Motivating Employees _ Bringing Out the Best in Your People - Barry Silverstein [6]
Don’t criticize in public—keep negative comments private.
Do offer public praise.
Do instill confidence in employees and inspire them to succeed.
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POWER POINTS
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A MANAGER’S EXPECTATIONS
Having faith in your staff means delegating with confidence and not micromanaging. It is important to display the following key sentiments:
Trust – You assign a task with the certainty that it will be done well.
Confidence – You assume that an employee will perform to your expectations.
Respect – You treat an employee the way you yourself would want to be treated.
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By handling an employee in this manner, the manager is sending the signal that he or she believes in the employee. The cornerstones of that belief are trust, confidence, and respect.
Trust means giving the employee responsibility. It means believing that the employee will do the right thing—that he or she will follow policies and procedures and will accomplish the assigned task. Trust also involves trusting yourself enough to let go. It means understanding that while an employee may not handle things exactly as you would, you can accept that, as long as the end result is the same.
Confidence in an employee is based on your certainty that the individual will perform to your expectations. It means not worrying about tasks being completed correctly or on time. It means feeling comfortable that the employee will do what is necessary and right, even if you are not checking up on him or her. It is difficult to have confidence in someone else if you lack confidence in yourself.
Respecting employees means giving them the benefit of the doubt. It means treating each individual as you yourself would want to be treated.
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Dos & Don’ts
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HOW TO SHOW YOUR RESPECT
Demonstrating that you value your employees involves treating them well every day.
Don’t ask an employee to perform an unpleasant task without providing a positive motivational reason.
Do tell the truth about a company restructuring or layoff, especially if it is in an employee’s department.
Don’t assume that showing strong leadership means giving a public dressing-down to an employee who has failed at a task.
Don’t lose faith in all your employees just because one of them has betrayed your trust.
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CASE FILE
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IN THE FACE OF TRAGEDY
Some 3,000 employees could have lost their jobs in 1995, after a fire destroyed Massachusetts-based Polartec-fleece manufacturer Malden Mills, a vestige of New England’s once-thriving textile industry.
But third-generation owner Aaron Feuerstein did the unthinkable: He reached into his own pocket and company reserves to keep all 3,000 of his employees on the payroll with full benefits for three months—at a cost of $25 million. He considered his workers an asset, not an expense. Feuerstein became nationally revered for his leadership during difficult times and for his exceptional belief in his people.
Although the cost of rebuilding the plant, coinciding with a declining market and competition from low-cost imports, forced the company to file for Chapter 11 protection from its creditors in 2001, it is thriving today, largely because of major government contracts—which its skilled and experienced employees enable the company to fulfill.
SOURCES: “A CEO Who Lives by What’s Right” by Mary McGrory, Washington Post (December 20, 2001).
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The BIG Picture
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A CLINICAL LOOK AT MOTIVATION
Motivation has long been studied by behavioral psychologists. In 1961, psychologist David McClelland suggested that human motivation was based on three dominant needs: the need for achievement, power, and affiliation. To measure those needs, McClelland co-developed the Thematic Apperception Test.
Subjects are asked to look at thirty-one images of different social and interpersonal situations and to make up a story about each one. Psychologists then interpret the stories to determine what they reveal about the person’s needs