Articles Some Rules are Meant to be Broken Pick the Winners Without Gambling! Managing Made Easier ARTICLES Managing Made Easier By Rosslynn Shortt, M.A.Sc. There was no mistaking it--Jennifer was miffed again, but this time I can't simply work around her. We just finished our regular weekly meeting and there are a couple of things we need to work on together. But no matter how hard I try, I'm unable to connect with her. Everything I suggest seems to put her on the defensive and it's not hard to see that she usually feels put out by my input. I don't understand it, Ben and Josie, the other team members, are so easy to work with... Been there? There's no doubt that managing people is a difficult task. Harmoniously dealing with complex communications, disparate working skills, and diverse personalities is a real challenge for today's managers. Successful managers, however, realize, that people are as unique in their business lives as they are in their personal lives. Some people work best when they are given wide latitude to accomplish results. Others like to know exactly what they are expected to do and how they are expected to do it. While some people are ideally suited to solitary sorts of tasks, others' output would be stifled if they could not interact with people. For some, a friendly work environment is essential for top performance, while others perform best when working to deadlines and facing tough challenges. Some people thrive on change and variety, while others find change highly stressful. Each person you manage is unique and comes with a particular set of motivating attributes. When you understand the particular strengths, wants, desires, and tendencies of each individual, you will be more successful at motivating all your employees to become fully engaged in the organization's mission. Your role as manager is pivotal in acquiring a high level of employee engagement, and you know that the first step in the process is to truly understand your employees. But that might not be as easy as it seems at first glance. Even managers noted for "having a way with people" sometimes experience difficulty resolving conflicts. And what happens when they have to interact with someone like Jennifer who seems to bristle at any suggestion from management? The more in depth understanding you have of your team, the easier your role as manager will be. But how can you quickly and easily build this understanding? The answer is to use assessments. Properly designed assessments will provide detailed information about: what motivates your employees their personal interests and values the communication style to which they best respond Once you have a profile of your team, you will know: what makes each of them "tick" who likes to work independently and who requires regular consultation which employees prefer to receive private words of praise and recognition from the "boss" and those who thrive on a more public acknowledgement of efforts and accomplishments The end result? Increased productivity, decreased waste of resources, better morale, and lower turnover.