Although you are responsible for your employees’ output, productivity, and results, you are responsible to people and not for them.

The mistake of being responsible for people is like having sympathy for them. You feel that if they fail, you have failed. Sympathy keeps people dependant. Being responsible to people requires empathy: You understand what they are going through, but it is their stuff, not yours. You are there to help them, support them, and give them the tools and training they need to be effective. But if they fail to perform, it is clearly their choice. Now, if you haven’t done your part, then you should feel responsible for them.

How can managers be responsible for their employees rather than to them?

1.Make no excuses for poor employee performance.
2.Apply empathy when employees have personal issues that may get in the way of their

effectiveness.
3.Permit no negative attitudes from top performers.
4.Permit no employees to break the rules that others must follow.
5.Play no favorites with certain likeable employees.


Personal responsibility is an absolute requirement if people are to succeed and contribute their share to the overall success of your department or organization. Tolerating less than the acceptable standards from certain employees, for whatever reason, sends a message to other employees that the rules and expectations vary, depending on who you are, your age, gender, race, experience, personal challenges, tenure, performance, or relationship with the manager.

Everything you do as a manager sends subtle signals to everyone. Be vigilant to ensure that the signals you are sending are uniform and consistent. Sure, there may be situations when exceptions can and should be made, due to personal issues or challenges. Just be careful that these don’t set precedents that you are unwilling to apply organization-wide.

Do you treat all employees the same yet differently?

This topic, at first glance, might seem to contradict the previous one we just discussed. But if you will carefully observe, you will see some very subtle differences.

Every employee has special needs and desires that are uniquely theirs. They have dreams and hopes and the desire to feel valuable. Some may express them openly, while others may keep them hidden in the safety zone of their own minds. Or they may communicate them to their peers rather than to the higher-ups. But each employee is uniquely individual.

Treating employees without regard for these personal needs sends a clear message that they are not special, but just another employee, a cog in the machine. If you want the labor of a person’s heart and not just their hands or mind, it is critical that you treat people with respect. This would seem to be a simple task, but you would be amazed at how frequently managers show disrespect for their employees in subtle as well as blatant ways. For example:

· Disciplining an employee in front of their peers
· Interrupting them while they are sharing an idea or solution to a problem
· Being late for a meeting with an employee
· Not copying them in correspondence or emails that impact their position
· Ignoring their suggestions
· Not listening to them


It is impossible to know every employee’s needs and desires from moment to moment. But you can learn to see every employee as special and unique in their own way. This takes time, willingness, letting go of prejudices and judgments, and learning to see each and every employee as a valuable contributor to the organization’s success, well-being, and future growth – and to invest in them accordingly.