Mary C Schaefer is a speaker, coach and trainer, specializing in creating communication breakthroughs between managers and employees and also in creating functional, positive work cultures.   Mary’s mission is to radically transform corporations’ view of employees to have reverence for the precious human resources they are.  View and connect with Mary via her Re-Imagine Work blog (www.reimaginework.com/category/blog), @MarySchaefer Twitter profile, or Linkedin.

TFW Today - June 28, 2011

Seven Ways to Be a New Leader to Your Employees
by Mary C Schaefer

1. Make decisions as if people matter. Business doesn’t exist in a vacuum. How do you think all this stuff happens? Your computers or lab equipment don’t care if you hit quarterly goals. You might as well leverage your resources you have who might give a darn (i.e. humans). BTW, you do that by meeting basic human needs at work. Ignore – at your own peril – the fact that you have human beings as your employees.
2. Talk to your employees as if they matter. Try to keep in mind what it is like to be an employee, because after all, even if you are a manager, you ARE STILL an employee too. Think about what employees would be concerned with and show them you considered them in your thought process.
3. Be impeccable with your word. (Thank you Don Miguel Ruiz.) If you say you are going to do something, large or small, do it. Your employees are watching. They WANT to trust you. Give them a reason. It helps to tell them when you are following up on something you promised to say, e.g. “I’m doing this thing as a result of our talk last week.”
4. Talk to people like YOU are a human being. People can see through stalling and spin. If you can’t discuss a matter, say so. Anticipate questions from your employees’ point of view, and practice. You may have to work with your response for awhile to ensure it’s authentic, sincere and respectful of their intelligence. Don’t shortchange this. (If you have any more questions on this, see point 1.)
5. Care that they understand what you’re telling them. “The meaning of the communication is the response it elicits” (an NLP concept). Why do we think we’ve communicated when we drop people an email? And asking, “Do you understand” is fruitless. Who wants to look like a nincompoop by saying “no?” Or how do you know they understand the way you need them to? Ask them what they heard you say, or what they are going to do based on what you said, to test understanding.
6. Get over yourself and be open to what works. “Leading is changing your behaviors so the other person follows.” We wouldn’t put water in our car when it needs oil, and expect it to perform. Why do we disdain and resist what humans at work need? (examples: appreciation, belonging, contribution and meaning) Using this knowledge doesn’t require that you be something you’re not.  Find what adjustments would work for you and your people both – so that they will WANT to work with you.
7. Consider that human employees are good for business. Meeting the human needs of your employees may actually result in a better outcome for the business. I can’t underline enough the value of human discretionary energy. This is what makes the impossible happen.