Get the Best from Managers

This is an excerpt from an article written by Jeff Harkness in Landscape Management.

I’ve had the recent pleasure of managing a client’s account management team for the last six months. I love it, but managing people who are in front of your customer is tough. It takes hard work and patience. The good news is this skill can be learned and refined with experience, but there’s a shortage of good management talent operating in this industry. You have to get this right. Your growth and sanity depend on it!

The best companies are making investments in finding, training, motivating and rewarding their talent. This leads to retention and stability. Profits follow. Sounds easy, right? If you’re frustrated and challenged by your team’s results, consider the following.

Personality profiles. Human behavior is predictable and job descriptions require certain skill sets within your organizational structure. Profiles can be used to gain insight as to how a particular individual works and interacts with others, in their personal life or working life.DISC, Myers-Briggs or Wonderlic are few good providers to check out as a measuring stick for your team. Include yourself. Owners create problems, too! This screening process is a must and you need to make it part of a strategic planning meeting and/or your hiring process. In the classic read Good to Great author Jim Collins talks about a simple question “great” companies ask themselves: “Do I have the right people on the bus? Are they sitting in the right seat?” Ask this question of your organization on a regular basis.

To read the full article, visit Landscape Management.