I truly feel environment is mission critical to your success as a manager. Management training is often seen as a negative. One of things I often teach about is the work environment. It is ultimately your responsibility to create and foster an environment that helps your team be their very best and reach their goals. From proper lighting to desk chairs that fit, every detail in the office environment is important to the success of your team. Here are 2 concrete examples.
Example #1: I gave my team the option to get new office chairs. I set a budget and let them do the shopping. You would have thought that I gave them each cash! Our sales were up 12% the next month. Our productivity was up over 45%. One employee commented that their back had been hurting for 2 years. What? They never said a thing to me.
Example #2: I instituted music on Fridays after 4pm. Each week a different team member was to pick the music. Some was good, some was not so good. The only requirement was that the music had to be fun and positive. The response was off the charts positive. And, I fell in love with a new country rock band.
All in all, environment is everything. I have often heard many people say, "my boss sucks, but I like to work there." Hmmm. Makes you wonder!
Ryan Dohrn
http://www.greatmanagementbook.com
http://www.youtube.com/greatmgmtbook