Get Employees To Connect On An Emotional Level – The one cry that I hear repeatedly from managers is “These people are being paid, so why won’t they do their jobs”. My heart goes out to the manager who believes that a paycheck will inspire and motivate people to “do their jobs”. The problem is it’s just a job and unless employees connect on an emotion level with that job, they will NEVER give you their best. Your job is to give them a reason to become emotionally involved. You’ve got to find a way to make them care. Remember adults need to understand the ‘Why’ in everything. Show them the relevance of their contribution. Point out how their contribution makes an impact not only to the bottom-line, but also in the lives of your customers. Answer the number one question on employee’s minds (“What’s in it for me?”) because regardless of what you are asking them to do, or paying them to do, people will always be motivated to fulfill their personal interest first. So take the time to sit with employees and discover what truly motivates them. When you get the buy-in from employees you will have a better chance of achieving top performance.
Face The Reality – Employees are mere mortals “A boss fixes blame, a manager fixes mistakes” - Anonymous Do you remember the old Chinese adage that says, “Tell me and I’ll remember for an hour; show me and I’ll remember for a day; but let me do it and I’ll remember forever.” Well managers hate this saying, because one of the consequences of “letting me do it so that I’ll remember forever” is that I will makes mistakes. The first time around could be a disaster or not performed to your satisfaction and now your stuck with having to clean up the “mess”. News flash, if employees are to progress sometimes they will have to make a mess. Your job is to anticipate that there will be a spill on aisle three, and to stand by with a mop behind your back ready to clean up. Remind yourself that this is a teaching process. According to Weston H. Agor, Intuitive Management “Making mistakes simply means you are learning”. So after each spill please, don’t rake the employee over the coals. Substitute praise for the ten pound words that will try to jump out of your mouth and try not to let them see you mopping up the mess or pulling out your hair.
Know When To Cut The Dead Wood– This may sound like a contradiction to point number 3, but the truth is as a manager there are only so many spills that you are allowed to clean up, before people start to question your judgment. The reality is “No one can whistle in a symphony. It takes an orchestra to play it.” H. E. Luccock, Christian Preacher - As a manager you’re tuned into your orchestra (team). You listen but they just don’t sound right – someone is out of tune, off key or playing a totally different song. Who is it? My goodness it’s the keyboard player! So what do you do? “Oh I know.” Says the orchestra leader “Lets send him for training.” So the keyboard player goes to training, comes back and is still off key. An assessment reveals that he is really tone deaf and shouldn’t be in the orchestra in the first place. Now what do you do? Well, you can do nothing and let it slide, and hope that nobody notices. But don’t kid yourself! Of course people will notice because the entire orchestra is now flat and out of tune. Furthermore patrons are upset and want their money back and to make matter worst they‘ve lost all confidence in the orchestra leader (that’s you) and are demanding that you are fired the theatre. After all how talented can you be if you can’t hear that the entire orchestra is flat and out of tune because of the keyboard player! For the good of the entire orchestra, don’t be afraid to fire the keyboard player. He may not be a good fit for your orchestra, but it doesn’t mean he can’t play in another band somewhere else.
Show Some Respect - People spend more time in the office that they do anyplace else. If they are not happy trust me it will show in the quality of their work, in the way they treat each other, in the way they treat the customers and definitely in the way they handle you as their manager. Will it kill you to be polite? To say “Good morning, how are you?” Of course not! Trust me subordinates won’t think that you are weak and try to take advantage of you if you are polite, show respect for them and extend common courtesies daily. Remember the old rules don’t work anymore. In this new arena you will not be able to use fear, intimidation and power over people to get the job done. It might surprise you, but sometimes to get the job done all you have to do is ask nicely. Was it you who said “Our people are your greatest assets?” If that statement is true then treat them right and show them some respect regardless of their rank.
Learn To Recognize When You’re Stress Out - No matter how hard you try, some level of workplace stress is inevitable. Unfortunately when you get to the place where you are popping seven different kinds of medication for high blood pressure, anxiety, indigestion, headache, backaches etc. you are on the verge of burnout! Learn how o recognize the signs that your stress levels are increasing. To help others you must learn to help yourself first. Symptoms of stress include:
- Headaches
- Hostility
- Aggression
- Sleep disorders
- Defensiveness
- Poor Judgment
- Ulcers
- High Blood Pressure
- Fatigue
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Inability To Concentrate
- Mood Swings
- Nervousness
How many symptoms are you experiencing from this list? Maybe it’s time to learn how to say no. It may also be a good idea to take all of your vacation this year and leave your blackberry in your desk draw. Remember it’s not worth it if it kills you!
Go Home So That You Can Refresh Yourself And Prepare To Fight Another Day.
“Many managers follow the notion of busy fools and confuse hard work with long hours. They think because they work 15-hour days and forget their children’s names, they must be bloody good managers. The best sales manager I worked with never once worked beyond 5:30 p.m.” Caspian Woods, How To Build Your Business From Scratch.
