Top 100 Employers

Recently I came across a section in the Globe and Mail, in reference to “Canada’s Top 100 Employers” – Friday, October 9, 2009. I am always that person who loves to read those features, and yet when I read those articles and features, two things always strike me.

The 1st is, why not do an article on, “Canada’s Top 100 Employees”….but I know that wouldn’t sell many newspapers for the Globe. :-)

The 2nd thing that always strikes me is, “What I Can Do As A Leader and Manager To Get Into That Top 100”?

See, as a Manager at the ground level, many of us wrestle with feelings of powerlessness and sometimes feel unable to effect change for our staff. Some of the tools needed to create positive change are outside of our grasp. It can be the things an employee is going through personally, economic pressure in the world today, or policies and procedures. It can be as simple as increasing wages or not being able to offer certain perks like the companies in that list.

But when I feel that powerlessness, I like to remind myself of this quote I once heard from Dr. Haim Ginott, “As a Manager I am the decisive element. It's my daily mood that makes the weather. As a Manager, I possess a tremendous power to make an employee’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and whether a constructive solution can be found.”

What this reminds me of, time and time again, is that as a manager, I have impact and influence over so much, and so in passing I came up with, “6 Things I Can Do As A Manager To Get Us Into That Top 100”...

1) Lead – People look to their management for leadership. Certainly, this needs to be as simple as a calm, consistent, professional approach, but for many of our staff, leadership needs to be a little more than that. I have discovered that almost everyone, to one degree or another, is a bit of a “big picture” thinker. We want to know the wheres and the hows and the whys…to have a picture painted of exactly where we are trying to go, how we will get there, and exactly why we want to do all that. The difference between effective leaders and ineffective leaders is that ineffective leaders issues edicts, expecting everyone to simply get in line. Effective leaders present the big picture, time and time again, as the reference point for the expectations we layer on our team. So, I love to remind our team that in serving our customers and in operating with excellence, it is not, “How Low Can You Go?”, but how Pro can you go. What is the best we can do, in each and every situation, to communicate our desire in every interaction and action to Be The Benchmark in our market? When a picture is effectively painted, staff are motivated to fill in the little details on a daily basis.

2) Care – It is difficult to lead beyond your level of relationship. So many times, we expect people to follow us simply because our position in flow chart is located in a higher place than theirs. However, this kind of followership only lasts for a while. People will follow leaders and managers who care about their employees, care about their issues, care about their ideas, and care about their team. It cannot be all about “measurable results” and “hitting goals”. Our level of care for the team often determines their level of care for the team…and we cannot succeed unless our team has the “care” factor.

3) Listen – Some of the best ideas come from your team! As a Manager, it has been a wonderful realization that each and every day, I am surrounded by experts in their specific fields! When I extend my hand and my ear to members of our team as a partner, and tether that to the knowledge and experience that I bring as a Manager, what gets created is far better than what any of us could create alone. The beauty of this is that people naturally support what they help create, which then makes achieving goals that much easier!

4) Deliver – Results – As a leader, I need to be seen as a person who can deliver results on behalf of my team. Though members of my team may expect the unrealistic, most members of the team know when I am at least trying. Though as Managers, we may not be able to offer every perk possible, people can instinctively sense effort, motivation, and intentionality around things they request. Often, our attention to detail around issues for our staff determines their level of engagement around issues for the organization.

5) Expect - Accountability – Having said all of these things, I don’t at all believe that leadership revolves entirely around the “touchy-feely”. People being led crave accountability, structure, and the ability to locate themselves. Quality people are constantly on the lookout for feedback and a measuring stick from those they follow. So long as we are clear, concise, and consistent, people gradually warm to accountability and learn the process of performing to expectations. I love the quote from Steve Jobs, one of the founders of Apple: “Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”

6) Plan – Some fun things….keep the social side alive and kicking! I think as Managers, we gotta focus on the fun! People rate their job satisfaction in many areas…money, advancement, opportunity, etc. But there can be no doubt that fun is healthy, and lends itself to greater productivity. Keep the fun factor alive, and realize that fun is healthy!

Pericles said: "What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others." While we may not always make, “Canada’s Top 100 Employees” in the Globe, we can always ask, “What I Can Do As A Manager To Get Into That Top 100”? The reality is that we can influence so much on our teams… :-)