Archive for the ‘Managers’ Category
Make 2010 Bad Boss-Free in Your Company
14December 2009
If you run a company or department, or are an HR professional, the thought has probably crossed your mind: how can you boost morale in 2010 after a tumultuous year? I can offer at least one solution. TOT proof your company, and make it safe for success.
Yes…aim to tame the Terrible Office Tyrant (TOT) behavior that lurks in your offices, reducing it at times to a corporate playpen, rife with sandbox politics. Toddler behavior in the boardroom (tantrums, demanding, stubborn and self-centered behavior) costs you. These are some of the 20 traits in my book that many business leaders consider required reading for their managers.
I can also address the topic at greater length in a lively speech for companies and organizations. A preview is available at various sites: LT Speaker clip site, Lynn Taylor Consulting and very soon on YouTube with keywords Lynn Taylor, Author, Speaker, TOTs. You can also contact: 1-800-454-0083.
2010 must be the year of “what’s in it for us,” not “what’s in it for me,” if our economy and businesses are to rebound. P.S. a surprising new sector can help you ratchet down tension with their years of wisdom and corporate savvy. See more on “Gen U”as I call them - Generation Unretired (featured in BusinessWeek) - and read why, at the TameYourTOT.com blog and at another website of Lynn Taylor Consulting’s: www.GenerationUworkforce.com.
Finally, let’s hope that these boss antics are not happening under your nose, but for the sake of levity during the holiday and some helpful awareness, here’s what some some employees reported recently in a national survey, not unlike that shown in an existing, similar YouTube clip!
Introducing “Gen U” – Generation Unretired
6November 2009
There’s been a lot of discussion in recent months about the “unretired” – seniors who are returning to the workforce for economic or personal reasons. I call this formidable group, “Gen U™” because they represent an astounding number of workers – a true generation with a different mindset from previous retired generations.
Now people over 65 (and even under, who thought they could retire early) are asking:
“Is this all there is?”
“Is this all I’ve got?”
Driven by a devastating financial crash, housing market or just plain restlessness, Gen U will make up almost all the growth of the U.S. labor market over the next seven years. According to AARP, eight out of 10 of the 80 million Baby Boomers will work part- or full-time rather than retire. Those 64 million unretiring Americans will constitute the biggest demographic shift in the American workforce since Baby Boomers emerged.
KEY FACTS
1) 93% of the growth in the American labor market from now until 2016 will be from workers 55 and older [because] new estimates show the average retired couple may need more than $300,000 in savings to live comfortably and pay off late-life health care costs. [Based on a recent study by the Pew Research Center].
2) Only 20% of retirees now feel very confident they have enough money to live comfortably throughout their retirement, down from 41% in 2007. [Employee Benefit Research Institute research].
3) Eight out of 10 baby boomers say that they plan to work at least part time after they reach official retirement age, according to the AARP, as noted earlier.
4) 36% of those 56 or older are still working – more than ever. That’s more than twice as many as in 1984 [2007 Bureau of Labor Statistics report].
5) 9.5 million Americans are considering at least a partial return to the workforce because of the economic downturn, according to a recent study by Charles Schwab.
OTHER INTERESTING FACTS
• Only about a quarter of employees 55 and older who were laid off during the past year have found jobs versus 71% of those 25 to 34.
• According to the Social Security Administration, if you are of full retirement age, the government will give you your full Social Security benefits no matter how much money you earn. (Note: If you return to work after you’re receiving Social Security benefits, but are not yet of “full retirement age” - usually 66 years of age - the government will deduct one dollar from your Social Security benefits for every two dollars you earn over $14,160 a year.)
• Baby Boomers are earning online degrees in record numbers to train for unretirement [http://www.allonlineschools.com/online-education-resource-center/adults-online-learning]
• Generational demographics: there are:
• 80 million baby boomers
• 46 million Generation Xers
• 78 million millennials (Gen Y)
THE IMPLICATIONS FOR BUSINESS AND GEN U
This presents an enormous opportunity for companies who wish to tap into this rich resource of skill and experience. While unemployment was at a 26-year high at 10.2 percent in October 2009, there are still a plethora of specialized skills available among Gen U. They laid the foundation for the high technology revolution and challenged the status quo of business in the 1960s. Now, interestingly, they are challenging the status quo of retirement.
Gen U’s contributions reside not only in their skills sets garnered over many years, which can be passed onto Gen X, Gen Y, and Baby Boomers. They have also learned a thing or two about people skills – something often lost on today’s frenzied, high-tech workplace.
Today’s need for a humanized workplace can be well served by such timeless, valued traditions as business etiquette and diplomacy – tenets of business practices applied more extensively in the heyday of the Gen Uers. These skills are the antithesis of what I call Terrible Office Tyrant (TOT) behavior. Suffice to say that their interpersonal skills can help, especially once companies are in a hiring mode again. Just be sure that your managers avoid using TOT management styles when tapping into Gen U for optimum results.
For Gen Uers themselves, this presents an opportunity to re-apply their knowledge, pay off expenses, “give back,” and feel a renewed sense of purpose. While a sense of community can be achieved in a yoga class or golf game, for many of the unretired I have counseled - building something directly impacts the livelihoods of others can be quite rewarding.
This is a truly Gen-U-ine shift that is a win-win for companies and the unretired in the coming months and years ahead.
Bad Boss Behavior Is Dragging Your Company Down
9October 2009
Many leading experts are emphasizing the importance of a psychologically healthy workplace for a company’s success. This may be more difficult to achieve now than it used to be.
National surveys commissioned by my company, Lynn Taylor Consulting, and conducted by an independent global research firm show that bad and childish boss behavior rose 50% in the period from 2004 to 2009.
This kind of behavior can increase stress in the workplace and lead to employees’ distraction, decreased motivation and even long-term health problems, the ultimate result being drop in productivity and profits. Readers’ conversation on my BusinessWeek blog shows it to be a matter of great concern among employees.
This study and other extensive research encouraged me to write a book, Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ (TOT); How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job (John Wiley & Sons, July 2009). The book offers tips on “parenting” unruly managers who resemble tots in their Terrible Twos. Even more importantly, the book advises CEOs on how to “humanize their workplace.” Senior management has the most power to implement change that would establish an employee-friendly corporate culture with management/employee relationship based on trust, understanding, and mutual respect, creating a better workplace climate and improving overall performance.
Rather then managing an assorted collection of people united just by material interest, CEOs could be leading a tight team united by a common purpose where everyone is motivated to contribute their maximum. TOT-proofing a company would be a major step towards achieving that goal.
Restructure Job Descriptions for Growth
22September 2009
In my last blog, I talked about a dreaded corporate disease. Not swine flu, but corporate territorialism. While not as immediately threatening to health, it does affect corporate health. So I’m delving further into it today.
As managers regroup after the tornado of the deepest recession since 1921 and start to focus on reconstruction, they should set time aside to rebuild job descriptions as part of this pursuit of “anti-territorialism,” for better clarification and growth.
Some managers may not be comfortable with the impending changes that will evolve as does the economy, believing their “domain” is threatened. They may avoid any participating in new ways of thinking and/or innovative projects. Clear job descriptions should not equate to hierarchy, as I mention in my column in SmartHRmanager.com. In fact, it can and should mean the opposite. For example: there should be a free flow of information from a customer-facing employee to the top rung of the organization — creating an environment that’s “safe for success” for people at all levels.
Public comments and stories about Terrible Office Tyrants (TOTs) on BusinessWeek and MSNBC attest to the fact that TOTs leave more than proverbial juice stains in corporate America. And territorialism is a big culprit.
Better delineations of responsibilities lets mid- and junior-level managers know where they stand. It helps them feel free to let go of old practices and participate in new ones that fulfill the company’s vision. New ideas and enhanced corporate profits are often linked.
P.S. You can follow me on Twitter.com, too: @workplaceexpert for my thoughts on related HR and leadership matters.
For more details on TOT-proofing your company and creating a humanized workplace that is safe for success – you can order the Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ (TOT): How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job at your local bookstore or at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble.com or Borders .
When Bad Bosses a.k.a. TOTs, Mark Their Spot
28August 2009
The recession isn’t over yet, but some economic sectors are sprouting again, so some of your managers if left unchecked, a.k.a. TOTs, may be taking this opportunity to act out in some specific ways.
As BusinessWeek and MSNBC point out this week, Terrible Office Tyrants (TOTs)TM are in full season.
In particular, TOTs are now marking their territories like never before. Maybe they’re attempting to amass office space, sales forces, or “marking” sales territories with hoarded executive office pens! They might as well hang a sign on their doors that reads “This is MINE; go get your own stuff!” Territorialism is rampant, as mentioned in detail in my Psychology Today blog and in Forbes.com.
The problem is your staff may have just been assigned a part of your TOT’s old sales territory - and he’s not real happy about it - even though he’s been your employee’s mentor for 11 years and has diligently learned some of his best sales techniques. Now your Terrible Office Tyrant manager is calling on his former clients, telling them that your staff member is a “rookie” and they should contact him because he’s the “real deal.”
What makes your Terrible Office Tyrant (TOT) display these territorial claims in the office?
It stands to reason that the same skills your TOT used to survive childhood and/or a former job would serve him well in the hand-to-hand combat of corporate life, as explained in Psychology Today entitled Why Bosses Act Like Toddlers. His goal is to get stuff - and keep it. Your goal is to have him let go of it and delegate.
To avert conflicts, make sure that your TOT knows how much you value his mentoring of more junior staff. Assure him that you value managers whose staff is strong.
Once your TOT realizes that you’re not a divisive leader, and that a solid staff is an asset that helps the company grow, you’ll mitigate the power grab syndrome. In Tame Your Terrible Office TyrantTM (TOT): How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job, there are many more suggestions on how to handle difficult managers in your ranks.
Territorialism is just one of 20 Terrible Office Tyrant behaviors outlined in my book, by chapter. I am often asked to describe all of them. See if you can find one, two or more of these bad behaviors in your office in a given day or week:
BRATTY
These are the more aggressive traits that are typically activated when your TOT is operating under stress, has been taught that this behavior will achieve self-serving results, or your boss is fearful of an impending outcome:
1. Bragging
2. Bullying
3. Demanding
4. Ignoring
5. Impulsiveness
6. Lying
7. Self-Centeredness
8. Stubbornness
9. Tantrums
10. Territorialism
LITTLE LOST LAMBS
These traits are often born out of incompetence or general fear of inadequacy. While they seem benign, these boss behaviors can be just as irritating - and equally as unproductive in the workplace.
11. Whining
12. Endless Questioning
13. Fantasy World
14. Fickleness
15. Helplessness
16. Irrational Fears
17. Forgetfulness
18. Mood Swings
19. Neediness
20. Short Attention Spans
For more details on TOT-proofing your company and creating a humanized workplace that is safe for success (meaning decreasing territorialism), you can order the book at Amazon, Barnes&Noble.com or Borders.
Help is Here for TOT-Laden Workplaces
23July 2009
It has been a very exciting week! In the first week’s launch of my book, Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™(TOT): How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job (John Wiley & Sons), it has received extensive media attention. The book’s release represents my seven year passion, which continues - to help employees become more empowered in their jobs, and to foster a more humanized workplace. Along the way, I’ve had the support and encouragement of amazing business colleagues and friends, for which I am very grateful.
It’s rewarding to hear reactions to the book from employees, reporters and, yes, even business leaders! Comments have run the gamut from “Oh, of course!” to outright laughter. Overall, there’s a common, instant response to the core premise – the striking parallels between difficult bosses and children.
“That’s how my boss acts,” many people exclaim, finally realizing that they’re not alone.
“Boy, do we have TOTS in our office!” is another familiar statement.
“Wow, you’ve really hit on something here!”
And that’s one of the important messages of my writing and training – TOTs really are everywhere and all of us can deal with them.
As I discussed on ABC-TV this week with Tory Johnson, its important that we don’t lose sight of the fact that employees and employers must share the responsibility to tame their TOTs. Too many bad bosses are acting like unruly children who have trouble modulating their power. They’re throwing tantrums, being demanding, needy, distracted or moody.
Such childish behaviors sap productivity – at a time when we least need that to happen! But the great news is that employees can turn this around… almost instantly, with some honed parental-style, humanistic techniques!
As I pointed out in my recent “When TOTs Run the Office” article on the Psychology Today website, at some point in our working lives we’re likely to be confronted with a TOT. Too many offices resemble a chaotic schoolyard, replete with bad bosses playing sandbox politics. But therein lies an opportunity to save your sanity and everyone else’s.
By “decoding” the boss’s true emotions, employees can better align themselves with their manager’s goals, and become indispensable. Jihan Thompson of Marie Claire talks with me about this approach in the magazine’s August 2009 cover story, where I provide insights on interpreting a boss’s childlike statements.
Taming your TOT is not just for employees. In Forbes magazine’s CEO Power section this week, I point out how CEOs can also “Make Room at the Top” for strong leaders by avoiding “territorialism.” While doing so, they promote an environment where there’s space for everyone to grow and do their best work. A place that’s safe for success. This boosts productivity, employee morale and, profits.
So the next time you spot a TOT, don’t reach for a pacifier, pack your boxes or order a mass layoff. First get your copy (or copies!) of Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™(TOT) from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Borders …and tame your office TOTs – for a workplace that works!
Boosting Morale in a Down Economy
25February 2009
Human energy is the fuel of business. So what if everyone around you is dragging? Current economic pressures can make anyone depressed, and the effect is reverberating throughout the hallways of corporate America.
In recent HR related studies, the biggest category cost cutting category is in the area of team building and morale. Yet it’s never been more imperative for managers to retain the best and brightest employees to tough out the economy.
Psychologist Abraham Maslow talked about the hierarchy of needs, which suggested that humans are motivated as their needs are fulfilled in areas like safety, security, belonging, and esteem. You can easily improve the workplace environment by thinking about what each person in the company needs. And fulfilling those needs doesn’t need to cost a lot of money.
Tips for morale boosting in a sluggish economy:
• Heartfelt praise and recognition is priceless, especially when given in front of others.
• Get input from staff by reframing challenges into opportunities and encouraging employee suggestions so they become an invested part of the solution.
• Build in “fun time” and start by soliciting your own people to find out what activities or ideas they have that are cost effective, but worth the effort.
• Communicate, communicate, and communicate some more with everyone to ensure that roles, goals, and expectations are clear. Do it often and not always at expected times.
• Reward employees at low or no cost. Consider small gift cards to a local coffee shop, two movie tickets, grocery store certificates at the holidays, pizza party during lunch, ice cream social in the afternoon, a themed potluck, casual dress day
• An active employee recognition program is easy to set up and can cost the company nothing. For example, acknowledge a job well-done in monthly staff meetings. Or create a Super Star board where employees can post a description of the outstanding work of their co-workers.
• Mind your “P’s and Q’s” by saying please and thank you often. Stop by your co-workers’ desks to say thank you for something they have done recently, whether it was a great job on a project or pitching in to meet a deadline.
• An employee mentoring program can provide effective motivation and increase leadership skills. Pair employees with managers. They can meet regularly to share ideas or collaborate on a project.
• A walk in the park, even if for a half hour, can mean a lot. Everyone enjoys time away from the office. Offer employees the chance to leave early on a Friday afternoon if a major success has been achieved.
Morale boosting and employee motivation do not cost a lot of money. Consistency, clarity, and creativity will go a long way. In my next blog, I’ll talk about some pitfalls in employee motivation. In the meantime, stick with these positives, and you can’t go wrong!
How to “Humanize Your Workplace™”
4February 2009
I am often asked about my mantra, “Humanize your Workplace.” I’ve talked about with many managers and in articles before wanted to elaborate on it. And what better place than in a blog?
First, we’re all “human beings,” right? Yes and no.
Sometimes humans in the workplace get so focused on doing the work that we forget about “being” human. We lose sight of the basic, in-born instincts that are behind our own daily business interactions - and that of others.
Humanizing the workplace is something that everyone - executives, managers, and employees - can undertake to create together a better work environment. (It always translates into a more profitable business as well.)
A humanized workplace:
• Puts greater emphasis on keen sensitivity to the human spirit
• Fosters collaboration towards common goals
• Avoids robot-like, icy behaviors that can cause alienation
• Uses “real” words that are driven from the heart, not “corporate babblespeak” (which are borne out of safety insecurity or worse, mimicking!)
• Encourages time for good, old-fashioned etiquette - “please,” “thank you,” (just like your mother told you to!)
• Acknowledges consistently the positive contributions of co-workers (tell ‘em what they did right!)
• Dares to put an occasional “:)” or “!” in an e-mail or text
• Poses requests as questions, not demands
• Places value on the power of humor, what I call “the great diffuser” of tension
• Puts emphasis on infusing joy and laughter into the workplace — making work more fun, inspiring people to collaborate and stick around, and fostering more creativity! (Surprised?)
It’s easy to be unaware of what it’s like to be in the other person’s shoes. Whether they are moonboots, Tevas, or pumps - we’ve got to step in and take a look around!
A good litmus test is to examine whether you are humanizing your own workplace, meaning your own world of work. Try this little test. Ask yourself how big of a dichotomy there is between the “weekend you” and the “office you.” Surely there should be some delta there.
But if you are a complete riot on Saturday nights - and a stone-faced crash dummy Monday through Friday - then you’re robbing yourself and others of your warmth and true personality. (Now, please don’t insist on wearing a Halloween mask or bringing your pet canary to work everyday!)
No one decreed work to be a place of pain and torture, even in this economy. Humanizing your workplace is guaranteed to bring more joy to the office and to increase productivity. You will feel healthier and live a much richer life.
So next time you have the chance, ask your boss about her weekend. Stop by Ned’s office in accounting after the Monday e-mail. Celebrate humanity. Humanize your workplace.
