Text 1. The Principles Of Managing Staff

Managing people requires a high level of knowledge of human behaviour and psychology. Of particular importance for a manager in managing people is the relationship between the manager and his/her subordinates. If a man­ager wants to be effective, he must try and develop the skills for managing people. Here are a few recommendations to this end.

To manage well you need to work in a climate of mutual trust and re­spect. The manager has to create an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect.

Keep calm when confronted with employees who oppose any new plan or suggestion.

To motivate performance use the Productivity Formula: “Talent times Relationship, plus Expectations, equals Productivity”.

Make sure people’s expectations of what they are to contribute to the business are clearly understood by all.

Project your positive personal attributes; be spontaneous, open and hon­est; show patience and a desire to attentively listen to and understand a person.

Be consistent and show people that they can entirely rely upon you.

Increase your positive feedback, guidance and constructive criticism.

Maintain a high level of input; actively teach what people need to know.

Use the One Minute Reprimand to get rid of the subordinate’s behaviour you dislike. Be very specific about what the person did wrong; take 30 sec­onds (and no more) to say how you feel: disappointed? angry? frustrated? Keep the person’s attention focused on what he/she did wrong and not on how you are going to treat him personally.

Clear goals are the basis for all good performance. Set goals in the begin­ning. Remember: goals must be attainable (achievable), and everyone has to know them.

Respect your subordinates and authorize them to think. Take pride in their talents and accomplishments. Recognize and celebrate their victories. En­courage people for their contribution (input) to the victory.

Think of innovation as a better way to get the work done. Banish un­necessary paper, rules and bureaucracy.

Memorandum

In managing people be guided by the following rules:

- create a climate of trust and mutual respect,

- keep calm when confronted with subordinate who oppose your plans or suggestions,

- project your positive personal features: be spontaneous open and honest,

- show patience and a desire to attentively listen to and understand a person,

- be consistent and show people that they can rely upon you,

- set clear and achievable goals,

- respect your subordinates,

- encourage people for their good work,

- pay a great deal of attention to innovations,

- banish bureaucracy.

VOCABULARY TRAINING

C. Give the English equivalents:

На уровне, поведение человека, отношения,в этом отношении, взаимное доверие взаимное уважение, сохранять спокойствие, столкнуться с /в противоборстве/, выступать против, предложение,производительность, убедиться, позитивные черты, сделать вклад, непосредственный, честный, проявлять терпение и желание, последовательный, полагаться на,всецело, увеличить обратную позитивную связь, руководство, сохранять высокий уровень вклада, выговор,отделаться от, поступать неправильно,разочарованный, расстроенный, сосредоточить внимание,ясные цели, поставить цели, выполнимые, уважать своих подчиненных, поручать задания, гордиться их талантами, достижения, признавать, праздновать, поощрять, способствовать,заставить выполнить работу, вести борьбу с бумажной волокитой, ненужными правилами и бюрократией.

D. Answer the questions:

1. What does managing people require?

2. What is very important for a manager in managing people?

3. What must a manager do if he wants to be effective?

4. What climate must he create?

5. How must the manager behave when confronted with his opponents?

6. What personal features should the manager project on his subordinates?

7. What should a manager do to get along well with people?

8. Have you ever made reprimands to your subordinates?

9. What goals must you set your subordinates?

10. In what way can you show respect to your subordinates?

LET’S STUDY

II. Study the information below to use for leading a more productive staff.

Communication skills are one of the most important skills to lead a productive staff. It is important that communication with staff does not only occur around negative instances and that positive achievements are well communicated as well. All of this helps to engage staff and reduce turnover - highly engaged staff are more profitable staff.

Communication and feedback is the key to a successful working environment as it helps:

· people learn;

· create opportunity for professional and personal development;

· boost morale and loyalty;

· provide insight into how your business is running.

A great way to set the foundations for successful staff communication is to use our template to clearly outline your businesses policies and procedures.

Errors

Some things to avoid are:

· only ever giving negative or redirecting feedback;

· sandwiching negative feedback in between two positive feedback messages – the person will only hear the good;

· storing up 12 months of feedback and dumping this on employees in one meeting;

· being insincere when giving positive feedback;

· not being direct enough or honest enough - fluffing around the issues;

· yelling, screaming or getting emotional;

· allowing the employee to steer the conversation;

· communicating in an inappropriate forum – e.g. email, publicly, hallway conversations;

· avoid making it personal and by the way it’s not about YOU, focus on the receiver;

· being unprepared and 'winging it'.

Solutions

Things to try instead are:

· being balanced and giving positive and negative feedback when its due;

· be direct and honest and give the feedback truthfully;

· be timely in your feedback and communication as it happens – don’t put it off;

· practice and prepare what you are going to say – be specific, use examples;

· practice and prepare what you are going to say – be specific;

· be prepared, you are the manager and you need display a calm approach – do not match behaviour;

· allowing the employee to steer the conversation;

· always communicate face to face – so much is lost in translation when you shoot off emails, also as a general rule praise in public criticize in private;

· focus on facts, have all the right information and evidence if possible and use examples;

· have a script and plan what you are going to say.

Work in Groups

III. Study the given problems with staff and try to find practical solutions, develop step-by-step scenarios to these problems and share them with the other groups. Compare your solutions with the ones given by professionals (See “Ask the Expert”).

LET’S SOLVE THE PROBLEMS

LET’S ROLE-PLAY THE SITUATION

IV. Work in pairs and solve the given problem. Student A has got a problem: “With my new job of four months, I’ve made the crossover from staff to management; I now manage a team of seven. For the first time ever, people aren’t trying to reach out and be social with me and I can’t decide if they don’t like me or if it’s part of being in management. The staff all get along; they go out to lunch together, go to happy hour after work, go on breaks together, even do a few things outside of work, but no one has invited me to do any of it. Is this just my new reality and I can only be friends with other managers now? Nobody ever told me any of this, so maybe it really is just me?” Student B runs a management consultancy which gives advice to staff managers how to supervise staff efficiently. Act out the dialogue.

BRUSH UP YOUR GRAMMAR

V. Read sentences A – E. They are all examples of conditionals. Choose the best sentence to answer each question 1- 5.

A If companies or managers renew themselves, they last longer.

B If I were you, I’d team up with a partner.

C If he’d set out with a vision, success would have been more likely.

D If you want personal success in the business world, you can learn a great deal from Madonna.

E If you set yourself career goals, you’ll have greater opportunities.

1. Which sentence is about the past? _______ Did the action happen? Yes / No

2. Which sentence describes something that is generally true? _______

3. Which sentence refers to a future possibility? _______

4. Which sentence gives advice? _______

5. In which sentence is will replaced by another modal verb? _______