Michelle Rodger: Put that grumpy boss at ease with military precision

Published on Saturday 24 October 2009 14:49

IF YOUR boss is grumpy when you rock into work tomorrow morning, then I suggest you apologise profusely. You see, it's actually your fault for being rubbish at your job.

I kid you not: scientists at the University of Toronto have claimed inefficient and awkward workers are responsible for making business leaders bad-tempered, fed-up and angrier in the workplace.

They found the stress of hiring and firing and dealing with office politics spills over into bosses' family lives, the combined effect being to make behaviour at work even worse and creating what the experts term a "revenge cycle".

Oh the poor darlings. How can we make it better for them? Well, you could go online and research the top five ways to disarm a grumpy boss, including "divert with good news", offer a "small gift" and, my personal favourite, just "stay away".

Or you could take one huge step back and ask yourself the same question I came up with when I read about the report: surely it's your boss's fault if you're crap at your job?

At the risk of taking a much too simplistic view, this smacks of being the knowledge worker's version of the old adage "a bad workman blames his tools". I'm not suggesting that all employees are tools, but I reckon the sentiment is the same. A good boss ensures his employees are well trained and motivated to do their job, and if they aren't, carries the responsibility.

The problem is that entrepreneurs who start their own businesses rarely have the people management skills necessary, and companies who internally promote team members because they are good at what they do rarely consider the need for management training. Yet when we make an external appointment we usually put the newbie through some kind of induction and/or training, so why the lack of attention on new managers?

We could learn a lot from the military. Their approach to leadership, from selection through training to ongoing support, is effective and, actually, simple common sense. The military carefully picks the best person for the job, trains them, weeds out those who don't reach the mark, gives some practical experience without the responsibility before handing the reins over and stepping aside, and offers ongoing support.

Ex-Marine Eddie Gilmour uses the principles he learned in the forces both in his company and at home. He says the military process is rigorous and a candidate's suitability is tested at every step. Even when finally successful, leaders are continually assessed on how they perform and receive ongoing training.

Gilmour, who founded team-building experts Spymasters four years ago, says the fundamental leadership quality is to put others first. "If you are in charge of a section on exercise, for example, the first responsibility on your return is to your troops. A leader eats last, washes last and goes to bed last. Your leadership skills will be graded in respect of how well you look after your troops."

For Gilmour and his team, all former police and military surveillance trainers, a good leader is utterly selfless; not something that necessarily sits comfortably in business, it has to be said. But morale is also key, and putting others first is fundamental to maintaining good morale, says Gilmour. "If morale hits rock bottom, you're finished."

Gillian Ferguson, founder of human resources consultancy Ferguson Select, believes the recession has had a significant impact on management behaviour, from staff shortages resulting in heavier workloads to people fearing for their jobs. As a result, bosses are having to manage behaviours they've perhaps not met before.

Traditionally, employees are promoted into management positions due to their technical expertise, and not necessarily for their people management skills, and as Ferguson says, it's unrealistic to expect someone to leave an operational role on a Friday and come in on Monday to manage a team.

Ferguson says businesses need to equip their managers with the right skill set, some kind of induction, training and even a coach, who should be a confidante who is able to help them to quickly become effective managers.

Not doing this can be costly. "An unhappy manager who's behaving inappropriately can result in an increased turnover of staff, a lack of motivated staff and therefore a lack of productivity, or even a grievance, or worse still a tribunal," warns Ferguson. "All of this costs management time, which costs money. It would be a thought to calculate that cost."

So how many of you think your employees will stick around when the economic climate begins to improve? Perhaps not as many as you would think, if the latest research from recruitment firm Robert Half is anything to go by. Apparently 30 per cent of employees are planning to leave their current job when the recession ends and the job market recovers.

Retaining motivated employees is a big problem and one that can only get bigger if bad-tempered bosses fail to take responsibility for not being good at their own job.