IMPORTANT POINTS IN MANAGING OTHERS

UNDERSTANDING MOTIVATION
A major function of leaders is to support the motivation of other individuals and
groups. (There is debate as to whether a person can motivate another versus
whether a person can only support another to motivate themselves.) There are
approaches to motivating people that are destructive, for example, fear and
intimidation. While these approaches can seem very effective in promptly
motivating people, the approaches are hurtful, and in addition, they usually
only motivate for the short-term. There are also approaches that are
constructive, for example, effective delegation and coaching.

These constructive approaches can be very effective in motivating others and

for long periods of time. Different people can have quite different motivators,
for example, by more money, more recognition, time off from work, promotions,
opportunities for learning, or opportunities for socializing and relationships.
Therefore, when attempting to help motivate people, it's important to identify
what motivates each of them. Ultimately, though, long-term motivation comes
from people motivating themselves.

CLEARING UP COMMON MYTHS ABOUT EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION

The topic of motivating employees is extremely important to managers and
supervisors. Despite the important of the topic, several myths persist --especially
among new managers and supervisors. Before looking at what management
can do to support the motivation of employees, it's important first to clear up
these common myths.

Myth #1 --"I can motivate people"

Myth #2 --"Money is a good motivator"

Myth #3 --"Fear is a damn good motivator"

Myth #4 --"I know what motivates me, so I know what motivates my

employees"

Myth #5 --"Increased job satisfaction means increased job performance"

Myth #6 --"I can't comprehend employee motivation --it's a science"

BASIC PRINCIPLES TO REMEMBER ABOUT MOTIVATION

 Motivating employees starts with motivating yourself

 Always work to align goals of the organization with goals of employees

 Key to supporting the motivation of your employees is understanding

what motivates each of them
 Recognize that supporting employee motivation is a process, not a task

 Support employee motivation by using organizational systems (for

example, policies and procedures) --don't just count on good intentions

STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO SUPPORT THE MOTIVATION OF OTHERS

 Do more than read this article --apply what you're reading here

 Briefly write down the motivational factors that sustain you and what you
can do to sustain them

 Make of list of three to five things that motivate each of your employees

 Work with each employee to ensure their motivational factors are taken
into consideration in your reward systems

 Have one-on-one meetings with each employee

 Cultivate strong skills in delegation

 Reward it when you see it

 Reward it soon after you see it

 Implement at least the basic principles of performance management

 Establish goals that are SMARTER

 Clearly convey how employee results contribute to organizational results.

 Celebrate achievements

 Let employees hear from their customers (internal or external)

 Admit to yourself (and to an appropriate someone else) if you don't like

an employee
 DELEGATING: KEY TO EMPOWERMENT

What is Delegating? How Is It Different than Work Directing?

Delegating is a critical skill for supervisors at any level. Delegating involves
working with an employee to establish goals, granting them sufficient authority
and responsibility to achieve the goals, often giving them 1) substantial
freedom in deciding how the goals will be achieved, 2) remaining available as
a resource to help them achieve the goals, 3) assessing the quality of their
effort and attainment of the goals, 4) and addressing performance issues
and/or rewarding their performance. Ultimately, the supervisor retains
responsibility for the attainment of the goals, but chooses to achieve the goals
by delegating to someone else.

Delegating is different than work directing. Work directing is telling someone

what to do and how to do it. There usually is much less freedom as to how the
employee does the task, and many times is much less ownership, participation
and learning on the part of the employee, as well.
Delegation can sometimes be a major challenge for new supervisors to learn
because they are concerned about giving up control or struggling to have
confidence in the abilities of others. Supervisors that can effectively delegate
can free up a great deal of their own time, help their direct reports to cultivate
expertise in learning, and can develop their own leadership skills --skills that are
critical for problem solving, goal attainment and learning.

How to Delegate for Growth and Performance of Your Employees

Thomas R. Horton, in Delegation and Team Building: No Solo Acts Please
(Management Review, September 1992, pp. 58-61) suggests the following
general steps to accomplish delegation:

1. Delegate the whole task to one person.

2. Select the right person to delegate to.
3. Clearly specify your preferred results.
4. Delegate responsibility and authority –assign the task, not the method to
accomplish it.
5. Ask the person to summarize back to you, a description of the results
you prefer.
6. Get ongoing non-intrusive feedback about progress on the project.
7. Maintain open lines of communication.
8. If you are not satisfied with the progress, do not do the task yourself!
9. Evaluate and reward the person’s performance.
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
"Seek first to understand, then to be understood."
--Steven Covey, author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

What's Your Communication IQ?

Communication, which occupies approximately 70% of our waking hours, is
what many leaders find the most frustrating.
Many of us were never taught to communicate in ways that lead to positive
outcomes. Rather, we tend to experience annoyance, anger or just give up
on the person or the situation. Here's how to communicate better to get better
outcomes.

Take a Quick Communication Quiz.

Think of a recent important conversation How many of these questions can

you answer YES to?

1. Did I prepare ahead of time for this conversation?

2. Did I think about what's the best way to approach this person?
3. Was I aware of the other person's communication style and spoke to it?
4. Did I pay full attention, without multitasking, to what the other person
was saying?
5. Was the intent of my communication to discuss and understand rather
than be right?
6. Did I listen, without interruption, to the other person's point of view even
if I didn't agree?
7. If I was asking the person to take a specific action, did I make my request
clear and concise?
8. Did I summarize what I thought I heard the other person say before
expressing my point of view?
9. Did I follow-up to see if the conversation was successful –it led to a
positive outcome for the other?
10. If the outcome did not meet my expectations, did I reflect on how to
better communicate with that particular person?

What’s Your Communication IQ?

•8-10 Yeses indicate you’re the tops. Keep up the good work.
•4-7 Yeses is OK. Brush up in certain areas.
•0-3 Yeses. You have work to do.
To Raise Your Communication IQ:

1. Talk less, hear more.

2. Don’t shot the messenger.
3. Avoid mind reading.
4. Stop pushing.

Five (5 ) Ways to Foster Healthy Communication in Conflict Situations

1. Talk directly to the person you need to talk with. Don‟t go around them.
Don‟t talk about them. Don‟t email them. Talk to them face to face if
possible, or on the phone if necessary.
2. Before engaging in a discussion, stop and ask, do we have the right
people in the room? If others are needed to resolve the issue or to add
input, get them into the discussion right away.
3. When you are bringing up an issue or problem, be sure to also bring ideas
for a solution. Don‟t just bring up issues to get them off your chest or to
complain, but rather come with either a request for help or possible
solutions.
4. Seek to understand the other person, whether you or the other person is
bringing the conflict to light. How do their personal energies and styles
differ from yours? How are they emotionally or rationally engaging with
you? What are their perspectives? What are their perceptions?
5. Use a simple model to help unravel the situation. Be sure you focus on
the goal of the interaction, the facts leading up to the situation, the
possible solutions, and the decisions you will make. Decide who will do
what, and when. Enlist others as needed to complete the action plan.
Follow-up to see that what you agreed on happened.
6.