In this the first of 10 rules, we pick up on the ideas from Richard Templar’s book: The Rules of Management. Rule #1 is about making work meaningful for your people. The vast majority of people come to work to do a good job: to learn, to be stretched, to have some responsibility and to be recognised for their contribution. Yet this is the very thing that many managers fail to attend to.
Far too often, a purely rational perspective of work is taken – you are paid to do the work, so get on with it. Yes, people are paid to do a job, but there is as much an emotional contract as there is a monetary one.
Your job as manager, is to make work meaningful. Explain the connection between their work and the team’s success, the companies success and even the wider societal contributions it makes. Sounds like a tall order? Well Templar would argue that it is easy “All you have to do is reach down far enough and you will find care, feeling, concern, responsibility and involvement.” Get that right, Templar says, and they will apparently follow you forever. And if not forever, at least far enough to pull off that project, new system, company merger, or whatever else it is on your agenda.
We discuss more of what those actions and behaviours you might employ to help you secure your people's support in our earlier article on engagement.
So challenge yourself – how have your showed your people that you care for them today?
Look out for Rule #2, coming out in the next few days.
Share your ideas or thoughts here, or email us on feedback@agents2change.com.
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