Founder & CEO at Criteria, a pre-employment assessment company with a simple goal: to help organizations make better hires.
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Too many employees know what it’s like to work under an overbearing boss — the arbitrary and often unreasonable demands, the stubborn commitment to a single course of action, the intolerance of dissent and so on. When managers behave this way, their employees feel threatened and disempowered, which can lead to low morale, less productivity and higher turnover. Healthy workplaces are always collaborative and respectful, and managers should model this behavior most of all.
It’s one thing to merely avoid the authoritarian traits listed above, but it’s something else entirely to be an emotionally intelligent and inclusive leader who helps employees perform to the best of their ability every day. This is the sort of leader who’s becoming increasingly valuable as companies emphasize soft skills such as communication, creative and collaborative problem-solving and conflict management.
While traits such as empathy, patience and other forms of emotional intelligence have always been vital for managers, companies have begun to seek them out like never before. Old ideas about what it takes to be an effective manager — such as the conviction that he or she should be a grave disciplinarian who keeps employees in line — are falling apart. Instead, companies are realizing that managers who encourage employees, invite feedback and suggestions and align employees around common goals put them in the strongest position to succeed.
What Really Motivates Employees
Employees are interested in more than just a paycheck; they want to build relationships at work, earn recognition by doing their jobs well and feel like they have a voice at the company. For 30 years, Gallup has gathered data (download required) on what makes employees feel engaged at work, and many of these factors are directly tied to how managers interact with them.
For example, Gallup reports that employees want managers who set clear expectations, offer praise, care about them as people, encourage their development, value their opinions, discuss their progress with them and provide opportunities to learn and grow. All of these priorities call for managers who are willing to have open discussions with employees about their roles and the company’s mission, work through problems in a spirit of inclusiveness, and prioritize employees’ emotional well-being.
Just over one-third of American employees report that they’re engaged at work, and this lack of engagement leads to low morale, deteriorating relationships, unhealthy workplace cultures, less productivity and ultimately higher turnover. But managers can address all of these problems by listening to what employees actually want and doing their best to create a welcoming environment where all viewpoints are taken seriously and employees feel like their concerns are being met.
The Characteristics Of Effective Managers
We often think about skills as lines on a resume, but it’s becoming increasingly apparent that soft skills and characteristics — from communication and problem-solving skills to emotional intelligence — are indispensable in today’s workplaces. A survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management found that 83% of hiring managers are struggling to find suitable candidates, and they rank the aforementioned soft skills as their top priorities when considering potential hires.
These soft skills are even more important for managers. Take emotional intelligence, for instance: a broad category of characteristics that refers to employees’ awareness of their own emotions, the feelings of others and how to respond appropriately. According to research conducted by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, managers with these characteristics had “employees who were happier, more creative, and who perceived more opportunities for growth.” Meanwhile, 70% of employees with managers low in emotional intelligence reported that their “primary feelings about work were negative.”
When managers make it clear that they’re advocates for employees who want to hear their opinions and take an active interest in their careers, as well as considerate and thoughtful leaders who are focused on employees’ well-being, adept at problem-solving and conflict resolution and eager to facilitate healthy relationships across the company, they’ll build a company culture where everyone feels valued and heard.
Mentorship Is Integral To Healthy Company Cultures
As the global economy becomes more complex and competitive, many employees say they haven’t developed the right skills for their jobs. According to a Gartner survey, 70% of employees say they don’t have the skills they need for their current roles, while 80% say they lack the skills they’ll need in the future. Considering the fact that one of the main drivers of employee engagement is the cultivation of an environment in which employees feel like they can learn and grow, it’s clear that mentorship should be a top priority in today’s workplaces.
According to a survey conducted by CNBC and SurveyMonkey, 90% of employees who have a career mentor say they’re happy at work. Mentorship can improve a company’s culture on many different levels: It can help marginalized employees feel included, provide managers with direct feedback, develop the skills employees need to succeed and offer emotional support. Mentorship can have a broader positive effect on a company’s culture as well. When an employee’s individual needs are being met, they’re more likely to have healthy and productive relationships with colleagues.
There’s nothing more crucial to business success than a healthy company culture. A Glassdoor survey found that 77% of respondents consider a company’s culture before applying to work there, and managers are major contributors to the establishment of that culture. As remote work becomes the norm even after the Covid-19 pandemic, the focus on maintaining a healthy culture is only going to be more essential. Remote workers often feel alienated from their colleagues and need extra reinforcement from their managers.
It’s time to do away with the old-fashioned idea of managers as strict and imposing figures who exist to enforce rules and impose punishments. When managers are empathetic, inclusive and emotionally supportive, they won’t just help employees do their best work — they’ll also encourage those traits across the board and build a much stronger workplace culture.
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