There you go. Less barking - more sheep dog.

You actually do want them to be the best employees they can be. That may mean compliments, jokes, confidence, or taking 10 minutes out of your day to talk about how doing "bla bla bla" was exactly what was needed.

Nothing ruins a workplace quite as fast as not being appreciated.

And nothing will create loyalty as fast as going up to someone and apologizing for being wrong. Look for as many opportunities as possible to do that. Not only does it show how important being correct is to you but it shows that vanity is not. It's free, costs no money or resources, and frankly you don't really care what most employees think about you anyway...

Honesty. Good, bad or indifferent, be honest with your people and don’t ever lie to them

I have always heard you do not manage employees; you should lead employees.

Try-hard simp...

The comments are disturbing, and give me flashbacks dealing with a department of crybabies. I’m retired from government and management after 42 years of service. It’s no longer about the service to your constituents, it’s about the whiny ass employee wanting to know what’s in it for them. The unions encourage that behavior. My entire career wasn’t like this current workplace environment, I remember the old days when you went to work to get shit done. Anyway carry on folks, I feel better.

My biggest issue is trying to be mindful of the "woke culture" and the too many letters front.

I honestly don't give a **** what their preferred pronouns are, and I never will. I'll call someone by whatever name they prefer but that's about as far as it goes. With that, I try to use language that removes the "pronoun" component. I use the person's name and neutral words like they/them/their whenever possible.

If you have a large workforce and you start catering to pronouns, you not only have to try to remember hundreds of names and faces but also the words that won't get people's feelings all hurt.

So, maybe that's something future managers can find useful...

Plenty of great advice already in this thread otherwise.

I am retiring at the end of this month after 48 years...

There will always be the 1 or 2 associates that challenge you as a manager and want the most amount of money for the least amount of work done.

But honestly I have been lucky that I have had some really great team members and some even call me their mentor.

Boomers reading this thread with their morning coffee...


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LMAO

I put myself down on my employee's level and helped them do their job if they needed the assistance, to show them a better way to do their work, more efficient, and shows them that you're able to relate to, help and assist when necessary. It sucks for you if you want a cushy manager spot to make everyone do the work to make you look good, and your bosses won't like you not following protocol, but they won't doubt your dedication and empathy for your employees and will respond favorably when evaluations and raises come down the line. Always worked for me even if I couldn't sit back in an office and relax and attend meetings all the time. That disconnect between management and workers is a pretty noticeable gap, when you see your manager not caring that you're struggling, and won't lift a finger to help you, makes it seem that they don't respect you as much as someone who will roll up their sleeves and work with you instead of just giving orders and attending Teams meetings all day. It also shows them that you're interested in their work and makes you more knowledgeable to the work that makes you successful. Always worked for me to go above and beyond and helped me in my career by doubling my salary over the last 8 years, being an overall better leader and teaching incoming employees a better way to go about business that they didn't see with their previous companies.

Oh, do NOT bother them when they are off the clock or on vacation.

It blows my mind how many employers/managers don’t understand the animosity that creates.

Be Yourself through it all. Employees or team members or crew members can smell bullshit a mile a way and if you're putting out a false persona they will see it and you'll never gain their trust or respect. The smarter the group of employees the less specific the instruction needed. If you're working with a group of college educated or highly trained individuals in their field, tell them the end result needed and stand back. They appreciate the freedom and will often do better than if given more. If you're working with a bunch of 1st job teens/early twenty-somethings then be ready to step-by-step it.

When you see a female crying.

Can I help?
Do you want to be alone?
Who should I kill?

That's it.

I don't drink coffee...

I am a tea snob thank you!😁

Empower your team members so that they are highly sought after, but create an environment where they don't want to leave.