Arkansas HVACR NewsMagazine March 2020

Business

rocking, we came into a season where I was out in the field less. We had hired more people, and I was able to focus more on specific aspects of the business, without being constantly connected to every petty detail. Naturally, I was able to distance myself and tune into themore “macro” vision of the company. This was a good thing, but it was startling to see how quickly I saw glimpses of my old bosses playing out in how I treated my employees. Here are 4 areas that can easily go sour when you are disconnected from your employees. #1 – The Nasty, Knee-Jerk Emailer Hate mail, threatening emails, and complaints are never a fun reality of doing business. A tendency we may have as a leader is to immediately react towards which team member was involved in this negative experience for a customer. Upon receiving it, I may want to forward the email to all employees so that they can see that somebody isn’t doing their job right. Who is to blame? Instead , take some time to figure out the specific complaint/situation. After doing some tracking, you may be able to be more specific in which team member was involved. Then pull them aside and point out what you appreciate about the action they took with a (sometimes very unstable or irrational) customer, and point out your thoughts on another viable option of handling it. It now becomes a learning experience instead of a bash fest.

Stepping on the Bosses Toes or

Even a Boss Needs Advise

4 WAYS TO TELL IF YOU ARE BECOMING “THAT BOSS” As a leader it’s healthy to take a step back and see if you’ve become “That Boss ” . You know, the one that nobody wants to work for who doesn’t have a shred of self-awareness. I worked at a large corporation for 5+ years and it was easy to tell which managers valued employees. It was also easy to tell which ones had their ego all wrapped up in their jobs and allowed it to ooze forth every time youwere in their presence. When I started out as an owner, I made a personal resolve to not be “That Boss.” Lo and behold, that is easier said than done. After the first few years of doing whatever it took to get our business