"Nobody hurts my family," I explained to this third-grade wretch. "Nobody." I was calm, but I was stern. He got the point, and he has been nothing but pleasant ever since.
My nephew was picking on his sister a few years ago. "You insult my family," I explained to him, "you're insulting me." I was calm but stern. He hasn't insulted her (in my presence) once since. I've even witnessed him use that same line to stick up for his sister to his friends.
Now, this is what a friend's boss told her today when she was making her case as to why she deserved the bonus she had worked for all year. She had to present her case to him before he took it to upper management for appeal.
"You're being too emotional."
Really? About a bonus worth 1/4 of her annual pay. A bonus that he knew she had earmarked for downpayment on a home.
This is my thought: manager, you need to be more emotional.
Sure, sometimes a leader has to reprimand his people; sometimes he even has to fire them. But that's another conversation entirely.
When a member of your team needs you to stick up for her, to defend her from the company, do it! Do it with zeal, with relish, with gusto; hopefully with finesse and persuasion as well.
But more than anything else, make certain you do it with feeling!
They're your team. They're your people. Go to bat for them. Put it on the line for them. Make sure upper management knows that if they mess with your people, they're messing with you.
Make sure it's perfectly clear that nobody messes with your people.
Nobody.
Any questions?
Ted -
ReplyDeleteMy girlfriend works as a corporate recruiter for a large government contractor and her bonus is directly tied to the number of positions she fills (the harder the skillset to find the more money the company makes from adding that new hire to their contract). Needless to say she was given a goal and if she met it, she was in line for $10k bonus.
She met this goal, on time, and was told by her manager that they were going to pay her less. Her response to my girlfriend was, "You are being too emotional over money." GET REAL. When you set a goal for your employees and they EXCEED it you do what is right and you certainly don't tell them to not get emotional.
Well said, you have to fight for your people, as rules goes if your people are doing great you are also doing great! Great ROI!
ReplyDeleteGreat post Ted. Having a manager that will stand up for you is so important to employee motivation. It seems such a shame that some managers don't realise how important this is.
ReplyDeleteI agree, a great post. I wish my line manager - in my previous career - had stuck up for me like that at various times instead of just 'laughing things off'! At least I learned then that that's not how you treat you team.
ReplyDelete@ Anonymous
ReplyDeleteI feel for your girlfriend. As if telling someone how to (or not) to feel will help, especially after you let him down.
The way I see it, she was not ''emotional about the money'', but about reward she was promised, she worked hard for, and wasn't given. You might also call it disappointment if you want to be too decent.
Her manager tried to invalidate her feelings, which always makes it worse. Besides, If they (company/manager) are not so ''emotional about the money'' they might have as well given it as a bonus.
I wish I did not hear about so many similar incidents. Hope you don't mind me discussing the story you shared.