The more I work with leaders the more I hear from them that they hate meetings. One small business owner bragged that he never talks with his employees. This made me sad. We've gone so hard against meetings we are missing a big opportunity to build better employee relationships. We think of great employees as these impossible people to find, like a magical dragon in children's stories. Great employees are not found, they are developed. If you can bring this attitude to your work, everything will change for your company.
If we don't get to know our employees and only focus on the work then they won't care about the company and it's mission. They will do the work until some issues that bothers them happens and they'll bounce to another company. We don't put in the effort to understand employees struggles and joys then we can't help them do great work.
I struggled giving my administrative assistants the time they deserved because I told myself that I was busy. The justified that the work wasn't that hard, but the reality was I didn't want to build up the relationship only to lose them 6 months later. Many leaders struggle with building better employee relationships because they don't want to put in the effort and be left for another company. We must put more time and energy into our employees if we want them to enjoy their work, be creative problem solvers and help us build a better company. You can create your own Leader Manual so you can build better relationships with your employees. You can get instant access to the creating your own Leader Manual today. Just sign-up for the 5 Points newsletter and get the Leader Manual guide. It walks you step-by-step through creating your user manual, so you can build better relationships with your employees.
There are six myths that I hear from my clients that I want to dispel. If you are an employee, hopefully this gives you some insight into why some bosses don't put the time into helping you grow your skills and career.
Myth #1: I won't be able to fire bad employees
The clients that have good relationships with their employees are able to have honest and authentic conversations with their low performers. People need to understand what where they are struggling and what opportunities they have to grow. These conversations only happen if everyone can be honest and figure out how to improve together.
Myth #2: My admin doesn't need to know why, they just needs to know what to do
I love this one because we think that if we are clear on the ask that they should just do the work. We are all curious about why we do the work that we do. The more context that we can give our employees, the more they understand how to execute on the work.
Myth #3: If they are confused they, just need to ask me to clarify
Many times employees are afraid to speak up for fear of looking stupid or angering their leader/teammate. They try their best and get bad results causing frustration and feeling isolated.
Myth #4: Coaching my employees is a waste of time.
Many leaders like to believe that as long as an employee understands their role that they will be ok. This might have been true 50 years ago, but now employees want empathetic leaders and create a sense of belonging. A good leader will listen to what is weighing on an employee and help coach them through it. When you help them get unstuck or find an opportunity this will build trust between you and your teammate.
Myth #5: Talking about feelings is a waste of time.
When we share our feelings with each other it can be a little messy and take more time, but it's this time that helps get to the heart of an issue. It ultimately saves you time because you help them get unstuck. If an employee isn't happy or confused and they speak up this creates an opportunity to help them instead of ignoring the issue and making it worse.
Myth #6: They procrastinate because they don't care.
People often procrastinate because they aren't sure of what to do next. They don't have a clear direction and it's hard to make a choice, so instead of asking for help they wait and hope for the best.
If you are a leader who wants to build better relationships you may want to start with creating a Leader Manual. You can download the leader manual guide instantly when you sign-up for the 5 Points Newsletter.
Helpful articles like this one:
- Why Your Manager is Afraid to Coach You
- 15 Proven Ways to Encourage Employee Happiness and Engagement
Photo by Eva Bronzini
