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Tony Schwartz recently wrote a post worth reading on the HBR blog site: The Twelve Attributes of A Truly Great Place to Work. Since I’ve been teaching leadership and facilitation courses this fall, #9 stands out to me:
Hold leaders and managers accountable for treating all employees with respect and care, all of the time, and encourage them to regularly recognize those they supervise for the positive contributions they make.
People who choose to lead positively are what make a place somewhere other people want to work. Respect and care are attributes that have made Kouzes and Posner’s top 20 characteristics of the best leaders since their survey began in 1987. Perhaps it is because genuine respect and caring are critical ingredients of trust – a requirement for a successful organization.
Which of these attributes speak to you?
Beginning with President Reagan, each U.S. President has left a private letter in the Oval Office for the incoming President on inauguration day. In the Leadership and Coaching course that we’re teaching, a student wrote an interesting post integrating this idea with organizational leadership. Here is the post, shared with permission:
Something the other day reminded me of the White House tradition of outgoing presidents leaving a letter in the oval office for their successor. As we lead from any level in an organization, I had to ask myself: What would this tradition look like at other levels of leadership? What would I write and leave behind for somebody taking over my role?
It didn’t take long to come up with an answer – now that I’ve thought of it, I can’t “not” do it. So, today I will begin a “working” letter that I will keep updated until I have the opportunity to pass it on. I want to leave behind a narrative about each member of my team … with a twist. It’s going to be 100% positive. Strengths only. I want to highlight successes, great moments, memories, and wins that each person has been a part of. Go to him for this, and go to her for that. I want any future leader of my team to have a feel for what is best about each person.
As far as the negatives and weaknesses, that can and will surface on its own energy (not to mention personnel records). I prefer that anyone taking my role discover those attributes without my input and bias. Who knows, maybe in a transition some leaves will be turned. Why bring up attributes that have potentially met their end?
What’s in your letter to your successor?
I continue to ponder my experience at the Osa and Martin Johnson Museum. They found happiness and connection with people around the world through their years of exploration. Their passion shows in their research work, continuous learning, and the relationships they built over the years. But, they were self-employed. What about people who work for others?
This Labor Day, I almost passed over an article on employee engagement. ”Employee engagement” seemed like a worn out buzz phrase. But a quick glance reminded me of the research showing that low job satisfaction shows up in lower productivity, quality, and – ultimately – profits. Estimates are that low employee satisfaction costs the U.S. economy $300 billion per year.
The good news is that managers can make a difference. What are the catalysts?
- Support progress in meaningful work by providing resources and giving autonomy.
- Honor small wins each day way with genuine, positive feedback.
- Build mutual respect and trust among team members.
- Learn from problems without blaming others.
The article concludes, “Working adults spend more of their waking hours at work than anywhere else. … If those who lead organizations … believe their mission is, in part, to support workers’ everyday progress, we could end the disengagement crisis and, in the process, lift our work force’s well-being and our economy’s productivity.”
The courage to end management as we know it
How to Stay Engaged (and Employed?) in a Downturn
