Jul 09 2009
A Word About Leadership- Part 9: Reasonable Expectations and a Chance for All
There are a few things about the work world that I would like to believe:
1. Everyone is hired with a clearly stated, reasonable job description.
2. The boss’s goal is that each employee will succeed.
3. An additional goal is that this success should continue as long as possible, therefore causing less turnover, which is ultimately beneficial for everybody.
4. The growth of each employee is important to the employer.
5. That growth will come with occasional slip-ups. The worst thing I can do is condemn my employee when those slip-ups occur. The best thing I can do is help him learn from them.
It sounds so logical, and a sure fire method to successful leadership.
And yet this is what I feel comes out of some less than stellar employers:
1. Job expectations are not clearly conveyed.
This can be for numerous reasons. One of those reasons is because the employer is unsure of what they want.
A far worse reason might be because the employer wishes to remain intentionally vague so that EVERYTHING they ever wish of you can be smushed into your job description.
Unclear or open-ended expectations are a recipe for failure. It’s like trying to find a hidden treasure, but the treasure map is completely undecipherable.
2. This lack of a “treasure map” and inevitable failure is only relevant if the boss cares. If the employer does not think that his employees are a fundamental element of his organization, there’s only one thing to do:
Run!
Personally I think high turnover rates are embarrassing, as well as detremental to success. Unfortunately there are employers out there who think of their employees as cheap Tupperware containers. Use them as much as you want and as aggressively as you wish, and if for whatever reason they are renderer no longer useful, just toss them in the trash can. After all, they’re cheap and you have plenty others.
3. Within such an environment your every error is subject to criticism and ultimately termination when convenient for the employer.
The beautiful machine is the one where each employee is provided with a clearly defined role, feels he is a part of a team where is participation is essential and important, knows he can go to his boss when he needs assistance, and can rest assured that when mistakes happen he has been fully trained how to grow from them.
I feel you on this - your last paragraph speaks to the simplicity of it all but I have found it to be just a fantasy in my own head and I have ran - from one job to the next - from one city to the next. The good thing is that my running days are just about over, retirement is close and if I make it to retirement, I will be able to survive with an income - so it all worked out :o}