Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Treat your people like human beings
Let’s be honest, most of us have either met or heard about bosses from hell. I myself have encountered 1 or 2 such individuals who are being labeled as “notorious creatures of the deep” by some of my ex-colleagues. Hmm, quite interesting term there.
Anyway, based on my experience dealing with such “creatures”, all of them have one thing in common – they don’t treat their subordinates or their people as human beings. They shout, scold vulgar words in public, backstab, treat their people like entities from another world (as in, cannot see them even if they are next to each other), or order their people around like dogs (hey, even some dogs have better luck!).
In my opinion, these “creatures” need to take a look at the mirror and see if they can still see themselves change and learn to treat their people as human beings. This might appear to be common sense to some, but it could also be more difficult than conquering Mount Everest. But well, let’s do it one step at a time, and start with the simple list below.
• Greet your people or acknowledge their presence – a simple “Good morning” or “Hi, how was your weekend?” is good enough.
• Let them speak out – every conversation should be 2-sided. So give your people a chance to talk and hear them out.
• Control your tone of voice – never raise your voice against your people. Try to talk and explain to them in a proper way. They’re human beings after all.
• Hang out more with your people – go out for gatherings, dinners, movie outings, etc. Try to improve the relationship. Also, remember that you are their boss in the office, but their friend when it’s outside the office.
• Remember names – try to remember as many names as possible. Calling your people by their names also shows that you remember who they are and this is much more useful than calling them by “oi” or “you”.. or worse.. call them with the wrong names.
• Treat your people as adults – Stop ordering your people as if they’re primary school kids. Respect them as adults who know how to think for themselves. Also, you yourselves need to behave like an adult.
• Control your ego – ego is perhaps the root of all evil when it comes to leadership. I know that some of you leaders have gone through a lot of hardships in the past but time has changed. Always put your ego away when you deal with your people.
I believe there are many more things that a leader can do in order to improve the overall working condition in the company. Some can be quite difficult, while some can be as easy as the things above.
But I do understand that sometimes, employees do demand a lot from their bosses. My advice to these bosses or leaders – if you cannot give your people the things they want, then at the very least, treat them as human beings. I am sure that alone, will make their working experience more pleasant.
But if you find that you cannot even do 1 of the things listed above.. then perhaps it’s better for you to check with your psychiatrist.
Anyway, based on my experience dealing with such “creatures”, all of them have one thing in common – they don’t treat their subordinates or their people as human beings. They shout, scold vulgar words in public, backstab, treat their people like entities from another world (as in, cannot see them even if they are next to each other), or order their people around like dogs (hey, even some dogs have better luck!).
In my opinion, these “creatures” need to t
• Greet your people or acknowledge their presence – a simple “Good morning” or “Hi, how was your weekend?” is good enough.
• Let them speak out – every conversation should be 2-sided. So give your people a chance to talk and hear them out.
• Control your tone of voice – never raise your voice against your people. Try to talk and explain to them in a proper way. They’re human beings after all.
• Hang out more with your people – go out for gatherings, dinners, movie outings, etc. Try to improve the relationship. Also, remember that you are their boss in the office, but their friend when it’s outside the office.
• Remember names – try to remember as many names as possible. Calling your people by their names also shows that you remember who they are and this is much more useful than calling them by “oi” or “you”.. or worse.. call them with the wrong names.
• Treat your people as adults – Stop ordering your people as if they’re primary school kids. Respect them as adults who know how to think for themselves. Also, you yourselves need to behave like an adult.
• Control your ego – ego is perhaps the root of all evil when it comes to leadership. I know that some of you leaders have gone through a lot of hardships in the past but time has changed. Always put your ego away when you deal with your people.
I believe there are many more things that a leader can do in order to improve the overall working condition in the company. Some can be quite difficult, while some can be as easy as the things above.
But I do understand that sometimes, employees do demand a lot from their bosses. My advice to these bosses or leaders – if you cannot give your people the things they want, then at the very least, treat them as human beings. I am sure that alone, will make their working experience more pleasant.
But if you find that you cannot even do 1 of the things listed above.. then perhaps it’s better for you to check with your psychiatrist.
Labels: Current Affairs
just my 2cents at 11:20 AM |
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