Employee Motivation

Hello! Shona Garner here.

If your answer is less than 7 or 8, chances are, not only does it mean you’re probably struggling to meet targets, it often means more hassle, more tension and apathy and ultimately, poor performance from your staff.

And, like it or not, poor performance often reflects on you. If you’ve got your eye on the career ladder, developing a good reputation as a brilliant people manager is going to be a critical skill you’ll need to demonstrate, so it’s worth taking time out to hone those skills.

What you really want is:

• Staff with a “can-do” attitude, instead of staff who moan or undermine what you’re trying to achieve.
• A team where there’s little or no tension or gossip, and people get on well with each other.
• Fewer underperformance problems.
• Loyal, committed staff.
• Better staff attendance.
• Better results!

Where do you look for support or answers? How do you build your confidence to be able to deal with the tricky situations, and yet still manage to keep everyone on your team “on-side”?

• There are literally hundreds of management books out there; but how do you know which one would help you most, and will you actually have time to read it all?
• Many books are big on theory, but short on practical advice which you can see yourself actually implementing.
• You’re too busy for a formal training course.
• Budget is tight.
• Sometimes it’s difficult to admit you could do with some help: after all, you’re the boss! Everyone seems to assume you know what to do!

Yet literally hundreds of managers we work with tell us they are thrust into management with little or no training or support, and just expected to deal with the dozens of people challenges which come their way every single day.

Challenges such as when you’re suddenly faced with a team ready to implode because of conflict:

• you’re facing having a tricky talk with someone about their poor performance;
• you’re going to have to tell some people they are being made redundant
• you’re having to find a way to manage someone you used to work alongside.

All these (and dozens more) are situations about which any manager can feel a little nervous.

We’ve found there are certain situations many managers tell us they struggle with, which can severely affect staff motivation and morale, and which are tricky, sometimes uncomfortable situations for you to handle.

The four top challenges you told us you face and which threaten the motivation and engagement of your staff are:

• Basic motivation techniques: You asked us for some simple tips which would have a positive, and, more importantly, a lasting impact on employee motivation .
• Motivating Staff through Change: You wanted to know how you can keep staff motivated when major changes occur which threaten their sense of security.
• Team conflict: you have staff who don’t get on with each other, or with you, and it’s undermining workplace morale.
• Underperformance: You asked us how to deal with underperformance effectively, without de-motivating someone or damaging the relationship they have with you.

In these easy to read guides you won’t find any long, complicated theories or jargon: just a number of simple, easy to apply techniques you could start straight away, to help you more effectively motivate and inspire your staff.

With our 7 years experience, working with hundreds of managers, (and I’m still a practising manager), we know we can help you.

We know the theory – and there’s no doubt in our mind, if you’re dealing with people, it makes sense to have some understanding of basic human psychology and behaviour. But at the end of the day, what really matters, what you need most of all, are some proven strategies which will help you gain what most every manager we meet wants most  – motivated, committed staff; great team results and the confidence to be able to deal with any people situation.

This is not about holding “rah-rah” team building days. There is a time and a place for those, for sure – but at the end of the day, we believe some fun team bonding games on a single day can never have the impact of some of the small, but significant actions we’ll share with you in these guides, which, done consistently, will produce significant and lasting shifts in the culture and performance of your team.

We believe it’s the small things, done regularly, which take up little of your time, and actually, very little effort on your part, that can make massive differences to the way a team works together, and the results they get.

This is just about some small changes to what you do in the time you have.

We’ve taken some of the key messages and techniques we teach on our highly popular “Outstanding Manager” training programme, and pulled them into one, easy to read guide, designed to give you enough, practical ideas so you can see some positive results in your team within weeks.

Ways to motivate your team that will improve productivity and performance

Learn:

• The top four ways you can motivate any team – with little or no budget.
• Six magic questions you can use with your staff over and over again which will help you build good relationships and get them more involved and engaged.
• Why 15 minutes a month is all you need to help strengthen good relationships with your staff.
• Why allowing “intelligent risk-taking” and effective delegation can foster greater staff involvement – and much more.

How to Motivate your Staff through Change

Why do people often resist or fear change? In this chapter we’ll show you:

• Why an understanding of the emotional reactions to change can help you more effectively support staff and minimise their concerns or objections.
• Some simple, but effective communication tips, such as how to communicate; how often to communicate and why creating “easy wins” can help you build momentum.
• How to keep people “on-side” through change.
• 5 easily recognisable and typical responses to change you’ll be able to recognise in your staff –  and how to plan a strategy to handle these different “types”.

Managing Underperformance without De-motivating Staff

Underperformance is always a sensitive and tricky issue to handle for managers and if mishandled, can lead to de-motivated staff. In this chapter you’ll learn:

• Why you must never ignore underperformance.
• The single biggest mistake you may be inadvertently making, which could actually be contributing to the underperformance.
• How a “halo” or “horns” mindset could sabotage your efforts to improve performance.
• Why being too “nice” can be your downfall.

Ways to Handle Conflict which threatens to de-stabilise your team

Conflict in any team causes problems; it takes up time you don’t have; it makes the atmosphere unpleasant and it adversely affects staff motivation and performance. In this guide we share:

• The mistakes which can lead to “relationship meltdowns”  - how to recognise and avoid them!
• Simple tactics to help you deal with really tense situations and help you avoid turning into an “exocet missile”!
• 3 typical reactions to conflict which can inadvertently make the situation worse for you. If you, or any of your staff have a tendency to react like this, it could be making the situation worse.
• Simple techniques to handle conflict in the short term, and some longer term strategies so you can build the kind of workplace where conflict is rare, and when it does arise, people have strategies to effectively turn it into something positive.

Each chapter will take you no more than 20 minutes to read – yet will give you some quick, easy to

implement strategies to help you more effectively build the kind of team that will

improve your career prospects and get you noticed for all the right reasons.

Yes, you could buy some books on these topics – there are plenty out there! You could wade through an internet search to find some answers to your pressing challenges. But, as a busy manager myself, I know how hard it is to find the time to do this. You’ve a hundred and one other things you need to be doing, and waiting for a book to arrive which you may never have time to read is not going to help you now.

Finding what you want in the tons of material out there takes time: finding the key nuggets you really need which will help you right now, when you need it most is the hard part!

You could invest in management training: (Cost between $950- $1750 or more)

A typical day’s training on any of these subjects could range between $200 and $450 per day. Our complete, 5 day programme costs $1750, and requires a time commitment you may not have. Whilst we believe there is a real value in training, and indeed, all of the content in this guide is taken directly from our highly successful Outstanding Manager programme, if you have a pressing motivation problem right now, this solution will not help you in the short term.

You could search the internet or buy a book (Cost at least $50 plus your searching time.)

I know how time-consuming and confusing this can sometimes be because I’ve done it! As part of our commitment to supporting managers in the best way we can, we continually scour the internet, the new studies and the new publications to see if we can pick up any additional tips or techniques to help you – and believe me, it saps your time, and knowing what is helpful and what is not is a bit of a lottery. And your average management book can range from $15 to $100 – and is often full of long-winded jargon or theory which might be interesting, but doesn’t necessarily help you in a practical way.

For just $39 you have 40 simple, proven and effective strategies to help you deal with the most common motivation sappers in any team.

If these techniques save you even one day of time in lost productivity through conflict, poor working relationships or poor motivation you’ve seen a return on your investment.

For a limited period – as an additional bonus!

As an additional, but limited time bonus, we’ll also include the following two useful, simple, and quick activities you could initiate with your team.

TEAM “HEALTHCHECK”  ( $17 value)

A simple, brief team survey to help you gain some feedback about the state of your team.

With just 15 questions, you could gauge the “health” of your team,

and set some team  goals which will really improve staff motivation and engagement.

We also give you some suggestions to help you implement and follow up!

TEAM MOTIVATION ACTIVITY  ($17 value)

Sometimes the hardest part for managers is knowing how best to find out what motivates each individual in their team and how to get their staff talking to one another in a constructive way. How can you do this without it appearing a stilted, or odd conversation?

We give you a simple, but fun activity you could run in less than an hour, in a team meeting,which will help you, and your team, get to know a little more about each other’s motivators and how to use that knowledge to help you better communicate with each other! I’ve never seen this activity fail yet!

We even offer you a guarantee.

Our whole focus is on supporting managers with simple, jargon – free and useful techniques to help them become great managers. We are absolutely confident that, even if you implemented just one or two of these techniques consistently over the next few weeks you would transform the working relationships in your team, and improve staff motivation, commitment and morale.If you disagree, then contact us and we’ll refund your payment in full – no quibbles. We can’t say fairer than that. And of course, you get to keep the guides with our compliments.

Simply click the link below, we’ll take you through our secure payment process, and in seconds you will have some powerful strategies to help you develop even better results through your people.

We wish you every success in your management role! Do let us know how you get on.

Warmest regards,

Shona

PS:  Remember! If you consistently apply some of the simple, small, but significant techniques we share with you through these guides, not only will you manage a team which is a great example to others, but your own credibility as a manager will rise in the process.

For any manager who is serious about their career in management!

PPS:  How much is it costing you, in time, and money, (and emotional hassle), with underperforming, de-motivated or unhappy staff? Did you know the average manager wastes 25% of their average day dealing with conflict? Or that a formal grievance can eat up 9 days of time? And how much is that eating at your bottom line?

People problems, if not resolved, don’t go away – they get worse. Implementing just some of the simple techniques you learn in these guides can literally turn round a poorly performing individual or team and transform your results.

Becoming a Confident Manager: 5 tips to help you become more confident in any situation

How confident are you as a manager?

What situations make you feel a little unsure, uncomfortable or less confident about how to handle?

For the new manager, being thrust into suddenly having responsibility for achieving through others can feel daunting, intimidating or overwhelming.   (Particularly when some of those “others” may be people you used to work alongside).

Even for the manager who has been managing for years, with the ever-changing market place, new technologies and a more diverse range of ages and cultures in your workplace, there are likely to be many situations which leave you feeling a little nervous or unsure.

Way back in my career as a teacher, I remember standing nervously in front of 30  expectant, intelligent, articulate individuals, all waiting to see how well I would perform, how successfully I could engage them, and how  much of a “pushover” I was going to be!

Did it make my knees knock a little? You bet!

Later, as I took my first tentative steps towards mentoring, coaching and managing others in industry, I would feel those same feelings: nervousness; worried about my ability to manage what could be some quite tricky situations; concern about how others might perceive me and just a little vulnerable – did I know enough to do this job well?

Where do managers feel a lack of confidence?

There are three key areas which many managers report are the most tricky for them. What are they?

1. Managing others who have higher qualifications than you or who are qualified in a different discipline.
2. Influencing peers or external stakeholders where you have no direct authority, but good working relationships with these people are fundamental to good performance.
3. Managing upwards. Whew is this a biggie! In many of the workshops I run, when I ask people to think of who they most want to be more effective at managing, a staggering proportion of those attending include their immediate line manager or higher  in their top 3.

Each of these situations requires both consummate communication skills and a high degree of self-confidence.

So, what does a manager need to do to increase their confidence in these, or any other, “tricky” situations ?

5 keys to building your self confidence as a manager:

1. Do what you believe to be right – even if others mock or criticise you for it.
   From the moment you take on any management role, others are looking at you to see what kind of a manager you are going to be. Just as those children were “sussing me out” in the classroom all those years ago, your staff are doing the same with you. How you behave sets the scene for everything else.

   This is about two things really:
   a) Getting absolutely clear about what’s really important to you, in terms of what needs to be accomplished, and what attitudes and behaviours you expect. Think of it as creating your own vision of “how we do things around here”.
   b) When it comes to core values about how people work together you never compromise. In all else, you are open to suggestion and influence. In recent studies, outstanding managers, with the highest performing, most committed teams, all had crystal clear ideas about the kind of culture they wanted to create, and what was important to them – and they communicated this to everyone they worked with and  gained “buy in” from all key stakeholders.

   When you feel clear and comfortable about what’s really important to you, and everything you do demonstrates this, even if others don’t always agree with you, they will respect your integrity, trust you, and know where they stand. Chances are  you’ll have fewer tricky situations in future too!

2. 2. Realise you don’t have to know it all.
   There’s a very interesting video on “You-Tube” which really demonstrates the almost frightening pace of change which affects business today. Check out Karl Fisch’s “Shift Happens” when you have a moment.

   For now, it’s useful to see your role, not as being an “expert” at a particular subject, but rather an “expert” at helping to facilitate the expertise of others!

   Instead of being intimidated by someone who seems more qualified than you, ask yourself: “How can I utilise this expertise for the benefit of the individual, the team, and the organisation?”
   When you focus on what you can do to help others help you achieve the overall goals, not only do you get better results, you develop an awesome reputation as a highly skilled leader.

   Every really successful CEO I’ve ever come across sees others’ expertise and ambition as an opportunity – not a threat! The best managers just need to know how to engage smart people to get the job done.

3. 3. Be willing to take risks, and go the extra mile to achieve things
   Building your own sense of personal power and influence comes from being willing to take risks yourself; from facing your fears, and dealing with what you know needs to be done.

   At a personal level, if you don’t face the underperforming member of staff, for example, because you don’t feel confident to deal with it, you become trapped and nothing will be resolved until something forces the situation. Your confidence is likely to decrease even more as time goes on. Meanwhile, don’t kid yourself others aren’t noticing. They are. And this will further dent your confidence.

4. 4. Admit your mistakes – and learn from them
   This really follows on from tip number 3.

   If you’re going to be willing to take risks – you won’t always get it right! However, as long as you learn from that mistake, you will be ready to try something different, and each time you do, you’ll increase your confidence. And if you create a culture where others see it’s OK to make mistakes, you’ll build the confidence of your staff too!

5. Give credit to others
   We all know people who are expert at extolling their own virtues! Individuals who have a high level of self-esteem and confidence don’t need to shout about their accomplishments.

   Don’t feel the need to shout about what you’ve done, or what you know. Instead, give others the limelight at every opportunity. Whether you’re managing up, down or across, think of how you can help others to excel, and you are more likely to be rewarded with excellence.

   And when you achieve excellent results, allow yourself a pat on the back, accept any compliments about how well you managed those diverse individuals gracefully, and get excited about the next challenges!

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For more information to help you with the people side of management,
including how to improve employee motivation and get the best out of your team, take a look at these great resources:

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Five Key Mistakes Which Can Kill Motivation, Morale And Engagement

What is morale like in your organisation?

What is morale like in your team?

And if an organisation is facing a lot of tough challenges, restructuring, or jobs are under pressure, is it possible to maintain strong morale despite the situation?

Whilst the tone for the type of place you work in has to be set at the very top, it’s the job of the managers to implement day in, day out. They’re the “front line”; their behaviours and expectations will set the standards for how people feel and respond to all sorts of situations.

Can a manager improve morale regardless of circumstances?

Yes. I believe they can.

Being a manager is always a challenge. Managing the people bit is always tricky, but maintaining morale, engagement and motivation is a critical part of any manager’s role.

Even in good times a manager needs to maintain engagement and minimise complacency. When business is slow, or there’s lots of internal change and pressure, a manager needs to know how to respond and work with their team in such a way as to keep people on board.

Whatever the strategy for the team or organisation ....

A manager has to win hearts and minds if he or she wants to see their team perform at their best.

But building such high performing teams doesn’t happen accidentally.

It is the result of behaviours, values and beliefs which underpin the way people work together. Sometimes these values or beliefs are unspoken, sometimes they operate at an almost sub-conscious level: but they are still affecting the attitudes, behaviours and performance of every single individual within the team and wider organisation.

It’s up to the manager to communicate “How we do things around here”.

Sometimes, however, despite the best of intentions, despite setting and clearly communicating the expectations and vision for how people work together, some things sabotage the results.  Take a look at the following and see if any of these apply to you or your organisation.

FIVE COMMON “KILLERS” OF MORALE

1. INCONGRUENT ACTIONS
   When the boss does or says one thing – then turns around and does or reinforces the opposite, employees are quick to see the inconsistencies. The more your staff see this happen, the more they lose respect for and trust in the individual manager or the  wider organisation.
   High trust environments are built on consistent and congruent actions.
   Erosion of trust dampens morale and creates negative emotions inconsistent with high productivity.

2. NO ACTION
   Another common failing is leaders who “talk a good talk” – that is they state grand visions, plaster values and belief statements everywhere – but then take little or no action to ensure these grand statements are actually followed through.
   It is hard to expect your staff to take vision statements seriously when staff see that nothing actually happens. They can be forgiven for thinking “we’ve heard this all before”, or “here goes yet another meaningless initiative.”
   Managers must act on their vision – and they must act in a reasonable time frame.

3. OVER-COMPLICATING THE VISION
   Sometimes leaders state visions so complicated people can barely read them – let alone remember them.
   If people can’t remember the vision, chances are it isn’t simple enough.

4. LOST IN DETAIL
   Some managers are so detail oriented that they simply find it hard to understand the idea of vision. They are consumed by detail, and give little attention to thinking about tomorrow and the “big picture” in a creative way.
   It’s not that details aren’t important, but they should not be the sole focus.

5. SABOTAGING THE VISION
   Sometimes, some people within the organisation try to sabotage the vision. They understand it, but try to work in the opposite direction. Other people know they are doing this; and they expect the leadership does too. If nothing is done to stop these efforts then those who are genuinely trying to adhere to the vision end up thinking, “What’s the use?”
   Managers must act swiftly when they see this happening.  And it begins, not with a reprimand, but with a  question – to understand why people are behaving in this way.

Do any of these exist in your team or your organisation?

By taking time to uncover some of these “morale killers”, and taking steps to change things, a manager can improve morale – at least within his or her own team, and sometimes, even despite morale issues in the wider organisation.

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For more information to help you with the people side of management,
including how to improve employee motivation and get the best out of your team, take a look at these great resources:

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Managing Organizational Change Effectively

Part 1 – Managing Organizational Change

What changes are you going through in your organisation at the moment? Re-structuring? Shedding staff? Asking staff to work reduced hours? Changing processes? Changing environments and work spaces? Docking bonuses?

The list of potential changes is endless!

For some, it seems like one never-ending move (or “lurch”, depending on your perspective!) to another.
I can’t remember who said it – but I’m sure someone did – that change is inevitable! If we don’t initiate it ourselves, someone else will do it for us! The problem of course, is change is unsettling and a little uncomfortable at best, and downright upsetting and frightening at its worst; and it’s these emotions which can determine our responses and which will impact on our ability to perform.

Faces of Leadership and Change Management

As a manager, it helps to remember there are two “faces” to change: the “human” or emotional face, and the process itself.

How do you manoeuvre these tricky waters? Let’s look at the human or emotional side first.

Management of Change Definition

Humans are, first and foremost, emotional beings, and, according to psychological theories such as Maslow espoused, (which some of you may be familiar with), we all have some fundamental needs in common.

One perspective is that there are 6 deep-seated, fundamental human needs, which literally drive everyone’s behaviour. More often than not, these 6 operate at a sub-conscious level. In other words, we will often be totally oblivious of the fact these needs are driving us – but in any given situation, one or more of them most certainly are!

Those needs are:

• Security/Certainty (in our environment and in our relationships too)
• Insecurity/Uncertainty (risk, new challenges, or else we get bored)
• Community (belonging to a group/social acceptance)
• Significance (status, respect, recognition, power within a group)
• Growth (a feeling we are learning & developing)
• Contribution (a feeling there is some purpose/meaning to our lives)

So what I hear you say?

Well, when our needs are not met, or we feel they are threatened, we don’t feel good. When they are consistently not met, or frequently threatened we can become very unhappy and resentful; and when we don’t feel good, our behaviour is likely to be affected in a negative way.

The key to managing organizational change and effective team management is to realise change can, and often does, significantly impact some, if not all, of these fundamental needs.

Change threatens people’s need for security first and foremost. For some of your staff, (those who relish changes and new challenges rather than worry about or fear them), it may not be such a problem, but those who feel a little insecure can respond with all sorts of unhelpful behaviours. It represents a roller-coaster of emotions which, if ignored or dismissed can lead to further anxiety, resentment and disengagement. An added dimension is the perception of control: if your staff perceive they have little or no control or input within the situation, this will increase levels of stress significantly.

Three Tips for Managing Organizational Change:

1. Understand that people will have a variety of different feelings about what’s happening around them.
   Become more observant of how your staff are responding to the suggested changes. Are they showing high levels of anxiety? Are they resistant? Are they excited about potential new opportunities?
   Each member of staff will be in a different “place” mentally. It’s your job to know where they are so you can plan how to deal with it!
2. Find a way of giving people a bit more individual attention at times of change – particularly when the upheaval may be significant. Discuss and acknowledge their feelings and consider ways in which you might be able to support them, and they might be able to help themselves and each other.
   Keep communication levels high – and as open as possible throughout. This is not the time to play “ostrich”.
3. Stress in humans rises when we feel we have little control over what is happening to us.
   Look for, and plan ways in which you can engage staff in the process wherever possible.

We cannot stop change from happening. Nor can we stop the fact that every one of us (including us as managers!) will feel at least some discomfort and vulnerability as it happens; but we can manage the process in a way which reveals our humanity and which helps bring people through the changes in a constructive and caring manner.

We can also remind ourselves that it is often the way that whilst the change itself was uncomfortable, many changes we have experienced in the past have actually turned out to be positive for us in the end. (We’ve all heard the stories of people who faced redundancy who said it was the best thing that ever happened to them once the dust had settled.)

If we remind ourselves of those 6 human needs – perhaps it is change which often gives us the most in terms of opportunities for personal growth- if we choose to perceive it that way.

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For more information to help you with the people side of management,
including how to improve employee motivation and get the best out of your team, take a look at these great resources:

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