Since I’ve worked through a number of jobs over the course of my career, I’ve had the benefit of observing different management styles at work within different corporate structures throughout my career. Film and television; nonprofits; entertainment companies and performing arts venues; and professional sports. Not to mention the various side gigs I’ve been involved with.
What I’ve seen, and learned, from management, I can boil down to a few prime nuggets. For starters, how you treat your employees matters. It’s not always pay, and everyone has a different reason for working where they do. But if you can make that experience – the coming-to-work experience – more pleasant than other potential employers, you’ll come a long way to keep your workforce.
Listen. Listen to every opinion, even if you disagree. Maybe especially then. If you’re only relying on your ideas, eventually you’re going to miss out on potential opportunities. Opportunities that someone else may seize on.
And lastly, don’t think your job is the only one. Especially now. This is a generation willing to challenge the status quo and innovate in ways that previous generations were not. A generation that has no problem quitting a job, even if there isn’t anything else lined up. I’ve heard that approximately 30% of the workforce changes jobs every 12 months.
So, it is imperative to be open to new ideas and opinions, and to be willing to listen and learn from them.
Michael's Musings 