Line leader, behold thy contract

Most employee contracts have several standard elements. Full time status, monthly take home salary, non-monetary benefits and some really contractual details like non-compete clauses, confidentiality requirements, company rules and regulations, post-termination restrictions and notice period required.

It states what’s expected of each party and what each gets in return for satisfactorily meeting agreed terms and conditions .

Now imagine the scenario where as employees in the workplace, one had total control over crafting a contract for the line leader alias boss, manager or CEO – what would be in your contract?

I’ve written the line leader contract as a reality check for all leaders across organisations, as one of your team members soliloquising

Basic salary:

My basic salary is X naira which translates to Y naira per hour for a 40 hour week signed in my offer letter.

Given our stretch targets, I’ m open to working 50 plus hour weeks and one weekend a month which translates to less take home per hour but I’m willing to put in the sacrifice for personal growth business goals and potential for promotion in a quicker timeframe. Hopefully salary will be reviewed annually but more importantly I truly hope you appreciate the effort that translates to results.

Appreciation and recognition: The best and most regular of these are non-monetary. If you appreciate the results, it would be great to hear it from you, from time to time. Appreciating the effort I put in doesn’t diminish your authority or make me take the work for granted.

Mutual respect: This is a given – I respect your person, the senior nature of your role and your years of experience but would appreciate mutual respect of my person, views and opinions.

Oh by the way, no yelling, no shredding, and no tantrums would be an added advantage.

Trust: Trust is now the new business currency so I’m looking to have reasons to develop trust in you, your intentions as these project ultimately on the organisation. It also helps to know that you’ve got my back and would make every effort to defend my work like I would for you and the team.

Time Management is required of all of us in the workplace. I really hope you enable my work by sharing what your work and leadership style is so that we maximise time and provide excellent delivery to our business.

Acknowledge contribution:

Please don’t pass my work off as yours. Its okay to build on the foundation I provide as research but acknowledgement (even as a one on one) would be appreciated.

Problem solving: Everyone in the organisation plays an important role and it would be great to get involved in brain storming and problem solving because sometimes we get it and know how to resolve the issues being closer to ground zero.

Plus, some of us are definitely more technologically savvy than most line leaders. Just sharing or keeping us team members in the loop builds engagement. Getting our input in focus group sessions or openly sourcing for it via email can actually work if it’s done often enough. To be continued…

Ngozi Adebiyi

Ngozi Adebiyi is the lead consultant at OutsideIn HR. Our focus is practical interventions that address the challenges of businesses today. We specialise in HR Business Partnering, Engagement & Retention with the goal of “Revolutionising HR in Nigeria”. Ngozi@outsideinHRng.com