HR MANAGEMENT - 5 Common Mistakes Made Managing Your Employees

by MELISSA FAIRMAN on DECEMBER 5, 2012

LESSONS LEARNED MANAGING YOUR EMPLOYEES

If you have been managing people for a while, you probably feel pretty comfortable with the manager hat on. You’ve given more than a few good and bad performance reviews, you’ve managed those tough money conversations, and heck you even handled a sexual harassment complaint last year! OK well, HR and legal were involved but still…

So you probably don’t think you are doing anything wrong…Well I think you are doing something wrong and you don’t even realize it.  It’s natural to fall into a rhythm and think you have this managing stuff down pat…but be aware of these mistakes that both newbie and experienced managers managing their employees can make:

5 MISTAKES MANAGERS MAKE

§  Giving too much information – maybe you have been managing “Bob” for a couple years now. You “know” Bob so you feel comfortable discussing confidential information, like how Betty’s husband has cancer and that is why she is missing so much work.  You probably feel like it’s OK to say that because otherwise everyone just thinks Betty is getting a lot of vacation.  Problem is you’ve just violated HIPPA; Bob doesn’t need to know why Betty is out of the office.

§  Not giving enough information – If you’ve been burned in the past by a “Bob” you are probably weary of sharing information with your team. This is natural but it’s important to realize that by not giving out information you are making an even bigger mistake. When people don’t get information from you or hear the information third hand, you help build the workplace rumor mill we all despise. 

§  Ruling by decree – this is a subtle one. You probably think that you are a very democratic leader. After all you always say “Anyone have any questions? Thoughts?” it isn’t your fault that no one ever speaks up…right? Well maybe it is your fault.  Have you created an environment where people are afraid to speak up? Do you ridicule people’s suggestions? If not getting suggestions or feedback is a regular occurrence, I suggest you look in the mirror at your own behavior. Make it safe for people to suggest new ideas and challenge your thinking.

§  Managing everyone the same way – Somewhere along the line you heard the message that “everyone must be treated equally” and you’ve taken that to heart. Everyone gets a 2.5% raise. No one gets to work from home.

Really!? By treating everyone with the same middle of the road mentality you fail to differentiate between good and bad performance.  If I know that the slacker in the cube next to me got the same raise (and I do because us employees talk) why exactly am I going to work any harder?

And finally…the number one mistake you are making:

§  You are comfortable in the manager role. You think you’ve got it covered….that’s where the problem lies. Good managers challenge themselves to get better.  They don’t stop at “comfort.” They challenge themselves and their team.  Don’t stop at comfort…keep moving forward.

QUALITIES OF A GOOD MANAGER

What do you think? What qualities make for a good manager?  What are your suggestions to stay on your manager A-game?  Are there any other common managing employee mistakes I missed?