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A+ Employees Need A+
Managers
Appreciate the uniqueness
and capabilities of each employee.
By Linda
Davidson
Motivating
"A+" employees takes A+ managers and team leaders.
A+ managers attract and retain key employees
because they build trust and commitment—the basis
of loyalty. According to Caela Farren, president
of MasteryWorks Inc. in Annandale, Virginia, and
author of Who’s Running Your Career?Creating
Stable Work in Unstable Times (Bard Press,
1997), here are some of the things that top
managers do.
Appreciate uniqueness.
Managers who
genuinely appreciate the uniqueness of each person
know what counts to key employees in terms of both
their professional and personal lives. They help
create work environments that are in synch with
their talents, interests, values and personal
life. They build trust and confidence, and become
partners in the ongoing process of developing
tomorrow’s leaders. They help employees answer the
question, "How am I unique?"
Assess capability.
A+ managers assess
the capabilities of their team members in these
areas—reputation, performance (both individual and
team) and breadth of support networks. They
recognize potential, they seek out talent, they
have powerful conversations with employees. They
speak to others about their employees’
capabilities, and they open doors to
opportunity.
Anticipate the future.
A+ managers lead
others in the organization. They’re constantly
helping employees determine how the world of work
is changing and how these changes will impact
their jobs and new skill requirements. They don’t
worry about the future—they feel secure because
they’ve already envisioned the ways their
industry, organization, key professions, other
corporations and competitors might change over the
next decade.
Align aspirations.
A+ managers realize
that changes in life situations—family, health,
technology and organizational strategies—may alter
goals and aspirations, so they maintain ongoing
conversations with key employees. They know that
harnessing the ambition and passion of their
people to the mission of the organization can only
produce great benefits for both. By encompassing
both the business goals of the organization and
the professional goals of the employees, A+
managers create win/win partnerships built on
trust and loyalty.
Accelerate learning.
A+ managers realize
that continual learning is the requirement of the
day. Workers must constantly build their knowledge
and competence or risk obsolescence. Employees
believe this as well. They want challenging work
and want to know that their skills are up to date.
Workforce, August 1999, Vol. 78, No.
2.
Linda Davidson is former executive editor
for Workforce.
Next Article: 5.
Workers Want A Life! Do Managers
Care?
Company policy alone won’t make work/life
initiatives a success. Front-line managers hold
the ultimate key, and it’s HR’s job to make sure
managers are held accountable for supporting
work/life measures.
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Related Topics:
Management
Skills
Motivating
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 Top
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1.
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2.
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5.
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initiatives a success. Front-line managers hold
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6.
Can This Marriage Be Saved?
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