A Tap on the Back of the Head
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Just a tap. Not a smack or a whack or a slap. Just a tap on the back of the head.
That's how my mother let me know that I'd just done something unacceptable. I might have used an inappropriate word in conversation or come back from the store without the one most important thing I was sent for or failed to call my aunt on her birthday. Tap!
It wasn't punishment. It was communication, and usually that tap on the back of the head was all that my mother needed. I immediately knew what needed correcting. And I set about doing it or making sure I wouldn't make the same mistake again.
Aristotelian logic tells me that if you're a boss you have people working for you and people make mistakes so the people who work for you make mistakes. Mistakes don't call for discipline or punishment. They do call for recognition and correction. All that's required is your equivalent of my mother's tap on the back of the head.
Most of the people who work for you want to do a good job. And they know when they mess up and they'll try not to make the same mistake again. They don't need you to take big-time, big-deal boss action. All you usually need to do is make sure they know what they did and that they're going to fix things.
Boss's Bottom Line
Most effective boss work is informal. A little communication is usually all
you need. Just a tap on the back of the head.
Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.
This article touched a whole lot of memories for me, business and personal. They can all be summed up in the statement that I worked hardest and BEST for managers (and family members) with a lighter touch regarding errors.
You do not lower standards, you raise the expectations, in a positive, respectful way. The better employees (and family members) will rise to the needed level, every time.
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Good point, Kirk. It took me way too long to learn that most of the stuff that goes awry at work just isn't that significant or important and that my job was to help the team and team members do better, not to fix everything in sight. Thanks, Kirk.
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Great reminder, thanks. That tap on the head is effective as it acknowledges the mistake and focuses on the fix.
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Thanks, Thabo
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One minute reprimand?
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I love that! Thanks.
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Just the distinction that most people who work for us want to do a good job is huge. People will naturally feel upset when they make a mistake. It is the managers responsibility to point it out for them so it doesn't happen again, not to add to their discomfort!
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Great point, Jacob. Thanks for adding to the conversation.
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Great post Wally!
How one points out a mistake contributes greatly to how that mistake is rectified. Focus needs to be on the mistake, not the person who messed up. Otherwise, it breeds resentment.
I think that mistakes should be pointed in the gentlest, most diplomatic manner. And one should avoid reprimanding people in public. Trying to use an employee's mistake as a 'warning' for others is a big mistake in itself!
- Sindoora
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I love that point about "how" you point out the mistake. For me the money quote is: "Focus needs to be on the mistake, not the person who messed up." Thanks.
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