What do bosses want from employees? Team players! In conducting in-depth conversations with hundreds of managers, supervisors and CEOs, this is part 2 in a series.
Part 1 talked about how managers repeatedly asked for “someone who is a proactive problem solver, not reactive–an employee who thinks ahead.” In part 2, we’ll explore the importance of getting along with others in the workplace. Let’s get started!
Be a team player willing to help your co-workers and customers. Admittedly, while conducting these in-depth conversations, it was a surprise to me that “team player” was specifically mentioned over and over and ranked as the second top trait or behavior bosses want. Obviously, productivity is an important reason for this, but the effect that being a team player has on the morale of others scored even higher than productivity.
Bosses overwhelmingly mentioned “willing to help others, anyone” in terms of sharing job knowledge, skills, and ideas as well as “willingness to help customers.”
Simply put–and this is repeated throughout many of my articles, books, and blog posts–managers don’t want to be bothered with emotional conflicts among their employees. They frequently report, “I feel like a referee and a babysitter and I don’t want that role. I want my employees getting along and resolving conflict themselves.”
Bosses consider good employees to be those who attempt to resolve issues on their own first without always running to the person in charge. When I’m speaking, I often ask managers and CEOs in my audience, “Do any of you feel like you’re running an adult day care?” They laugh and say, “Yes! You must know some of my employees!”
Many managers and supervisors get promoted to management or leadership positions based on their hard skills or technical skills. They (and maybe you) received a promotion because they did a great job. But in these areas, the skills that got them promoted aren’t always the ones they need to manage people. That’s why they don’t want to deal with issues such as conflicts between employees. Not only that, these managers and CEOs are overloaded with work themselves and don’t have time to deal with emotional problems between co-workers.
So, what do bosses want from employees? Team players, proactive problem solvers and more. Stay tuned!
About Colleen Seward Ryan, Leadership Expert, Keynote Speaker
An internationally recognized award-winning speaker, Colleen Seward Ryan is the author of the book, Secrets Your Boss Isn’t Telling You, as well as 10 unique audio programs.
As a Aiken, South Carolina-based keynote speaker, Colleen has delivered more than 1,100 fun and entertaining programs before thousands in 48 states and five countries. She has served as keynote speaker for conferences, corporate meetings, associations, Native-American tribes, and non-profits. Colleen is available for keynotes, breakout sessions, and seminars. For more information, please visit https://bouncebackhigher.com
