RSS Feed
Management 101
May 19th, 2024
by Bill Boyajian

In a first meeting with one of my clients, the long-time owner said, “I suffer people.”  I had never heard the term before, so I asked him what he meant.  He said he puts up with employees to the point of making him crazy.  

I see this all the time.  Owners and managers tolerate insubordination, incompetence, poor performance, and bad attitudes for reasons I can’t understand.  But the problem seldom lies exclusively with the employee.

Owners and managers often delay having the conversations that they should have with employees.  Instead, they allow employees to think that everything is okay – seemingly stringing people along – with indirect feedback or none at all.  Once the real issue is finally addressed, employees are shocked with a poor performance review, or worse, a termination.  

Let’s face it.  No one likes confrontation, nor getting or giving corrective criticism.  But everyone appreciates clarity in their role and job expectations.  Early and regular feedback is better than sudden criticism and outbursts, which only makes people angry and defensive.

As an owner or manager, don’t wait for an annual review to offer help, give suggestions, provide instruction, or in many cases, admonish an employee who needs it.  In some sense, every day, every week, every month is a review process of some sort, both for corrective criticism and for well-earned pats on the back.

In your role as an owner or manager, take the time to provide the clarity of job performance that your employees need.  Do that well and you’ll be accomplishing the key task of leadership and management.



Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

“I needed help orchestrating a succession plan for our business. I had heard that Bill Boyajian specialized in assisting owners to transition their business to the next generation. He knows how to bridge the generation gap and deliver what each needs to hear. I would recommend Bill to any business owner who needs advice on succession planning from a trusted outside professional.”

–Charles Denaburg,
Managing Partner,
Levy’s Fine Jewelry
Birmingham, AL

"Our family needed some guidance on business transition and succession planning. We asked Bill Boyajian to help us because we knew we could trust him to tell us what we needed to hear. Bill became a valuable resource for our company and our entire family. He has the ability to meet each of us where we’re at and it has served us very well."

–Ceylon Leitzel
Leitzel Fine Jewelry
Hershey & Myerstown, PA

“We needed a plan to transition our business to a non-family member and we asked Bill Boyajian to help us. His experience in the area has really paid off, but we didn’t expect the added value of putting us together with a financial planner who helped organize our retirement needs. We now have the fundamentals to transition our business successfully, and we have Bill to thank for it.”

–Ernie & Debbie Cummings
Kizer-Cummings Jewelers
Lawrence, KS