One of the professional development training items on the books for FY17-18 at work was a Pluralsight course I’ve had on my to-watch list for several years: Management Strategies that Will Increase Productivity Today by Jay Mcfarland.
This post gives a quick overview of what I learned, with more details to be found in this PDF.
Opening questions
- It’s getting harder and harder to find good employees.
- False. It’s harder to find good managers.
- Hiring the right people is the only way to find productive employees.
- False. Good managers create productive employees; bad managers destroy them.
- Bad managers seem to always be hiring; good managers have good retention.
Summary
- Good managers use techniques from this training and help people want to become better than they already are.
- Productivity has to do with your systems and understanding of what motivates employees so they can feel success on a daily basis.
- Know where your employees are on the job satisfaction pyramid, because you can help them move upward.
- There cannot be a win if there cannot be a fail. You must define what both are.
- Build systems of accountability to help people feel successful.
- Micromanagement robs employees of success, which pushes them into minimum expectations mode where they only care about their paycheck (or finding another job).
- Treat people well every day, and give them room to grow.
- Listen to peoples’ concerns and help resolve them so that people feel heard and valued.