Years ago, I worked at a company where few people enjoyed coming to work each day.
Too often, managers screamed at their staff in public. Verbal assaults were so brutal at times that otherwise mentally tough people were brought to tears. Watching this display of unprofessionalism on an almost daily basis served as one of the reasons why I left daily newspaper journalism.
I’m certainly not downplaying how important it is to hold people accountable for meeting goals, but I absolutely believe that direct feedback should be done professionally and behind closed doors. Otherwise, you run the risk of sowing the seeds of fear, distrust and disloyalty among your employees.
If you want to kill a business quickly, demotivating team members is a great way to do so. Success depends on people who are fully engaged with your organization’s mission and motivated to do whatever it takes to excel. Much of that is based on treating people respectfully in every discussion. When you don’t, you’re just bullying your way toward achieving goals.
Carl Albright, this month’s cover story subject, understands the importance of respect and motivation. For Albright, president and CEO of InfoCision Management Corp., treating people the right way means he sets a good example of how the company’s culture should work.
It also means communicating clear expectations of what the company’s goals are, how results will be measured and how people will be held accountable.
“If people like being at the job, I think they are going to work harder for me, for the company and ultimately for our clients,” Albright says. “If they don’t like it here … then they are literally going to start phoning it in.”
If InfoCision’s 2,000-plus employees weren’t engaged and excited to be working for the teleservices firm, then many of Albright plans for the company’s future growth would be in jeopardy.
Instead, Albright’s simple, friendly gestures, his desire to get to know his employees beyond the office and his innate ability to show genuine appreciation for their work have combined to help lead InfoCision to new heights year after year.
Unfortunately, the same didn’t hold true for my former employer, which developed a well-deserved reputation for having a revolving door. It shouldn’t have been a surprise. When you think about it, it’s amazing how just a little respect for your fellow man can have such incredible results.
Contact executive editor Dustin S. Klein at [email protected].