Motivating Employees _ Bringing Out the Best in Your People - Barry Silverstein [33]
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Off and Running
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You are now ready to put what you have learned from this book into practice. Use this section as a review guide:
CHAPTER 1. UNDERSTANDING MOTIVATION
What motivates some won’t motivate all.
After people have met basic needs, they want to satisfy higher needs.
Employees’ enthusiasm for a job falls off after six months.
Even naturally motivated employees can lose their motivation if management does not nurture it.
Motivation decreases turnover and increases productivity.
CHAPTER 2. BEING A MOTIVATIONAL MANAGER
Managers cannot motivate others if they themselves are not motivated.
The motivational manager inspires employees to succeed.
Trust, confidence, and respect are vital.
Managers who trust and respect employees do not micromanage.
Active listening shows you truly understand what is being said.
Negative feedback can be valuable, if it is offered as constructive criticism.
To motivate teams, establish a specific performance goal and nurture a sense of common purpose.
CHAPTER 3. DEALING WITH DE-MOTIVATION
The employer’s financial problems, a merger, reorganization, increased workload, disagreements with coworkers, and other issues are de-motivating.
A savvy manager minimizes the impact of negative influences.
Hiring the right people helps delay declining motivation.
A manager must always be alert for signs that motivation is waning.
Good managers deal immediately with de-motivation.
Lack of motivation can yield undesirable behavioral problems that must also be handled.
CHAPTER 4. REWARDING MOTIVATED EMPLOYEES
Employees who are recognized and rewarded feel valued by their company.
Some studies show that recognition motivates employees; others point to money as the strongest motivator.
Praise your stars but remember that consistent efforts by average employees are essential to success.
A rewards system must be fair and consistent to be effective.
Nonmaterial rewards are effective but hard to implement.
Recognition must be keyed to a specific event to be effective.
Job advancement keeps motivation high.
Nonmaterial rewards mean more when they come from a respected manager.
Disciplinary actions are essential if the negative behavior or subpar performance does not improve.
CHAPTER 5. MOTIVATIONAL LEADERSHIP
Good leaders are honest, confident, visionary, inspirational, intelligent, fair, broad-minded, courageous, straightforward, and imaginative.
Change represents disruption and potential loss of control for employees.
Good times can be just as challenging as tough times for a leader.
Employees want to know that you have a sense of how to weather the storm and will help them get through the tough times.
Effective leaders at all levels turn negative energy into positive energy and motivational opportunities.
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