Honesty is key!
And being honest with yourself means admitting to the horrible practices you hold when it comes to being in charge of others.
Now, wait a minute, it doesn’t mean you can’t turn it around and it doesn’t mean you’re doing it on purpose.
Working in retail and food service industry, I’ve found that managers have a problem being in charge because they don’t actually know how to do it. Not that they haven’t been given the opportunity, but that they haven’t been trained to be in charge. Perfecting a skill doesn’t mean you’ll know how to teach others to have the same (or better) quality of the skill, it just means you’re good at that particular skill.
One piece of advice I tell managers, remember when you were the employee and not the boss. Go back and think about all of the horrible practices you saw or experienced at the hand of your boss and then sit down, take a drink of water, and look in the mirror, you’re probably doing the exact things you’ve hated, because it’s all you know.
Being a good boss isn’t about spending $1300 to attend conferences for a few days or having a degree. While those things might help, only YOU can decide if you’re going to be responsible enough to take on the challenge of being a good boss.
Just like being a horrible boss, you can be a horrible HR Professional … don’t click out of this blog post now … it’s okay beloved, sometimes you have to address the wrong to make it right. Being a horrible boss and/or HR Pro is preventable and it has its teachable moments. No one is perfect, we are all (hopefully) doing what we believe to be best for the organizations that have put their trust in our abilities.
Determine if you’re the boss that everyone runs from by paying attention and listening to the people who report to you and your coworkers. Don’t turn away because they might be saying something that you don’t like or agree with. It doesn’t mean that you need to change your practices. Sometimes having a conversation with the other party resolves the issues, but we are so afraid to have that conversation.
I’ve learned something about HR Professionals this year, we are quick to give advice, but we are also quick to run from our own advice.
Recognize your behaviors, have conversations, LISTEN, and make changes where necessary. Acknowledge that people have a life outside of the walls of your company. Work with your team to be flexible when needed. I’ve never understood why managers get upset because an employee needs to be off for a doctor’s appointment … most working hours are literally office hours for doctors, dentist, banks, etc. too.
So, are you a horrible boss? Are you a boss who might not be horrible, but could still do better? Stop making excuses. We have too much information at our hands to continue making the same mistakes using the excuse of not knowing any better.
Until Next Time … #HRJazzy
HRJazzy 