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Widespread research suggests that
people do not leave organizations; they leave their managers. The
implication of this finding is that managers who are respected and seen as
supportive of the people who work with them are indispensable to successful
organizations. Without them, competent people may leave their current
organization in search of better treatment. The resultant costs of
recruitment, engagement and subsequent retention can be enormous. Less
tangible are the indirect costs associated with the loss of corporate
intelligence and the impact on morale. I ask participants in management
workshops to isolate the characteristics of individuals with whom they have
worked who they deem to have been exceptional managers. Their answers seldom
focus on the educational background or technical capabilities of those
people. Instead they emphasize that exceptional managers are passionate,
have vision, are caring, treat people supportively, make work fun, challenge
people to be their best, provide lots of feedback, listen intently and
encourage teamwork. Traditionally, these skills have been labeled, somewhat
pejoratively, as the "soft skills". The insinuation is that they are "touchy
feely", too mushy for the real world of work and, in some instances, even
inappropriate in a "professional" environment. My experience contradicts
this and supports the thoughts of Roger Enrico, former CEO and Chair of
PepsiCo, who says that "the soft stuff is always harder than the hard
stuff". Successful organizations must invest in developing the skills that
are critical for the managers of their people to function effectively. What
are they? For many years we have taught managers that they need to provide
clear direction, to communicate better, to vary their management style to
fit individuals' level of development and to attempt to engage people in the
pursuit of the organization's raison d'être. These skills have certainly
helped managers to become more productive. But there is more... In the mid
to late 1990s the topic of emotional intelligence gained prominence in
management literature. Research at Harvard suggested that emotional
intelligence was at least four times as critical as a predictor of success
as either IQ or technical skills. Another study at the Centre for Creative
Leadership indicated that for successful managers, emotional intelligence is
nearly five times as important as their IQ or technical skills. Emotional
intelligence is the ability to effectively perceive, manage and use one's
emotions and to effectively manage emotional connections with other people.
While there are eleven components of emotional intelligence, I will only
mention a few. To maximize the contribution of our people and their talents,
research into emotional intelligence says that we must support managers as
they develop skills in a variety of areas. These include helping managers
learn to: assess their strengths and weaknesses; manage their strong
impulses; remain optimistic in spite of severe challenges; listen more
effectively; become more adaptable to rapidly changing conditions; become
more emotionally self-aware; and demonstrate empathy. Managers who refine
these skills will be seen as more authentic by those they lead. The outcome
will be more people who feel that they are respected and valued by their
managers. Under these conditions, people are more likely to be fully engaged
in their workplace and to contribute their maximum effort for their manager.
They are also less likely to shop the market for other opportunities.
Undoubtedly, effective managers are indispensable to successful
organizations
About the Author
John Eckmire area of expertise is in
CMC Training Sales
Management Courses Communications, Delegation and Facilitation.
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