your staff needs to feel like they can broach new ideas, suggest improvements and improve systems. When’s the last time you implemented an employee innovation? If you can’t remember when, then you might want to start seeking team input.

Ironically, my own research in giving workshops across the country shows that bosses and employees actually want the same basic things. Employees want to do good work and be valued for it, and you want to reward excellent work. They want to be able to talk candidly with you, and you want to have productive communication with them.

I contend that any boss could become better, and that the payoffs far outweigh the costs. If you have valued employees you want to retain or if you’re actively searching for new team members, I urge you to start by looking in the mirror, encouraging team feedback and becoming the kind of boss your

This statistic should send a chill through your heart: according to a recent survey by The Gallup Organization, when employees were asked in a scientific way what made them happiest during the day, spending time with their boss ranked dead last—after doing household chores! Research also revealed that the Number One reason people quit their jobs is a poor relationship with their supervisor. You’re not The Enemy—at least I hope you don’t have an adversarial relationship with your staff—so what’s causing all this unhappiness?

As a business owner I can multi-task with the best of them, but I know the overwhelm we face, and I admit one of the first things to suffer can be our daily interactions with our team. Especially when you have good workers you know you can rely on, it’s easy to slide into taking them for granted, but in this competitive market, that’s a bad idea—a very bad idea. I know of a boss in Florida who would happily pay a $50,000 fee to fill each of several long-standing administrative openings. That’s how desperate he is, and it’s only going to get worse.

While predicting numbers of new jobs and whether the employees will be there to fill them is an inexact science, most experts interpret data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to mean there will be a significant shortage of skilled workers in the near future—which will only escalate as Baby Boomers start turning 62 in 2008. Some labor analysts predict the U.S. economy will face a shortfall of 10 million workers by 2012. Even if there are enough people seeking jobs to match the number of openings, not enough of them will have the training and experience needed for the available positions, causing greater competition for the most qualified workers. Already, experienced, capable employees can demand jobs that suit their needs—it’s a seller’s market.

Here is what research shows workers want from their bosses:

· to have clarity about their duties

· to have the necessary tools to perform their job

· to be recognized for meeting goals and doing good work

· to have their input sought and valued

· to be encouraged to grow

· to be trusted and respected

· to be included in making plans that affect them

· to be cared about as a person

How do you think you’d rate based on that list? If you’d really like to know, download my free survey and hand it out to your staff.

Another hallmark of good bosses is that they focus on their team members’ strengths and positive characteristics, rather than berating and hounding them for their mistakes. Gallup statistics point out that 77% of employees who are engaged in their jobs feel that way, while only 23% of the less-engaged and 4% of non-engaged workers feel supported in that way. There is undoubtedly reciprocal action taking place: the more engagement a team member expresses, the more positive feedback she receives; but you could also say that the more a worker is encouraged, the more engaged in your business she becomes.

What about flexibility? When team members bring new ideas to you, what’s your response? In my book, Finding Joy In Your Job, I coach workers how to find more fulfillment in the jobs they already have. In one section, I describe the top Six Nixers, bosses who throw buckets of water on every hot new idea they hear. To remain—or become—engaged with your mission, your staff needs to feel like they can broach new ideas, suggest improvements and improve systems. When’s the last time you implemented an employee innovation? If you can’t remember when, then you might want to start seeking team input.

Ironically, my own research in giving workshops across the country shows that bosses and employees actually want the same basic things. Employees want to do good work and be valued for it, and you want to reward excellent work. They want to be able to talk candidly with you, and you want to have productive communication with them.

I contend that any boss could become better, and that the payoffs far outweigh the costs. If you have valued employees you want to retain or if you’re actively searching for new team members, I urge you to start by looking in the mirror, encouraging team feedback and becoming the kind of boss your t

a—a very bad idea. I know of a boss in Florida who would happily pay a $50,000 fee to fill each of several long-standing administrative openings. That’s how desperate he is, and it’s only going to get worse.

While predicting numbers of new jobs and whether the employees will be there to fill them is an inexact science, most experts interpret data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to mean there will be a significant shortage of skilled workers in the near future—which will only escalate as Baby Boomers start turning 62 in 2008. Some labor analysts predict the U.S. economy will face a shortfall of 10 million workers by 2012. Even if there are enough people seeking jobs to match the number of openings, not enough of them will have the training and experience needed for the available positions, causing greater competition for the most qualified workers. Already, experienced, capable employees can demand jobs that suit their needs—it’s a seller’s market.

Here is what research shows workers want from their bosses:

· to have clarity about their duties

· to have the necessary tools to perform their job

· to be recognized for meeting goals and doing good work

· to have their input sought and valued

· to be encouraged to grow

· to be trusted and respected

· to be included in making plans that affect them

· to be cared about as a person

How do you think you’d rate based on that list? If you’d really like to know, download my free survey and hand it out to your staff.

Another hallmark of good bosses is that they focus on their team members’ strengths and positive characteristics, rather than berating and hounding them for their mistakes. Gallup statistics point out that 77% of employees who are engaged in their jobs feel that way, while only 23% of the less-engaged and 4% of non-engaged workers feel supported in that way. There is undoubtedly reciprocal action taking place: the more engagement a team member expresses, the more positive feedback she receives; but you could also say that the more a worker is encouraged, the more engaged in your business she becomes.

What about flexibility? When team members bring new ideas to you, what’s your response? In my book, Finding Joy In Your Job, I coach workers how to find more fulfillment in the jobs they already have. In one section, I describe the top Six Nixers, bosses who throw buckets of water on every hot new idea they hear. To remain—or become—engaged with your mission, your staff needs to feel like they can broach new ideas, suggest improvements and improve systems. When’s the last time you implemented an employee innovation? If you can’t remember when, then you might want to start seeking team input.

Ironically, my own research in giving workshops across the country shows that bosses and employees actually want the same basic things. Employees want to do good work and be valued for it, and you want to reward excellent work. They want to be able to talk candidly with you, and you want to have productive communication with them.

I contend that any boss could become better, and that the payoffs far outweigh the costs. If you have valued employees you want to retain or if you’re actively searching for new team members, I urge you to start by looking in the mirror, encouraging team feedback and becoming the kind of boss your

tition for the most qualified workers. Already, experienced, capable employees can demand jobs that suit their needs—it’s a seller’s market.

Here is what research shows workers want from their bosses:

· to have clarity about their duties

· to have the necessary tools to perform their job

· to be recognized for meeting goals and doing good work

· to have their input sought and valued

· to be encouraged to grow

· to be trusted and respected

· to be included in making plans that affect them

· to be cared about as a person

How do you think you’d rate based on that list? If you’d really like to know, download my free survey and hand it out to your staff.

Another hallmark of good bosses is that they focus on their team members’ strengths and positive characteristics, rather than berating and hounding them for their mistakes. Gallup statistics point out that 77% of employees who are engaged in their jobs feel that way, while only 23% of the less-engaged and 4% of non-engaged workers feel supported in that way. There is undoubtedly reciprocal action taking place: the more engagement a team member expresses, the more positive feedback she receives; but you could also say that the more a worker is encouraged, the more engaged in your business she becomes.

What about flexibility? When team members bring new ideas to you, what’s your response? In my book, Finding Joy In Your Job, I coach workers how to find more fulfillment in the jobs they already have. In one section, I describe the top Six Nixers, bosses who throw buckets of water on every hot new idea they hear. To remain—or become—engaged with your mission, your staff needs to feel like they can broach new ideas, suggest improvements and improve systems. When’s the last time you implemented an employee innovation? If you can’t remember when, then you might want to start seeking team input.

Ironically, my own research in giving workshops across the country shows that bosses and employees actually want the same basic things. Employees want to do good work and be valued for it, and you want to reward excellent work. They want to be able to talk candidly with you, and you want to have productive communication with them.

I contend that any boss could become better, and that the payoffs far outweigh the costs. If you have valued employees you want to retain or if you’re actively searching for new team members, I urge you to start by looking in the mirror, encouraging team feedback and becoming the kind of boss your

cteristics, rather than berating and hounding them for their mistakes. Gallup statistics point out that 77% of employees who are engaged in their jobs feel that way, while only 23% of the less-engaged and 4% of non-engaged workers feel supported in that way. There is undoubtedly reciprocal action taking place: the more engagement a team member expresses, the more positive feedback she receives; but you could also say that the more a worker is encouraged, the more engaged in your business she becomes.

What about flexibility? When team members bring new ideas to you, what’s your response? In my book, Finding Joy In Your Job, I coach workers how to find more fulfillment in the jobs they already have. In one section, I describe the top Six Nixers, bosses who throw buckets of water on every hot new idea they hear. To remain—or become—engaged with your mission, your staff needs to feel like they can broach new ideas, suggest improvements and improve systems. When’s the last time you implemented an employee innovation? If you can’t remember when, then you might want to start seeking team input.

Ironically, my own research in giving workshops across the country shows that bosses and employees actually want the same basic things. Employees want to do good work and be valued for it, and you want to reward excellent work. They want to be able to talk candidly with you, and you want to have productive communication with them.

I contend that any boss could become better, and that the payoffs far outweigh the costs. If you have valued employees you want to retain or if you’re actively searching for new team members, I urge you to start by looking in the mirror, encouraging team feedback and becoming the kind of boss your

your staff needs to feel like they can broach new ideas, suggest improvements and improve systems. When’s the last time you implemented an employee innovation? If you can’t remember when, then you might want to start seeking team input.

Ironically, my own research in giving workshops across the country shows that bosses and employees actually want the same basic things. Employees want to do good work and be valued for it, and you want to reward excellent work. They want to be able to talk candidly with you, and you want to have productive communication with them.

I contend that any boss could become better, and that the payoffs far outweigh the costs. If you have valued employees you want to retain or if you’re actively searching for new team members, I urge you to start by looking in the mirror, encouraging team feedback and becoming the kind of boss your team members want to partner with. Spending time with you surely ought to rank higher than mopping floors!