Take Care of Your People Managers

Today I virtually attended “The World of Work,” event hosted by Semafor and Gallup focused on improving productivity, resilience, and well-being for employees.

Here are my key takeaways:

·       The latest trend of unbossing may be doing more harm than good. Unbossing is when companies cut manager positions to flatten the organization and cut costs This is a slippery slope in a time where employee engagement continues to tank, people want to be seen and valued in their organizations along with being provided opportunities to learn and grow. 

·       83% of employees surveyed say in the age of AI, uniquely human skills are even more important.

·       50% of employees say they don’t know what is expected of them at work. They also say they don’t have the tools they need to do their jobs.

What now?  We need to take care of our people managers.  We need to give them the skills and development they need to lead, and we need to give them time to lead. 

Give managers and employees space to take care of their mental health.  One of the speakers said, “You can’t self-care your way out of a self-sacrificing environment.”

Let’s rethink our success measures for managers.  Instead of asking “how much did you get done?”  Look at “how much did you get done that matters?”

A great place to start with leadership skill building is self-awareness and a deep dive into emotional intelligence.  An EQ report looks at a person’s ability to sense, understand, and effectively apply the power of emotions to facilitate higher levels of collaboration and productivity.

Talent Advancement Professionals offers EQ assessments and Leadership Coaching.  Contact susan@talent-advancement.com to learn more.