AKRON (May 21, 2007) — Active, alert bosses can thwart all kinds of problems by carefully monitoring the emotional pulse of their employees.
Ultimately, keeping tabs on your crew improves productivity, boosts morale and improves worker loyalty.
At the very least, though, monitoring the mood of the staff may prevent some screaming matches, fist fights—or worse. You needn't be a tire-dealer incarnation of Dr. Phil to accomplish this goal.
If nothing else, think of yourself as a capable coach. You're striving to keep the entire team working as a cohesive unit as well as staying motivated for each and every game.
If coaching was so easy, everyone would do it well. If leading a team of workers at a tire dealership or service shop was easy, every boss would be a smashing success. However, experience confirms that coaching and leading are the biggest challenges most people face in a lifetime. So, accept the premise that this is often difficult work.
Another critical premise for success is that you have to be present and involved with the staff. That sounds so obvious as to be trite, doesn't it? But I have visited countless automotive service facilities where owners or managers routinely are missing in action. You cannot lead or coach in absentia.
Frankly, you may think the work is beneath you or you may not feel inclined to develop leadership skills. If that's the case, just admit it and hire managers who will coach and lead. If this manager costs you a king's ransom in wages, he or she is still a bargain.
Suppose you are present at the tire dealership or service shop. You must be there in mind as well as body. You can't lead or coach very well if you routinely retreat to an office and bury yourself in a magazine or play computer games. Make regular rounds of the entire business and get acquainted with every employee. Observe everyone's work and work habits. Note routine patterns of behavior—good or bad.
At the very, very least, be sure that informal department heads such as the shop foreman or service manager learn workers' routines and moods.
Among your cast of characters, you may find the perpetual sourpuss, the carefree optimist and every personality type in between. On the one hand, you don't want to be an intrusive, overbearing ogre. What's more, you have your own work to do. On the other hand, employees should understand that you inspect what you expect from them. Part of that overall process is learning workers' moods and attitudes.
If successful coaches can do this, you can do it too.
A key objective here is to learn or recognize employee routines and moods because serious deviations often indicate mental or physical problems. Indeed, you'll eventually get to know some workers better than others.
The better you know the players, the better you understand what motivates and concerns each one. Some employees may be either intensely shy, private people, or nasty experiences have taught them to keep their guard up at all times.
Sometimes, these workers are waiting for you to earn their trust and respect. Then and only then will they let you get to know them better.
How many times have I heard a boss comment that, for instance, “Joe just snapped one day and suddenly he and Charley were slugging each other!”
He just snapped? Gee, I'm no therapist but I could have cut the tense atmosphere with a knife the first time I visited this man's dealership. Technician Joe's body language telegraphed “trouble waiting to happen.” If I noticed it immediately, why didn't a manager who sees this worker every day?
In other cases, gradual changes in mood or demeanor as well as generally bizarre behavior is quickly discredited or forgotten when a worker finally flips out. Often, employees who actually were paying attention cite all kinds of meaningful clues about a troubled person's state of mind. Many times—but not always—clues that a person needs counseling or at least additional coaching are there for those who choose to recognize them.
Some owners and managers believe that periodically hosting informal team meals is another, more tactful way to get acquainted or reacquainted with employees. Regardless, watch for and capitalize on opportunities to learn about your team's personalities because it's difficult to coach and groom people you just don't know well.