Free Essay

How to Keep Your People Motivated

In:

Submitted By SKO16
Words 763
Pages 4
How to keep your people motivated By- Sushil Ojha
Being a Leader is the single greatest opportunity Tata Steel Processing And Distribution Limited can provide; a leader -- the golden opportunity! Almost all of us have either demonstrated or will have this opportunity at some point in our careers. There are many characteristics related to being a great manager. The top three include: practicing the golden rule; providing comprehensive and honest feedback; and making time to motivate your people. Many are taught at a young age that we should treat others the way that we want to be treated. Yet, this simple rule is often neglected in the rush of our daily lives. How many of us have been chewed out in public? Why? Because that's how our superiors were treated when they were the subordinates, and we all learn behaviors from our superiors, whether right or wrong. Do you chew out your people in public? I hope not, because even when it's well deserved, scolding always should be a private event. When an operator makes a mistake, focus on identifying and fixing the issue, not attacking or embarrassing the individual. Making corrections out of the public eye demonstrates a leader's respect for the individual, and a commitment to fixing the problem and moving forward without residual ill will. Applying the golden rule inversely can also produce some interesting insight. Do you treat your boss better than you treat your subordinates? What if we tried to treat all our people like we treat our bosses? Imagine what kind of enthusiastic reaction and "pay-it-forward" mentality that might instill. You must set the example for how you want members of your department, group, or unit to treat one another. Create an environment of mutual trust and respect for your people and you'll be amazed at how they'll respond. The golden rule is infectious! I believe the company has some area of improvement for providing feedback to its workforce. First, we write the most inflated performance reports imaginable, and of course our workforce read and believe those reports. Second, our culture tends to avoid confrontation, so we typically don't provide the most important element of constructive feedback: criticism. Providing criticism is the manager's responsibility. If you do not identify and correct performance lapses, you are doing your people a great disservice.

Because our performance reports are so good and it has potential to improve further, the formal feedback session is more important than ever in improving performance. Lack of constructive criticism is leads to a culture of operator who really believe they're all performing perfectly which, of course, is not accurate. The best managers provide honest feedback. It's not the easiest form of feedback, but is certainly the most valuable for your organization and your subordinates. Great superiors accept the obligation to inspire their people to perform better than they ever thought they could. They carefully monitor and keep track of those things they believe their subordinates could do better and they take the challenging but crucial next step, they tell them about it. Managers must keep weekly, specific performance notes on their people to include good areas and improvement areas. Over the period of six months, an effective manager will have tons of notes to sift through prior to a feedback session. These notes help the subordinates identify trends and areas for improvement and kudos in a personal, specific way that will resonate with each individual. Effective, honest, non-inflated feedback will empower subordinates to understand how and why they need to improve. It also will remind them that you truly care about their personal development.

There are a million different ways to do this, from sending letters home to parents, to providing time off for superior performance. Whether it is an manager's family life, his or her personal or professional goals, or outside interest or hobby, find out what most motivates that individual and go with it. Also, realize the awards programs touch less than 10 percent of your people. Get out from behind your desk to present a coin or give a well-deserved pat-on-the-back because these personalized visits will have a much larger effect on the majority of your people. Supervisors are in a position to inspire people in a way that enables them to be greater than they ever thought possible. Practicing the golden rule, providing honest feedback, and making the time to motivate your people are three tools to start you down an effective mentoring path and help ensure that you best serve your people!

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Motivation

...Motivation HCS 325 Motivation The decision to downsize is always a difficult one. But how do you motivate a team when downsizing is imminent? There are many techniques that can be employed to keep a team motivated and excited during difficult times. A few techniques that can be are; show your team respect, get them invested in their professional future and the easiest one of all, just listen to their concerns and needs. With proper motivation a team can thrive in even the most difficult times. The first part of motivating in difficult times we will tackle is the all too overlooked step of listening. As a manger and leader it is important that your team feels they can come to you with their problems, they may not all be work related but that is ok. If a teammate isn’t focused at work because of outside distractions, that needs to be addressed. Victor Lipman says you need to listen, “To employees’ ideas for job improvement… or their problems, concerns, frustrations, conflicts, dramas, kids’ issues, parents’ issues, grandparents’ issues,” (2013) Basically if something is distracting a team member and they feel they can come to and be heard their productivity will increase. This doesn’t mean that every problem brought to your attention will warrant equal attention, some people may try to take advantage of an open door policy on hearing their problems “If someone is a chronic malingerer, and carps for the sake of carping, just tell them to knock it off and get back to work.”...

Words: 1192 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Encourage Employees

...you need to understand the important role that your employees play in any activity. Many times, as an employer, we forget the importance of understanding employees’ needs and want to be able to keep an atmosphere with motivated employees. When I think about motivation, I think about the reason that initiates, guides, and maintains people to keep reaching for their goals. Without motivation, people can’t find the strength and desirability to do their best to achieve goals in all aspects of their lives. Unfortunately for many employers, motivation plays the same role in the work environment. In other words, motivation is what causes us to act, whether it is getting a glass of water to reduce thirst, reading a book to gain knowledge, or put effort in completing a task at work all this affects organization behavior.. Motivation is an employee's intrinsic enthusiasm about accomplishing activities related to work (Heathfield, 2013). An individual's motivation is influenced by different factors that can be biological, intellectual, social, and emotional and how the organization behavior is. Creating a motivational work environment should be a priority for all companies in order to keep the behavior and the organization happy. Every employee has activities, events, people, and goals in his or her life that he or she finds motivating. To create the appropriated motivational work environment, you need to figure out how to inspire your employees. Employee motivation is the combination...

Words: 2919 - Pages: 12

Free Essay

Finance

...How to Motivate Employees and Improve Work Ethics by Lisa Bigelow, Demand Media Don't point out mistakes that are mistakes in your eyes only. Related Articles * Can You Motivate Employees by Reducing Supervision at Work? * Decisions Employees Can Make to Help Motivate Themselves * Advantages of Training Employees About Work Ethics * How to Motivate Your Employees' Team Building * A List of Good Work Ethics by Employees * Different Types of Organizational Structure Motivating employees to work more productively and to be happier while doing it is a stiff challenge for even the most seasoned manager. Human behavior specialists indicate that the best way to avoid motivation and laziness problems is to assess potential employees carefully by way of personality testing. But what do you do when the hiring's done and you need the employees you have to perform more productively? Try proven, specific techniques designed to keep even your most cynical employees satisfied and productive. The first step? Back off. Nobody likes a micromanager. Ads by Google Options Trading Lessons With just these 3 Free reports you could be trading by day's end. wealthdaily.com​/​Options_Trading Step 1 Set specific goals, and trust your employees to reach them. According to Forbes, nothing makes enthusiasm vanish faster than a micromanager who doesn't trust her employees to do their work properly. Force yourself to let go by setting a clear and achievable goal; for example...

Words: 2101 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Motivation Methods

...CREATING THE LIFE YOU WANT OR SPEND IT LIVING THE LIFE YOU DONT WANT. THE CHOICE IS YOURS.” Did you know Even the most motivated among us sometimes can feel unmotivated. We get lazy, make excuses, and pretend to not have enough time on our hands. The most common issue most people have is setting our mind on a goal because it may seem to difficult. But its not hopeless, all though it may seem so, with small steps, the tiniest of steps, can get you started down the road to positive changes. It may get difficult at times and you begin to feel alone when you get unmotivated. It is very common for anyone to fall off track and lose motivation. There are a many ways to get yourself motivated and out of the slump you may be in. It is mainly important you do the best you can to continue on being focused and not let simple things affect you. ONE GOAL- Most of the time the biggest reason for you not being able to stay motivated is because you have too much going on in your life. You may be trying to do too much and it is taking away a lot of your energy and motivation. If you want to become serious about your goals, you need to first work on achieving one at a time. Once you have achieved this goal, then you could continue on to the next one. Finding Your Inspiration- Finding the inspiration you need most when trying to achieve your goals will be achieved most commonly by seeing others achieve your goal. Even seeing others who are working on achieving the same goal as you can...

Words: 1404 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Motivating Employees in the Organization

...2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction………………………………………………………………………………….3 Understanding the concept of motivation………………………………………………4 Assessing your approach to employee motivation 5 Identifying manager's role in motivation process6 Applying motivational techniques7 Use appropriate methods of reinforcement.7 Provide people with flexibility and choice…………………………………………….8 Encourage employees to set their own goals and objectives………………………8 Have a flexible management style…………………………………………………….8 Provide immediate and relevant feedback that will help employees improve their performance in the future……………………………………………………………....8 Establish a climate of trust and open communication……………………………….9 Demonstrate your own motivation through behavior and attitude…………………9 Conclusions and Recommendations………………………………………………………10 References……………………………………………………………………………………11 INTRODUCTION Motivation is defined as the willingness to exert high levels of effort toward organizational goals, conditioned by the effort’s ability to satisfy some individual needs. Motivation is necessary element and the most crucial aspect in achieving goals in the organization. When people get motivated, they will put more effort and try harder on what they doing to achieve better goals. Today, most companies and organizations want to know how to motivate employees in the workplace, so they can work with the zest and increase efficiency and productivity. Moreover, when there is a lack of...

Words: 1942 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Motivation in Workplace

... OUTLINE I. Introduction a. Why is motivation important? II. How to motivate? b. Setting goals c. Showing growth and progress III. Communicate to Motivate d. Why is communication important e. How does it motivate? f. How does it help improve employee motivation? IV. Employee Surveys & Evaluations g. Conducting research and surveys h. Why is a survey designed? i. Employee evaluations j. Questions to ask yourself when evaluating. V. Conclusion Introduction The question when it comes to motivating people is what motivates and how to motivate people? The last but not least is how to keep people motivated? There are many jobs people work and they’re just working for the money and nothing else. The key to keeping good/great employees and to have a low turnover rate is keeping people motivated. Not only that but also engaged with the work, having a positive work environment and wanting employees to help build, grow, and increase productivity. That’s why setting goals, monitoring employee’s growth and progression is the main theory for motivating employees. Also, modeling an evaluation program for the employees to advanced and enhances their job/career with the company to decrease employee turnover rate.  Leaders of modern-day organizations must know how to motivate each of their employees in order for them to thrive in dynamic work environments. Understanding...

Words: 1179 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Motivating Empltee

...Staff surveys are usually very helpful in establishing whether staff in your company are motivated and therefore performing to best effect. Aside from the information that questionnaires reveal, the process of involving and consulting with staff is hugely beneficial and motivational in its own right, (see the 'Hawthorne Effect'). Whilst your survey will be unique to your company, your staff issues, your industry and culture, some useful generic guidelines apply to most situations. Although not exhaustive, the following ten points may help you cover the relevant subject areas and help towards establishing facts rather than making assumptions about motivation when designing your own questionnaires on employee motivation.   ten tips for questionnaires on employee motivation 1. What is the 'primary aim' of your company? Your employees may be more motivated if they understand the primary aim of your business. Ask questions to establish how clear they are about your company's principles, priorities and mission. 2. What obstacles stop employees performing to best effect? Questionnaires on employee motivation should include questions about what employees are tolerating in their work and home lives. The company can eliminate practices that zap motivation. 3. What really motivates your staff? It is often assumed that all people are motivated by the same things. Actually we are motivated by a whole range of factors. Include questions to elicit what really motivates...

Words: 10333 - Pages: 42

Premium Essay

Individual Group Motivation Inventory

...Inventory, I have learned a lot of information in regards to how I operate within groups. My strong points include attendance to all group meetings and willing to do whatever this group needs in order to achieve our goal. I discovered that I am highly committed to the success of our learning team and I am willing to do all that is required from me to take part in project completion. I learned that being responsible is one of my strengths. I was also able to learn that I actually work well with others, especially when some of my traits are constantly displayed. These traits would be those of team player, leader and mediator. My ability to lead in a fair manner results in respect from the other group members, which is essential to reach the expected goal. * This knowledge affects the way you interact in groups in a positive way. Many different things can be done to promote motivation within a group, but for groups to be effective all members need to work together on reaching the same level of motivation. What I will do differently in the future when working in groups is use better communication skills. Ask questions and use active listening in order to solve problems and find solutions. Motivation and confidence go hand in hand and when you increase your motivation and start achieving results your confidence increases. It is important for me to know that I am capable of achieve anything. Something that I do to stay motivated when working in a group is to create goals. When you go...

Words: 890 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Employee Motivation Questionaires

...by the motivational expert and writer Blaire Palmer, which is gratefully acknowledged. See also the free leadership test which can be used to test your own leadership ability, and also as a questionnaire/survey to assess leadership and motivation ability and effectiveness among managers and supervisors (MSWord format).   employee motivation questionnaires or surveys Staff surveys are usually very helpful in establishing whether staff in your company are motivated and therefore performing to best effect. Aside from the information that questionnaires reveal, the process of involving and consulting with staff is hugely beneficial and motivational in its own right, (see the 'Hawthorne Effect'). Whilst your survey will be unique to your company, your staff issues, your industry and culture, some useful generic guidelines apply to most situations. Although not exhaustive, the following ten points may help you cover the relevant subject areas and help towards establishing facts rather than making assumptions about motivation when designing your own questionnaires on employee motivation.   ten tips for questionnaires on employee motivation 1. What is the 'primary aim' of your company? Your employees may be more motivated if they understand the primary aim of your business. Ask questions to establish how clear they are about your company's principles, priorities and mission. 2. What obstacles stop employees performing to best effect? Questionnaires on employee motivation...

Words: 5495 - Pages: 22

Premium Essay

Motivating Employees Case Study

...having a higher success in any organization. This type of motivation can be categorized into two categories. Intrinsically motivated and extrinsically motivated people. Employees can be one or the other or even both, neither of these define employees as good or bad it simply defines them on the levels of working motivation they have. Intrinsically motivated employees perform work and tasks simply because that's what they like to do and that alone keeps them motivated. They strive to improve themselves and that's what makes them happy. Extrinsically motivated employees only seek out work that they can benefit from one way or another. Showing up just to collect a paycheck or abuse the generosities the company offers are some examples. The SAS organization does a great job keeping their employees motivated and ready to work. There are several factors they may lead to both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated employees at the SAS organization and some that may also lead to long-term motivated employees. How does SAS motivate employees Motivation is term that explains people's behavior and what drives them. Peoples actions, needs and desires play a big part on the way people get motivated to do things that will benefit them in return. The well known software development called SAS devotes allot of time and resources making sure there employees stay motivated. In return their employees offer the best they can for their place of employment. SAS Institute does allot of new software...

Words: 1422 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Introduction

...September 7, 2012 Lugene Rosen “What can you say about a person that does want to change their life?’ It can be hard to make life changes; people may be dealing with everyday problems that they need to put effort to. ‘How can people make smart choices while eating right and exercising?’ It is daily activities that can be done to improve the ability to get the body are shape to live a long time. The more a person chose to eat the right nutrients and have vitamins in their body the more they will stay healthy. The average person think if they eat what they chose to eat they will live a long time, but it is up to the person in general to chose what lifestyle they want to live. A person has to get enough physical activities to burn any calories to stay in shape. If a person eat in moderation the weight will come off quick, and then the foods he/she chooses can benefit a heart healthy life. If people eat a well-balance diet and exercising it can help the heart stay stronger. Healthy eating will keep you living longer, and help you stay heart health with a balance diet. People should consider eating healthy and exercising to live longer. Most people in society have busy lives and do not think about eating healthy. It is a convenience for someone to stop and get fast foods; it can clog the arteries in the heart with fat and cholesterol. However, people that eat unhealthy and do not exercise will have a slow metabolism. It will leave the body with no energy. This is why most of society...

Words: 1115 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Importance Of Coordination

...• Basis of coordination Motivation is the basis of coordination among all members of the organization. Motivated employees develop a better understanding between them. They appreciate their mutual problems and resolve differences through mutual consent. The main reason for differences in approach among workers is lack of coordination. However, motivation helps maintain coordination among workers. Maintaining coordination helps to develop team spirit and group effort to achieve common goals. • Stability of workforce It is well known that a stable and motivated workforce is the potential of the organization. Motivation directly or indirectly facilitates the stability of the workforce. Generally, frustrated and disgruntled employees may think...

Words: 863 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Employee Motivation

...HOW DO YOU MOTIVATE AND COMPENSATE YOUR SALESPEOPLE? How do you motivate your sales people? The academic and classically accurate answer is you can’t motivate people. Motivation is internal to the particular person and the only factors that can truly motivate a person lie within the person themselves. So why do we spend so much time talking about it? Why do we devote so much time and effort trying to make motivation happen? The answer is that although you can’t control motivation, good leaders and coaches certainly can affect and inspire motivation. They create conditions in which people want to be motivated and therefore motivate themselves. When this occurs, we say the leader “motivates” because he or she has helped to shape an environment in which individuals are energized and motivated to achieve successful results. The strongest motivators for most people are achievement and its opposite – the avoidance of failure. People are never motivated by failure itself, but for some competitive people, achievement for the purpose of avoiding failure can be a stronger motivator than achievement for its own sake. The other strong motivator is recognition. This occurs when someone achieves something and someone else recognizes the accomplishment in some way. Some of the best examples of motivation driven by achievement, avoidance of failure and recognition can be found in sports. The coach or leader of a successful team never executes a play, the players...

Words: 1828 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

M1 Expalin Why Customer

...HR are needed to keep everything running smoothly and in order. Human Resources is an important department within an organisation. HR ensures that employees are not mistreated also because they are protected by legislations, so it is important to employ and treat employees appropriately. The HR department is also responsible for dealing with all the strategic thinking for the business. HR participate in important decisions that influence the business in the future. HR is a part of the recruitment process and ensuring that they hire the necessary people that require those particular skills to be able to perform the job role properly. Estimate future staffing needs HR planning helps SFX to estimate the staffing needs of SFX in the future .This is important because if it not run smoothly SFX students lessons will be disrupted. If the students find themselves without a teacher, it will cause a negative effect on the work and on the progress on the students. This will reflect in the student’s results. Another effect of this will be the college’s reputation; it will decrease and be known as poor. An example of this is if a teacher goes on maternity leave, HR will need to find an appropriate replacement to take over in order to prevent any disruption to the student’s education. The transition from one teacher to another has to be smooth o that the quality of the progress of the students is no affected. Help to achieve customer satisfaction by having the right people As SFX care about...

Words: 1095 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Seven Ways to Motivate Top Talent in de-Motivating Times

...Times August 9 2012 by Brad Remillard So how do you motivate your top talent to achieve the company’s goals? How do you keep them from contacting recruiters? How do you keep them passionate about coming to work? How do you keep them engaged day after day? The answer to all of these is “culture.” Even in difficult times top talent, by definition, will always rise to the occasion. They will always strive to be the best. If they don’t, they aren’t top talent. However, even top talent can burn out, get frustrated, not see the light at the end of the tunnel or wonder if they are really contributing. It is the role of all CEOs and managers to ensure these things don’t happen. There seems to be a consistent theme as to what great managers do in difficult times to hold on to and even attract top talent. The following are seven areas managers must focus on to ensure they keep their top talent motivated: 1) Companies must have a performance based culture. Even in difficult times there must be clearly defined goals for the company. These goals must cascade down to your top talent. They must have quantifiable objectives that motivate them, so when reached, they feel a sense of accomplishment. Providing specific time based goals with achievable results clarifies exactly what is expected of your people. Your best talent will embrace the goals and not stop until they reach the goal. Employee engagement is critical to retaining your best people. 2) Dysfunctional culture. This is probably...

Words: 1342 - Pages: 6