my view from 20 years of people leadership

1. The main lesson I learned from being a people manager for over 20 years…
Treat your people right!
What isthe heartbeatof yourorganization? It’syourpeople,noquestionaboutit.
How doyou getthemto leave? Youdemoralize them, youare apathy towardsthem, youkeepthemin
the dark, youdon’tprovide asupport network, youkeepthemfromtrainingoradvancededucation and
mostimportantlyyoudon’tLISTEN to them.
What do youdo to keepthem? Youfindoutwhat theyneedtodo theirjob,you supporttraining,
educationandadvancement.You treatthemwithrespectanddignity. Fairnessisessential. Youmentor
and coach themand helpthemdevelop. Youprovide aworkplace freeof discrimination. There is
regularand consistentperformance feedbackprovided. And mostimportantly,youLISTEN tothem.
The Golden Rule is very applicable here - treat others as you would like to be treated.
Wouldyouwant to be talkeddownto,disrespected, ornottreatedfairly? Ithinknot.Thenwhydo
managersdo these thingstotheirstaff andnot thinktwice aboutit? (Bad) Attritionisa bigissue in

2. manycompaniestodaybecause of the very waymanagerstreat theiremployees. Theyemploy ado as I
say,not as I do philosophy.
What if an employee isbeingbullied,harassed,andintimidated? Whatif favoritismexistsandthe
managerbringsinwork buddies tofill spots?Whatif racismor sexismexists? Whatif unethical
practices are takingplace?
Don’tsay that’sit’snot your problem. Itisyourproblemif you witnessthe badbehaviortakingplace.
It’sall of our ethical responsibilityasa good corporate citizens toreportfoolish,poororirresponsible
behavior.If we permitone badmanageror companyto permitthis,then whatstops othersfromtaking
the same action?
Governmentpolicies like ADEA andstate employmentlawshelpbutunfortunatelyit continuestobe a
problematmany workplaces.If youwitnesssomethingthat’snotright,take actionand reportit. Don’t
ignore it.
Many companieshave OpenDoor policies. If that doesn’t work, don’t stop. Look for other avenues to
report the problem. Pursue leaders outside the immediate organization. If an HR/Legal department
exists, go there. If that doesn’t work, don’t stop. You may even need to take measures outside the
company to get responsible action. Many state and local governments have additional resources you

3. can leverage. The US legal system is another avenue to pursue if needed.
Employeesare the cornerstone toa successful business. If youdon’ttake care of the people,theywon’t
take care of the business. Customers becomeimpactedandthenthe financestake ahit. Employeesneed
to be treated with respect and professionalism. Not the opposite.
See if yourcompanyhas a problemwithattrition. Notall attritionisbad,butin thiscase,we are talking
aboutlosingvaluable productive performers. Lookatthe statisticsforyourcompanyor division. Look
beneaththe covers tosee what’sdrivingthe metrics. Are yourgoodemployeesjumpingshipfor
greenerpastures? Are theylookingforcompaniesthattreatthembetter? If youremployeesaren’t
beingtreatedright,theywill leave. Take adeeperlookintothe management.
A recentpublicstudyindicatedthatemployeesdon’tleave acompany,theyleave amanager. Fix the
managerproblem. Getridof the leadersthatare causing the employee’s painandfrustration.
Remember,it’savery competitive marketplace. Employeesrecognizewhenthey are treatedbadly.
Theywill leave andfindaworkplace that treatsthemwithrespectanddignity. Getto the root of the
problemandtake corrective actionbefore it becomesabiggerproblem.
Vickie hasbeenapeople leaderfor20years,workingacrossdiverse industriesandcorporations. Many
thanksto the producersof the graphicimagesusedinthisblog.