There’s nothing that discourages an employee more than a boss who requires him to do something that he won’t do himself. You may think you’re exempt because you’ve already “done that.” After all, you had to pay your dues and do the dirty work for many years to be promoted to your “posh” position. But getting involved with the day-to-day on-the-job tasks will provide you with multiple benefits:

• It will show your employees that you’re not afraid of a little hard work. They’ll also respect you more when they see that you don’t think doing their work is beneath you.
• It will keep you involved in the workflow. If your employees are complaining that a process needs fixing, the best way to evaluate the problem is to dive in and experience it first hand.
• It will give you empathy. You’ll understand your employees concerns much more when you face the same frustrations they do.

Filed under: Management Minute