Page 18 - PCCAJournal4thQuarter2011

Basic HTML Version

PCCA Journal|4
th
Quarter 2011
18
Your team suffers from low morale because you second-
guess everything it does.
Your team has a high turnover rate.
Your team produces low-quality work and/or is not pro-
ductive.
Your team is not profitable.
Your team lacks bench strength in terms of succession.
If you are a helicopter boss and do not allow your employ-
ees to make at least some of their own decisions, you set
yourself up to have a dissatisfied and unproductive work-
force. Many of your talented employees will simply leave
rather than put up with someone who constantly hovers and
micromanages. Research indicates that one of the top reasons
people leave companies is because of poor relationships with
their managers. Replacing these employees can cost up to 2.5
times of their salaries, which takes a toll on the company’s
bottom line. For a construction company to stay competitive
and successful, employees must be trusted to do the best
they can to live up to their fullest capabilities. Employees
must not be held back by managers who feel compelled to
control each decision and move their workers make.
Years ago, managers got results by running a tight ship and
keeping employees under their thumbs. However, employ-
ees today are no longer satisfied working in an environment
where they have little input into their jobs. If they are not al-
lowed to problem solve, learn from their mistakes, and make
decisions about how they do their work, they will go else-
where. This will certainly be true in the upcoming months as
the economy begins to rebound and the talent wars resume.
To succeed in constantly changing markets, construction
companies must be flexible and adaptable. The typical
construction project frequently requires fast-paced decisions
made with confidence. Helicopter bosses hamper the speed
of decisions, skills improvement in problem solving, and the
development of self-confidence of their people.
Organizations achieve success by empowering employees
to perform at high levels and achieve goals and objectives
without having a manager constantly checking everything
they do. One of the best ways for a helicopter boss to stop
micromanaging and start empowering is through delegation.
However, before empowerment and delegation can start,
there must be a culture of trust.
Trust Me
What exactly is trust?
Webster’s Dictionary
defines trust as
“assured reliance on the character, ability, strength or truth of
someone or something.” Put another way, trust means being
able to place confidence in others without fear or misgiv-
ings. In any organization, trust must exist in both directions,
where managers trust their employees and employees trust
their managers in turn.
To create a culture of trust, managers and employees
alike should:
Establish integrity and honesty
Show respect
Listen to others and consider their ideas
Not withhold important information
Act and speak consistently
Eliminate fear
Treat everyone fairly
Focus on solutions, not on personalities
Bonds of trust are formed when communication is honest
and open and when people genuinely feel that they are being
heard and valued. Trust is reciprocal, and one of the best
ways to gain it is to show people that you trust them. While
you may not necessarily agree with what others are think-
ing or saying, listening and empathy go a long way toward
establishing a trusting environment.
When managers treat their people as business partners and
involve them in the decision-making process, those em-
ployees begin to trust and respect their managers in return,
and they become more invested in doing their best for the
organization. Another advantage to creating a culture of trust
is that it boosts the morale and motivation of the workforce,
which should lead to increased productivity and enhanced
contributions to company goals.
Empower Me
Typical micromanagers often are stressed out because they
spend so much time controlling others instead of focusing
on more important priorities such as growing the business.
In turn, instead of being able to think on their feet, micro-
managed employees become entirely dependent upon their
Are You a Helicopter Boss?
Continued from page 17
Good managers do not problem solve for their employees,
but instead coach them to solve problems on their own.
Good managers trust their employees, and in turn that trust
is reciprocated. By not micromanaging every aspect of their
people’s jobs, good managers help employees develop and
grow, which benefits the entire organization.