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The PeoplePACT In Action
If you can put into practice the elements of the PACT, you will build such a
strong, trusting, safe work environment, people will truly thrive. As you
review the process, remember the following key points:
- Begin by thinking about the qualities of the good bosses you have had.
They likely treated you with respect, dignity, fairness and honor. You
should do the same with your employees.
- Make your relationships “win-win-win.” Your success is dependent on
your employees’ success; you know it, and they should know it. Develop
strategies that advance both parties’ interests. Make the PACT! The organization’s
success is dependent on it too.
Where are you going, what do you want? Understand what is important to your employees.
It’s not always obvious, and it’s never simple. Find out what they need and help them get
it.
- Focus on being fair. All employees should be treated fairly, but not all employees
should be treated exactly the same. Each will have unique, personal needs and desires,
and each should be considered as individuals. Don’t try to create the same conditions for
everyone, but work towards creating an environment free from animosity and jealousy.
- Support and encourage more, critique less. In a supervisory role you must expect a
certain level of performance, but most of your employees will likely perform in at least
a satisfactory way. Fulfill the requirements of your company as they relate to employee
evaluation, but rather than harping on flaws and weaknesses, seek out ways to affirm the
strengths and successes of your employees.
- Share the big picture perspective. Explain to your employees the company’s strategy and
tactics, and work to make the organizational culture explicit. These qualities of the
organization should not be implicit or mysterious; they undoubtedly exist, so why not talk
about them?
- Clarify, clarify, clarify. Don’t allow your employees to “make stuff up”; when situations
are unclear, you must make them clear. And…don’t make stuff up yourself. Don’t shy away from
asking difficult questions.
- Acknowledge successes. In a genuine, specific way, acknowledge work well done by your
employees. For some managers this may not come naturally; if you are one of those, force
yourself to do it. It will be worth it.
- Provide regular feedback. Your job is to support your employees, and to do that you must
be in constant contact with them. Be constructive and helpful; don’t let your employees’ work
go unnoticed.
- Emphasize “playing well with others.” It begins in pre-school, and it never ends. Stress
with your employees the importance of constructive collaboration; lead with a compelling
vision; show them the benefits of working together, and transform their conflicts into experiences
marked more by growth than tension.
- Tell the truth. Making the PACT will not work in an environment that does not have trust
as its foundation. If your employees don’t believe you, you cannot successfully lead them.
While making the PACT is straightforward and outlined in our book, it is far from easy.
Some of what you have learned, particularly if you were trained by a “command and control” boss,
you need to “unlearn.” You must share how you feel with others; you must be vulnerable;
you need to take risks, admit mistakes. You will have to accept messy desks, employees who
leave work early (sometimes!) to see their children perform in a school play, and even —gasp!— employees
who don’t necessarily want to climb the corporate ladder. In the end, though, if you can focus on
the fundamental tenets of the PACT, your employees will be more productive, more energized,
and ultimately happier. When that happens…you will find that you will grow dramatically as a
manager, a leader and a human being. And, the organization will grow to new heights!
Trust us.
Click here for a worksheet that can help you start to make the PACT
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