If you ignore everything else, do these things when managing people

People skills, not policies, should be at the heart of properly managing your employees and creating a great business, writes Kriss Will.

In his book, Practice What You Preach, David Maister observed that financially successful businesses do better than the rest on virtually every aspect of employee attitudes. His assessment was based on the results of a survey of 139 offices of 29 firms across 15 countries in various lines of business.

Taking this line further, if employee attitudes drive financial success, then what influences employee attitudes? A large factor is the employee’s day-to-day experience of how they are managed. Time and time again, people are driven to go above and beyond, or to resign, because of their relationship with their direct manager. In some firms, however, there is a reliance on policy, not people, when it comes to management. This is a folly as personal interactions create workplace culture, not policies.

Even today, lawyers generally receive little training in how to manage people, despite all that we know about motivation, leadership and basic people skills. So, when thinking about this in relation to my experiences over the years, I propose five key areas of focus for those entrusted with people-management responsibilities.

1. Developing trust and respect

2. Communicating effectively

3. Encouraging autonomy

4. Creating challenging work

5. Providing recognition

Below are my thoughts on how you can start to develop your people-management skill-set and make a positive impact in the first two areas. I will cover the final three points in the next edition.

1. Developing trust and respect

Trust is earned, not allocated to a title. Do not be fooled into thinking your role as a partner, senior associate or manager entitles you to trust or respect. You have to earn it – and earning it is not difficult if you focus on engendering trust and acting respectfully. A good starting point is to build rapport and to get to know people by just having regular conversations with them about their interests (and yours). The discussions should not just be about work.

It is important to recognise that every relationship you have developed through work probably started with small talk. Keeping minor conversations going as part of your normal workplace approach will assist people to get to know you and, through knowing you, they can learn to trust you. It is crucial not to leave any team member out of these conversations. Sure, it will be easier with some people than others, but I believe you can find a point of interest for discussion with every person.

When it comes to trust, it is important to maintain confidences or, if you cannot, explain why you cannot. The statement “I am telling you this confidentially” does not mean that you add the word “confidential” when you pass the information on to someone else! Sometimes you are not able to keep something confidential, so explain this to the person and give them confidence about how you are going to deal with their information.

People who deal with the tough issues in an office may fear they will not be as popular with staff as some other less proactive managers, but people who acknowledge and deal with issues will ultimately gain more respect than those who pretend bad things will go away by ignoring them. Developing the skills and confidence to successfully deal with performance and people issues, rather than letting them fester, is critical for you to earn respect as a leader.

Be honest, not just in your dealings with your people, but also in assessing your own strengths and areas of development. Acknowledge when you do not know something, give credit to someone who has a better idea and say sorry when you make mistakes. These are simple, straightforward approaches – and ones which will earn you respect and trust.

2. Communicating effectively

We communicate all day through how we speak, how we listen and what non-verbal actions we adopt. From our facial expressions to our tone and through to our choice of words, communication is the foundation of all working relationships.

With the range of communication options open to you, it is important to think about communication modes and to choose them thoughtfully. Too often, email is the default mode. The truth is, though, that it is a blunt communication tool which is great for efficiency, but sometimes lacking in effectiveness. Face-to-face communication is good for establishing rapport and having those more difficult conversations. When you need a quick conversation, the humble telephone is often a better option than an email as it allows you to respond in real time and to influence the message through use of tone. When work gets really busy, one of the first things that people dispense with is meetings and face-to-face catch-ups. I suggest that more face-to-face communication is an effective approach when things are busy as it allows people to ask questions, hear directly what is going on and feel part of the team. A 10-minute standing discussion on the floor at the start of each day is all it takes.

One of the more difficult roles for people managers is putting on a positive face when they may feel otherwise inclined. Having a consistent approachable and positive personal style contributes to a productive work environment. I think it is important to start each day with the vibe you want around the office or team for the day. Do you walk in quickly, preoccupied with the day’s work, and march past your team members with your head down? Or do you deliberately start the day on a positive note with a smile and greetings so that you help to create the atmosphere you want for the day? Remember, the more senior you are, the greater your impact on the day-to-day vibe of the office – so use your power for good!

Finally, I often say that the only thing which is infectious that I am happy for people managers to spread to their staff is enthusiasm. If you are enthused, the people around you are also more likely to feel and act this way. Communicate your commitment and enthusiasm, and you will find that many of your team members follow your lead. This also substantially increases your chances of joining David Maister’s list of successful businesses.

Kriss Will is a law firm management consultant and the founder of Kriss Will Consulting. She can be contacted at kriss@kwillconsult.com.au.