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Hit
and Run Supervisors on Collision Course
by Dr. Lynne
Curry
Are you a hit and
run supervisor without intending to be? How many times have you
left the scene of an workplace accident? If so, how many employee
fenders have you dented this month – and what did it cost you?
When hit and run
supervisors spot problem situations, they race to the scene, take
fast action, and speed away, not realizing they may have left one
or more employee casualties in their wake. Take "Hank".
He gave "Sue" a project at 9 and spotted her on the
phone with a co-worker at 10 and the initial project papers on the
corner of her desk. Steamed, he grabbed the papers from her desk
and stalked off, not realizing Sue already had the project almost
completed. He left her feeling small and thinking him a jerk.
If you’re a hit
and run supervisor, you’ve probably weathered multiple
collisions – including some you afterwards regret.
Unfortunately, even if you later say, "I’m sorry, I shouldn’t
have snapped like that," your apologies rarely erase the
dents creasing your employees’ fenders.
If you’d like
to overhaul your hit and run approach, learn to slow yourself down
by coupling your fast "in the moment" reactions with
peripheral view decision-making. When you see a trouble situation,
ask your employee to meet you in your office or another
out-of-earshot location. Then, before you reach a conclusion ask,
"what’s going on here?" – and listen. After all, if
your employee tells you something you overlooked in your initial
haste, you save yourself future grief.
When you do need
to critique an employee, take your foot off the gas before you
deliver your comments. Supervisors who take a few moments to think
through how they can best deliver negative feedback and don’t
leave the scene until their employees both understand and commit
to improvement achieve lasting results. Supervisors who instead
deliver verdicts and race off can’t count on what they’ll find
when they return.
Hit and run
supervisors often take good behavior for granted yet zero in on
problems. If you excel at dishing out criticism but rarely dish
out compliments, turn your employee encounters into races won by
letting your hardest working employees know you value their
consistent good work. Try a few, "Jo, you’ve really gotten
the billing situation under control – and I know it wasn’t
easy. Great job!"
If you want your
problem employees to turn the corner, follow up any corrective
feedback you give them with rear view mirror work. Have any of the
employees you criticized last month taken what you said to heart
and improved? If so, follow up with "I’ve noticed your
efforts in the last couple weeks. Keep up the good work."
Next, learn to
use your side view mirrors. Many hit and run supervisors believe
they are right because they say so. They make up their minds based
on what they see and rarely ask for or hang around to hear
opposing views. If you find this fits you, the next time you catch
yourself cutting a conversation short because you don’t want to
hear the employee’s view, stop yourself, not your employee,
short.
Are you tired of
collision management? The next time you find yourself racing
toward a problem, ease your foot off the gas and ask yourself,
"Am I jumping to conclusions? Let me hear what the employee
has to say first." If you want the best results when you
correct employees, take the time you need to word your comments so
your employees understand what they need to do differently and
commit to the improvements. Widen your peripheral vision until you
give as much attention on your great employees as you give
problematic behavior. And, finally, use both your side view and
rear view mirrors even as you drive forward – because seeing the
whole picture saves you from most hit and runs.
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