Thursday, August 19, 2004 Prohhorov: The manager’s great potential By Gina Prohhorov Great potentials
Most managers always say they are too busy…too busy to smile in the office, too busy to greet their staff, too busy to take a phone call, too busy to discuss information and even too busy to enjoy their work.
They are just too busy to even take a break and enjoy their day off. I would wonder why…when they have a complete lineup of personnel.
Sometimes, I would drop by their offices only to confirm that they are really too busy.
Too busy because these managers do not even realize that their offices are dead. No smiles from the frontliners, nor any enhancing grooming that would project a professional image. No uptone in the voices of the staff when they greet a customer or answer a phone call. All down tone…the voice…the lips…the spirit.
In many of my leadership seminars, I would always urge the managers to assess their management styles by answering these questions:
Do you still see your staff smiling while at work?
Do you feel a positive spirit at your workplace?
Do you hear more whining than motivating statements around?
Do you have frequent absences among the staff?
Just these four questions would show the management style of the leader. If the manager answered mostly with “yes” then he is as unhappy as everybody in his organization.
Leaders now realize that it is not only a matter of using high-tech tools and equipment but maintaining a positive workplace communication.
Managers have to start with the simplest of things like greeting the staff and setting the tone in the workplace. Remember, when one has the spirit everybody gets high.
How could a manager make a follower just follow and cooperate when he never even talks to that person unless he scolds him? How will the follower develop any loyalty when the manager does not even acknowledge any little good thing that he does? Where is the relationship when two people do not communicate with each other?
We all know that Filipinos do not vote for anyone they do not know. Remember the many candidates who won because of popularity. Well, that too is very vital to all managers.
But definitely, each manager has all the potentials of implementing a better management style…a style that makes him always in touch with everyone, a style that makes each realize that he is proud of them, a style that makes his staff think they are his partners to make it to the top.
By the way, managers now are not the bossy types. That’s out of style.
Managers now are called coaches and advisers.
So to all the managers, good luck, try taking time to do the simplest things with your staff and you will see the large effects it will have on their productivity and effectiveness in the office!
There is a great potential to improve!
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