Let us first explore how people become managers. Usually they are very good employees, salespeople, etc. Does being a good employee or salesperson qualify a person to be an effective Leader? In my opinion, it does not. I have worked with companies for over 30 years; I have seen a wide range of management skills- from very poor to outstanding.
The effective Leaders understand they are not effective based on how badly their people need them but what can the people do without them? When we promote a productive employee to a manager, they have the tendency to believe their way is the right way and use their personal views to drive their management style. These managers tend to micro manage and be over controlling of their employees. They second guess them and do not listen, train or coach, however, they are good at offering criticism under the premise that constructive criticism is effective. I firmly believe Constructive Criticism is an oxymoron.
Some managers feel because they are strong enough to handle criticism, everyone can. This is simply not true! When criticized so many people feel belittled and embarrassed. The worst case is when managers criticize an employee in front of their peers. It does not help the employee and puts others in a potentially awkward position with the manager. They may even loose belief or respect for the manager and in turn the company.
Belief is the key to success in business and in life. In business we need people who believe strongly in three things. The company they represent and what is stands for as an institution, the products and services (internal or external) that they provide and they must believe in themselves. If a manager does anything to destroy belief in any of those areas, he or she has possibly made a potentially great performer into one who doesn’t care anymore. With belief comes passion and drive. When belief is destroyed – passion and drive will likely follow.
Leaders understand there are three causes of failure. People don’t know specifically what their job is, they don’t know how to perform their job, or someone or something interferes with their desire and ability to perform. So the effective Leaders treat those three causes of failure by explicitly defining what is expected of the person, not just a catchall job description. The Leader questions the person about how they feel about their position while defining strengths and weaknesses. The Leader should then train the people on what is expected and the specific skills needed to perform. In doing so, the Leader should always build the employees belief that they can effectively do what’s expected. Also, Leaders follow up and recognize specifically what people have done to attain the good performance. This really helps the person believe in themselves.
To learn more, go to the top of this page and use the Leadership in Action or the Practical Sales Management drop-down buttons to see how we can be of assistance in helping your mangers become more effective Leaders. You will also find a video preview of these result oriented training system. I’ll be happy to help you gain a greater understanding of the course by emailing you a PDF overview if you simply click here. Thank you for your consideration. All our best to your success!
Best regards,
Jim Strutton, CEO
Accountability Plus, Inc.
7565 Saddle Creek Trail
Gainesville, GA 30506-5720
770-205-8171
770-205-4147 (Fax)
770-235-0682 (Cell)
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