Women face unique challenges in the workplace. Women in management and leadership positions have additional hurdles to overcome. One day, women will be valued and rewarded for their relational abilities. However, that day is not here yet, so it's critical that you continue to hone your skills and find the balance that works for you. Reading this book is an important step in becoming a gifted manager and leader.
It's easy to ignore conflicts between employees and hope that they will disappear or resolve themselves. However, that is a terrible management strategy. At this point in time, you have the knowledge necessary to deal with the conflicts that typically erupt in the workplace. This section will give you what you need to use those skills when you are in a leadership position. In this chapter you will learn the following:
- Techniques to foster employee loyalty
- How to design a conflict-management system for your workplace
Your employees can make you or break you. Your best chance at having employees who will go out of their way to help you and your business succeed is if they are inspired to be loyal. Loyal employees:
- Are more likely to be productive.
- Tend to stay put, which helps keep the costs of recruiting and training new hires to a minimum. However, don't confuse longevity with loyalty. Just because someone is there long term doesn't mean that she is loyal.
- Promote satisfaction among your clients/customers, encouraging loyalty among them too. Loyal customers (also known as repeat business) are less price sensitive, and they bring in referrals for new business.
Here is what you need to do to inspire and foster loyalty in your company.
Show your employees that you take work seriously. If you are out shopping or busy making plans for the weekend, your employees will follow suit.
Your employees can have many friends, but only one employer. Yes, you want to be friendly, but not at the cost of eroding your unique role and position. Most employees will be delighted to have a boss who can be depended upon to make difficult decisions, call the shots, and resolve awkward or burdensome problems—tasks they would never present to a friend or coworker.
Each staff member should be clear about where their own domain starts and stops. This kind of definition fosters a sense of pride while preventing boundary overstepping and turf wars between employees.
Never belittle or criticize an employee in public. Avoid threats or any action that might give an employee a reason to question your commitment to them. Instead, carefully present your criticisms and see "mistakes" as opportunities for learning.
Strive to make your organization the best it can be. Whether you are the CEO of a large corporation, a supervisor in a government organization, or running a Mom-and-Pop shop, you want your product and service to shine so that everyone involved has a sense of pride and accomplishment.
Have an outreach plan that gives both you and your employees a chance to interact with and give back to the larger community in a positive way.
Money cannot buy loyalty, but money does serve as a metaphor, telling your employees how much you value them. Fair wages, appropriate raises, and an occasional unexpected treat can go a long way in building loyal employees.
Provide your employees with training and development opportunities so that they can learn and grow. As they develop, challenge them to set and meet high expectations.
Encourage your employees to communicate their ideas and allow them to influence company practices and policies. Likewise, share your own vision for the future and your thoughts on how you will all get there together.
Everyone appreciates positive feedback. Once it becomes clear that you are willing and able to provide it, most employees will go the extra mile in order to get it.
Find common ground, share life experiences, prove your trustworthiness, and be patient, as strong relationships blossom over time.
Find your own management style. Somewhere between "surrogate mother" who is more of a care-giver than the boss and the stereotypical "conniving ice-queen" who responds to employees with contempt and ridicule, each of us must find our own happy medium.
Above all, as you go about your business, remember that each employee must be seen as an individual—what works in some cases will bring disaster in another. Forget the golden rule—don't treat your employees as you want to be treated. Instead, find out what each of them needs and wants, and treat them as they want to be treated.