is anyone a good manager?
SUPPORTING PEOPLE WITH
Happy Halloween y’all! Here’s a peak at my costume. 😂
We’re officially one step closer to peppermint mocha season. If there is anything you MUST know about me it’s that I am obsessed with peppermint flavored things. Trader Joe’s makes peppermint jojo’s (basically Oreos) and every year I eat an embarrassing amount. This year I may practice self control.
Things I will show no self control for: HR THERAPY!
This week we have our second episode of HR Therapy. We’re talking all things burnout, how to take care of yourself as an HR professional and support your employees. Register here and join the party.
We're taking the show on the road with HR Therapy Live! First stop on my tour is NYC on December 1st. Drake has agreed to be my opener. I wish.
HR Therapy Live will be a whole day devoted to HR/People leaders to focus on how to prepare for 2023. You don’t want to miss it! The first 10 people to sign up will get 50% off your ticket with the code: HR-EARLY-BIRD.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Today, I'm diving into the 3rd part of my series about the state of engagement. I’m talking about managers and the very important role they play in engagement!
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ENGAGEMENT
Employees quit managers, right?Copy anchor linkCopied
What’s that saying? People quit managers not jobs or companies.
Naturally, managers get a lot of heat because they directly impact the day to day of the average employee. I mean, a bad manager has the opportunity to make your life a living hell. We’ve all had at least one micromanaging boss who can’t go an hour without checking in on something.
I’m triggered just writing that.
And a good manager, well they are what dreams are made of! They inspire you, they advocate for you, they include you and most importantly they care about you! It is what I aspire to be for my direct reports.
But damn, it is tough. Between juggling responsibilities, trying to be a good leader, delegating tasks effectively, checking in on work, and giving feedback there aren’t enough hours in the day!
Not to mention, managers have one of the biggest impacts on employee engagement.
No pressure or anything!
So, if engagement has gone down for the first time in a decade does that mean managers are the ones to blame?
Is it me? Am I the problem?
Blaming managers for the engagement decline feels… wrong. There is so much more at play.
WTF is going on with managers?Copy anchor linkCopied
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Historically, corporate America’s approach to management has been:
- Push management as the track for career growth
- Promote top performers to manage
- Provide little to no training
It’s a recipe for disaster:
- 2 out of 5 managers felt unprepared for management when they stepped into the role
- 87% of middle managers wish they had received more management training
This approach to management fails to recognize:
A good manager requires a diverse set of skills that do not come naturally to the average person! To be a great manager you have to master a set of versatile skills and play a few different roles:
Managers are psychologists: a great manager understands each of their employees is unique in the sense of what motivates them and what doesn’t. Managers also have to understand the strengths of their team and when and how to deliver their feedback.
Managers are inspirational coaches: Imagine Phil Jackson. Managers have to inspire their team during hard times and coach them to achieve their best work. This is my favorite pep talk when I need one.
Managers are the voice of authority: Some days I'm the bad cop. When things go off track managers have to step in and correct the path. These moments can be so very stressful but managers have to play that role as the voice of authority for the team.
To recap: management is a dynamic and multifaceted role that corporate America gives little to no training for but managers are doing fine.
WRONG.
43% of managers say they are burned out. It is a struggle managing remote work, low engagement/declining productivity, inflation and wage issues, and general employee anxiety about layoffs and this economy.
On top of all of that, managers are often caught in the middle between leadership and the employee, oftentimes forced to execute on things they might not believe in. Prime example: return to the office!
I’ve said this time and time again: it’s a vicious cycle. One that I will dive deeper into at a different time. Today I'm focused on managers and the impact on engagement.
What managers can do to improve engagement:Copy anchor linkCopied
There are a few ways to make impactful changes when it comes to improving employee engagement on your team.
1. Foster connection. In the remote era our connection at work has suffered. Last week, I talked about how connection is crucial for engagement and the importance of having a clearly defined mission, vision and values for your employees to connect with.
When employees understand what the organization values and how those values are displayed throughout the organization they are more likely to be engaged. You also have to hold your team accountable to your values or else they will begin to distrust the organization and become disengaged.
One of my biggest pet peeves is when an organization that says there’s a no asshole policy but then there’s like 3 employees they make exceptions for. Uh, excuse me? That double standard will cause your employees to distrust the organization and begin to disengage.
Another part of connection is connecting your team’s work to the overall mission and goals of the organization. No one wants to show up to do “busy work,” employees want to know their work matters.
For managers that means explaining to your employees how their work directly contributes to the organization’s mission, vision and broader goals. Reiterate this in weekly meetings!
2. Show appreciation. When was the last time you showed appreciation for work being done by your team? I’m hoping the answer is sometime in the last week but I know the reality is probably much longer.
Employee recognition has a direct impact on employee engagement.
When employees are recognized correctly they are:
- 4x as likely to be actively engaged in their work
- 5x as likely to see a growth path at the organization
- 5x as likely to be connected to the culture and workplace
Those all sound amazing right? But you should also know that 65% of employees haven’t gotten appreciation in the last year. Yeah, you read that right. YEAR.
We don’t have time for that! Don’t be that manager.
Employee recognition can take many different forms and it’s important as a manager to know how your team prefers to receive recognition!
For example: I have an employee who prefers praise in private and not in a public setting. I respect that boundary by sharing praise in our 1:1s.
Don’t forget:
- Once a week is the magic number
- Ask how your team wants to be recognized (public vs private)
- Recognition connects employees to your values therefore strengthening engagement
Need inspiration? Here are 20 ideas for employee recognition!
My action item for you: show someone on your team appreciation today.
3. Give feedback. The appreciation I mentioned above is a part of giving feedback but giving feedback is so much more than just appreciation.
Employees want to grow and develop new skills and they cannot do that without feedback. 2 out of 3 employees said they would leave their job in the next year over lack of growth opportunities!
Building a feedback culture shouldn’t just fall to the manager. Your organization should take steps to build a feedback culture.
Here are ten tips for building a feedback culture.
There is so much more to be said about feedback that I’m devoting my entire next newsletter on feedback! I’m back to my old antics with a good cliffhanger. Come back next week for my deep dive on feedback. You won’t want to miss this!
(HUMAN) RESOURCES
- Employee engagement refresher
- 15 examples of terrible bosses
- Confidence weaponized against women at work
- NYC pay transparency is HERE
HR THERAPY
Over 350+ people joined us for the first session of HR Therapy!
You won't want to miss the next HR Therapy. on Wednesday 11/2 at 1PM EST. Block your calendar!
Have any deep dark questions about burnout?
WORK-LIFE BALANCE
📚 What I’m reading: Love on the brain. Y'all I feel safe here so i'll admit it. I'm a YA woman. I love me some young adult novels. I aspire to write one someday! My two most read genres are sci-fiction/fantasy and lately romance. I spiraled and read all of Emily Henry. That woman has a way with words. IMO, Book Lovers is her best work. But the no. 1 spot in my heart goes to SJM. I've been a SJM fan for 5+ years!
📺 What I’m watching: The train wreck that is Love is Blind S3. JUSTICE FOR NANCY AND ZANAB. These women deserve better!! The Cole theories about why he doesn't find Zanab attractive have me spiraling. I've been where Zanab is and I just wanna scream: RUN.
☕️ What I’m eating: I'm Egyptian and one of my favorite dishes is stuffed cabbage, in Arabic: mahshi. PS. I hate cabbage in any other form.
SONG OF THE WEEK
🎧 Bejeweled, Taylor Swift Copy anchor linkCopied
The Bejeweled video is something special! It features cameos from two of my favorite artists: HAIM and Jack Antonoff from Bleachers.
I've seen both bands 10+ times live and Bleachers continues to be my favorite band of all time.
I have a theory that the reason I started to love Taylor Swift so much was because I hear so much of Jack Antonoff in her music.
Fave line: And I miss you (I miss you), but I miss sparkling.
That's all for this week! I hope you hate today a little less and if you don't, you know who to reach out to! ME.
Reminder: I know you're doing hard work and if someone hasn't said it today yet: THANK YOU, I appreciate you.
