David Decker says that all
leaders, at some point, will learn that their success or
failure depends not on what
they do but on what their people do.
And when that happens, you
will be better able to engage
your employees’ loyalty and set
them up for success.
“Then you have to respect the
loyalty that you are able to develop in people who work for
you by not placing them in situations where they can’t succeed
— so establishing realistic
expectations for people,” he
says.
Decker follows these rules
with his 960 employees at Franklin University, which has an operating budget of $52 million and
three campuses in the
Columbus area.
Smart Business spoke with
Decker about how to respect
your employees and set expectations that they can achieve.
Take time to say thank you. You
have to honestly believe that the
contributions that people make
at all different levels are important. People don’t have much
difficulty in identifying false
opinions and reactions, and they
can do that from a leader just as
easily as they can with anyone
else. If you don’t actually believe
in the value of the contributions
of others, then that will become
evident.
You have to make a conscious
effort to say thank you a lot
more than almost anyone else
you’ll ever meet. Thanking people, and complimenting them in
public, is important in engaging
their loyalty. There’s a promptness aspect to this — when people do something good … you
ought to acknowledge that
when it happens and not six
months later. There’s a value in
being current and prompt in
your expressions of gratitude.
It’s also important to people to
have their peers hear the thanks
that are expressed to them by
people above them in the organization. You want the people who
you work with to know that what
you’ve done is appreciated by
the leadership. Complimenting
people openly and in front of
others has a multiplier effect.
