The Management Struggle

 The Management Struggle

There are many publications on management and the many struggles managers face. For me I was on both the top performing employee and manager side and there is one struggle that I see very often and could lead to losing your top employee.

A manager has a lot to do in their day and most managers DO NOT want to micromanage. In ideal situations the employees would all be good, ethical, hard working individuals and the manager would just have to pat them on the back, talk strategy and have minimal meetings so each person under them can do their job effectively and efficiently. Unfortunately this is not the case, some individuals take advantage of great management and try to get away with doing little work, not following up when expected or letting things fall through the cracks. In this case, a manager has to put more focus on the individual who is slacking and has little time for their best/top performers.

This is a huge issue!

Managers should always be giving attention to the top performers, the ones who technically need very little management. Top performers love acknowledgment that they are doing a good job & appreciated. They want to feel like management is taking the time to meet with them and has an interest in their day to day activities. When you show your top performers love and attention, they work even harder as they know their good work is not going unnoticed. This retains your best employees because great workers love meaning in their role and a company that secures a long lasting future together. Like any strong relationship - nurturing is key.

Always make time for your top performing individuals as the ones who are slacking probably have a short term future in their position/with the company.

Some meeting ideas for top performers:

-Talk about growth and where they can be in 6 months, 1 year, 3 years plus if they continue down this path

-Ask what you can do for them or any areas they feel like they could use some mentoring or additional training

-Talk about their personal goals within the organization or what areas they would like to improve in/ get more results in and then take those metrics and put some rewards into the mix when the employee reaches his/her goals.

I understand that most managers have their own long list of responsibilities besides management but make your great employees your top priority and it will pay you back tremendously.