In the latest HCI Webinar, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with Jack Wiley about his book, The Employee-Centric Manager, 8 keys to people-management effectiveness. Below is a summary of the main points from their conversation! Check out the full episode and let us know what you think!
Watch the episode here:
Employee Centric Manager Book Discussion
Jonathan and Jack discussed Jack's recent book, "The Employee Centric Manager," which focuses on people management effectiveness. Jack, an award-winning organizational psychologist, researcher, author, and leadership consultant, shared their background and the motivation behind their book. They explained that their book is based on a comprehensive data set collected from employees worldwide, aiming to understand what employees most want from their immediate bosses. Jonathan emphasized the importance of considering employees' unique needs and desires, rather than assuming a one-size-fits-all approach based on theories. They concluded the discussion by planning to delve into the findings and actionable insights from the data in future conversations.
Managerial Impact on Workplace Experience
Jonathan and Jack discussed the crucial role of immediate managers and their teams in shaping the workplace experience of their employees. They agreed that even in a toxic organization, a supportive team and a good boss can significantly improve the employee's experience. Jonathan emphasized the importance of a manager's ability to create an environment for satisfaction, engagement, and meaningful work.
Importance of Respectful Boss-Employee Relations
Jack emphasized that employees primarily want a boss who is supportive, understanding, and treats them with dignity and respect. They identified these behaviors as relationship-building and essential for employee satisfaction. Jonathan concurred, stressing that treating employees well, with respect and dignity, is the foundation of a healthy team environment and creates a culture of trust. The conversation concluded without a clear progression to the next topic.
Performance, Recognition, and Development in Leadership
Jack discussed three key performance-related behaviors for leaders, which include communicating clear performance expectations, recognizing employee contributions, and rewarding performance. They also noted that leaders should strive to create training and development opportunities for their employees. Jonathan shared their insights on the demotivating effect that can occur when new initiatives gain immediate attention, while long-standing employee efforts are overlooked. They emphasized the importance of leaders acknowledging and supporting their employees' innovative efforts, as well as clearing the path for such initiatives.
Managerial Influence on Fair Pay Perception
Jack and Jonathan discussed the perception of fair pay among employees and the role of managers in shaping this perception. They agreed that managers can impact this perception, even if they don't have control over pay policy, by being clear and transparent about the constraints and opportunities. They also highlighted the importance of good problem-solving and decision-making skills in managers, which employees want them to practice and become good at. Finally, they discussed the values that employees want their managers to uphold, such as fairness, justice, honesty, and trustworthiness.
Leadership, Integrity, and Managerial Impact
Jonathan and Jack engaged in a conversation about leadership and management, emphasizing the importance of consistency and integrity in decision-making. Jonathan shared an experience where a new initiative was introduced without acknowledging past decisions, which could lead to a perceived lack of integrity and undermine the foundation of the new project. Jack highlighted the importance of managers considering how their actions and communications will affect others. Jack is also working with corporate accounts to train managers on the attributes of an employee-centric manager and has developed a measurement system to assess these attributes.
Listen to the webinar here:
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