People management demystified – simple mistakes managers can avoid - By Jean Kelly
Many of the people reading this article will have been promoted to management level but will not have been given the opportunity to train in managing people. The day job may be such that it is all the new manager can do to keep their head above water and deliver the targets they are faced with. There is no time for all that touchy feely people management stuff.
However, my 16 years’ experience as a consultant, coach and investigator in the field of harassment and bullying at work has taught me that there are several mistakes that managers make – all of which can be avoided simply and easily and without expensive training. There is nothing mysterious about them – they are simple mistakes that managers do not need to make – errors that can be quickly remedied to promote harmony in the workplace where staff are valued and motivated.
One of the simplest mistake managers make is to keep themselves to themselves instead of talking to and listening to their staff to show that they value them as equals.
As a manager, you need to set boundaries around your relationship with your staff. You may feel that if you get too friendly with your staff they may exploit this relationship and make it difficult for you to manage them. They need to know where and how they fit in the organisation and not to take advantage of your fairness.
We each of us have to understand the roles we play at work. For example, we should appreciate that certain roles carry more authority than others and conduct ourselves accordingly.
However, this does not mean that as managers:
- You should treat your staff or the contributions they make in a dismissive way; or
- You should treat them as being less important than yourself or your peers.
I have known managers who keep themselves to themselves – never chat to their staff or show any interest in them as individuals – managers who never acknowledge the contributions individuals make.
The result is that employees feel ignored, marginalised, demoralised and demotivated. This, in turn, leads to staff feeling stress and bullied, with little choice but to submit complaints against managers – a no win situation. These are serious outcomes that can be damaging to individuals, working relationships and the company’s bottom line!
If I asked you to tell me about a time in your career when you felt really good about your performance and achievements, it is likely that you would name an occasion when your boss acknowledged something you had done or talked to you on an equal basis.
It may sound trite, but most people at work like to both please their boss and to be treated as responsible adults by their managers. In other words, they want to get to know their boss and to feel that she or he takes in an interest in them. They enjoy going home at night and telling their significant other about an occasion during the day when the boss said something pleasant to them, acknowledged what they had done, or discussed an issue with them.
So often the opposite happens and bosses keep themselves to themselves – or at least mix only with other senior staff and not with the workers. This can cause low morale, demotivation and ill feeling amongst the workforce.
The principal of a large college was proud of the crèche the college had built and he enjoyed showing it off when visitors came on site. He used to open the door to the crèche and stand there pointing out its features and the equipment the college had bought.
What he didn’t do was introduce the visitors to the crèche staff or acknowledge the contribution the staff had made to the success of the crèche. By ignoring the staff in this way, he caused bitterness and resentment and he lost the respect of the crèche workers. Although they continued to create a supportive environment for the children in their care, they became demotivated and felt little loyalty to the organisation.
Jean Kelly MA, MCIPD has a wealth of experience training, coaching and investigating into all aspects of harassment and bullying at work. Check her company out at www.jeankellyconsultancy.co.uk
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3 Key Ingredients of an Effective Harassment and Bullying Investigation - Jean Kelly
Does your heart sink at the thought of investigating a formal complaint of harassment and bullying?
Do you worry that you will overlook key issues which will make your investigation open to appeal?
Do you need to advise managers on investigation procedures but do not know where to start?
However, the good news is that experience has taught me that there are three key ingredients of an effective investigation.
For starters, thorough preparation is essential to ensure nothing is overlooked and that interviews produce clear and valuable evidence on which to base your findings. Before you interview the complainant, prepare questions based on the written complaint – each sentence can throw up a question or two to put to the complainant to ensure you understand every point they make. Challenge each emotive word or exaggeration – “When you say ‘he tells you off nastily’, in what way does he do that?” “When you say ‘you dread coming to work’ what makes you dread it?” “What does X do to make you dread coming to work?”
In a nutshell, this first interview is key to a successful investigation. The notes of this first interview form the basis of questions for witnesses. Use these notes to prepare in advance each subsequent interview. Before you interview the person complained about you can prepare questions based on all the evidence you have gathered. This gives this person the opportunity to respond to all the allegations as well as the chance to put across their own account of the events. In this way you will gather worthwhile evidence on which to base your findings.
The second ingredient is impartiality – any sign that you have lost your objectivity means the investigation may be challenged or appealed. During each interview, do not show emotion or give opinions. Do not allow the interviewee to draw you into their arguments. Remain calm and impassive. Be assertive and remain in control of the interviews. State emphatically that you are not in a position to state your opinion.
When your write up your final report, base all conclusions on the evidence you have collected. Your report should be a compilation of the facts you have gathered. It should not reveal your own opinions – the evidence should speak for itself. In this way, the evidence should allow you to conclude impartially thus leading to fair and open findings for or against the allegations.
But wait there is more. The third ingredient is to record every aspect of the investigation - why certain witnesses were selected, what caused delays, who refused to give evidence, how the complainant and the respondent dealt with giving the evidence, etc. By making a file record of the process, you will ensure that if, horror of horrors, the case goes to appeal or an employment tribunal you will be able to explain these details. Rather than relying on your memory or that of others, you will have a written record of how the investigation was conducted. Just think how useful that might be if your findings were to be challenged.
Remember these three ingredients and you will ensure that your investigations are fair, open and less stressful for all concerned. If any of the parties appeals you will be able to justify your conclusions and findings. You will be confident that the evidence you have collected is thorough and objective and the process you undertook will be sound and robust.
Visit www.jeankellyconsultancy.co.uk for your free copy of “The Proven Way to Effectively Investigate Cases of Harassment and Bullying”.
Jean Kelly MA, MCIPD has 16 years’ experience in combating harassment and bullying at work.
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How to be BULLY PROOF – by Jean Kelly
You can be bully proof and cope with any attitude or behaviour that comes your way in the workplace.
I believe each and every one of us has the inner resources to feel OK and not be emotionally damaged by other people – in other words, to be bully proof.
And wait there is more. You can choose whether and how to deal with offensive conduct from colleagues, managers or acquaintances. You can remain true to yourself in whatever circumstances you find yourself in.
But how is this possible, you ask? Well, the secret lies within you. You have the inner resources to keep believing in yourself no matter what others may ‘throw’ at you. You have the inner resources to make the necessary changes to encourage others to treat you in an acceptable manner.
You cannot wait for someone else to do this for you. In fact, this is not possible. Sooner or later you need to take the action that is required if you want to become bully proof. If you expect someone else to deal with the matter for you, what will happen the next time someone tries to bully you? You will not have developed the confidence to deal with it and the cycle of bullying might begin all over again.
So there you have it. You need to change how you behave in difficult situations so that others treat you with the respect you deserve. You need to feel good about yourself no matter what others may say or do and you need to support your colleagues and friends in acquiring both the beliefs and skills to do this.
So far, so good. But how do I do this, you wonder? The key thing is to believe in yourself. Think about successful people around you who do not find the behaviour of others problematic or upsetting – you know the ones who say “Well I don’t let X upset me” or “He wouldn’t dare treat me like that”. They just get on with things, believing in themselves – knowing deep down that they are OK no matter what others say or do.
What is really interesting is that you have the ability to believe in yourself – you already have the resources you need to do this. If you would like to find these resources, think about times when you feel really OK – powerful, in control, completely at ease. It could be when you are driving your car, reading stories to your children, or swimming in the pool. Something you do where you feel strong and resourceful.
Think about what you believe about yourself when you are in these situations. You are likely to think, “Well, I am in charge, very capable, at ease and it is OK to feel like this – in fact it feels very good.” Now take on these same beliefs that you hold about yourself and apply them to difficult situations at work. Say to yourself, “I am a strong and resourceful person. I don’t care about this other person. The fact that they are unpleasant is their fault, not mine. I am OK.”
Try this for a little while and note how much easier it becomes with practice. As you portray this strong and relaxed persona (just as when you are driving, swimming or reading to your child) watch how people begin to treat you with respect.
Don’t forget, you have the choice – you can choose to allow someone to upset you or choose to believe in yourself.
If this article has whetted your appetite, learn more by checking out www.howtobebullyproof.co.uk
Jean Kelly MA, MCIPD has been training, coaching and investigating in the field of harassment and bullying at work for more than 16 years.
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Mistakes managers make that prevent workplace harmony! By Jean Kelly
Modern day workplaces are beset with conflict. Staff often feel disgruntled and demotivated, they put in complaints about their managers and colleagues and workplace relationships break down.
Conflict at work costs money – possibly thousands of pounds - if staff complaints go formal and need investigating or end up in an employment tribunal. Not to mention the expense of management time dealing with these issues, recruitment costs when staff leave and the outlay for training new workers.
During the 16 years I have been consulting, coaching and investigating harassment and bullying complaints for large organisations, I have observed or been told about the behaviour and attitudes of managers and supervisors towards their workers. I have noted the mistakes some of them have made – mistakes which led to staff feeling demoralised, humiliated, ignored, stressed, misunderstood – the list could go on and on.
Now I am not saying that all these managers were unpleasant and uncaring people – though some may have been all of that. Often they were just inexperienced and untrained as far as people management issues were concerned. For example, they might have been promoted because of their expertise and specialisms and these promotions led to them being responsible for staff. But they had not been given the training to help them manage the people side of their new roles.
Add to this high workloads, pressures for deadlines, cuts in head counts and other workplace stresses, and dealing with people issues was often low on their list of priorities.
So what were the mistakes these managers were making?
First and foremost, managers sometimes treat workers as if they are incapable of making decisions for themselves. Even though you are the manager with a wealth of experience and expertise, as well as responsibility for the section, it is does not mean that your staff cannot take the initiative, cannot make decisions and need to ask your permission before they do anything.
If this is what you believe and how you relate to your staff, you will have employees who are demotivated and show little accountability for their actions. You and they will feel frustrated and thoroughly fed up! You will feel stressed and unsupported by them. They will feel useless and probably adopt a “Why should I bother?” attitude towards you and their work. Disharmony and conflict are likely to follow. You will feel let down and they will feel picked on and treated as if they were children.
I have dealt with staff complaints where individuals feel crushed and put down by managers who set high standards and would not allow their team to make decisions for themselves. The managers interfered with the minutiae of the employees’ work and imposed targets and standards without taking on board the feelings or needs of their staff.
Unhappiness reigned as a result and performance suffered.
One of the key mistakes to avoid is that of treating your staff as if they are children and unable to act independently for themselves. Allow your staff to ‘grow up’ in their jobs and treat them like competent adults. They will then begin to act as such and together you will create a happier and more productive workplace.
Jean Kelly MA, MCIPD has a wealth of experience training, coaching and investigating into all aspects of harassment and bullying at work. Check her company out at www.jeankellyconsultancy.co.uk
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