"Do You Mind If Someone Screams At You?"

A headhunter was on the other end of the
phone. He was looking for an assistant
to a CEO/Owner for a small, but very successful
business. Essentially, he wanted someone at
his disposal night and day. That didn't seem
like a huge deal. And then the next question
came..."Do you mind if someone screams at you?"
As soon as I could get past the sirens going off
in my head, and visions of Dilbert comic strips,
I replied, "Yes, that's not acceptable".
The headhunter continued, "Well, he probably
wouldn't call you names, but he's a pretty hard
driving guy and he raises his voice a lot".

Yes, this is a true story, and it was my first
conversation of the day today. It's been enough
to amaze and amuse me all day. Somehow I thought
the days of screaming bosses were buried with the
days of managing by intimidation. I guess I was
wrong! I can't help but wonder if this guy has
even heard of all the work being done around
emotional intelligence, or employee retention.
Maybe he doesn't read.

Message To The Screaming Boss...

Chances are, your employees have one foot out the
door. They probably even spend a part of their
working day reviewing emails and job postings at
places like Monster.com.

You are missing out on significant amounts of
information. Why? Because nobody wants to be
"the one" to tell you. What you don't know
can hurt you.

Every time you indulge in a screaming frenzy your
employees spend time telling each other, talking
about you, and maybe even looking for ways to
push your buttons. After all, you've become
the entertainment.

If your employees have conditioned themselves to
tolerate and even disregard your screaming,
they've probably learned to not take it personally.
After all, your hissy fits are about YOU, your
huge ego, your insecurities, and your lack of desire
to create win-win, mutually beneficial relationships.

If your company is successful in spite of the way
you treat your employees, just think about how
much more successful you could be if your
employees loved to come to work every day.

And finally, "What is your screaming costing you?"
I'm talking about in terms of dollars and cents.
Think in terms of unproductive employees, the way
your employees treat each other and customers,
turnover, health benefits, and maybe even
some employee sabotage.

The Bottom Line Is This...

Even the military is undergoing a huge initiative
to become more emotionally intelligent. The drill
sergeants of tomorrow will be very different than
the drill sergeants of yesterday.

What could be different for you and your business
if you stopped screaming and started treating
people with respect and dignity?

It's simply a choice you know.