Last blog, we discussed the qualities of great leadership, the personality traits someone has to either possess or develop to be effective at managing others. Today, let’s add some principles to these qualities. For inspiration, we’ll refer to an article at RunningRestaurants.com, which is geared towards restaurant management. As always, these ideas aren’t industry-specific, so you’ll find them equally useful for retail, sales, service, and more.
Be Just
“Without a sense of fairness and justice, no manager can command and retain the respect of his staff,” says author Brian Bruce. One of the most common complaints found in employee feedback surveys is the perception that some staff members are favored. They’re seemingly never admonished for poor performance or mistakes, while others feel like they can do no right. Perhaps the favored employee is the family of the owner or the manager, or perhaps he or she is a good friend. Whatever the case, a good manager can never be shown to play favorites.
Bruce continues, “Your restaurant’s policy handbook should be your first point of reference for maintaining a consistent consequence for specified infractions. Remember, consistency is the key.” The inverse is important, as well. Employees shouldn’t be disproportionately rewarded for the same work. Merit is what ought to matter, not connection.
Be Pleasant
An important skill that managers expect from their employees is the ability to leave whatever personal baggage they’re carrying at the door. Those in customer-facing positions, especially like customer service, have to wear a smile and project positivity despite what’s going on at home. Of course, if the manager expects staff to do this, then he or she must be able to do so as well. Leaders must hold themselves to the same (or higher) standards as the staff.
As Bruce says, “No rude, overbearing, careless manager can become a successful leader. Leadership calls for respect, of others and of self. Followers will not respect a leader who does not exhibit a Pleasant Personality.” This means being patient and understanding. This also means setting an example for the staff by not losing your temper or by being crude.
Be Responsible
Bruce explains, “If one of his followers makes a mistake, and shows himself incompetent, the leader must consider that it is he who failed and take steps to prevent the situation from happening again.” This concept actually harkens back to another important attribute for employees, which is the idea that they should always take ownership of a customer-service situation and not just pass it off to someone else.
Taking responsibility doesn’t mean shifting the blame, per se. It means acknowledging that an employee requires additional training or some kind of support to do his or her job correctly. That said, a pattern of mistakes can’t be tolerated, as that would violate our first principle about being just. Every now again, and you’ll find an employee who can’t or won’t improve, in which case the leader has an obligation to step in and act for the benefit of the whole company.
The Brandt Group offers a few of the services mentioned throughout this post. Employee feedback surveys, for example, can be really helpful in understanding the dynamics of what’s going on in your company’s culture. These can allow you to nip in the bud problems before they swell into something worse.
We also offer leadership training which will help managers hone their abilities to interact with, support, and train their subordinates. Don’t neglect your own development, as your management qualities are truly going to set the tone for your office environment.
Lastly, we mentioned the idea of recognizing employee mistakes as shortcomings in their training. Our mystery shopping program presents the best opportunity for uncovering these: for example, an otherwise star-employee might have a real blind spot for cooperative teamwork, and that’s actually an issue that can be detrimental in the long term. Our mystery shoppers can spot that and let you know before the problem worsens.
Why not take the initiative and reach out to us today to learn more?
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