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Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: A New Manager's Tale

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This article relates to the Manager/Supervisor competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction surveys. This competency evaluates an employee's feelings regarding their direct manager or supervisor. The manager/supervisor competency covers topics like clarity of goals, manager support, coaching and feedback, and regular reviews of performance. The old adage that "people leave their managers, not organizations" is often true. Of all the workplace stressors, a bad immediate manager is one of the worst and will directly impact the emotional health, productivity, and retention of an employee. This competency can be especially insightful if your organization is losing quality employees while your compensation and benefit packages are equivalent with industry standards.

This article, A New Manager's Tale, is part of AlphaMeasure's compilation, Tales from the Corporate Frontlines. It tells the story of a new manager's search for wise advice that will lead him to a successful career with a new company.

Anonymous Submission

As a recent college graduate, I'd just landed my first management position and was eager to begin. My start date was a few weeks away, and I decided to read up on the management techniques and principles I learned in college. I wanted to be successful with my new company, but more than that, I wanted to be successful and popular with the people I would supervise.

As I sat in my local bookstore coffee shop one afternoon, poring over books and magazine articles, an old friend wandered by. Joe and I had worked together at one of my college jobs for two summers, and when he saw me, he stopped by to chat for a few minutes. He saw what I was reading and asked if he could offer a few hints from his own experience.

A middle-aged worker, Joe was an employee with a great work ethic and sense of company loyalty. He also had experience working for many different managers over the years. I trusted him and wanted his input. "Go ahead," I said, and settled back with my coffee to listen.

" First of all, Joe began, when you give instructions, be as clear as you can. Don't expect your people to read your mind. Let them know what you need, how and when you need it - with regard to workload. Don't make them guess, they hate it and it wastes time and results in unnecessary extra work and inferior quality."

"Secondly, if you have a problem with someone's performance or conduct - take it to the back room. Discuss it, one on one, in private and come to an agreement. I've seen managers berate their employees publicly and come to regret it. In fact, I once saw that practice clear out an entire department - person by person."

"Perhaps most importantly, don't hold back on praising your workers for a job well done. It doesn't cost anything and lets them know that their hard work is appreciated."

"You are their boss, and they want to please you. It's the reason they come to work - other than a paycheck. The company I'm with now actually rewarded managers who scored highly on giving praise and recognition on their recent employee satisfaction survey. Many of them received hefty bonuses."

Joe stopped to sip his coffee. "Is that it?" I asked. "No, he smiled, but those three ought to give you a great start. Good luck, I know you'll do just fine".

I said goodbye to my friend, and a week later started my new job. I've tried to follow his advice and be clear, tactful, and forthcoming with positive recognition. So far---so good!

© 2005 AlphaMeasure, Inc. - All Rights Reserved

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