There is nothing complex about managing people. However, that doesn't mean it's easy.
What it does mean if you use the Three T's then you are most of the way there.
What are the Three T's?
And the great things about the Three T's, that each one helps you achieve each one! Kind of a happy cycle.
Trust. Build a relationship. If you have a relationship that you have committed to, then generally there is an investment to make it work, to get the best out of each other. And you build a relationship of trust by doing the second T:
Talk. Talk to people. Listen to people. Be interested in people. The talk doesn't just have to be work related. The more you talk, the more you understand about the person, the more you understand the person, the more you know how they work best and can support them. However the talk must be the third T:
Truth. Be honest. Don't praise when the work isn't praiseworthy. But give praise when it is deserved. Then your staff know where they stand. And don't delay hard conversations. Whenever I have a hard conversation to have with a staff person, I always think about the times I wake up in the middle of the night needing to go to the toilet. Too often, i think 'it's so warm in bed, I'll just try and go back to sleep'. And if I do that, what usually happens is I don't sleep very well until I do get up. So, what I try to do is get up straight away and go to the toilet and go back to bed and then I go straight back to a comfortable sleep. The same theory with having the hard conversations with staff. Anyway, their so much easier when you have a trusting relationship and talk a lot!
And so the cycle continues...
