Whether you are a new administrator or an old one, don’t expect to keep the job for long without the respect of staff.
Respect is not something that comes with a job title or a business card.
It has to be earned. And for the most part, that means treating the employees as well as or better than the clients are treated.
With me, not for me
Leadership starts with respect, and respect starts with treating staff as equals.
Don’t term them “my employees” or “my people,” or “the people who work for me.” That shows an uncrossable line of demarcation.
Employees don’t belong to anybody. Refer to them in a way that honors what they do, such as “my team members” or “my partners” or “the people I work with” or even “the people I have the privilege to work with.”
Think of introducing a staffer to a partner’s spouse at a party and saying, “She works for me.” That’s condescending and not a little insulting.
Compare that to “she and I work together.” Now there’s respect and the employee feels it.
Giving challenging assignments
Another rule: Don’t hesitate to challenge staff with difficult assignments. Employees need to be allowed to grow.
If an assignment is particularly difficult, appoint a mentor to check the work halfway and help the staffer through the rough spots.
And for good psychology, allow a little extra time in the deadline, because the work is new to the staffer and will likely require extra time.
Tell what’s expected
Another aspect of leadership is giving clear descriptions of what’s expected on work assignments so the staffer will succeed.
Staff need details. And when they don’t get them, they can be afraid to ask to fear of appearing dense. So they plod on to failure. And resentment. And loss of respect for the administrator.
Clear directions call for explaining:
-what needs to be done,
-what doesn’t need to be included in the job,
-the quality expected,
-the resources available,
-whom to contact with questions, and
-the completion date.
Then ask if the employee understands the assignment. But don’t phrase it as “Do you understand?” because anybody will say yes.
Say instead, “Help me understand what you’ve taken away from my explanation of this.” That forces the staffer to explain what’s going to be done, and there’s no misunderstanding on either side.
Listen to opinions
Ask for ideas. Also ask for help.
There’s no need “to act on everything staff suggest,” but ask for their thoughts and show them that what they have to say is respected.
Sadly, many managers don’t listen to suggestions out of fear that doing so will evidence weakness. The thought is “if I admit to not knowing something, staff won’t respect me.” But the opposite is true. Admitting to deficiencies only makes employees respect their manager more and want to help that manager succeed.
If an administrator isn’t especially talented in dealing with technology, there’s no reason to be threatened by someone who knows it.”
Asking for help shows staff they are “contributing members of the team.” It shows the administrator has esteem for them and confidence in what they say.
Give the benefit of the doubt
When there’s a conflict, give everybody the same benefit of the doubt. Ask for both sides of the issue.
When there’s a performance issue, ask for the staffer’s perspective and reasoning before deciding on the response.
Nobody questions a client who comes in late. But when an employee comes in late, the immediate assumption is that the staffer has done something wrong. Giving the benefit of the doubt means asking first why that person is late as opposed to “you’re late and here’s the penalty.”
Discipline behavior, not attitude
Always focus on the performance and not on the person.
It’s easy to respond more to attitude than to fact. The manager sees a look on the face, the eye roll, the huff, the mutter and bases the response on that.
Ignore the body language and focus instead on the performance issue. That’s what can be documented and that’s what can be addressed with certainty. And that’s what’s fair to discipline.
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