A Commitment to a Positive New Year

Another New Year or the Same Old Thing?

As another New Year is upon us it is time to review where we have been and what we want to accomplish in the new year.

If you are like me there are plenty of things to improve on. For me this past year was difficult from many perspectives.

Staffing continues to be one of the most challenging areas that my company faces. Just when I think we are fully staffed we lose a handful of people and end up right back where we started.

Middle level and line managers don't have any control over the hiring and retention practices of our organizations, but it doesn't mean we don't have any control over whether employees desire to be part of our team and stick around.

This Year's Focus

So, this year my main goal is to create a team focused on accentuating the positive.

I want to make a very conscious effort to call out and reward the positive efforts of the people on my team. And hopefully to get other team members doing the same thing.

After a recent department meeting, I was speaking with a group of employees and I could sense some frustration on their part. So, I asked them what was on their minds. At first, they were hesitant to tell me, not because they didn't trust that I really wanted to hear it, but because they genuinely didn't want to just blast me.

Although I felt anxious and afraid of the criticism, I would receive I pushed on. I told them I really wanted to hear what they had to say, and it was important for me to hear it. When they started to speak, I made it a point not to say anything but to just sit and listen.

Sitting and listening without responding is the most difficult thing in the world for me. My mind is always thinking up objections, considering responses, or just making up defenses for what the other person is saying.

This time though I just kept my mouth shut and tried and hard as I could to really listen and understand the employee's point of view.

What I heard was that the employees were frustrated by my presentation of departmental concerns. They felt my communication style was one of blaming and it focused too much on the negative. They wanted to hear more about what was going right, more praise for their efforts, and that any deficiencies should be addressed more one on one with specific employees.

While I felt a little defensive, I didn’t react defensively, after all I wanted to hear what they had to see. If I want to improve my management style and create an open and positive team environment, then I need to be able to listen to criticism and let other people feel heard without judgement.

After the employees were sharing their thoughts, I asked a few questions to get clarification and find out what their thoughts were about things I could do to improve my communication. I told them that my intention was never to be negative or beat people up, this has never been my management philosophy. Finally, I thanked them for being honest with me and telling me how they felt. I promised that I would take what they said and use it to improve the way I communicate and deal with employees.

Responding to Criticism

As a result of this interaction I started to consider what I could do to foster a more positive attitude within my team. It led me to reflect also on how I was dealing with other managers and my attitude toward my entire organization.

What I realized was that I had allowed myself to get caught in a negative spiral. My focus had gotten off track and instead of being aware of the good things going on around me, I had put on blinders and was focused on the negative. So, is it any surprise that my team was reacting to my negative focus?

At my next department meeting I went off script. I told the employees about the feedback I had received and said that I was sorry for presenting information in a way that was negatively perceived - this wasn't my intention.

After that I opened the floor to discussion to discover what they felt were the things holding our team back and what we should focus on to move forward together on a positive path. What they came up with was a list of things that we needed to get better at:

1. More Accountability
2. More focus on the positive thing's employees are doing / recognition
3. Better training/onboarding of new employees

Responding Positively

Following this meeting I could sense the employees opening a little more. They felt like they were heard, and they appreciated that I put myself out there and acknowledged my faults and mistakes.

For me it felt good to just let go and admit I don't have all the answers. It allowed me to just let go of a lot of stress and anxiety by allowing myself to be vulnerable. In the days that followed I felt a great joy as my focus became more to see the good of my team and organization.

In the weeks to come I will write more about this new journey that I am trying to take as a manager and the techniques I am employing to encourage and strengthen my team. I will also lay out the concrete steps we are taking as a team to improve how we operate.

Join Me to Create the Team You Desire

Please comment below as to obstacles you are facing in managing your team, ways you are working to improve, and areas where you are still struggling. Let's go forward into 2020 together to help each other create positive work environments that create a sense of purpose and team.