Any managers worth their salt would pride themselves on the professional and technical knowledge of their own field, whether it is computers, engineering, the food industry, or medicine. This is considered an essential part of professional competence. Essential to managerial competence is knowing the human resources you manage as thoroughly as you recognize a sound structure, know your product or appreciate the intricacies of a lab test.
Reflect for a moment on the following suggestion:
1. Your subordinates probably have the same 'hang-ups' and worries that you have.
2. They want to get to know you too because they can relate better to someone they can understand as a person.
3. 'The boss' is a powerful influence in most people's lives. Almost the first thing they will say when they get home is 'Do you know what the boss said today?'
4. Relationships take more than a few minutes at a time to develop. Frequent brief interactions are good to keep you in touch with events, but they are not enough to maintain real contact with people.
5. A good boss / subordinate relationship is often the most important factor in job satisfaction.
6. The power of shared values as motivators and developers cannot be overestimated and they can only be transmitted through sound relationships based on mutual knowledge and understanding.
You can't relate to the unknown and you can't develop what you don't relate to. List the people that report to you. If any one of them was to leave tomorrow and you had to make a presentation to them, how much research would you have to do to be able to stand up and talk knowledgeably and meaningfully about them and their contribution to the organization? If the answer is more than 5 minutes thought, you have a lot of catching up to do in getting to know your staff.
Reflect for a moment on the following suggestion:
1. Your subordinates probably have the same 'hang-ups' and worries that you have.
2. They want to get to know you too because they can relate better to someone they can understand as a person.
3. 'The boss' is a powerful influence in most people's lives. Almost the first thing they will say when they get home is 'Do you know what the boss said today?'
4. Relationships take more than a few minutes at a time to develop. Frequent brief interactions are good to keep you in touch with events, but they are not enough to maintain real contact with people.
5. A good boss / subordinate relationship is often the most important factor in job satisfaction.
6. The power of shared values as motivators and developers cannot be overestimated and they can only be transmitted through sound relationships based on mutual knowledge and understanding.
You can't relate to the unknown and you can't develop what you don't relate to. List the people that report to you. If any one of them was to leave tomorrow and you had to make a presentation to them, how much research would you have to do to be able to stand up and talk knowledgeably and meaningfully about them and their contribution to the organization? If the answer is more than 5 minutes thought, you have a lot of catching up to do in getting to know your staff.
