Uncovering how managers really feel about their employees
Attention HR: Before you start spending money on leadership training for managers, find out how they really feel about their employees.
According to a recent University of California study, much of the company's success depends on how managers view their subordinates.
In what he describes as the first study to examine leaders' conceptions of followers, psychologist Thomas Sy found that "if managers view followers positively — that they are good citizens, industrious, enthusiastic — they will treat their employees positively".
"If they think of their employees negatively — that they are conforming, insubordinate and incompetent — they will treat them that way. Manager beliefs about employees impact organizational outcomes," he maintains.
Although they may not realize it, managers act on these views — known as implicit followership theories (IFTs) — and can miss out when it comes to leadership opportunities, he says.
This is particularly relevant in multicultural environments, he says, where cultural values that often inhibit expression of emotions (e.g. Eastern cultures such as Japan and China) could be misinterpreted.
The solution, says Wharton professor Stewart Friedman, is to pursue excellent performance as a leader in multiple domains — achieving what he calls “four-way wins” — not trading off one for another but finding mutual value among them.
If you’re the boss, how mindful are you of your positive and negative beliefs about the people that report to you? Or have you been on the receiving end of some misunderstanding?
By Gordon Powers, MSN Money
* Follow Gordon on Twitter here.
Posted by: Tenacious Otter | May 21, 2021 12:00:32 PM
I do have a comment, as this seems to directly relate to myself. I am too mindful of what I think, and the result has been a disagreement of what is expected of me by my employer and a resultant loss of employment. My former employer was unhappy with me because I did not wish to take on the responsibility of directing projects, due in part to how I feel about the pool of labour that is employed with the company. He was so emphatic that this be my position within the organization, that when push came to shove, I was the one that was sent down the road. Alas, I'm not unhappy about it, I feel that it has opened up opportunity for me. I have no doubts about my abilities, nor worries about my employability.
Posted by: Tenacious Otter | May 21, 2021 12:14:14 PM
In regards to this article and the industry I work in, I do believe a companies success is completely dependant on how managers see the labour pool that they are directing. The industry I work in is very volatile in regards to which companies are in favour and which are not, at any given time. In my experience, when this kind of dynamic happens, (management having a negative view), within any one company, the prospects for that companies continued favour within the industry are greatly reduced, and usually result in disfavour in the near future.
Posted by: Retired | May 26, 2021 3:09:56 PM
I am a retired supervisor and I had a philosophy about empoyees worth. A guy I worked with and had a crew of 30 men told me that they were a bunch of useless individuals and you couldn't get a days work out of the if you tried. His production was away down and they ultimately trasferred him. I wasn't to thrilled with the idea but I got his crew. He was right as they weren't very good producers but I decided to make the best of a bad situation and went to work on trying to motivate them. Inside of a year they were not the best crew I ever had but they thought they were anf we were very near the top in production.
In short if you think you have a worthless crew then you will ultimately end up with one, However if you think highly of your crew then it is likely that they produce for you and not want you to think your faith is misplaced. It worked for me for 25 years.