Do you want to be a better leader? Then take some time and ask yourself these questions: How do you view yourself as a leader? How do you know that your juniors conform and obey what you say because they love and respect you, or are they just afraid of losing a job?
But then again, is it important to know how your employees feel or think about you? As long as they get the job done properly and timely, does it really matter whether they worship or despise working for you?
Well, the truth is, it does matter.
Various studies have proven that the longstanding belief “people don’t leave companies, but they leave managers” is not a mere myth. The latest study conducted by Ultimate Software reveals that the relationship between employees and managers is great deal when it comes to job satisfaction and retention. The bond between superiors and subordinates will matter, as modern employees begin to redefine expectations of an effective manager with approachability, transparency, and honesty proving paramount.
As the name suggests, being a manager requires you to be good in ‘managing’ stuffs. However, it goes beyond managing your people and giving them commands. More than that, you should master the art of removing obstacles along the way so your team can work in an efficient manner and achieve the goals within the designated timeline. But if you are too busy being a boss, you might be sowing resentment among your employees unintentionally.
How do you tell that you have been making mistakes and turn to be a terrible manager? Below, we share 6 telltale signs that your staffs detest working under your direction:
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You need to worry when you notice your employees chatting and laughing causally to each other when you are not around, but the room suddenly silenced when you enter the room. Body language could speak louder than words. Pay attention to your employees’ gestures when speaking with you, such as having a long face in front of you, assuming closed posture with folded arms pose, or even subtle eye roll when you are talking. Additionally, when your employees dislike you, you will find they tend to avoid making direct eye contact with you and keep physical distance.
You should be alarmed when it seems that your employees’ enthusiasm is fading away, especially when they deal with tasks given by you. Missing the deadlines, coming late to the office, missing an important meeting, and declining productivity are among signs that your staff is no longer motivated to stay in their jobs.
When you maintain good relationship with the team, they are more likely to offer assistance and volunteer to help without being asked to. However, when you obviously have a mountain of paperwork on your desk and none want to offer a helping hand, or they seem reluctant when assigned to work with you on a project, then you might want to reflect your leadership strategy.
People tend to have less personal contact when they hate someone. It should be a red warning for you when one of your team member suddenly change the way they communicate with you from face-to-face meeting to online messaging or emails. When an employee avoids meeting you all the time, it means that they want to avoid potential confrontation.
If your employees do not invite you to social events such as after-work party or casual hang out with other coworkers, it implies that they do not want to spend any more time with you outside the working hours. Even if they decide to invite you, awkward and stiff atmosphere will be on the air.
When you ask an employee and they answer it in short, simple response, there are chances that they actually are not willing to tell at all. Or when you invite questions from the staffs during a presentation, none seems to be interested in joining the discussion. If this happens, you need to explore the case and find out what you are missing.
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