Managing people is a tough job. It requires organisational and planning skills, decision-making but also communication skills and the ability to command respect from others. Being responsible for other people and for their work means establishing a relationship of mutual trust where the manager is able to guide and facilitate the employees in carrying out their tasks and the employees feel able to raise concerns with the manager. Lacking this relationship makes many managers underperform at their job.

When employees do not trust in those managing them, they lose motivation. This is not only going to deteriorate productivity rates, the quality of the work product also suffers. Importantly, employees’ enjoyment of their work declines and they may start to look to competitors for similar positions. If employees feel that there would not be consequences for their actions, conduct in the workplace can also worsen and behaviours such as misconduct against the business, bullying, discrimination and sexual misconduct can ensue. When employees leave, the business loses their experience and skills and re-hiring costs the business money and resources. If misconduct takes place, there could be costly litigation and reputational damage to the business.

Creating and maintain a culture in which people hold each other responsible should be the norm: this is one of the key responsibilities of managing. If someone does wrong or if standards fall, it is understood there will be consequences, and this includes those in management positions.

People tend to trust those who:

• Listen to and understand other people’s points of view and experiences
• Genuinely care about others’ wellbeing
• Facilitate what others want to achieve and supporting them achieving it
• Treat everyone with respect and with honesty at all times without exceptions
• Act fairly and transparently at all times
• Maintain a reliable and consistent conduct so that others know what to expect
• Take responsibility for their own actions
• Admit one’s mistakes and put things right when they – or others – have made a mistake

 ‘Manager’ is just a job title, but leading is much more than that: it is hard to respect those without integrity and those who do not care about us. If you want to be someone that others choose to listen to, trust and follow, rather than follow because otherwise they would be fired, care about your employees and lead by example.