Lean Quote: What Employees Want From a Leader

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

"Employees who believe that management is concerned about them as a whole person — not just an employee — are more productive, more satisfied, more fulfilled. Satisfied employees mean satisfied customers, which leads to profitability."   —  Anne M. Mulcahy

Employees naturally gauge their connection and engagement with an organization through their local relationships and environments. And no one has a greater influence on those day-to-day interactions, processes, and operations than the managers on the ground with them.

Good managers build personalized relationships and connections with their employees, leveraging individual strengths to empower and motivate their people where they are.

Fortunately, leadership is a learned skill and you can train your current management to better understand and address their employees’ needs. To do this, you first need to know what your employees want.

A survey of 500 U.S. employees-published in the book "What People Want," by Terry Bacon-reveals what matters most to employees.

9 Things Employees Need

1. Honesty. 90% say they want honesty and integrity from their manager. Lies and secrets are the biggest killers to credibility.

2. Fairness. 89% want their manager to be fair and to hold all employees accountable to the same standards.

3. Trust. More than 86% want to trust-and be trusted by-their manager.

4. Respect. 84% want to respect-and be respected by-their manager.

5. Dependability. 81% say they want to be able to count on their manager when needed.

6. Collaboration. 77% want to be a part of their manager's team and be asked to contribute ideas and solutions. Shutting employees out will shut them up-and send them shipping out.

7. Genuineness. 76% want their manager to be a genuine person. Employees sometimes spend more time with their boss than with their families-they don't want a phony.

8. Appreciation. 74% want their manager to appreciate them for who they are and what they do. When was the last time you handed out a "Thank you!" or "Great job!" to employees?

9. Responsiveness. 74% want their manager to listen, understand and respond. Be a sponge, not a brick wall.

Bottom line: These traits are important to understand, but they don't apply to every employee. That's why it's best for managers to understand what each individual employee craves and then try to fulfill those needs. In the end, more satisfied employees stick around longer, are more loyal, do better work and make a manager's job much easier.