By Aiva Jokela
Strategy and Transformation, Vogl & Blake Research Consultants
My most humbling and expensive learning experience came many years ago when I was promoted to my first managerial role.
After a few weeks in the new role, reality set in, along with a slight panic.
There were so many challenges, I didn’t know where to start. Staff were resigning and I couldn’t replace them fast enough. The ones that were left, weren’t performing well and generally didn’t want to be there. Service was suffering, my staff were miserable and my expenses were going through the roof.
Pressure was mounting for me to turn things around, so I rushed straight to solution mode. I spent money I didn’t really have, on a staff well being program that promised to motivate and engage my staff and rolled it out two weeks later.
Everything began to instantly improve, so I was genuinely surprised when three months later I was facing the same challenges. Add in a few tough “please explain” meetings, with the executive level members of staff and I was feeling pretty deflated.
I had made assumptions about why my staff were unhappy and I had assumed that I knew the best way to fix the problems and I had limited my options. Almost any other approach would have given a better outcome.
Imagine If I had taken time to really discover and understand what was causing my staff unhappiness in the first place, instead of just assuming. Or, even challenged my initial assumptions…. Because let’s face it, it’s almost impossible to stop yourself from making assumptions in the first place.
So, now I’m sharing my three basic (yet expensive) learning experiences:
- Have genuine conversations with your staff, from a place of curiosity and understanding.
- Invest in a little time and research upfront.
- Challenge your assumptions.
These three simple things will help you to genuinely understand your staff, make better business decisions and give you a far more impactful result.
Reach out if you want to know more about how we can help you in the workplace.