The Most Important Question A Manager Can Ask

I have a question for you all; what is the most important question a manger can ask? Any guesses?

 

Well that question is... what can I do to make YOU more effective?

 

You would think most "good bosses" have asked that question, well this is untrue. Most bosses have no idea how to engage their employees and make them more effective.  Managers get a variety of answers ranging from personal problems, no change at all, to unrealistic requests such as exaggerated pay raises. Most often the manager cant even provide an answer and has to delegate the request to upper management.  Besides negative answers you will hear ways you really can make people more effective. Encouraging that may require discussion, careful listening, and a will to change on the employers part. These discussions do take time sure, but they're worth more than the time consumed. These discussions can make all the difference in terms of engagement, retention and turnover so it only makes sense to have them.

Above post contains excerpts from: http://blogs.hbr.org/hill-lineback/2011/04/the-most-important-question-a.html