Tech Entrepreneur | 2x CEO & Founder | Author | Keynote Speaker | Follow for daily posts about Mindset, Personal Growth, and Leadership
Things I'm sick of hearing from my employees: - Can I leave early today - I'll be late in the morning - My child is sick, can I rush off - I've got a doctor's appointment tomorrow, is that okay - I'm going to be late back from lunch, I've got some things to sort. I don’t care. I hired you for a job and I fully TRUST you to get it done. I don't need you to account for every single hour. Times have changed, and the workplace is different these days. People are sick of being treated like children. All that should matter is that everyone is happy, and that the work gets done. → My advice to companies: Treat your staff like adults. That’s it, that’s the big secret. - Give them autonomy - Respect that they have lives outside of work - Don’t gaslight them into being grateful for not being fired every day Output should always trump hours. Do you agree? ♻ Repost this if you think that more companies should think like this And follow Rob Dance for more LinkedIn content like this!
During the last 50 years I managed many teams, big and small. In the last 30 years all the teams were remote. I made it known from day one your only obligation was to get the work done and as long as everything was completed I did not care when you worked or didn’t. I always had people from multiple time zones and usually from different continents as well. People loved this and very few ever abused the freedom. That said people need different levels of contact and communication so I still had people that “needed” to tell me they would be out. I just thanked them and carried on with my day. Over time some of this group got more comfortable with not reaching out but there we always a few that needed this. I also notice a comment about hiring veterans I would highly recommend this as my experiences were always so positive. They are used to working in a large organization with crazy timelines and rules that make little sense so are extremely good at overcoming any obstacle.
I ran an experiment years ago. I gave my employees unlimited holiday days. I ran this experiment across a standard business year - so Jan to Jan. The bulk of employees were sales/consulting staff - so responsible for generating X amount of revenue per head. Their yearly total salary package was dependant on hitting their target (combo of basic salary, monthly commissions and a yearly bonus). I initially employed people that had all the correct morals, values, integrity and ambitions - with most having family and children too. Based on this, I was fairly confident about how this would play out (and had contingency plans in place, just in case it went wrong). Needless to say it went well - with 75% of the staff ended up taking exactly the same amount they would have been given in a normal year, 15% took circa an extra 10 days across the year and 10% took less. All staff hit and exceeded their targets, they earned their commissions and received the end of year bonus. I am pretty certain I am not the only Director that has run an experiment like this and won't be the last - BUT - it does confirm that when you employ the right people - you get the right results.
Someone sounds like either they are burned out or maybe just not fit for there position. To do this on LinkedIn is not a great idea for everyone to see you don't care why someone might give you an excuse. Do they have a good reason. Things happen and the last thing one needs is a petty boss who throws his employees under the boss or a boss who feels the need to embraiece his employees and company. Maybe your employees make these excuses because they don't respect you or don't really want to deal with you. Maybe you are the problem. Ask yourself that question. Have you done everything you can to treat your employees with respect etc. Are you the kind of boss who mirco manages there employees. Are you the kind to humiliate them publicly. This post is in that category. I wonder what your employees think of you. Would be nice to hear there point of you. That way we get the full story and why you felt the need to do this. The real question is. Are you a good boss or leader?
I would largely disagree with this. As an employer you have to understand as well that employees also trust you to value them as a human being and not a piece of machinery. Understanding that, involves understanding that we all lead different lives and thats what makes us all unique, especially taking into consideration all of the possibilities people deal with on a regular basis from family emergencies to court dates and other important matters such as caring for a elder or sick family memeber. See life isn’t all about you or your company either and you are not the only conpany out there so be understanding be forgiving work with people as much as you can and take chances on those who are truly struggling yet be smart not to be played and it’s as simple as that. Remember that the most important capital you company has or will ever have are it’s people. As long as the project gets done in the end does jt really matter what YOU expect from people vs the reality. In the end if you want a soulless worker try hiring robots and see how that works out.
This would be an employers dream having employee that has FULL autonomy and can be trusted. However this is NOT always applicable to everyone/companies. In the reality we live in, there’s always be that employee who would abuse and take advantage the kindness you provide. it becomes habitual and the next thing you know, they aren’t getting the work done. let’s also remember that part of an employees job is to make sure there will be MINIMAL distruption in operation. If you want to be treated like an adult, then act like an adult. period
We have, unfortunately, been trained to be subserviently subjugated and compliant to micromanagement at work under fear of losing the job. It is so ingrained in us that some of us can hardly believe when we are given autonomy. My coming of age moment came at 52, actually. I started a new job and after telling my boss I was going to lunch (for about a week) and then telling her that a lunch might last a little longer due to a need, she called me into her office. She told me they hired me to do a job that had certain deliverables and certain meetings I had to be at and as long as I made those meetings and delivered my work, no one needs to know where I am, what I'm doing, when I'm at lunch, when I leave early or stay late—as long as the job was completed, she didn't care if I took 2 hours for lunch every day. My jaw hit the floor. NEVER in all my 37 years of work (to that point) had any job ever not wanted to micromanage my every minute on the clock. Never had I been given such freedom and autonomy. The result, I did MORE work for that company than any other, I took ownership of my job, I became more productive, and I thrived—and I also vowed I'd never work for a micromanaging company again and I never have.
As the Director of Community Management for PMI: Buckeye Services, this is one of my top priorities. Our team will be treated with dignity, respect, and given true autonomy to be successful to grow and advance in their careers. They may be our team member, but it’s their career, their life, they choose to share for our success. We celebrate this, and will celebrate when it comes time for them to move onto greater success.
I worked for a small company for almost a decade that was so micro managed and controlling that employees felt guilty for taking time off to care of themselves and/or their families. Returning to the corporate world with a company whose culture of trust has been so refreshing. When asking to step out for a doctors appointment or to leave a couple hours early on a random Friday, it is so refreshing to hear “We’re adults, I trust you getting your work finished” or “No problem, I’ve got you covered. Enjoy the weekend.” Feeling trusted and not micro-managed or controlled means so much more than the compensation. It is empowering, drives me to continue doing quality work, and stengthens my loyalty to the company and my team. It also gives me a sense of privacy by not feeling like I have to involuntarily divulge my personal life to my professional counter parts or superiors.
when I was in construction it was like you never can leave, I had FMLA for my wife in her final stages of cancer, some of the management tried to ignore it or bully me when I had to leave for her treatments & do her after care, I didnt put up with their crap, I was quite vocal & had the medical paper work in order, after the cancer took her I left that company ( she wanted me to as well ) for less money, less stress & have time to try and navigate rebuilding my life, in my 6 years at that company they had over 200 walkouts. They never understood its not always about the money.
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1dI think we need to change the dialogue process. While you may not need to ask permission like a child, there is still the need for visibility. Instead of "Can I leave early today?" it can be phrased as, "I'm stepping out early. If you need something, I'm available by OR I'm not available so go here...." While I may not need to ASK, I still need to communicate. We need to flip the script and find better ways to communicate what level of access you have during "normal" working hours. If I am normally at my desk from 8-5 with a lunch from 12-1, my team probably needs to know how or when they can reach me if for some reason I'm not going to be there. It shouldn't be a matter of "permission" it is a matter of "access."