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Managerial Inputs in Development - Socialise
We are all familiar with cartoons where the
boss does his annual unbending act at
the office Christmas party, and where the naïve newcomer, having shared a few
jovial remarks with him, is dumb-founded at the frost he encounters the next
time he comes face to face with him.
It can
be very difficult for a boss to get to know his
staff really well, which
requires a degree of social contact (varying from culture to culture) but not
familiarity. He has to be seen as a human (and humane) being, having close
working relationships with his staff while retaining his aura of authority and
maintaining his distance! It is hardly surprising, therefore, that most
managers, apprehensive of being taken advantage of by the pressure of personal
bonds with people they have to supervise daily, retreat behind a wall of feigned
indifference, where closeness poses no risk to authority.
But consider the advantages of socializing:
-
Affords an opportunity to share your values and vision
-
Creates a sense of caring through getting to know each other as people
- A
boss who socializes, within bounds, gets even more loyalty/ respect
- Gets
feedback/ advance information about potentially undesirable situations which
may be at nascent stages
-
Dispels rumor or gossip about what the boss is really like
-
Chances of staff development taking place are considerably enhanced
Little staff development can
take place without close understanding
between boss and staff, through the authority vested in him, but also
through his own innate qualities of leading and willingness to be led. Men will
kill for such officer-like qualities in their boss!!
As the boss, you may review the following points:
- get
out from behind your desk and cruise your patch
- put
your people at their ease
- let
your hair down just a bit now and then
- enter
inter-departmental competitions; they'll love you for losing with a grin. Ditto
for raffle tickets.
- join
them for lunch or coffee once in a while and have brief chats on non-work areas
We can't all be charismatic
generals like Patton, but remember that homely Gen. Omar S. Bradley, the
‘people's general,' eclipsed him, just because this was the area where Patton's
‘weakness' nearly resulted in a revolt in the U.S. Army Division he commanded,
and led to his having to make a public apology to his troops… and an early
retirement. ‘A medieval warrior, lost in modern times' (as Field Marshal Von
Runsted of the Reichstag described him).
Abrasive genius has often to give way to effective mediocrity
in the interests of staff development and Company goals.
QUESTION:
- How
do bosses get their work done through staff they do no know well? What are the secrets of achieving the high-wire balancing act
that allows a boss to socialize without getting too close?
- Why,
if at all, is it necessary to be sensitive to staff as people? Does ‘hobnobbing' with the men pay off handsomely for
managers? If so, how and why? Make your stand clear in unambiguous language.
