Memoirs of a Taiping Boy

Memoirs of a Taiping Boy

Wednesday, 9 November 2011

Leadership - Respect Is To Be Earned, Not Demanded

Reporting to a boss 10 years younger than me, has some challenges. He is quite "friendly" but not appealling. Many young people are promoted to managerial positions based on their "excellent" technical skills or paper qualifications. Come with an ego "I am the boss" on their heads, they demand respect. They forget to realise that they need the support of their "lower subjects" to get the work done. Some lack people relations or coaching skills which resulted in staff leaving to other pastures. We had a spate of resignations and difficulty in retaining experienced technical staff due to this egoistic boss. Managers got to realise that respect has got to be earned, not demanded. You got to really care for your staff, only then will the staff take care of their work and you. Managers are Coaches. As a Coach, you got to know your staff strength, weakness, their concerns. Talk to them, guide them to reach the desired skill level, not just pin them up for their mistakes. Help them if they are over-loaded, not to leave them in dire straits.
Managing people is never easy but if you do it right, it will be rewarding not just for the manager but also the whole team.

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