It is with great pleasure that I introduce my very good friend and colleague Chris Holt as a guest author at synaptici.com. Chris has twenty-five years of experience within the non-profit sector in front line, management and board capacities. As well, Chris has ten years of experience in technology research, software development and sales in the public and community sectors. He is an avid photographer, a traveler and a horse dad.
Some quick thoughts on Personnel Management 101.
I am often asked about my management style because after 30 years of managing people in a variety of environments I’ve run into it all. There are some basic principles of personnel management that make sense to me and that I have seen work time and again. I want to focus on one aspect on positive people management as opposed to “personnel” management.
Just as background to give this some context: I have managed from one person to more than 40. Not 400, not 4000…that’s a different ball game.
I have been a manager in the advanced education system, the environmental movement, social services, health care, non-profits and the technology industry.
My work in the environmental movement was to work with Greenpeace and I managed a staff of up to 40 anti-authoritarian, anarchistic rebels; but did so with the ability to have most of them achieve their goals and fulfill the goals we set to achieve as an organization.
I also managed a union workforce for about nine years and never had one grievance filed though the larger organization was hit with a strike.
My first principle is a simple one: No matter what the position, or who the employee – treat them as a professional. This is my golden rule. It is the place where I will meet all my staff whether they are an intern student or a masters degree clinician.
All people want to do a good job, to excel and to please their boss, clients, or stakeholders. It’s why we do the things we do. Even the person hired in a retail environment at minimum wage wants to do a good job…whether they are capable, whether they are given the tools, whether there are competing elements are all beside the point. No one lasts at anything for very long if the only motivation is the money. (This is not necessarily the case in many economies around the world where extreme poverty, lack of education and slavery dominate, but is generally true in Western economies.)
It’s your job as a manager to recognize the inherent drive residing in every person. They want to achieve something, to move forward, to exercise their skills and fulfill their passions. Each staff person is unique even though they may do the same job. They will want different things out of that job and a good manager will be able to identify, observe and query those differences. By finding out what people want to achieve and helping them, you will get better and better productivity and more positive work attitudes from each and every person.
Imagine how you would like to be treated at work: As a professional. Ie., you don’t want someone telling you how to do your job unless you ask, you don’t want to be micro managed, you don’t want to work for the clock but for the task, you want feedback on the work you do and a sense of appreciation. You work has meaning even if it’s only cleaning the bathroom. You can still be the most conscientious cleaner around and work towards owning your own cleaning company, or managing staff or being rewarded because you are trusted to do it well.
That last statement brings up the subject of trust which underlies all that I’m talking about. Yes, as a manager you have to trust your staff…If you don’t, it actually speaks more about you than it does about them. In order to be able to trust though you must be trust worthy yourself. If your staff can not trust you to be fair, accountable, supportive, interested, humane and compassionate as well as inspiring, knowledgeable and productive, then you can’t expect it in them either because you can’t see it.
Yes, there are always problem staff. I have fired, laid off and reassigned; but those are always the exception, the anomalies. They should never define how you run a workplace because then your workplace will encourage the very things it seeks to discourage. Professionals love the work they do that’s why they chose it; but even if you have people working in jobs because they need to make a living and didn’t choose it, to be treated as professional in that capacity will often make the difference between enjoying your day at work or hating it – both for the manager and for the staff.
Take care and have fun…
Photo Credits
Team work © chrisholtphotos
 Article © Chris Holt, 2009
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