Clueless and Staff-less
The world of the leader can, at times, seem a constant struggle in which multiple issues demand our immediate focus. At times, it seems our lives are spent in nothing but ‘firefighting’
Herein lies the problem: we‘re so focussed on ‘things’ that we forget or de-prioritise one of the most important parts of our business: people.
‘They’ll understand’, ‘They’re adults’, ‘I’ll get round to it (honest)’ may be some of the trite excuses we use to justify our guilt. What we forget is that they’re human as well and looking to us for support, guidance, empathy. With all the literature on managing people in business, it still amazes me that we (and I include myself in this) can still be so clueless when it comes to others.
I’m not saying that we should be ‘holding hands’ every step of the way, but I am suggesting that we remember that to be a leader, we need followers. Not only this, but as leaders, it’s our job to make sure that we develop the next generation of leaders to take things on after us. How will we do that if we’re ‘not there’ when needed?
I talk to people who are looking for new roles and, whilst the reasons they give for leaving the current role are many and varied, they often boil down to one issue: a feeling that the organisation is ‘too busy’ to pay attention to them. The result is a lack of motivation and then increased cost to the organisation of hiring and training new staff to replace those who have left.
As leaders, we need to think constantly about our people. Yes, we’re ‘firefighting’ much of the time, but if we could retain our people, what would be the result? For me it would be:
- Higher morale
- Increasingly capable people able to take on more, relieving some of the pressure on me
- Increased customer satisfaction
- Fewer complaints
- Increased business
‘Self-motivation’ goes only so far
I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services. For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
Labels: Leadership, Teamwork
posted by William Martin @ 09:20
0 Comments
