy levels being below normal,
sometimes it is their manager. Managers can unintentionally set an employee up
to fail. When the employee fails to perform, the manager can start
micromanaging to compensate. When the employee experiences micromanagement,
they doubt themselves and their abilities and begin to move away from
decision-based tasks. Lack of initiative from the employee leads the manager to
up the pressure, causing the employee to withdraw more and ending up in a
spiraling, cataclysmic finish, usually ending with the employee’s dismissal.
Typical workers, as they have more
to do, stay longer at work. Companies foster this culture as well, asking
employees to work longer and harder. Smarter companies are finding a new
methodology to get more productivity from their work force. Companies are
looking at the employee holistically, and dealing with four different aspects
of the “self” of the employee. These employers are developing practices to help
employees renew themselves in four different ways: physically, emotionally,
mentally, and spiritually. This is combatting the energy drain on the
employees, the actual cause of lower productivity, which shows in symptoms
like: exhaustion, disengagement, stress, and illness. Helping the employee
build habits to regenerate these different areas of energy usage, create
opportunities to increase overall productivity in the workforce.
As a Boss or Manager are you working
smarter or harder? To work smart is to assess your team along with
yourself. Do not be afraid to delegate
and utilize your team strengths. Every week, dedicate time to learning
something different by doing team building exercises. Also, educate yourself on
your industry. Be prepared to leave your comfort zone.
Research
taken from Harvard Business Review’s On
Managing Yourself, and Harvard
Business Review’s On Managing People.
Learn more about Dr. Trina via her website at www.pullcorp.com, and follow her on Twitter @DrPullum
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