One Thing Employees Need (But Rarely Get)

The Tuesday Reading today is “One Thing Employees Need (But Rarely Get)”.  Today’s reading, was written by Jeff Haden who says that he learned much of what he knows about business and technology by working his way up in the manufacturing industry and by ghostwriting for smart leaders, and appeared in Inc.

Haden makes a very simple point:  The most important thing you can provide your staff is self-respect.  While better pay, better benefits, training, and opportunity are all factors in being a great boss, self-respect is even more important.

In the author’s view, and mine as well, every employee deserves to be shown respect.  Haden goes on to provide a list of some disrespectful behaviors – sarcasm, eye-rolling, voice-raising, biting comments, corrective feedback in public, etc. – all of which slowly destroy self-respect.  And, Haden says, “Self-respect is a lot like trust.  Once lost, its almost impossible to regain.”

So, as you go through your work this week, use your emotional intelligence tools to monitor your behavior.  Are you being disrespectful?  In what way?  What are the triggers?  What steps can you take to manage your behavior?  Who do you trust to give you feedback on your behavior in this regard?  Take this opportunity to step up and make any needed changes.

You might even want to take some notes in your journal so that you can reflect on and track changes in your behavior.

Have a great week.  .  .  .     jim