It's not you... managing people is hard.
The workforce has changed drastically over the last five years. How we train managers… hasn’t.
The skills that define an excellent people manager are skills that drive connection. They are skills that see employees for the human that they are. Why? Because today’s workforce is searching for it…no, demanding it.
True high performance is built through connection.
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Manager Development Consulting
We work with select, innovative companies to incorporate the Manage(Meant) Excellence approach into how they equip leaders. Reach out at hello@managemeantexcellence.com
Let's flip the script on what we see today
Managers get a
bad rap...
You have heard it before, people often leave their managers, not their company. Managers get a bad rap for micromanagement, absorbing credit for their teams work, halting progress and more.
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We can help...
Managers lack
training...
Managers training focus on tracking KPIs, developing a team budget, hiring, compliance etc.
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Managers lack training on critical skills that build trust and high performance. Skills such as transparency, empathy, vulnerabilty, authenticy and more.
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We can help...
Managers are
disengaged...
Research shows managers are the least satisfied in their roles, report high-levels of stress and have an increased propensity for burnout.
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We can help...
Managers and leaders are different...
Often, the "best in role" get promoted to manager versus the most equipped to manage. Every person with a direct report is a manager from the CEO to the first line manager.
Organizational structure and antiquated thinking often impeding manager success.
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We can help..
There is a misconception that best managers have innate "soft skills" that cannot be taught.
We teach managers how to build a management style that is authentic to them while helping managers learn performance driving skills such as;
Empathy
The management approach we all know was built for the industrial age. The working world has changed. Personal lives are integrated with professional lives. Managers must lead with empathy and approach leading their people by seeing them... as people
Vulnerabilty
People need managers who can be vulnerable with them and leverage the reality that everyone will soar and everyone will struggle and everyone needs to navigate challenges personally and professionally. Vulnerability builds connection. Connection drives trust. Trust creates high performing teams
radical transparency
Employees need clear direction and communication. Managers can fall into a habit of avoiding difficult conversations because, well, they are difficult. Understanding how to engage in radical transparency in an safe and connection enhancing way in all scenarios further drives high performance by eliminating the ambiguity that results in stress and anxiety
flexibilty
One of the greatest engagement tools that should be in your tool box is your ability to integrate flexibility in a variety of ways in to your management style. Flexibility that enables employees lives to unfold in the unpredictable ways that life happens while still enabling you and the organization to achieve results. No matter the industry, there are ways to integrate greater flexibility.
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advocacy
Advocacy is a game changer. Employees need to feel seen, heard and valued. As a manager you should know your employees skillsets and growth goals and foster movement in both. The definition of success for a manager needs to change. If a high-performing employee is with a manager for several years with no responsibility changes, pay increases or position changes - it is not the employee failing.
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follow-through
The simplest way to put it, if you say you are going to do something, do it, do whatever it takes to keep the commitment. Even the most well intentioned managers lose the trust and engagement of their employees by consistently making commitments they do not act upon.
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Signs that meaning is lacking in your management
Employee Fear
Very few employees speak up in meetings, turnover is high. Psychological safety is low. Antiquated strategies of control are in place
Burnout
Employees consistently raise the white flag on capacity. Emails are responded to during "PTO" or PTO banks go largely unused. Work is done in the evenings because days are filled with meetings.
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No movement
Employees are staying in the same position well after their skills have out grown the position.
Micromanagement
Distrust is the enemy of high performance. Micromanagement is a symptom of distrust and the fastest way to destroy employee morale.
Executives Opt Out of Managing
The term "leader" replaces "manager" the higher up the organization chart an individual goes. Critical managerial responsibilities are delegated at the highest levels.
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Survival Tactics
Employees implement survival strategies that waste time and introduce unnecessary stress to survive bad managers.
Women are leaving and diversity is lacking
Executive statements on the importance of diversity and commitment to creating an inclusive environment is nice, but managers create the environment that their employees live in and that environment either allows those stated commitments to thrive or fail.