Motivating Employees _ Bringing Out the Best in Your People - Barry Silverstein [32]
—Jason Jennings and Laurence Haughton, authors of It’s Not the Big that Eat the Small…It’s the Fast that Eat the Slow
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Being a motivational leader when times are tough is a test of a leader’s strength and positive attitude. The most challenging situation is a restructuring or downsizing. Restructuring or downsizing inevitably means staff layoffs. Nothing can be more demoralizing and demotivating than the departure of coworkers. Bonds are broken and working relationships dissolved. The departing employees may be angry or resentful. Those who remain are sad to say good-bye to their colleagues but at the same time relieved to be spared—and apprehensive that they might be the next to go.
The departures are likely to increase the workload for the survivors. They may be asked to make sacrifices and to do more with less. Frozen salaries and reduced benefits, if they’re a part of the picture, only exacerbate the situation.
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Red Flags
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PLUMMETING MORALE
During tough times, employee morale can plummet rapidly. Look for these warning signs.
Lack of interest and enthusiasm
Frequent absences or requests for personal time
Sadness over other employees being laid off
Anxiety about employees’ positions being restructured or eliminated
Despair about the company’s condition
Skepticism about management’s explanations of the situation
Anger expressed toward coworkers or managers
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Offering Hope
How can a leader motivate the workforce at a time like this? One of the most important things a leader can do is to be honest. Facts and decisions must be communicated honestly and openly. This is not a time to withhold information.
It’s also key to let employees know that the management team is making every effort to solve the problem—but without implying that you have all the answers. You want to encourage employees to ask questions and to offer feedback. Then you need to consider the comments carefully, and respond.
Employees will be looking to you for direction and hope. Intuitively, they know that you cannot singlehandedly change business conditions or arrest declining sales. They do want to know, however, that you have a sense of how to weather the storm and navigate through the tough times.
As a leader, you yourself need to remain positive and motivated—no matter how hard that is. If your own morale is high, it will rub off on your employees, hard times notwithstanding.
OTHER CHALLENGES
Leaders face a whole host of other challenges. Perhaps the organization’s entire industry is undergoing changes. Perhaps the company’s turnover rate is very high. There may be revelations that the organization is being investigated or that a CEO or senior manager is leaving. Rumors of a merger or acquisition can also be challenging.
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POWER POINTS
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LEADING CHANGE
A leader has a big influence on how change is viewed in an organization. Certain points bear remembering.
The status quo is an obstacle—most people don’t want change.
Employees must be shown the tangible benefits of change to embrace it.
Leaders should prepare people for the continual possibility of change in business.
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All of these scenarios constrain the leader’s ability to motivate the workforce. Preoccupied with his or her own challenges, the leader may take the attitude that “employee problems will have to wait.” However, it is at a time like this that employee issues are most pressing. Any organizational change or upheaval tends to have a more profound effect on the workforce than on the management. Leaders need to understand the implications of this reality.
Choose to Lead
Leaders meeting the challenges of business need to be the individuals that their organizations want and need. Sometimes, leaders will be forced to put others’ needs first—to sacrifice time with their families and to deal with unpleasant decisions. Being a leader can be demanding. But the leader who is able to motivate people can attain immense rewards