Managers can Counteract this tendency by spending time trying to catch employees in the act of doing something right, and praise them accordingly. This will improve morale for all your workers. If you focus only on being a seagull manager, your employees will cringe at the sight of you, will do only the minimum effort to get by and will tell all their friends to avoid your business."
As a leader, whether Project Manager or otherwise, be aware of these quick facts
- It takes time to calm everyone down after Seagull Manager visits
- Seagull Managers have a Negative impact on morale (I've even had staff members quit as a result).
- According to Blanchard, "the most frequent response people get to their performance is no response at all. Then a mistake or screw-up happens, and the manager swoops in with a vengeance." While you can never avoid responding to these situations, you can counteract them with positive reinforcement on a regular basis.
- Also, if you have a reputation as a seagull manager, according to Blanchard, "you can't just say, 'you know, I just realised I've been a seagull manager. I'd like to create an environment where we can catch people doing things right and accent the positive'. If you suddenly start praising people, they'll think 'I wonder what he wants'."
- Smart managers request truly risk-free 360-degree feedback from their employees, and then act on their recommendations and suggestions.
Have comments? Work for a Seagull Manager? I'd like to hear about your experiences.
