Friday 5 August 2011

Hi all - back from my holidays in Devon which were warm and sunny. Whilst laying on my sun bed and de-stressing I thought about those important behaviours that enable people to keep calm and avoid stressing out staff and alienating people. Be good to hear your views on how we do against these criteria:

1. Don't sweat your assets. If you pile tasks on the best staff and let weaker ones do less, star employees get irritated and quit, leaving you with a mediocre team.


2. If you value them, set them free. It is madness to appoint people then second-guess their every decision. Give staff autonomy or they will move to somebody who does.


3. Smooth running wheels still need oil (I'm still an engineer at heart). Don't spend all your time on problem staff. If you fail to support good people, they won't support you.


4. Don't tell tales. If somebody speaks to you in confidence, don't betray them.


5. Avoid muddying the waters. Give your staff a remit and let them deliver on it. Failing to brief properly leads to muddled projects and low morale.


6. If it works, don't fix it. Be careful before you change a system. You need a very good reason to justify altering a process everyone understands.

Paul Collyer would be proud of these - they're based on the Health and Safety Executive's six stress risk factors.

Talk again in a week or so. If you're off on your hols, have a great time and keep safe.

Carlton