Special bosses make others feel special
Karen Oman has never understood what all of the fuss is about. She’s one of the most celebrated businesspeople in Minnesota, garnering plenty of awards, acclaim and publicity, but the things she does for employees seem natural to her.
Ernst and Young in Minnesota named her “Entrepreneur of the Year,” and Fortune Small Business magazine declared her one of the country’s “Best Bosses.” Working Woman Magazine honored her as a “National Best Employer.”
Oman tells anybody who listens that her business, Certes Financial Pros, has become one of Minnesota’s top providers of high-end financial temporary employees because she makes employees feel special. She says her goal is to make “every employee feel like they belong to the ‘in crowd’ “
Oman’s wisdom sparkles from years of thinking about leading and managing. She believes that “human beings are reciprocal. If you treat them well, they’ll treat you well, and if you treat them bad, they’ll treat you bad.” She’s convinced positive employee culture creates a profitable, successful company.
I pressed Oman for specific lessons supervisors can learn about making people feel special. The process comes so readily to her that it took her a while to come up with some specifics, but then she really got rolling.
She says, “We tell people there is a hole in their mistake bag and the mistakes fall right through. We insist that the future is more important than the past, and we really mean it. Employees gain confidence once they are convinced mistakes won’t cost them.”
Oman says treating people as equals and peers is essential. “We do that by sharing things about ourselves, and we make sure they know the boss makes mistakes, too. Self-deprecating humor by the boss goes a long way because it makes you human, and that’s the bottom line. You have to show them that you are totally human. I try to convince people that they are helping me succeed, because they are.”
Cheerleading is important to Oman. She constantly says things like: “That’s a fantastic idea, I would never have thought of it.” Or, “You’re so great, I’m so glad you decided to join our company.” She values the simple question, “What would I do without you?”
Oman values employee participation. “We include everybody in problem-solving meetings, but we also make it clear that if people think they can contribute more by doing something else, they don’t have to attend meetings. If people know they can say what they think, it makes them feel very special.”
Oman is convinced that insisting employees keep a proper balance between work and their personal lives is essential for creating a workplace in which everyone feels special. “I tell people, ‘I don’t need you to kill yourself. Do what’s right for your life because I want you here for the long-term,’ ” she explains. If she sees people working too many hours, she asks them if everything is OK and if they need help.
Oman admits that even the winner of “best boss” awards occasionally loses her temper and snaps at people. “When I do, I apologize immediately and tell them I must have forgotten to take my meds today.”
Oman operates on the basic assumption that all of her people are excellent employees and need to be treated as excellent employees. She says treating people that way guarantees that you will get excellent applicants. One of the real keys to Oman’s success is that the top employees at so many other companies are so tired of being treated badly they line up to work for Certes Financial Pros.
It’s too bad other employers can’t figure out what all the fuss is about.
Tip for your search: No matter your place in the organization, treat everybody as if they are excellent. Try some of Oman’s verbal affirmations, and you will find they make a genuine difference in how you relate to everyone in your workplace.
Resource for your search: “First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently” by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman (Simon and Schuster, 2004)