I had a book signing event at a prominent book store on the weekend. Since I am an author and an employee 
engagement specialist, I asked one of the store’s managers if he was interested in business leadership books. His response to me was that he was not interested in developing his leadership skills and that he just punches the clock and does what he is told. Later, when I was leaving, I stopped by his office to say good bye and he was chewing out one of his staff for goofing off while someone was on break.
So there he is; another disengaged manager trying to engage his employees by yelling at them for being disengaged. Good grief! Here’s a news flash: You cannot engage employees if you are not engaged yourself! Your attitude is contagious. If you are enthusiastic and interested in what you are doing, then your people will be more likely to embrace your enthusiasm as you try to connect with them on a human level. If you are barely interested in your work and “punch the clock” then don’t expect much more from your employees. Your disinterest is the model of behaviour they are following!
When I left the store, I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of company would even want a guy like that on their payroll. Are they so desperate for managers that they have to resort to hiring people who have no drive, or is that hiring manager just as disengaged as he is? Hmm. Something to ponder…
Hi Renée.
You are so right.
“Your company really has to work for you before you can really work for your company”. (Stan Slap)
Best Regards
Tom
Too bad…there are some great people out there with the best attitudes…A resume of credentials does not guarantee desire to engage and excel.
Hi Renee,
You make a great observation.
However, as a Manager in today’s corporate environment, I always strive to engage and support my staff. I started out eager, enthusiastic and got great feedback on my leadership skills. However, times change, corporate cultures are all different (not all managers get full support, but you can bet they get a full court press full of pressure on them daily). If the company you are working for stretches managers too thin, with little support, your natural “enthusiasm” begins to fade. My natural attitude is positive, so I tried to keep the company pressure from my staff/team. Eventually, when the pressure gets to be too much, it sifts through to the staff. Many corporations hire entry level customer service people to cut costs – so although you, as a manager, are responsible for often a high level of customer service overall, your team is sometimes not quite as trained or dedicated as you would like. Turnover in those roles creates even greater challenges.
My point is try not to judge on appearances. The manager might have given his all – but become overwhelmed by corporate limits and lack of support along the way – and we are all human underneath. When you see lists of “best companies to work for” you hear wonderful stories of support, work/life balance and fully engaged /supportive management style. Sadly, this is not true in most cases – which leads to bad behavior – like what you witnessed.
Just my 2 cents.
Have a great day!
If you want to improve the DNA of your company you need to improve your decision making when it comes to human capital. The right people make you money – the wrong people – lose you money and brand capital
Welcome to a myth that’s as old as business itself.
Titles, are often looked upon by owners/corporate offices as merely ego boosters given to compensate for low pay with lower benefits!
This is not to say I share that view, but I do acknowledge it as one of the contributing factors in our business demise.
The franchise type business model put forward in the last 20+years was build a structure and a business the same way. Follow the blueprint and it will run itself. People were arbitrary. It actually worked in the good economic times and some even believed that bad manners was a sign of elitism. Of course they were making their purchases on the way to & from their psychiarty seessions. LOL
Here’s a very simple lession. Call it sales lession #1
Customers need to buy “you”…before they buy “from you”!
Deep advertising pockets might partially overcome this by “selling the franchise” in ads, but that merely increases the traffic which gives the illusion that the dismal performace due to inferior personell (created by corp. policy) doesn’t seem as bad as it is.
AS in all things…. Survival of the fittest has it’s place.
Economic turndown will hopefully have the cavemen (& cavewomen) searching for the 21st century, which is to say trained competent staff who “advertise” the business for free… by offering an outstanding customer experience!