You should care about your people and the quality of the work they produce. Provide them with direction and resources. Hold yourself to the same standard as your subordinates.
Right after finishing college Eric J. McNulty, who is now considered an expert on the topic of leadership, wrote an article for the strategy-business.com website. He had a manager who trusted him and let him stretch his abilities with assignments far beyond his experience and expertise. Despite his junior status, he met with senior executives and represented the firm in the media. Those stretch assignments were great opportunities for growth. And there was always a colleague who could be approached when there were problems. Therefore, his advice to young people is to find a manager they love. And it might be you.
How managers can shape young workers
During his summer job at college the manager of a family-owned restaurant taught Eric you really have to do a lot of hard work in the background for customer-facing work to appear flawless. The discipline instilled in people from hospitality or retail is the reason why he prefers candidates with this experience when he needs to fill almost any position. The reason is that he knows that to succeed in those kinds of jobs you have to be able to:
- Work hard but keep a smile on your face.
- Deal with difficult people.
- Understand the importance of teamwork.
Boss should be straightforward and direct
Later, another of his best managers let him discuss work openly and honestly. Their relationship was, therefore, based on mutual trust. Although the manager feedback was not always pleasant, it was always true. It was never some baloney designed to make him feel better.
-jk-