Are you someone’s boss? Do you have a boss? Or are you, like many, in both roles?
I would hope that being both a manager and an employee would give you perspective on how to think about that relationship. After all, it is easy to complain about the boss…but do you realize that they may be complaining about you, too?
Here are three things to remember about the importance of your relationship with your manager:
- People don’t work for a company, they work for a person. The number one reason people leave is because they don’t want to work for their boss anymore.
- Strong work relationships increase happiness and boost productivity.
- The belief that management is interested in the employee’s well-being and demonstrates that people are important to the company’s success is the #1 driver of engagement.
If you want to have a productive working relationship, recognize that both parties are responsible for building the relationship. However, the tone is typically set by the boss.
As the boss, there are only two things you need to do to begin to build a stronger connection and in turn bring loyalty, productivity, and retention of your team:
- Show you care about the person.
- Show you care about the things the person cares about.
It doesn’t have to be perfect, but having a good relationship with those who report to you will increase productivity, decrease tension and turnover, and at the end of the day – make everyone happier on the job.
What will you do tomorrow to strengthen a relationship with someone you work with?