My wife and daughter like to watch the TLC show “What not to wear”. My understanding is that they want to volunteer someone from our family for participation on the show. (It couldn’t be me, could it?). The premise of the show is that Stacy and Clinton (the stars) take a individual that had been nominated by “friends” or family and give them a fashion makeover. The nominee had evidently lost track of what style is, didn’t know what was appropriate or had just gotten lazy about their appearance and needed a lot of help getting back on track. It is often amazing the transformation that these individuals go through and the change it makes to their life.
Isn’t the same thing true for many of us in management positions. Don’t many of us forget, get lazy or just not know how to be a great manager. I know that I am a guilty party.
Stacy and Clinton from “What not to wear”
So, I thought it would be good to hear from someone again that has spent their life in “fashion” to give us some makeover pointers. My dad was in the banking industry (primarily at the branch level) managing people for over 40 years. I asked him again (see blog from last year) to help us out. Here’s part one of his reply:
A style of management
I’ve learned by experience how to become more productive. My attitude with employees is to work side by side with them and help them to feel a part of management when goals are accomplished and profits are increased. Sharing concerns when things do not go smooth can lead to solutions and get people on the right track again.
I believe there are 3 kinds of employees:
Group 3: People that will only do what you ask them to do. They are late for work, take longer lunch hours and are absent a lot.
Group 2: People who are willing to do anything you ask them to do, show up for work on time and take very few sick days.
Group 1: “The cream of the crop.” They are willing to do everything that you ask them to and also look for work to be done to keep busy. They realize that when everybody works together, more can be accomplished in less time. They also will make suggestions to improve work systems and good work relationships.
The challenge for you as a manager is to move group 3 to group 2 and move group 2 to group 1. You will find that your work is less stressful and you will have more time to accomplish your work. No more late hours because there will be less interruptions and you are able to keep on schedule.
Small rewards for good work such as a smile and/or thank you will help the employees to realize there are reasons to pitch in when everybody is busy.
Great stuff, dad, thanks. But, how to move those employees from group 3 to group 2 and group 2 to group 1? Stay tuned for the next episode. Part 2 is on it’s way.
On “What not to wear”, one of the problems is getting the participant to give up their old habits and take what they’ve learned and apply it, so too with managers. Think about it.
Does this employee classification system help your thought process on how you manage your people? On the flip side, as an employee, which group are you in?
Let us know your thoughts, either here, on Facebook, twitter or our site at http://www.mcdonaldcontainers.com
Hey, are you sure parachute pants aren’t still cool?
Jim
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