Top management mistakes to avoid

For employers, the bottom line will always be paramount in the decision-making process. But management moves that ignore the role of employees’ behavior can be disastrous to every area of a company’s health.

At least that what Aubrey C. Daniels believes.

Daniels, a world-renowned expert on management and human performance, is a harsh critic of how most organizations pay, appraise, reward and recognize its employees.

In his book, “Oops! 13 Management Practices That Waste Time and Money (And what to do instead),” Daniels takes aim at the worst managerial strategies.

Listed below are three strategies to avoid — and what to do instead:

• Employee of the Month — or other comparable recognition programs. This practice promotes the idea (usually falsely) that one employee is solely responsible for a company’s success.
  What works better: Recognizing everyone who was part of a success as soon as it happens — instead of on a predetermined date each month.
• Setting unrealistic goals for employees. When workers can’t hit these benchmarks, they become overwhelmed, frustrated and unnecessarily stressed.
  What works better: Set small, more realistic goals on a more persistent basis. It also helps to map out employees’ progress on a month by month basis.
• An employee-ranking system. The problem here stems from employees being grouped — some on the top and others on the bottom — even when their abilities aren’t all that different. The employees that rank toward the bottom often end up feeling like failures — and not performing as efficiently.
  What works better: Hold all employees accountable for hitting certain performance targets.

To view Daniels’ complete list of the 13 most ineffective managerial strategies, click here.