Continuing the theme from yesterday, managers must be engaged in the day-to-day workings of their department. Walking the floor, talking to their employees, listening to their concerns, and being visible and approachable. As millennials like to say: “mingle with your peeps”. Many managers, however, are reluctant to do that because they’re afraid of being put on the spot or having to answer questions. Policies to many managers are kind of fuzzy and they don’t want to be seen as not knowing something – we provided them with a little book of policies that they could keep in their pockets and refer to when asked: each policy was summarized and provided enough information to get by. It gets them comfortable answering policy questions and makes them a go-to person for those questions. And they’re reluctant because they don’t feel comfortable engaging in those kinds of conversations – mostly, they should listen and say ‘what’ instead of ‘why’. That’s less threatening. And if they then ask “tell me more” they’ll get the kind of information they need to improve their effectiveness. And be seen as one of the good guys, one of ‘us’ rather than one of ‘them’. That’s a good thing. That’s a good reason to get out of your office and ‘walk the floor’. Managing is more about relationships and trust than it is about a title and authority. Be engaged with your employees today.
Lauren Esposito is the Assistant Curator and Schlinger Chair of Arachnology at the California Academy of Sciences.
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