A while back, I sent a nudge where I talked about putting one of your people in your seat, but, it also works the other way around, and it’s very powerful.
So, do this:
Schedule time, at least an hour, to take the place of one of your people and really do their job. (Code, schedule, plan, operate… whatever it is they do.)
A recent studya showed that one of the most powerful determinants in worker happiness was whether the boss understood the worker’s job well enough to do it themselves.
This works for a number of reasons:
- You understand their problem.
- You demonstrate that their job is important, and certainly not beneath you.
- You train your brain to have empathy for them.
Artz B, Goodall AH, Oswald AJ (2014) Boss competence and worker well-being, working paper
