While many managers would argue the point that over-friendliness with their subordinates can actually damage a business team’s effectiveness, I maintain that a certain level of civility and concern beyond mere formality is required. Here are a few ways that managers can win over their employees and thereby significantly increase their influence with them:
Bring Your Ethics to Work
Don’t kid yourself, no matter what they say, your subordinates watch everything you do and look for any signs of moral weakness. For this reason, nothing garners trust better than impeccable personal integrity. Any manager who has slipped in this department will surely be challenged by a subordinate during the counseling or termination process if the failing is any way similar to the employees own situation. In short, you must also live by the expectations that you set for the rest of the team. So, show up on time, avoid those long lunches and have your meeting materials ready and waiting.
Concentrate on Excellence
If you consider the people that you most admire, they are undoubtedly individuals with characteristics that separate them from their peers. Simply put, they are excellent not only as employees but also as people. As a manager, you must engender this attitude in yourself and amongst your subordinates. Settling for mediocre results is a sure-fire way to guarantee them in the future. Instead, a superior manager let’s his team know what is expected, when they fall short, and when to praise good results. In addition, this expectation cannot be arbitrarily applied. Allowing one employee to yield to mediocrity will eventually drag down the entire team.
Place the Shoe on the Other Foot
The longer you are a manager, the easier it gets to take your subordinates and their loyalty for granted. Loyalty does not ever come for free… it must be earned. For these reasons, it is extremely important to occasionally take the time to consider the employment situation from the perspective of your subordinates. Are you a manager who demands that all personal business be done after hours or, even worse, do you schedule meetings on weekends or holidays at the last minute? Subjugating the needs of your subordinates to those of the company are certainly necessary at times but doing it on a continual basis is simply abuse – and your employees know it.
Bring a Positive Attitude
What did the man say in that famous song? Let a smile be your umbrella! This is actually excellent advice for any manager. You set the tone for the office so positivity is key as your negative vibrations will only allow the rest of your team to vent theirs. In particular, small gestures like greeting everyone you pass in the morning starts the process rolling. It’s just hard to dislike someone who comes in smiling. This tactic also works well at meetings. Even at those necessary meetings where everyone would rather be somewhere else, it is important to keep an upbeat attitude. Bad news is best delivered with a stiff upper lip and small smile.
A Final Thought
Each of the aforementioned ideas is decidedly more mental than physical. Still, the body language of a manager and their choice of spoken words are also extremely influential. Before any meeting or one-on-one engagement, consider what you will say and how you will say it. Your choices can make a demonstrable difference on the outcome. In addition, it gives you a chance to formulate your arguments in a far more cogent and influential manner. There you have it, influencing your employees is as simple as treating them with the same dignity and respect that you expect. Just don’t forget this fact simply because you are the boss.
