Bad Boss

9 ASSESS: where you're at

I was in Virgin's airport lounge in Sydney, Australia, waiting to catch a plane back to Melbourne, when Sir Richard Branson dropped by to say hello to guests and chat with staff. Apparently, he does that every time he is in town. No doubt he's busy, but he finds the time to do it because he knows that taking the time for people matters. It also has direct business benefits because it makes the employees feel good about working at Virgin, and it makes the customers feel appreciated and pleased they chose to fly Virgin. (I know I did.)

Now let me compare Richard Branson's actions with a CEO I used to work with. If this CEO walked past you in the corridor, he would actively avoid eye contact so he didn't have to interact with you. The message it sent was he wasn't interested and couldn't be bothered to make the effort.

You need to find time for your people — they matter, and they deserve to be acknowledged and respected.

Christine Porath, an Associate Professor of Management at Georgetown University, found that respect tops the charts for employees. Her survey of 20 000 employees around the world, conducted in conjunction with Harvard Business Review and Tony Schwartz, concluded that being treated with respect was more important to employees than recognition and appreciation, having an inspiring vision, receiving feedback, or having opportunities for learning and development.

The research found that respected employees reported:

• 56 per cent better ...