Principles of leadership: Read the article below “ The Value of Valuing Employee

Question

Principles of leadership:

Read the article below “The Value of Valuing Employees Six ways leaders inadvertently curb innovation, motivation” and answer the questions below in order for a manger to make a case for a leadership training program to address the pitfalls discussed in Comaford’s article list below:

1. In reading the article what is the main problem?

2. What solution would you suggest?

3. From your solution what are your expected outcomes?

Please indicate the associated # with the answer. Thank you.

The Value of Valuing Employees Six ways leaders inadvertently curb innovation, motivation

Few leaders set out to make their employees feel like they don’t matter. But even the most well-meaning leaders may be doing it accidentally— and the repercussions can be severe. Of course, employees matter. If they didn’t, you wouldn’t hire them, trust them to do important work, or keep paying them week after week. And if you think about it at all (which you probably don’t), you assume they realize that. It’s only logical. But according to Christine Comaford, leaders may inadvertently do and say things that make employees feel as if they don’t matter. Employee responses to leaders’ actions or words may have little to do with logic, but it matters whether employees feel they matter. Mattering Matters Comaford explains why mattering matters. Simply, it is “one of the three most primal human needs, along with safety and belonging,” she says.   “When employees are made to feel that they don’t matter, it happens on an emotional level, not an intellectual one. And we now know that emotions, not intellect, drive 90 percent of human behavior,explains Comaford, author of Smart Tribes: How Teams Become Brilliant Together. And when employees feel they don’t matter, the organization suffers. The reason, Comaford explains, is because employees who feel they don’t matter “simply cannot function at their highest level of performance.”

When leaders say or do something that makes employees feel insignificant (and/or frightened or isolated; the three tend to work together), they revert to the fight/flight/freeze part of the brain—or what Comaford calls the “Critter State.” Once in this state, all innovation and collaboration skills fall by the wayside and every decision boils down to a single question: What will keep me safe right now? Valuing Employees To consistently and genuinely demonstrate to employees that they matter, Comaford outlines common ways leaders communicate just the opposite. She also offers ways to avert the common leadership pitfalls that can give employees the sense that leadership just doesn’t care about them. In consistently demonstrating and communicating to the employees that they matter, leaders can avoid employees falling into the so-called critter state and instead help them move to and stay in what Comaford calls their “Smart State.” The smart state, she explains, is where employees have full access to their creativity, problem-solving ability, collaboration, and emotional engagement.

As a leadership trainer and coach, Comaford has worked with leaders in organizations that have realized bottom-line benefits by taking care to show employees they care. The results: Clients report revenues and profits rise by more than 20 percent a year, while one-third to nearly 42 percent of employees take on increased responsibility—without asking for more pay. Leadership Pitfalls, And How to Avoid Them Following are the top six leadership pitfalls that can lead to employees feeling they don‘t matter, along with Comaford’s advice to avoid those pitfalls.

Pitfall No. 1: Failing to Respond to Employee Emails Leaders and manager are busy, and employees know that, but the critter state doesn’t spring from the rational part of the brain, Comaford says. So, when employees send an email and don’t get a response, instead of thinking, “Oh, the boss will get back to me when she has a moment,” they think, “She doesn’t like my idea. She doesn’t like me. I feel rejected. I don’t matter.”

Avoiding this pitfall is simple: Take time to respond to employee emails. “When an employee emails the boss, especially when that email asks for your approval or contains sensitive content, she’s putting herself out there,” Comaford explains. “Always respond, even if it’s just to say, ‘I need a little time to think about that but I’ll get back to you in a day or two.’”

Pitfall No. 2: Failing to Provide Feedback—Positive or Negative When people matter to us, we want them to know they’ve done a good job. If they haven’t done a good job, we want them to know that too, so they can improve. To an employee’s critter brain, silence means we don’t care enough to let them know either way.

Although leaders typically offer formal feedback through performance evaluations, Comaford urges leaders to also focus on providing employees with informal feedback. Further, she advises leaders to provide positive and negative feedback alike. While a simple, “Good job,” means a lot, employees also will value feedback on areas in which they can improve. The reason, Comaford explains, is that the employee then has direction and a focus and “when your employee starts getting better results, he’ll know you cared enough to speak up.” “It feels un-PC to make this comparison, but consider how well children respond to being consistently held accountable,” she adds. “Rules and boundaries make people feel loved. It’s true for employees and leaders, too. In the critter brain, we’re all two-year-olds.”

Pitfall No. 3: Acknowledging People Only When They Make Mistakes While employees will value leaders who make the time to tell them what they are doing well and where they can improve, those who only receive negative feedback can make them feel like a faulty cog who doesn’t matter to the organization. To let employees know they matter, Comaford urges leaders to make a positive personal connection with employees as often as possible. Be specific about what you like and let employees know their unique contribution makes a real difference to the organization. “Better yet, make a point of praising them publicly,” Comaford notes. “Social rewards are extremely powerful—far more powerful than cash rewards, in fact.”

Pitfall No. 4: Failing to Celebrate Victories Getting paid is not reward enough for a doing a great job. Indeed, a paycheck can seem like oil for the cog—necessary, but not meaningful. Celebrating a great job, on the other hand, brings people together and builds teams. Comaford notes the celebrations may be simple, but they are not insignificant. “Team victory celebrations foster a sense of belonging and camaraderie,” Comaford explains, which go hand in hand with demonstrating to employees that they matter.

Pitfall No. 5: Showing Favoritism Inadvertent or otherwise, in many organizations, there are certain team members who are perceived as “above the law” or in the “in crowd.” These employees tend not to be held accountable for any lack of performance, and yet they often get the lion’s share of raises, promotions, or perks, even if they don’t deserve them. Other employees notice.

“People think lovability isn’t an issue in business, but I’m here to tell you it is,” Comaford says. “Feeling that others are more ‘loved’ triggers safety, belonging, and mattering issues in those on the outside.” To avoid this pitfall, avoid favoring employees to the greatest extent possible. “Absolute equality may not be possible in an imperfect world,” Comaford notes, “but it’s critical to aim for it.”

Pitfall No. 6: Burning Out Employees Do your employees slog away like slaves, working long hours and completing one high-stress task after another, day after day after day? Not only will they feel that you don’t care about their well-being, they’ll burn out.

From time to time, all employees in any organization have to exert extra effort. No one, however, can sustain such a pace forever. Yet, this dynamic often persists, particularly when leaders “self-sacrifice,” Comaford says. Then, even when leaders tell employees they don’t have to work late every day, they see leaders doing it and feel the same is expected of them. No one benefits, however, creating a lose-lose situation. “Sustainability is about creating win-win agreements with ourselves and others,” Comaford says. “We all need a good blend of people, activities, and things that excite and energize us in order to balance out those (inevitable) things that drain us. If your employees matter to you, you’ll help them strike that balance.”

Summary

For many leaders, paying so much attention to what goes on inside employees’ heads is a foreign notion. When Comaford’s clients see the astonishing results outlined earlier in this article, however, they are more than willing to change the way they lead. “When we’re able to break the mental patterns that hold us—and those around us—back, we can reach heights of performance we never thought possible,” according to Comaford. “And the best part is, it’s more rewarding for everyone. It can take work from being drudgery to being fun and exciting and meaningful.”

Explanation / Answer

A) The main problem arises due to leadership pitfalls. Pitfalls are hidden traps that one can fall into before that person even knows what just happened. Leadership is the process of leading the employees to attain desired goals and objectives. Leadership pitfalls are the traps that comes as an obstacle in the success life of a leader. These are due to mistakes done in particular by leaders or managers. Making mistakes can be a learning experience for the future. However, too much mistakes can make a leader unproductive and unsuccessful. Such leaders are not respected by their subordinates. Leaders may inadvertently do and say things that make employees feel as if they don’t matter in the organization. Some of the common leadership pitfalls are as follows:

1. Failing to respond to employee's emails: When employees send an email and don’t get a response from their manager or leader, they eventually start thinking inferior. They feel isolated and unsignificant. They think as if they do not matter in the organization or for their own leader.

2. Failing to provide feedback: When a leader do not provide feedback, the employees start feeling negligible which impacts their work performance. It may cost the organization lost productivity.

3. Acknowledging people only when they make mistakes: Employees who only receive negative feedback from their leader can make them feel like a faulty cog who doesn’t matter to the organization.

4.  Failing to celebrate victories: Getting paid and no celebration is not a reward enough for a doing a great job.  .

5. Showing favoritism: Leaders who follow favouritism practice have no chance to build a friendly rapport with their subordinates. Leaders must treat everyone in the same way. They must not do bias.

6. Burning out employees: In case, the leader does not show his full commitment towards the goal, how he can expects from his employees. Employees read the body language of their leader. A leader should not push his employees to work late nights if he himself can't stay.

B) The solutions to the above problems are as follows:

1. Give response to your employee's emails. If the employee is asking for a favor or a resolution to some critical problem, give him response even if you have not come up with the answer to the problem asked, just reply him that in the next 2-3 days, I will get back to you. This response will make your employee feel significant.

2. Provide your employees feedback: A feedback can be positive or negative. A feedback is essential for a better team work performance. Positive feedback will make your employees appreciated and highly motivated towards their work. Negative feedback is crucial to improve future performance.

3. Employees must not be acknowledged only when they have done mistakes. They must be acknowledged for their better performance in the organization. Positive acknowledgement makes them work more efficiently and effectively.

4. Celebration of victories brings people together and builds great teams. Team victory celebrations provide a sense of belonging to the whole team. They feel appreciated and recognized among other teams. This gives rise to their self esteem and they are motivated to work more harder to achieve more success within the organization.

5. Avoid Favouritism: A leader should treat his subordinates equally. Everyone wants to be favourite of his manager or leader. However, it is the responsibility of a leader to make all his employees feel significant in the team and in the organization too.

6. Every leader must come forward to work efficiently to make his employees do the same. A leader is a mentor and a guide for his employees. All the employees follow their leader and walk on the same path. Thus, to make them work harder, a leader must show his commitment towards the organizational goals.

C) The expected outcomes result in the attainment of the desired goals which takes the organization to the success ladder. The organization runs on the true efforts of their employees. Every employee must fell job satisfied and motivated towards their work performance. It is the liability of a leader or a manager to make them feel motivated and significant. He must make them feel appreciated.

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