15 Rules for Managers

Every day, employees complain about, or tell humorous stories about, their fearless managers. And every year, there seems to be new research and reports on job satisfaction that point to a high rate of employee dissatisfaction. The reasons for dissatisfaction specifically are job mismatch, job definition, pay and pay inequity, benefits, lack of support or feedback, lack of growth or advancement, favoritism, overwork and loss of confidence in leadership. The 2007 Global Strategic Rewards Report, a study by HR consulting firm Watson Wyatt, states that the top reason for employees leaving an organization is stress. Is job satisfaction and indicator of management acumen? Yes it is! The reports and research portray a widening gap between the needs of employees and management. There also seems to be a lot of codependency going on with employees, especially younger employees, who actually believe that management is not responsible for employee and team failure. The logic is that the troops are to blame for failures on the field not the generals. I can always tell when I'm working with or buying services from a well managed company as they seem to accomplish what they do effortlessly and the staff are relaxed and seem to be empowered to make decisions. These companies are also able to retain staff year in and out so my face to the company stays the same which is reassuring.

In order to help close the gap between employees and management I've compiled a list of rules to help set managers off into the right direction. The first rule is really the key as accepting responsibility will set managers on a path of discovery, practice and improvement.

Accept Responsibility - You are the person responsible and accountable for your staffs productivity, actions and behavior.