5 Good Reasons to Stop Yelling

"If you're yelling you're the one who's lost control of the conversation." ~Taylor Swift

Early the other morning I was out walking my dog. As we came along side a nearby golf course, I heard cursing at a high volume. Holy Guacamole, the line-up of descriptive words a crew boss was laying on a young kid about his lack of intelligence was quite colorful. It made me anxious, to say the least.

Listening to the berating language brought back memories of yelling bosses from my past. They may have had some great qualities, but I sure can't remember them. All I remember was what a jerk they were and how bad it made me feel.

Why do bosses yell at their workers?

For some people yelling has become a habit. They simply don't realize they do it. For others, they shamefully acknowledge that they lose control and feel badly once they've cooled down. I know of a few that believe it's actually good for their people, using an athletic coach approach to managing their team.

Almost always a boss climbs up and down an employee out of frustration. There are a few out there who bully and repress employees out of a mean spirit. However, in working with hundreds of managers and supervisors, I can confidently state that it's one of these - irritation, disturbance, annoyance, vexation, exasperation, infuriation, weariness, disappointment, aggravation - all words for being frustrated.

5 good reasons to stop yelling

Popping one's top doesn't make the problem go away. In fact, it makes things worse. More than just bruising employee's feelings, yelling messes with people and their ability to work. It lessens productivity. Which means a lower bottom fiscal line for your business. When you yell it can have the following effects:

1. Employees get sick. Literally. Research conducted by Duke University demonstrates that the stress of being subjected to hostility lowers the immune system. By constantly yelling at your staff, you are creating more sick leave and lower productivity.
2. Your people get dumber, not smarter. Studies in neuroscience show that when an employee feels their job is threatened, it triggers the flight-or-fight mechanism. This impairs analytic thinking, creative insight, and problem solving. Yelling at them is a sure-fire way to put their spark out.
3. Moral nosedives. Perceived hostility affects productivity and shuts down enthusiasm. Time is wasted with negative talk at the water cooler. And, once the situation is recognized, it takes a lot of time and effort to heal those battle wounds
4. Resentment and sabotage. Yelling can be taken as a personal affront (which it usually is), and   resentment may build to destructive behaviors. People can get creative when they're angry. Anything from work stoppages to stealing to destroying equipment. All are forms of getting even.
5. It's not a good way to get promoted. We all know it's not professional  If you want to be the next candidate on the promotion list, use your powers of persuasion and empowerment to get people to do their work. Bad behavior is rarely rewarded with a promotion.

How can you break the yelling habit?

Yelling, screaming, berating - whatever you call it, is a managerial tool that just doesn't work. It will take effort and self-control to back out of the position of being frustrated. Place your focus on yourself. Analyze the reasons you're at the yelling point. In the process, ask if there are things you should have done to eliminate the problem. Check to see if you've clearly (not yelling) stated what you expect, including how and when you want things done. Ask yourself if your people have the tools, time, skills to perform to your expectations. 

Want to take it a step further?

Here's a managerial tool you might want to add to your tool belt. This is a book from my library that I highly recommend. Crucial Confrontations by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler. The authors show you how to achieve personal, team, and organizational success by healing broken promises, resolving violated expectations, and influencing good behavior. "Crucial Confrontations" teaches skills drawn from 10,000 hours of real-life observations to increase confidence in facing employee issues.

Really, there are countless reasons to stop yelling in the work place. Let's start by being patient. Patient with your people, and with yourself. At the end of the day, you and your staff will feel a whole lot better about the  work you're doing together. 

You might find a few more nuggets of gold in these posts as well: Happy Employees and  You Have the Power

Dig into your future

Have you ever thought about what it really means to claim the future? Yes, you have aspirations, goals, and dreams. But, do you actually lay your hands on them and see them as reality right now?

A mountain climber plants his climbing hammer into the next step and pulls himself into the assent. He doesn't say as he goes along, "someday I'm going to climb that mountain." No! He IS climbing the mountain. Bear with me here. Each step, each push, every pull he has the full knowledge that he is conquering the climb.

It is a powerful thing when you approach your life like this, knowing that you ARE realizing your future. Something changes inside when you move from thinking about a thing, to actually claiming and living in a thing. Owning the goal now, digging into it, creates a reality that somehow bends reality and time.

When you can know you are living your goals and dreams, rather than just thinking and wishing them, you make them real...today!

Is there something you dream to be or to achieve, but don't know how to go after it? SHINE Consulting can help you plant yourself in your goals, dig into your future! 

Hiring: It's a good thing!

"When I'm hiring a cook for one of my restaurants, and I want to see what they can do, I usually ask them to make me an omelet." ~Bobby Flay

You're in a bind. Business has grown beautifully, but there's too much work for your team. Everyone is doing their best, but it's overwhelming. Especially for you. You need help ASAP! 

Don't grab the first person with a pulse. I promise, the troubles you'll have in the future for poor planning far, far outweigh taking time to hire properly.

Hiring the right person for your position is like bringing in an extension of yourself to do the work you can't do alone. How do you make sure you're going to employ someone who will fulfill your expectations and get things done the right way? Let's take a look: 

There is a lot of work to do before you expand your workforce 

Question if you actually need a new position - Before you get started, make certain you are financially able to support an additional employee. Also, analyse your current team. Are they being assigned efficiently and are their talents and skills being utilized to the fullest?

Know exactly what you need - Take time to identify the job's essential functions. Then, note the key performance criteria. Are there specific skills and talents required to perform this work?

Formalize a job description. - Detail the specifics of the position based on the essential functions, performance criteria, and specialized considerations.

How much should you pay? - Do your research and base this decision on internal and external comparisons. One must ask if is the salary is competitive with the salaries and responsibilities of other positions inside your company, as well as similar positions out in the marketplace.

Attract qualified applicants - If you don't have a protocol for recruiting, utilize a recruiter  They will know the techniques of attracting and hiring the right person. Remember, advertising is not the only way to recruit.

Collecting and reviewing - Finally, this is the last preparation step. Once you have a good selection of candidates to choose from, begin selecting the most qualified people for further consideration. 

After clearly identifying what you need, you can now interview for the perfect match

The interview - Interview at least three qualified candidates. Interview the candidates three times. And, have three people evaluate the candidates. This may seem intense. However, hiring tough and never lowering your standards will allow you to manage easy. 

Select the most qualified candidate - That may seem obvious, however selecting person solely because you like them or because they really, really need a job is not being objective. Make your selection based on the person's proven skills and experience that has prepared them to meet the requirements of the job description.

References matter - Always, always take time to check references before making a job offer. You never know what will pop up.

Hire the "right" person - After going through all of these objective and important steps, and you've done your homework, you should have a very clear idea of who's right for the job and will be a good fit with the team.. Now, go with your gut and offer them the position.

Congratulations! Hiring, it's a good thing! 

If you find you don't have the time or ability to conduct a thorough hiring process, SHINE Consulting is here to help you hire the right people. Just give us a call or connect via email  at sahepler@gmail.com. 

Some days you just gotta jump

"Mama exhorted her children at every opportunity to 'jump at the sun.' We might not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the ground." ~Zora Neale Hurston

Waiting for perfect conditions to take flight? Sure, once in a while the absolute perfect day happens. However, most are just average days with average conditions. Go ahead, take a leap, make things happen on this Monday. Who knows what you'll encounter!