Your Laziest Employees’ Impact on the Rest of the Employee Team… is WORSE Than You Think!

In a study of 158 students, a test was designed to see how conscientious and motivated they were, and then they were sorted into 33 teams.

Each team was given a case study to work on, and was told that each team member would receive the same grade based on how well they did.

Benjamin Walker, a PhD candidate at the University of New South Wales’ Australian School of Business, found that “the person who contributes the least has a huge impact. Even if the rest of the team is pulling their weight, they won’t be able to compensate for that member.”  That single lazy person ended up with the most responsibility for team failure or success.

What about irresponsible people? Do they have the same affect? No, Walker ran tests to see if recklessness affected team performance, but found that the group mentality overrode the few impulsive people–in a way that it couldn’t do with lazy folks.

So, will you allow a lazy person to erode everyone else’s potential success?

Or will you step forward to make a small change that could drastically affect the entire company’s success?

C

How to know how your employees REALY feel about you:

They WILL NOT tell you! Probably EVER! Even on exit interviews, people do not tell the truth as they generally are worried about getting a good referral from the company. Hence, the question is raised “How DO you know?”

Bnet has FOUR signs to read in order to find out:

How do you know what they really think? Very rarely will people tell you directly. So you have to be adept at reading their behavior–and your own. Here are four signs:

1. They often argue with you

This is a good sign. People do not argue if they don’t care. Workplace arguments are healthy because it means people are invested in outcomes.

If you haven’t had an underling push back in the last week, then you have staffers who are under-invested. They don’t care. You’ve ticked them off. They have decided that you aren’t worth their time.

The best thing you can do to remedy this situation is to show people you care about their opinion. How? By thanking them for their suggestions, admitting you’re wrong and changing your path. Do it now, before it’s too late and no one is ever willing to tell you you’re wrong.

2. You haven’t had to apologize in a while
If you don’t say you’re sorry once a week at work, then you’re not honest about your mistakes. And people are sick of it. You shouldn’t wait until some epic mistake–you’ve run over a child or poisoned a stray cat–until you apologize. Apologize for the for small, everyday mistakes as well. It’s a sign of respect and caring to say you’re sorry. Which is why you can be pretty sure your employees hate you if you don’t apologize regularly.

Start now to fix things. But remember that body language and tone matters. You can’t fake an apology and make it matter. A fake apology actually aggravates the situation.

So manage in your heart, first, to honestly believe you should have done better. And whatever you do, don’t say, “I’m sorry but–”  An apology doesn’t have a follow-up clause. It doesn’t have a summation.

The most powerful thing to say after “I’m sorry”? Nothing.

3. You’re good at the details

Guess what? Management is not about details; it’s about people. You have to love people to be a good manager and trust those people to be good with details because they are conscientious, capable people who care about their work. If you are caring about details more than people, then you are treating people as if they are not capable, and then, of course, they will perform that way.

It’s easy to be incompetent when that’s what the boss expects. But look out, because
people who perform poorly feel bad about their work. And if they feel bad about their work, they probably resent you for that.

So here’s a suggestion: Trust people. Put faith in them. Manage people in a way that allows them to take care of details. If you don’t like how they manage details, fire them. But it does no one good for you to do the details for the people you manage.

4. You think you can be a better manager

If you think you could improve, you’re probably right. If you think you’re doing just fine, you’re probably wrong.  This research comes from Tiziana Casciarofrom Rotman School of Management. Casciaro says that people who are focused on improving a given trait at work can almost always make good progress.

Also, if you think you can improve, you display the type of optimism that is contagious. Because optimism (and pessimism) are contagious and the manager sets the tone for the team. An optimistic team will like you even if you’re having a bad day – or month. A pessimistic team will think you stink, even if you’ve been putting in a decent performance as a manager for years. Perception of your team is what matters. But maybe you already know that.

If you do, you’re probably already a manager people like.

How to get your team (or anyone) to pay attention or care AT ALL! Seth Godin chimes in…

Want to talk to your team? Write a memo? Communicate a change? Want them to read your newsletter or blog?

Why not write NAKED. I have said this for years, communicate with clarity and with raw realness or don’t do it at all.

Seth Godin weighs in today too from his blog:

Writing Naked

Here are Orwell’s rules, edited:

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. You don’t need cliches.

2. Never use a long word where a short one will do. Avoid long words.

3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

4. Never use the passive where you can use the active. Write in the now.

5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. When in doubt, say it clearly.

6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous. Better to be interesting than to follow these rules.

The reason business writing is horrible is that people are afraid.

Afraid to say what they mean, because they might be criticized for it.

Afraid to be misunderstood, to be accused of saying what they didn’t mean, because they might be criticized for it.

Orwell was on the right track. Just say it. Say it clearly. Say it now. Say it without fear of being criticized and say it without being boring.

If the goal is no feedback, then say nothing. Don’t write the memo.

If the goal is to communicate, then say what you mean.

My best tip is this: buy a cheap digital recorder. Say what you want to say, as if the person you seek to persuade is standing there, listening. Then type that up. Simplify. Send.

So, how will this change what you write today?

C

Don’t know where to start in creating your core values or culture? Scott Ginsberg gives us some advice!

Although this post was written about business and the like, I think it is VERY applicable for us and Company Culture Creation. Hence, I want to share it with you. I find it very inspiring. Thank you Scott Ginsberg (the nametag guy)!

How to Trust the Process, Even If You Don’t Know What the… You’re Doing

To trust is to surrender.
To surrender is to open yourself.
To open yourself is to risk getting hurt.
To risk getting hurt is to increase the probability of success.

LESSON LEARNED: When you assemble the courage to trust the process, you access the power to transform the world.

Your world. Your partner’s world. Your customer’s world. Your employees’ world. Your organization’s world. Maybe even your dog’s world.

Today we’re going to explore eight daily practices for trusting the process, even when you have no idea what the… you’re doing:
1. Don’t be stopped by not knowing how. (Note from Christie: Don’t let “not knowing” how to start creating your core values or culture book, stop you from starting!)

How is overrated. How is the enemy of progress. How is the barrier to trusting the process. And I’m not saying it hurts to know what you’re doing once in a while. But if you always waited until you knew what you were doing, you’d never do anything.

You’re never really ready. Nobody is. Whether you’re starting a business, starting a relationship or starting a new career, trusting the process means traversing the periphery of your competence.

That’s exactly what I did when I started my publishing and consulting company right out of college… I didn’t know anything. I was twenty-two. But for some reason, I trusted the process anyway.

And here’s what I learned: Eventually, you’re just going to have to jump into the pool with your clothes on and trust that you’ll figure out how to swim before the water fills your lungs.

Let’s go. It’s time to put down that margarita and make a splash that matters. Remember: You don’t have to get good to get going; but you do need to get going to get good. Whose permission are you waiting for?

2. Restore the equilibrium. The reason it’s so hard to trust the process is because it’s a form of surrendering; and for most people, that’s a terrifying preposition. Human beings have an inherent need to preserve their sense of control. And any time they feel it being taken away from them, they freak out.

I’m reminded of the Arabian proverb, “Trust God, but tie up your camel.” That’s the real secret: To restore the equilibrium. To balance letting go with preserving control.

For example, when you enter into a new relationship, make a handshake agreement with your partner:

“Look, I know we’re both scared. I know we’re both skeptical. So, let’s agree that for every path we pave for our hearts to follow, we’re going to take regular rest stops for our brains to reflect. That’s where we’ll check in with honest, open and clear updates on the process.”

When you ease into that exchange slowly, you hold yourself over until you’re more comfortable tipping the scales. How can you balance control with surrender?

3. Bow to the door of next. Next is my favorite word in the dictionary. For many reasons: Next fortifies action. Next symbolizes progress. Next means complacency prevention. Next means continuous improvement.

Next is the monetizer of momentum. Next is the fervent architect of creative reinvention. Next is the critical trigger of entrepreneurial advancement. Next is the rocket fuel of your career.

Ultimately, the secret is not just to use the word next – but also to bow to the door of it. Bow meaning honor. Bow meaning respect. Bow meaning recognize. Remember: Without incremental progress, there is no incidental profit. Are you standing on a springboard or struggling in a straight jacket? (Note from Christie: Well, which is it? Which do you want it to be?)

4. Fall in love with why. When you infuse your process with deep purpose, it’s noticeably easier to trust it. That’s why rituals are so critical. They carve a pathway. They create a sacred container around what you’re about to engage in. And they prevent you from asking, “Why…  am I even doing this?”

This helps you fall in love with the process, not just what the process produces. Mihály Csíkszentmihályi’s defined this dichotomy in his book Creativity:

“Exotelic means you do something not because you enjoy it but to accomplish a later goal. But autotelic means there is no reason for doing something except to feel the experience it provides.”

Lesson learned: Trusting the process is a spiritual discipline. An investment in the stability of the universe. Why do you do what you do?

5. Don’t be so hard on yourself. In Leonard Cohen’s documentary, I’m Your Man, he shares his philosophy on the writing process: “You gotta go to work everyday, but know that you’re not going to get it everyday.”

Initially, that was a bitter pill for me to swallow. The idea of accepting a blank page as part of the process was devastating to my creative spirit. But over time, I learned to stop beating myself up when I didn’t get it.

That’s part of trusting the process: Knowing when you’ve got it, knowing when you’ve lost it, knowing when there’s no way… you’re going to get it, and knowing when you’re going to have to take measures to get it back.

My current strategy is: When I sit down to write every morning, I give myself an hour. That’s my cut off. And if the faucet never turns over to hot, and if I realize that I’m just not going to get it that day – I go back to bed. Simple as that. Then, an hour or two later when I wake up, I hit the page refreshed and renewed.

Works every time. What’s your strategy for returning to the work that matters? (Christie’s note: So, how can you reset your team? How can you clear the path for a renewal?)

6. Believe in the dividends. Every time I start working on a new idea, I constantly remind myself: “There will be more.” More details. More resources. More answers. More everything. (Christie’s note: THIS in itself is a FANTASTIC concept. So, when you lose you biggest client, the first thing your mind thinks is “Wow, this is really bad, what will I do without them?” However, there are always more clients, more options, more solutions, always!)

This affirmation builds my confidence, relaxes my brain and alerts the Muse that she can move at her own pace. And even if I only make minimal progress today, I believe in my heart that more art is on the way.

That’s the posture to practice when you trust the process: Easy does it. Keep it casual. Establish gentle flow. Soon enough, your rhythm will develop. And the dividends will come.

The cool part is, once you achieve a few victories with this strategy, your experience bank fills with success stories to dwell upon. That’s when trusting the process gets fun. All you have to do is roll the mental footage of the last time it paid off. How strong is your belief in the dividends of your process?

7. Don’t fight the contractions. Pregnancy is a process. And according to a 2004 study from University of Hawaii, it’s a process that’s happened approximately ninety-six billion times since the dawn of time. Not bad. Maybe those mothers are doing something right.

My guess is: Epidural.

Just kidding. The real secret to trusting the process is to honoring the natural rhythms. Easing your judgmental tendencies and embracing the contractions no matter how much they hurt. As Quaker author Eileen Flanagan writes in Listen With Your Heart:

“By speaking honestly, listening non-defensively and waiting patiently, we help create the space where love can reveal itself.”

The best part is: You don’t have to be pregnant to practice this. Take writing, for example. Readers often ask me, “How do you know what you’re going to write everyday?” And my answer is always the same: “I don’t. That’s not my job. Instead, I listen for what wants to be written.”

Stop fighting the contractions. The baby will come when it’s ready. Even if you’re stuck in that godforsaken hospital bed for the next forty-seven hours. What are you allowing yourself to give birth to? (Christie’s personal thoughts: Take it from me! The more you fight or stress during labor the WORSE, much WORSE you will be! Instead, keeping your stress down and focusing on the current priorities will get everyone through this in a faster and more productive manner.)

8. Don’t abandon the process just because it gets tough. Trusting the process doesn’t mean being passive. The secret is to understand the principle of threshold level.

That’s the moment in the process where you’re so close to completion, you can taste it.

The moment when the entire the world is doing everything they can to prevent you from finishing.

That’s when you hit it hard. That’s when you take every ounce of trust you have left and invest it in the process that brought you to the threshold.

Because in the end, trusting the process is about doing the footwork. Even if you don’t recognize the road before you. Even if it hurts like hell. Carry out the task to completion. And let growth unfold incrementally. The world will reimburse your efforts. Are you willing to hustle while you wait?

REMEMBER: This might be the perfect time to let go.

To achieve success and significance with your newest idea, project, initiative or relationship, you know what needs to be done.

Employ your faith.
Learn to trust the process.
Surrender to your primal self.
And allow it to do what it needs to do to lead you in the right direction.

You’ll be fine.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What will you have to let go of to become something different? (From Christie, of course So, what will it be?)

My absolute best,

C

Why employees don’t care what they need! Instead give them what they demand…

Seth Godin wrote a post today about how to sell and market what people demand and tells you NOT to try to sell what people need. I think it is applicable to managing employees:

Needs don’t always lead to demand

One of the accepted holy grails of building an organization is that you should fill a need. Fill people’s needs, they say, and the rest will take care of itself.

But… someone might know that they need to lose some weight, but what they demand is potato chips.

Someone might know that they need to be more concerned about the world, but what they demand is another fake reality show.

As my friend Tricia taught me, this is brought into sharp relief when doing social enterprise in the developing world. There are things that people vitally need… and yet providing it is no guarantee you’ll find demand.

Please don’t tell get confused by what the market needs. That’s something you decided, not them.

If you want to help people lose weight, you need to sell them something they demand, like belonging or convenience, not lecture them about what they need.

So, how can you apply this to managing employees?

You may as the employer feel you know what is good for the employees, you may find yourself saying as I heard someone say yesterday “This is not just a lecture, but you really need to hear this…”.

Now, if you think that this is helping your productivity or morale or end results, you are wrong. It is not.

Instead, imagine for a moment that Seth is right, that people don’t care what they need, they only care about what they demand.

So, what are you employees demanding? They may not be saying it out loud or to you, so this may take some effort on your part, so go find out.

If you do not give employees what they demand, they will either work for you forever in a half-butt style or quit.

Employees generally demand to be treated with respect and honesty. Now, now, you are probably thinking “I treat everyone with respect and honesty!” Which you probably do, however what about the managers and co-workers?

MOST COMPANIES have someone in them that is a bully or rampaging personality who is not respectful or honest. However, they are excellent manipulators of the bosses, and they are the last to find out what is going on!

But, employees demand much more, especially these days! With companies vying for “the best place to work”, and companies follow the Zappos way, the gems of employees will be firmly planted there, with more joining their ranks everyday. Those that are left will be those that were not ethically or morally firm enough to be hired by these cultural companies.

How will you compete?

C

So, does managing HAVE to be this much work? Is it the employees that are the problem?

You want the best employees? The real question is do “A” players want to work for YOU? Recruiting in the New Economy

Employees have changed? New generations coming into the workforce are simply… different. Why?

Generations feel differing values are important, hence they will be moved to make decision, choose where to live, what to buy and where to work… differently.

Management has to change to meet this demand or they will lose the “A” players in their teams.

Recruiters also will have to change the way they recruit. And that starts with the company and how it presents itself to prospects. There was a great presentation given by Vishan Lakhani where he talks about the entire initiative theri company has ongoing to recruit the BEST employees throughout the WORLD!

How do you compete?

Check out how Netflix does it! Click on the box at the bottom left. It’s a click through presentation.

Think about how recruits view your company and the opportunity your company presents. it can and always should be a priority to improve this area!

A different take on Seth Godin’s post today.

Here is what Seth has to say:

The power of buttons and being normal

Taxi drivers in New York were worried about adding credit cards to their cabs. The fee (5% of so) would cost them too much, they said.

It turns out that tips are up, way up. They’re actually making far more money now.

Why? Because most of the machines offer a shortcut for the tip: $2, $3 or $4.

You can decide to be a cheapskate and hit the $2 button. Except…

Except that if you had paid cash, you probably would have tipped 75 cents for that $4.25 ride. It takes a few more clicks to type in 75 cents, and hey, $2 is the lowest and it’s a more ‘normal’ amount.

It’s a three second decision that happens over and over. People really like cues.

And of course, I agree with this.

However, I began thinking about how this can also be applied to employees and management.

“People really like cues.” including employees…

Employees sometimes, or very often actually, fall into ruts. Ruts like office gossip at the coffee pot or ruts of complaining about overwork or the boss. Often a new client will talk about this problem and often they believe it is the people who are the problem. And sometimes they are!

But, MOST of the time, the problem is the environment. The environment allows and even encourages these ruts to form and continue.

So, thinking about your office, how does this affect the employees productivity? How does this deteriorate the customer service?

Once, I entered a  doctor’s office and rang the little bell at the window. The receptionists were in the back, having lunch and they were complaining LOUDLY about a patient. I said “hellooooo?” to politely let them know I was there, since they had not heard the bell. However, they continued to go on, so engrossed in the story and the animated retelling of the account, they did not hear me. On and on, the voice described the argument the doctor had with the patient. FINALLY, I opened the door and walked into the back a bit to let them know I was there. They went on like nothing had happened and the doctor had no idea the possible damage that was happening, o doubt often in his office.

Imagine if I had been a patient! Imagine if this was happening in your office/store/location!

Is it the people? The employees? Possibly, but more likely the problem is much bigger than that.

When there is an environment that teaches people to act this way, it allows people to act this way, then it will BE this way, always, no matter the people in it.

Instead going back to what Seth wrote above, people like cues. If you give no cue for the tip, you get 75 cents. Give a cue and quickly triple that! What kinds of cues are your employees getting from you.

Once I got told by an employer, “the “stars” among you will do SO well with this”.Well, that’s great, but the cue I got was some of you are losers! And none of us knew which ones where which, so we all felt scolded.Did it inspire us to be even better? NO. It made us feel like, “nobody is noticing our hard work, why try so hard?”.

Instead, if you give the cue that people are special, unique and you care about them, if you believe in the best in people and actually appreciate each and their contribution, you get more of that best.

If a culture is created that feeds and grows a set of values far above and beyond your average business, THEN, people in it are responsible and caring about their impact on the business and the world, the customer service is stellar and the future of that company is bright because the consumers LOVE to experience the difference.

Of course, Zappos is a fantastic example of this. If you have doubts that company culture pays off, look at their track record to over a billion in sales!

So, where should you begin?

How do you get started?

That’s what I am here for my friend. I am creating an entire course to teach this and as I do, I will post ideas and rants here for you to enjoy, learn from and transform your company culture!

But, until then, WHAT CUES ARE YOU GIVING TO YOUR EMPLOYEES?

C

These ruts of

How to have employees in social media for the company – How Whirlpool does it!

This is an article I thought I would pass along, great info on how to have employee tweet or use other social media for your company:

How Whirlpool creates a consistent brand voice in social media

By Andy Sernovitz

One of the greatest things about social media is that it makes it possible for lots of people behind the brand to have a voice. But that also makes for some of the biggest challenges — how do you keep all of these voices consistent? How do you make sure customers can depend on them?

In their BlogWell Chicago case study presentation, Brian Snyder and Scott Spiegel talked about how they do this at Whirlpool — a brand that also includes Maytag, Amana, KitchenAid and more. A few of their key takeaways:

• Remember that consumers want to talk to their brand. They don’t care if they’re talking to the corporate PR, marketing or consumer care department. They just want to talk to the people who made the appliance they have or that make the appliance that they want.
• Make your brand experts available. Whirlpool has a team of laundry scientists — people who are experts when it comes to stains, fabric and detergent. Through Twitter and Facebook, Whirlpool has made their “Whirlpool Institute of Fabric Science” available day and night to answer questions from fans.
• Different brands have different priorities. Brian says that social media should always start with brand priorities. At Whirlpool, knowing each brand’s core objectives and target customers help them determine everything from their overall level of engagement to which social-media platform to use.

Hope this helps you move forward in your “social” venture!

My best,

C

60 Ways to Improve your Influence Online or with your Market/Prospects/Consumers

This list was called 60 Ways to Improve your Online Marketing Influence but I think some of these are great for us all to utilize as a basis ANYwhere we market ourselves. For instance, #1 is true on or offline. #13 is definitely good on or off line. #29, 31, 32 are all stellar recommendations for the REAL world! #44, 45, 46 are great if you want to write a book! And #60? Well, that is some grand ol’ advice from before the time of internet or social marketing.

I was on a call with Michael Port a few weeks ago and we discussed social media marketing and how people tend to forget that marketing online is STILL marketing to REAL people. They want a relationship, they need to trust you, they need to believe you have a great product/service that they can’t live without.

Don’t demean everyone’s intelligence by spamming or constantly SELLing to people in these open forums and social site, it only turns us all off!

Side note: Some seem to be a blatant sales pitch for Facebook, but please just keep reading, if that doesn’t work for you. People who wrote this must have a connection to FB somehow.

So, choose one that resonates with you and put into practice. Write it on your bathroom mirror, paste it behind you computer monitor, paste it on your computer desktop, SOMEWHERE you will see it repeatedly and implement it!

It will pay off handsomely in time AND feel more rewarding until then.

1. Stop talking about your products and services and create valuable content.

2. Increase conversion rates on your landing pages by improving your buttons.

3. Build your thought leadership and digital influence through transparency.

4. Demonstrate commitment and increase your digital influence through consistency.

5. Know where you’re going, then make what you say about the people around you.

6. Follow better people.

7. Align yourself with outstanding strategic partners.

8. Make connections online, then meet the person in the real world, offline.

9. Create content that stands for something: ‘Higher purpose content marketing.’

10. Look under the hood of the shiny new technologies coming out.

11. Believe in ‘social objects’ as the way we socialize and share with others.

12. Avoid ‘incestuous blogging’ and look outside your circle.

13. Start talking to people.

14. Think about your narrative strategy because people connect with stories worth telling.

15. Find people who have your audience but not your products and co-create with them.

16. Establish influence either through complete honesty or absolute fakery – not in between.

17. Give your content roots and give it wings.

18. Try Facebook advertising.

19. Develop your online influence by getting offline and meeting people in real life.

20. Get very, very good at filtering and aggregating content.

21. Be early in the news cycles of any conversation of interest, then make context explicit.

22. Increase visibility through web video; the fastest way to get your message out there.

23. Feel passionate about your content and overcome your fears of reaching out.

24. Defy convention where it’s appropriate.

25. Share good content consistently.

26. Let your passion shine to create meaningful relationships and build deep connections.

27. Learn how to talk more about other people.

28. Get on Facebook, get on Facebook now, and use it for your business.

29. Make people around you more successful than you are, and share stories from the heart.

30. Talk about what you know because content is always king.

31. Make something worth talking about.

32. Get your self properly interviewed.

33. Repeat your tweets.

34. Get more influence online by moving offline.

35. Really understand your audience, then build things that really help them.

36. Master one niche, own that niche, then use webinar marketing to promote your brand.

37. Think about what gifts and expertise you have that you can leverage to help others.

38. Map a strategy for integrating social media with other tactics.

39. Change from thinking about my influence to our influence.

40. Get active in other people’s communities.

41. Build ‘digital dimensionality’ by showing your many different sides.

42. Listen to the conversations taking place around you, then start to engage.

43. Network with other influencers and make them aware of your consistent value.

44. Think about the authenticity, consistency, and depth of your voice and story

45. Be willing to shake up your world.

46. Learn to be a storyteller, understand the psychology of people, create quality content.

47. Share ideas liberally and get increased accountability from the digital community.

48. Establish your business model before you attempt to become influential online.

49. Be consistent, connect the practical with the profound, and listen for the silence.

50. Find a unique niche you can own, focus on it and become known for that.

51. Find out what social network your customers are using and be there for them.

52. Build a community of readers by figuring out ways to get people talking.

53. Make friends along the way by helping others achieve their goals.

54. Think about social media as strategy to enhance your existing marketing goals.

55. Be systematic in establishing relationships with those on the same business path.

56. Become an advocate for gifted up and comers as they enter social media.

57. Start the media arm of your company that educates, inspires and entertains.

58. Give more than you get and build trust and relationships over time.

59. Take a look at what you have that others can’t do and use it to get where you need to go.

60. Figure out your value, identify influential individuals and connect to them directly.

7 Signs You May Be a Bad Manager

Hee hee. More about leadership, blah, blah! This is from Steve Tobak @ Bnet.

One thing most bad managers have in common is they’re not consciously aware that they’re bad managers. And if they are aware of it on some level, they’re probably not willing to admit it to anyone, least of all themselves. That’s because nobody wants to believe they’re the problem.

It’s a common enough phenomenon that isn’t limited to bosses, but applies to people at all levels: executives, managers, employees too. I’m not a shrink, so I’m not sure why that is. But if I had to guess, I’d say it’s probably got something to do with ego, denial, compartmentalization, self-delusion, lack of perspective, that sort of thing.

It would be all-too-easy to just label these folks dysfunctional and call it a day, but I’m not entirely sure that would be either accurate or helpful. I actually think we all suffer from this sort of myopia to some extent and from time to time.

You see, in How to Deal With a Bad Boss: Don’t! I told readers to take a long hard look in the mirror before pointing fingers at the boss. Of course that cuts both ways. But in reading all the comments and emails, I noticed a distinct lack of objectivity by those actually experiencing a boss-employee relationship issue, as opposed to those who were just talking about it.

When it’s happening to us, we put up our defenses. And not only is that bad for business, it’s bad for your management career, as well.

So, even if you’re convinced that you’re the greatest manager on planet Earth and your ability to be introspective knows no bounds, you’d still be wise to check these 7 Signs You May Be a Bad Manager. As for all you employees who’d rather be water-boarded than take a cold hard look at yourself, most of the signs apply to individuals, too.

• Your group is underperforming. Sooner or later, bad management will trickle down and affect the entire organization. Whatever the appropriate metrics are for an organization, poor performance can usually be traced back to a management problem.
• Your manager is turning up the heat. When a good senior manager thinks there may be a problem with a subordinate manager, he’ll inevitably turn up the heat and see what happens. So if you notice your boss putting the screws to you, it’s a sign that something’s up.
• Allies are distancing themselves from you. It’s one thing for your employees to talk behind your back and for your enemies to despise you, but when your work friends and allies start to back away, that’s an indication that you’re damaged goods.
• You’re behaving like more of a jerk than usual. You may be in conscious denial about being a crappy boss, but on some level, you’re probably aware of it. And that takes a toll on you, usually in terms of increased stress and anxiety that you’ll likely take out on others.
• Your decision-making is compromised. One of the most visible signs of poor management is poor decision-making. After all, decisions are actions, actions generate results, and results are highly visible. Pay attention.
• Your personal relationships suck. Dysfunctional managers are also dysfunctional people. Relationships are relationships, period. And while I’m sure that some bad bosses are just wonderful spouses and friends, I seriously doubt it’s very common.
• Your employees are miserable. Come on now. I don’t care how self-absorbed you are, you know if your employees are miserable. Do they stop talking and look guilty when you walk by? Do they invite everyone else but you for drinks after work.

So, my friend, let’s talk about this impacts you.

Not at all? Well, that would be a travesty! We can all improve on our skills! IF you want a better outcome with your team, let’s get real.

GO STRAIGHT TO THE SOURCE: Conduct a survey, have everyone in the office complete it online with a free service, like surveymonkey.com

Truly evaluate the results, be open to the possibility that a good portion of what is said is true. And make a plan for how to improve those results.

Implement that plan and retest with time to improve your process and outcomes.

I KNOW, this sounds painful, who wants to hear the truth when it seems so personal could sound harsh, but to get the payoff (a more productive and brilliant team) you must take action.

My best, as always,

C