How to Ensure You Are Training, Not Complaining, Especially During a Crisis - Glassdoor for Employers

How to Ensure You Are Training, Not Complaining, Especially During a Crisis

Through years of experience working for a diversity of managers, we can discover a myriad of personalities and leadership styles. And, while some differences are just slight variations taken from the same, age-old management playbooks, I've come to realize there really are just two categories of managers. 

One is the "Trainer," while the other is the "Complainer."

The purpose of this post is to ensure that, whether in times of uncertainty or amid periods of unbridled workplace flow, you are leading with a training versus complaining mindset.

We will provide five ways managers can motivate their staff toward elevated performance while also helping your company pivot to new areas of growth and opportunity. We'll provide a gut check on whether a manager's style defaults to complaint mode when performance slides or times get tough or whether they proactively and inspiringly train, coach and lead their staff forward for a win-win outcome.

#1. The Importance of Caring for Your Employees 

The complainer appears 'lazy' to their staff--a manager in name only. Whether managing new-hire or tenured team members, the complainer dismisses all staff members' value across the board, herding employees like cattle in this or that direction. 

The trainer, on the other hand, tends to be a committed and hardworking individual who actionably cares about the staff as much as they care about the company itself. They know the two are one-in-the-same and that each relies heavily upon the other for success. 

Bottom-Line Impact: By nurturing and recognizing an employee's value, a trainer shows they care. This not only builds up their self-esteem, but it also bolsters performance, which delivers to company revenue and market expansion goals. 

"If you hold a seed of any kind in your hand, you recognize that there is a great potential inside of it," says Terry L. Lee, Advanced Certified Emergenetics Associate. "There is great potential inside of everyone, and great leaders help bring it out in four ways: training, connecting, challenging and coaching."

Related: 10 Easy Wellness Programs for Remote Workers

#2. The Importance of Leveraging Mistakes for Learning

The complainer magnifies mistakes, often deriding a team member to make themselves look better. What they don't seem to realize is that they don't look better. They only look weak and further demoralize a staff that is already downtrodden. Meetings with this type of manager are rarely, if ever, constructive for the company or the crew, as they tend to be more like beatdown sessions than anything. 

The trainer doesn't wait for mistakes to happen. They anticipate mistakes, and train their people to avoid them, when possible. And, when an employee mistake does arise, the trainer leverages it as a learning moment. They focus on solving the problem while also addressing future training or process improvements to ensure mistakes are abated.

Bottom-Line Impact: Investing in employee development either before or after a mistake can spur a return-on-investment later. For example, in economic crises, recessions or other downturns, where client retention is at a premium, it is important to provide white-glove customer service. If mistake-resolution habits were emplaced during calm waters, then the ability to weather a future economic storm increases.

#3. The Importance of Celebrating Accomplishments

The complainer downplays any accomplishments their employees make, and in some cases, claims their teams' achievements as their own.

The trainer looks for opportunities to buoy their team members, crediting individuals and team members alike for their specific contributions. This can be as simple as speaking words of appreciation. It also may include writing a note, publicizing the win in a company newsletter and/or delivering a gift, such as the employee's favorite chocolate.

Bottom-Line Impact: It is no secret that feeling respected and appreciated builds morale, which directly fuels productivity. Conversely, lack of being appreciated can erode positivity and performance. An optimistic, high-performing team is essential at all times, but even more so during tough periods where a pandemic or other pervasive challenge has penetrated all aspects of employees' lives.

#4.  The Importance of Encouraging Innovation

The complainer claims they want to differentiate their organization in a competitive marketplace. However, when an employee brings a new idea to them, the complainer finds a million and one reasons to reject it. It costs too much; it won't work; we don't have the resources, etc. Or, worse, they send the employee off on a wild goose chase to begin researching the new idea, but then, at the 11th hour, they pull the plug, leaving the employee deflated and discouraged.

The trainer not only embraces new ideas, but they also rely upon their team to bring them those new ideas. A self-confident trainer intentionally recruits imaginative talent known for their abilities to execute upon their ideas. The trainer knows that from innovation grows revenue, profit and market visibility.

Bottom Line: Innovation is a financial driver. And, it is dependent upon employees' creative freedom.

"Creativity is at its peak when employees have the confidence that their voices are truly being heard and their opinions are valued. Your employees will have a vested interest in the company's success when they … work in a vibrant and positive work environment and are encouraged to bring their ideas to the table," according to Jen McKenzie in Innovation Management

#5 The Importance of Exuding a Values-Infused Culture

The complainer is detached from current trends in workplace culture, and instead is mired in their own individual drama. They are unable to see the value in a collaborative, empowered environment for fear of "losing control." As a result, they stagnate, and their discouraged employees eventually jump ship.

The trainer exudes the positive, employee-centric values of their company as underpinnings of their success. An example of a values-infused culture is Glassdoor, where they've identified four company values: Transparency, Innovation, Good People and Grit. 

"Our culture is what we are most proud of. It's our personality. It's what defines us," says the Glassdoor Team. "Our values underpin everything we do and are the 'how' behind the work we do." 

Bottom-Line Value: An authentic, collaborative and innovative culture that displays grit and optimism will perform at a higher level, enabling them to survive the waves of economic undulation and leading to greater, ongoing success.

Whether you're new to management or have been managing people for years, motivating your staff's productivity can be as easy as taking steps to ensure you spend more time training and keeping the complaining to an absolute minimum. A department with a high retention rate, high production numbers and high revenue and profit is usually a good sign of a department run by a trainer.

 

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