Hire For Attitude, Train For Skill

“I just don’t understand why everyone at work is complaining about me,” a woman in my office said, “The same thing happened at my last job too.” Though she could not see the cause/effect of her actions, it was clear she was alienating people in the workplace. The most likely reason? Her attitude.

Attitude is everything to personal and professional success. It colors our vision of how we see the world and other people. Attitude affects our beliefs and our behavior. It impacts teamwork, customer relations, motivation and the ability to deal with change. Attitude makes the difference between a pleasant working environment and a place we dread to go.

We all know a “bad” attitude when we experience it, and perhaps, on occasion, we have one ourselves. But, successful people make a conscious effort for attitude adjustment when theirs is sub par. They also avoid “energy suckers,” people with pessimistic attitudes that suck the life out of a sunny day.

Unfortunately, I have never had any success “adjusting” someone else’s attitude. I learned early in my management experience that it was easier to teach new skills than it was to change attitudes. To find employees with great attitudes, the following guidelines for hiring and staff development are helpful:

• The best you will ever see is the first 90 days. If you have problem with an employee while they are still on probation, you might as well cut bait. After all, this is the time that they presumably have their best foot forward. At best, they are poor performers; at worst, they have poor judgment (even harder to correct than attitude).
• If they complain about the last boss, they will complain about you too. Exercise great caution in hiring someone who has nothing good to say about his or her last boss or last position. It may be more about them than their employment. In fact, it might always be someone else’s fault. People who blame are very hard to coach.
• Are they an optimist or pessimist? Ascertain how they appear to see the world. Pessimistic people tend to be energy suckers in the workplace and can breed an institutional pathology that pulls others into their negative energy. Are they able to find the bright side of difficult situations?
• Do they demonstrate personal insight and a commitment to their development? Those committed to an ongoing program of self-improvement are much more coachable and willing to learn new skills and behaviors. Ask in the interview what areas may need improvement. Inquire about the details of the candidate’s personal plan for development.
• Are they coachable? How receptive to feedback do they seem to be? It’s easy to assess in an interview; offer them some suggestions regarding their resume. If they are quick to disagree, defend, or actually become huffy, they are not likely to welcome your input on more significant matters.
• Do they listen? You can forget all of the above if the potential employee is not a good listener. They will have performance problems, people conflict and difficulty receiving feedback. Evaluate their ability to understand more than what they simply hear. Listening is an active process that blends patience with understanding.
  
  Attitude is a critical factor for success and the one we have the most control over. As Earl Nightingale once said, “Our attitude toward life determines life’s attitude towards us.”

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Copyright 2008 by Barbara Bartlein. All Rights Reserved.

How to Be a Great Boss

Employees want to work for someone that they perceive as fair, open, and honest. Those are the qualities most often mentioned in surveys of employees about their managers and supervisors. Workers want to feel good about the person they report to and the company they work for.

This relationship between employee and supervisor is also the key to retention and engagement according to the Gallup Organization. They have done extensive surveys and research on employee engagement by the development of twelve questions (Q12). When employees were asked to consider their workplace relationships with their managers, the survey results revealed sharp differences between how engaged and actively disengaged employees feel. In answering the statement regarding managers, “This person and I have one of the strongest personal relationships in my life,” 16% of engaged employees strongly agreed. In contrast, 80% of actively disengaged employees strongly disagreed that their relationship with their manager was important.

Great bosses aren’t born that way. There are not genetic traits for leadership; people learn the skills by seeing examples of positive managers. Here are some tips for you to become a great boss:

• Be a great communicator. Employees rely on their boss for information and want to feel a part of the day to day decisions. Information regarding performance, company plans, marketing, hiring, help employees do a better job. Communication is also the key to developing a positive relationship. Effective bosses listen and ask for employee opinions.
• Set clear expectations. People perform best when they know exactly what is expected. Be clear with the details of what is being requested including timeframes for completion. Let employees know that they can come to you if they need clarification or additional resources. Make sure that you don’t set people up for failure by not providing adequate resources or equipment. I recently consulted with a company who was concerned about productivity within their support staff. I noticed that they had one centralized printer for six people. Each worker had to get up and retrieve their document from a pile whenever something needed to be printed. The company thought it was saving money by not buying $99 printers.
• Give helpful feedback. Effective bosses schedule frequent meetings with all their direct reports on a regular basis. Ideally this should occur once per week even if the meeting is only 5-10 minutes.
• Manage behavior and performance. Behavior is what people do and performance is the measurable result of their behaviors. Forget trying to change attitudes or motivation. Be clear as to the behavior that is needed at work and the performance expected. If an employee falls short, make sure that you meet with them as soon as possible. It is much easier to correct problems when they are still small.
• Show up a lot. Call it management by walking around (MBWA) or simply being available, great bosses are visible and active. Make contact daily with as many employees as possible and they will get to know and trust you. Attend meetings and eat lunch in the cafeteria, not the management lounge. Every encounter is an opportunity to share information, coach, and encourage.
• Let people know they are appreciated. Employees frequently report on surveys that the only time they hear from the boss is when there is negative feedback on their performance. Yet, encouraging positive performance is much more effective in promoting productivity. Employees want to know that their contributions are important and they are appreciated. Stop and thank folks who have done the extras. Send handwritten notes to employees that need some encouragement. Publicly praise employees in front of their peers.
• Keep things interesting. Work, by definition, is still work. Even the best jobs can be monotonous and boring. Keep workers engaged by offering opportunities to learn and develop. Offer continuing education opportunities that build their resume and increase their skills.
• Celebrate successes. Employees frequently complain that there never is a pause in the new projects or initiatives to enjoy the successes. Have a celebration when a large project is completed or financial targets are reached. Post positive comments from customers on a bulletin board so everyone can see. Promote activities outside of work such as a ball game or sporting event. This builds camaraderie among the teams.
  Have a sense of humor and admit mistakes. A little humor goes a long way in reducing stress and keeping things in perspective. After all, work is only a means to an end that for most of us means time with friends and family. Don’t be afraid to admit mistakes; this keeps you human.
• Go green. A recent poll on green employment by MonsterTRAK.com a job website geared toward students and entry-level hires, found that 80% of young professionals are interested in securing a job that has a positive impact on the environment. Ninety two percent would choose a company that is environmentally friendly. According to Barbara Haig of HAIG/JACKSON Communications, “Young people have been exposed since grade school to the risk of environmental problems. When employers focus on green issues, it sends a message that they are problem solvers and forward thinkers.” For more information on going green, visit: http://www.haigjackson.com/.

For more information on building leadership skills, please visit: http://www.thepeoplepro.com/

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Copyright February 2008 by Barbara Bartlein. All Rights Reserved.