Mark Corder, the new JET Management & Leadership course facilitator, shares the importance of leading how you like to be led.
I was once asked by a junior manager if the content of an email they were about to send to one of their team, was fair and reasonable. To add some context, a task of significant importance and of financial value to the organisation had not been completed and there were three days remaining in which to get it done.
The junior manager had no previous concerns with this team member and prior to hitting the send button, they asked me for my views on their emails instructions. It’s worth me adding that if a task is important and would benefit from a written audit trail, then sending an email is fine for this purpose, even if the recipient works just down the corridor. Emails are a good method for tracking work/task allocation and progress and reduce the ability of the absent-minded from saying they didn’t remember the conversation.
It can never hurt to also follow up an important email, if team members are in close vicinity, with a quick face-to-face, explaining that an email is on the way or has been sent, therefore humanising the instructions. This also allows the addition of some much welcome body language to add to the communication.
After reading the email, before it was sent, I was taken aback by the tone and the threats contained within. “You will be held accountable”, “I expect this to be done by (date) or else”. I suggested to the junior manager that they hold onto the email and write another one, as though they were to be the recipient, using language and tone that gets the message across but which would not put their own back up.
When comparing the two emails, the junior manager agreed that both would be likely to achieve the desired outcome, but the new draft would be unlikely to have the effect of alienating them from the member of their team and would help foster a future productive working relationship.
The best leaders and managers can get the job done with the minimum of fuss whilst maintaining the ability to lead others without using coercion of threats. For those who are not delivering the required level of performance, then their behaviour will have manifested itself at some earlier point, when face-to-face performance discussions rather than emails, are the order of the day. The importance of a task does not necessarily need to change the style in which instructions are given.
