Comments on: 7 ways to be a damn good manager

By: mitzicross

mitzicross — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 05:58:08 +0000

I always give specific praise, otherwise it comes across as exactly what it is…flattery. I work primarily with women. The response a woman has when praised is the desire to please even more because she will perceive the praiser as someone who appreciates the little things she does, which will translate directly to the company. Men, however, perform equally with or without praise, in my experience. Conversely, a man’s performance can improve when presented with criticism. A woman, however, will more often become discouraged by criticism. That does not mean that a woman can not handle criticism, it means that to be an effective supervisor one should know these responses to the types of feedback given during evaluations, and in everyday critiques. A specific example of this is when I began to prepare a female employee for a management position. She was highly qualified in the area of education and skill. She, however, lacked the necessary confidence to speak up in a group setting and to present ideas in an assertive way. I coaxed her along by assigning her projects that needed to be presented in meetings so that decisions could be made about the outcomes. I took notes from each presentation designed to be used as positive feedback. After each meeting, I would email or call her to tell her the things I liked about her work. In the beginning, she would call me before the presentation to get my approval. I was careful to tell her I had full confidence in her and was interested in seeing what she could do instead of what I would have done. In less than six months I had a confident assertive manager who was able to think creatively and make decisions without seeking approval from others. The sincere praise made her fiercely loyal to the company and to her work ethic. Sometimes, just saying something as simple as, “Wow, you really have it going on over in your department.”….and throwing a thumbs up or whatever, will improve morale which results in improved performance. Strangely, this employee had some issues concerning arriving on time occasionally. Once she was showing a deeper sense of confidence, she no longer had these issues. She even made it a habit to get to work early from that point on. And, yes of course she is able to take criticism, when it is presented as a way to enhance her success on a project.

By: Phil Gerbyshak

Phil Gerbyshak — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 00:30:22 +0000

Interesting point Mitzi. I haven’t seen those exact results, though I’m glad to hear that works for you. Are you specific in the praise, or generic? Do you feel you are authentically grateful for your team’s success (and failures)? Are there other factors that complete your management style, or is this the only one? I’d love to learn more about what you’re seeing.

By: mitzicross

mitzicross — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 06:32:12 +0000

As a manager of a small business, I have learned that most often employees’ performance correlates directly with the amount of praise given for little things well done or even creatively thought through.

By: Phil Gerbyshak

Phil Gerbyshak — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 05:00:14 +0000

Andre - Glad to see we're on the same page. You are so right about time related stress. Productivity = freedom in my book.

By: Andre Gaulin

Andre Gaulin — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 14:48:36 +0000

Thanks Phil! Beyond my 3 tricks, I’m also a HUGE fan of scheduling dedicated lunch time as well as using my out of office assistant whenever possible. I can’t say it enough – time related stress is the worst and as soon as you can get your time back you’ll instantly feel much more productive.