Eagle or Seagull Managers – same result.
While it may seem obvious that the strongest influence on an employee’s drive and morale is their supervisor, very few companies recognize the degree to which bad bosses may negatively impact their employees’ productivity. Engagement survey evidence shows only 15% – 19 % of workers feel valued and respected in the workplace, while a third of US employees lose over 20 hours a month complaining about their bosses. Furthermore, Finnish studies have found employee stress from poor managers has been linked to a rise in blood pressure and an increased risk of coronary heart disease. This observation that managers too often offer inadequate support over time followed by ineffective problem-solving at the last-minute can be summarized through the concept of “seagull management” – 21st century micromanagers who seem to swoop in, squawk at everybody and leave behind piles of formulaic advice before abruptly taking off and leaving behind a frustrated and sometimes more confused co-worker.
While in times of a tight labour market, employees may have seen no other alternative than to stay and endure, today’s labour market is developing into a different picture. With numbers of seagull managers increasing, the solution seems to be in the managers themselves. In most cases, these managers are unaware of the negative impacts of their behaviour. Improving their leadership mindset and skill set starts with three strategies to minimize the negative impact of this seagull-type management:
- Understand yourself and your people – Behavioural Based LeadershipTM sets the stage for a much better understanding of all the people involved.
- Clear expectations – nothing causes a situation to fail more than “they should have known” or “they should have asked” when it comes to expectations and successful results, you often get what you ask for. Poor or unclear expectations result in less than stellar results.
- Stay connected with employee performance and deliver feedback – both positive and negative – in small, regular doses. The feedback should be reciprocal in nature (upwards and downwards)
The truth of the matter is that we are all capable of seagull management in some situations, with some people. Therefore, we are all responsible to consider the repercussions of our leadership styles as they pertain to our health and job-satisfaction as a workforce.
“We would be pleased to contact you with regards to Behavioural Based Leadership” Yes please contact me
