Treat your People like Rock Stars

I was working in my office one afternoon several years ago when one of the people who worked for me popped in for a short conversation. During our brief encounter, he commented that I was the best boss he had ever had in his 30+ year career. I was flattered by his remark and at the same time taken aback. I had only been in the position for a few weeks and couldn’t imagine how I had earned that level of respect in such a short time.

 

I thanked the gentleman for the compliment, then asked him if he would share why he felt I was his best boss. His response almost knocked me over. He said, “because you say hi to me every morning when you walk into the building.” I was shocked! Doesn’t everyone say hi to their coworkers when they pass them when coming into work?! He continued to tell me that my predecessor would walk through the office and not acknowledge him and never asked him for his input on anything. He didn’t feel very important under that person’s leadership and struggled to stay motivated as a result.

 

When I took the position as a dean of the corporate university less than a month before, I was stepping out of my comfort zone. At the time, most of my career had been in engineering and management, not education and training. I was excited about the opportunity, but at the same time apprehensive. Driving to work on my first day in the role, I remember thinking, what am I going to do today. So, I started talking to people. I scheduled 1:1 meetings with all of the people that worked for me to learn about their job and get their perspective on things. And yes, I said, “hi” or “good morning” to everyone when I came into work each day. These actions seem to be things you do as a leader to engage your people and show them how valued they are. I learned that day talking with the employee that not all leaders make people feel important and respected. They don’t make them feel like the Rock Stars they are.

 

In the Baldrige Excellence Framework®, the core value of Valuing People, states “an organization’s success depends on an engaged workforce” and “valuing people in your workforce means committing to their engagement, development, and well-being.” So, ask yourself the following.

• Do the people in your organization know how important they are?
• Do they feel like they belong?
• Are they engaged and motivated to perform at their highest level?
• Do they feel safe and trusted and in an environment that is collaborative?

If you can say yes to these questions, you are giving them the Rock Star treatment.

 

So, back to my story. As I got to know this gentleman better, I saw someone who had a passion for the work he did, was highly respected in his field of expertise, and was extremely knowledgeable. He shared with me that he didn’t have the opportunity to attend college, and it had been over 30 years since he graduated from high school. Shortly after he shared this with me, I found out our company was offering scholarships for people in his role to go back to school to earn an associate degree and I recommended him for the scholarship. Although he sometimes grumbled about the work that goes into attending college, at the end of each term he would run into my office with his grade card and when he graduated with his degree his whole family was there to celebrate his success.

 

I learned a lot and grew as a leader working in this role that took me out of my comfort zone. Some things I learned from the experience are.

• Be present. As a leader, engage with your workforce and give them your full attention when interacting with them, be your authentic you, and don’t let distractions take you away from the moment.
• Listen, really listen. The founder of the organization I worked for had a philosophy that each employee was the expert in their 25-square feet. As a leader, it’s impossible to be the expert in every area of responsibility, but if you listen to the “experts” who work for you and get their input, you can make better decisions and gain the trust of those you work with.
• Be deliberate in engaging people. The Baldrige core value of Valuing People shares that an engaged workforce “benefits from meaningful work, clear organizational direction, the opportunity to learn, and accountability for performance.” These are all actions a good leader can make happen.

 

Now go out and lead your rock band!

 

 

Margot L. Hoffman, Ph.D.

President & CEO

The Partnership for Excellence