Page 57 - Becoming a Successful Manager

48 KNOWING THE TERRITORY

This realization should motivate you to treat your employees
the way you would like to be treated. After all, while the differences
between you and your staff might be more visible, the character-
istics you have in common—your human characteristics—are far

more signifi cant. Specifically, some ways your employees might be
different from you might include gender, race, geographic culture,
and country of residence. However, sharpening your sense of how

much you and the people under your influence have in common
will differentiate you as a quality manager. Complete the follow-
ing three-part discovery exercise to walk through the process of
putting this into practice:

Discovery Lesson

1. Write your answer to this question: What, specifically, do I expect
from my manager or the person to whom I report?
Expectations in this context refer to all entitlements and any treat-
ment you consider essential to performing your job. For example, it
is reasonable for you to expect a respectful workplace and a clear
understanding of what is required of you. These are essentials.
If these and other minimal expectations were unfulfi lled, you
would be disappointed, unhappy, and probably inclined to look for
other employment. Your value, effectiveness, and creativity can actu-
ally be eroded if your minimal expectations are ignored or belittled.
Regardless, even if your minimal expectations were fulfi lled, you
would not be jumping up and down with excitement. More to the
point, you would not be motivated to do your best; most likely, you
would simply do whatever it took to get by. This is because it’s normal
for employees to give no more than they receive. That’s the way it is