Expectations.

Are you clear about them with your employees? Does your boss know what you expect from him/her? There is a saying that "Expectations are premeditated resentment." How many times a day do you think someone knows what you want? Be clear and concise. It is the little things that we don't communicate to each other that gets us in trouble with each other. If you want an employee to stay late, tell him/her early in the day and explain the reason. If you can't stay late and your boss asks you, explain the reason and offer a solution. Can you get the work done just not right after the 'regular" hours but later in the evening?
Respond to the non verbal signs you get when explaining something. You see the signs but in your rush to get your point across, you may ignore the signs. Take time now and save time later.

100 to go

So, 100 days to the end of the year. You have the opportunity to change your employees' lives in the next 100 days. Let them know the challenges of your business. Ask for their ideas. Praise the actions you want publicly. If someone got the results but in a way not in line with your values-tell them. The stress of year end will be here--but the dawn of resolutions does not have to wait until Jan 1. Today, speak with a person you haven't had a discussion with--it could be a peer, a boss or an employee. Communicate eye to eye. Email is for information. Strive in the next 100 days to listen more, be grateful more and be a human being-not a human doing!