Today, I am speaking to a group of managers and business owners at a convention about how to handle people.
Really, what’s more important to a business than it’s people?
For any company, people are the #1 Asset, #1 Problem and #1 Opportunity.
How do you handle staff that aren’t motivated, seem lazy or ineffective? How do you turn those disengaged people into dedicated staff members that provide a WOW experience to your customers? As a customer, do you prefer to deal with a company whose people are competent, attentive and experienced? How do you handle it when the company you are patronizing has awful staff or service?
If you are a supervisor, sales manager, general manager, or business owner, or just live on planet Earth amongst other humans, odds are you are having an issue with one or more people. Odds are also high that you are giving less attention to handling your people than you are to your product, your advertising or your technology. There is a reluctance to jump in and handle situations with your staff and many times that reluctance comes from a misconception or uncertainty about what your people want.
I will take you out of that mystery right now. Here is what your people are looking to you for:
- Leadership
- Inspiration
- Opportunity
- Purpose
- Push Them to Greater Heights
- Positivity
Look at it this way, you would do anything for your kids, spouse, parents and siblings… that’s the way you have to think about employees. Love them, invest in them, nurture them, train them — and yes get frustrated with them but remember, the people that work for you make it possible for you to take care of the people you love the most.
Your staff are human beings with feelings, emotions, fears, concerns and dreams. They want to do well. They don’t aim to fail and screw up, although at times it does happen. Maybe there was a time in your career when you were awkward, clumsy and overwhelmed. I know there was a long period of my life when I was like that. I just couldn’t seem to get out of my own way. And try as I would to do a good job, I found I was disappointing myself and my managers with missteps and mistakes.
Thankfully, a guy I worked for took interest in me. He saw my potential, took me under his wing, nurtured me and grew me into a productive, valuable person. That guy changed my life. There were many others that never gave me the time of day. I have never forgotten that opportunity and when I am ready to give up on someone, I look at what would happen if I gave them a little more leadership and inspiration instead.
Decide who you are going to be with regards to your people and the leadership you offer them. Take full responsibility to create a team that dominates your market. Keep training your staff and continue educating them on those things they don’t know. You can provide the right environment for success.
People. They are EVERYTHING. Push them to greatness and you will be great, too.
