Managers hear alot about how important it is for employees to be happy while at work.   Do your happy employees perform?  As every manager knows, each employee can have a different interpretation of what makes them happy.  It’s important to have a respectful workplace so that all employeees can perform their jobs, but must all employees be happy?

“Are You Managing for Engagement or Performance?” by Jason Lauitsen on Sustainable Business Forum.   You have to deliver results and employees are there to support the business.    If an employee is engaged, does it mean they perform better?

You can be friendly but not a friend when you are managing employees.    You can be liked but it’s better to be respected because you are focused on managing their contributons and growth.  Employees need a combination of mutual respect and strong leadership.  As their manager, you are willing to listen as well as make the hard decisions.   The following article provides some insight into the trends in managing employees:

“Management tips, traps and trends:  How to stay current“   Conversation with Bruce Tulgan on Federal Computer Week.

“Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing.” –Harriet Braiker

Take a moment to ask yourself where you put your emphasis on – excellence or perfection.

Do you have an understanding of the difference between excellence and perfection?  Being clear around the differences will help you make better decisions for yourself and in managing employees.  Let’s first define the two words:

Perfection: the quality or state of being perfect: as freedom from fault or defect

Excellence – very good of its kind : eminently good

What is perfection?

Imagine it’s Monday morning and you walk into your department, look around and see only top-performing ‘star’ employees sitting at their desks.   You smile to yourself and say, “I’m so lucky to have all stars.”   You know the production in your department will be the best in the company…because you have all ‘stars.’   It will make your life so much easier.

Would all ‘stars’ be the perfect solution to managing employees and raising the productivity of your department?

I know that people learn through different modalities.  I’ve been writing about coaching and counseling of employees and helping managers handle the day-to-day operations of working with team members.  I thought I would try a different venue to share information around managing employees.

I found this video on UTube that offers guidance on the basic issues that supervisors/managers face in managing employees.  Though the title focuses on the new supervisor, it covers a lot of material that is great for a more seasoned manager.

The video covers S.M.A.R.T goals, coaching and counseling employees, new managers, motivating employees and other thoughts on managing employees.