People Empowerment Secrets Ebook
People Empowerment Secrets Ebook
People Empowerment Secrets Ebook
EMPO E MEN
EC E
C a 3 B d E I ............................. 32
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Introduction
Successful leaders and managers today are willing to exercise their leadership in
such a way that their people are empowered to make decisions, share
information, and try new things. Most employees (future leaders) see the value in
finding empowerment and are willing to take on the responsibilities that come
with it. If future leaders have the wisdom to learn from the experience of present
leaders, and if present leaders have the wisdom to build an environment that
empowers people, both will share in the benefits.
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Chapter 1 Focus On The Bigger Picture
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business without motivated employees.
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Motivation is the most powerful emotion and PUSH that employees bring to work.
Every manager's commitment to motivating employees through shared vision
and communication is the fundamental skill that great managers bring to the
workplace. Employees with clear strategies and direction can work for you
without much question ask. Companies with motivational problems results in time
to low performance issues that may affect the business to lose thousands of
dollars of losses each year. A lack of motivation can lead to delays in the
employee's completion of work and simple but expensive mistakes. By
supporting and encouraging involvement, you are helping employees create a
sense of connection that extends across departmental boundaries.
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Managers and leaders must strive to get the best of each person on their team or
work group, which requires motivating different members in different methods
while also motivating the whole team or group as a whole. A motivated positive
work environment factors on how you can motivate them. A trusting and
cooperative working environment together with management and other personnel
are required to create the environment for motivating people. The HR manager
along with other managers has an important role to play in developing and
maintaining a good work environment.
Motivated employees that are top grade professionals are quite hard to retain in
c a b ca da c -throat competition across industries and
companies, and a broad of choices and offerings from companies and business,
a high attrition rate is seen where employees will not hesitate to change jobs
quick.
It's no wonder that a lot of companies are fighting hard to keep their employees
stay within them while also pushing them to provide better performance.
Nowadays, even filling their pockets with healthy salary is not enough to retain
them and keep them motivated and happy working at your company. Creating a
positive environment is imperative for their well-being and also nurtures their
talent.
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more. Having motivated employees can aid the growth and performance of an
organization for the better.
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Keeping employees motivated is vital for any business whether start-up, small or
big successful businesses and franchises. Motivating your workforce means you
can get highly productive and hardworking staff. This will help your business to
achieve your goals and its target. This should be a main objective in your
organizational and business plan.
Creating a motivational strategy will help you focus and strategically find effective
ways to motivate your people, individually and as a whole but before you do this
you have to understand or KNOW what drives your employees to perform well.
What motivate them to their peak performance will better help you develop
programs that both motivate and retain the best employees for your business.
Remember as mentioned before, what motivates you might not motivate other
people, but creating a list of effective of key motivating programs can help. Your
plan can include everything from salary incentives, rewards and recognition,
building programs that support work-life balance to simply creating a fun relaxed
office environment. The opportunities are endless and the reward substantial.
One of the most popular methods is incentive programs. Any companies can
easily use this to promote motivation on the workforce, but don't worry. Not all
methods require overall monetary as solution. Small businesses usually suffer in
this as having a tight budget, but the end results are the same; employees
become more motivated when they are recognized and rewarded for good work.
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Programs without high monetary incentives are quite common and they include
not just bonus pools but also recognition like "Employee of the Month", to
spotlighting employees on corporate websites or internal intranets. All will make
employees feel connected, important and part of the success of the business.
You can also leave feedback for their annual reviews alone; it all depends on
what motivational structure you'll use that will be effective. Just like any person,
your employees would also feel the need to be recognized and appreciated, and
even just passing by and taking time out to give a simple "thanks" or "great job" is
another strong employee motivator. Frequently acknowledge good work.
They would want to feel appreciated of their good works and efforts. Your
employees wants and sometimes subconsciously seeks face-to-face feedback
from their managers. This should also include constructive criticism needed to
address issues and help employees perform their jobs more effectively. While
conducting formal reviews should be part of your ongoing strategy, periodic
reviews and impromptu sessions will provide your employees with the feedback
they need to succeed.
In their bestselling book on employee retention, Love 'Em or Lose 'Em, Beverly
Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans ranked the top reasons employees remain
where they are:
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5. Being part of a team
6. Good boss
7. Recognition for work well done
8. Fun on the job
9. Autonomy, sense of control over my work
10. Flexibility, for example, in work hours and dress code
11. Fair pay and benefits
12. Inspiring leadership
13. Pride in the organization, its mission, and quality of product
14. Great work environment
15. Location
16. Job security
17. Family-friendly employer
18. Cutting-edge technology
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Encourage Feedback. Your employees need recognition. Giving them feedback
time to time makes them feel and see that they are being heard within the team.
This will help them feel that their opinions matter and they have a role in defining
the success of your business.
Be POSITIVE. By the end of the day, what makes a company motivated and
hardworking is the manager. It's your job and responsibility to create a positive
environment for your employees. This can be accomplished by employing simple
techniques from asking your receptionist to greet everyone with a smile, to
encouraging employees to express their ideas openly.
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T a : a
professional employee. Though, with two heads, they might not be able to be as
good and as productive as a professional. Likewise, a motivated employee is a
productive employee. Productive employees are more profitable and
professional. Unmotivated employees tend to be less productive and creative
making them less of an asset and losses their usefulness for a company. Now
more than ever, we need motivated employees! Motivated employees are
essential to all businesses.
What is Motivation?
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in all sense has different definitions and meaning in which most relates on how
businesses or managers or leaders employ it. Motivation is generally what
energizes, maintains, and controls behavior; it acts as a stimulus for desirable
actions. Motivation results in goal-directed behavior that results to a positive way
of using energy and skills to toward a preferable outcome. The importance of this
from a professional standpoint is enormous as much of what employees do is
specifically delegated to capture present or future value for their company.
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Salary was once believed to keep an employee working for a company, but it
does not mean that you are able to expand and use their abilities to its full
potential. Her berg s theor emphasizes that, while salary is enough to avoid
dissatisfaction, it is not necessarily enough to propel employees to increase their
levels of achievement. Simply put it, understanding and knowing both internal
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valued. Furthermore, employees that are not motivated beyond the incentive of
salary and benefits tend to decline in output over time. This fact lends strength to
the argument that motivated employees are a critical aspect of a successful team
or company.
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company. They are excited about their work and will act and provide better
performance for thei a a . Acc d Sca S ,
You might think that motivating people is easy as some may make it sound like,
b a , a d and challenging. It needs clear thinking and hard
work. Therefore, having the clarity of goals and expectations complemented by
rewards, both tangible and intangible, motivates people to achieve organization
goals.
1. Desire to be great
People have a great desire to contribute to something lasting and
get motivated naturally when they feel that they are working on
something important, rare and marvelous.
2. Motivating by caring
Showing genuine concern towards employees goes a long way in
inspiring them. Whether i d a a , d
a child to school or meeting their healthcare concern, it creates a
sense of loyalty in the employees and thus helps in retaining them.
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3. Motivating people at different levels
Different people could be motivated at different motivation levels.
This can also be based according to their skills. Some may want
stock shares while others will only ask for bonuses depending on
their contribution and position.
4. Motivating by setting difficult goals
Difficult goals stimulate greater effort and greater performance. This
linear relation could be explained by the following equation: Job
performance = f (ability + knowledge) (Motivation). Abilities of a
person could also be enhanced by the right motivation. This could
be done by constantly exploiting the strengths of a person and
ignoring his weaknesses.
5. Motivating problem people
Understanding human nature becomes very critical in this regard. To
motivate a problem employee, one should know what drives him.
Then identify blocks to his drives and try removing those
impediments.
While most people have a fair idea of what leadership is, there is some
disagreement about the meaning of motivation. For much motivation is the
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method used to get people to work. For others, it represents higher salaries,
fringe benefits and improved working conditions. Still others view it as a
management exercise. We will discuss this in Chapter 4: Recognizing
Achievement.
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Overall, as stated many times, having motivated employees gives you high level
innovation while they provide you with better higher quality of work at a high level
of efficiency. Though the benefits are quite broad, they are also quite vague that
goes back whether the argument that motivated employees costs less and has
no downsides. You can say that motivating employees cost NONE if the method
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motivators.
Motivating people to take a risk can be truly challenging. This can be done by
having a frank discussion on the chances of success, making roles &
responsibilities clearer, spreading risk across the team and organization and by
supporting the initiatives irrespective of the chances of success.
Effectiveness of people at the workplace depends on how their work will fit into
the grand vision of organization and what the future holds for the organization
and to them.
With the combination of recognition along with tangible rewards, the way
motivation works is thus progressive and cumulative.
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and fun and the thrill of new challenges keep the ball of motivation rolling. Even
the best performance can be improved!
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Chapter 2 Emphasize The Importance Of Process
Many different things and factor can motivate a person in the workplace, but
there are also different factors that can also motivate conflict and inflict stress in
the workplace. One key factor is stress management, how the person handles
stress is what will make or break a working relationship.
There are three main key theories that suggest how people reacts and pushes
people to have the initiative or motivation or drive to do their job well and better
while also relieving stress on the workplace.
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Any organizations flourish with employees. It's the most important part for any
organizations. Without them, there's is no one to do the selling. Managers have
been long known to think creative ways to keep employees motivated and hard
working. Making sure they come to work regularly and energetic and
continuously providing work that are positive contributions for the company.
When they are so, the business will be able to save up and cut costs while able
to make more profit, which is the goal of any business or organizations built.
Unmotivated employees are what you can say a bit of a challenge to handle.
Though they are qualified to their work, they are less likely to work on it. They are
not willing to do well in their jobs or sometimes organizations will even require
hiring other people to do different jobs that sadly results to high operating costs
and reduction on profit which are not in favor for the company as well as the
employees.
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Moorhead and Griffin, job performance depends on three main factors:
Motivation, Ability and Environment. In order for an employee to reach a higher
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As stated above, within those three factors, motivation is simply the hardest and
most difficult factor to manage and apply. This is basically due to the fact that a
person's attitude and behavior are simply too complicated. It's filled with
complexities and fallacies thus making it hard to categorize and to manage.
While the other two factors Ability and Environment are things that employee
understands that he/she has been recruited for and has the awareness that
he/she has the skills and capacity needed to perform the tasks as well as the fact
that resources are readily available and if a manager sees that an employee
lacks certain aspects of the job, he or she can provide training programs to learn
that particular skill to be more efficient for the company.
If, however, an employee isn't suitable for the job or lacks hereof, the knowledge
and ability for the job, there are other jobs that he/she can do, but if other
resources are not available (the environment factor) the manager can take action
to ensure that they become available.
But if other resources are not available (the environment factor) the manager can
take action to ensure that they become available. For example, if an employee
needs a photocopier, he/she can formulate request to the management team and
ask for one. For this reason, it is quite clear that the most challenging job for
every employer is how to motivate their employees to strive their best to work for
the organization.
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Intrinsic Motivation Theory
The Theory of Scientific Management has a unique view on how workers are
motivated. It suggests that workers are motivated by what they produce, on their
productivity while Intrinsic Theory suggests that they are motivated to do a great
satisfying job. It states that workers aims to produce a lot of products in a
specific period of time. To put it simply, workers are paid more if they are more
productive. This theory is often used for businesses since they require high
productivity and mass production. However, overuse of this theory also conclude
that employees will soon feel they are machines rather than co-workers which in
turn result to dissatisfaction which is why the Intrinsic theory promotes a happier
workplace than the Scientific Management Theory.
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Motivation-Hygiene Theory
Employees that are too stressed out results to lower quality and productivity.
Stress can also result to illness which can either be physical, like fatigue, or
mental like anxiety and tension. However, a certain amount of stress is required
to keep employees motivated. If things run too smoothly, employees can become
inattentive and bored to do their work.
In this theory, both Maslow's and Herzberg's motivation theories presents that
motivations is triggered by expectations. Though this is true in some points, by
generalizing it both theories are criticized. It is obvious with many other recent
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times and that different people are motivated by different things at the same time.
Therefore, there is no certain category of motivation. E ca c
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is, therefore, an essential part of Expectancy theory.
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With this theory, an expectancy model was designed and here determined that
one's motivation is strengthened as their perceived effort-performance and
performance-reward probabilities increase. It may seem quite complicated, but
we can discuss it through examples.
For instance, how strong can you be motivated to study if you expect to score
poorly on your tests no matter how hard you study (low effort-performance
probability) and when you know that the tests will not be graded (low
performance-reward probability)? In contrast, your motivation to study will
increase if you know that u can score well on the tests with just a little hard work
(high effort-performance probability) and that your grades will be significantly
improved (high performance-reward probability).
Employees and staffs are no different from students or any other people. They
are simply motivated to do and work harder if it will give them better and more
valuable rewards.
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With this said, managers and leaders can create strategies to try to push them to
work harder by making favorable expectations for their employees. When people
can expect personally valued rewards, they will undoubtedly work harder to try to
accomplish their tasks.
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This is where one qualities of managers must have that will help; listening. One
must listen to his/her employees, remember what they experienced as an
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can potentially en a c
work.
Another theory is the Goal Setting Theory wherein as stated and developed
both by Lotham and Locke in the year 1979 that a certain level of motivation and
performance is higher when the individual has specific objectives established and
when these objectives, even with a high level of difficulty, are accepted and are
offered performance feedback. The employees must participate in the process of
goal setting in order to obtain their approval when setting higher and higher
targets and the human resources people can help them to understand the
consequences of these targets over their entire activity. Feedback is also vital to
a a a , cially when targeting even higher
objectives.
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Ada E T
Categorized as one of the "justice" theories, The Equity Theory which was first
developed and studied by John Stacey Adams claims and states that through
satisfying the needs of fairness and equality brought upon by managers are a
drive that brings out the best results from his/her employees. Equity theory
places value on fair treatment.
An individual will consider that he is treated fairly when he feels that the he
receives the amount similar to his output and it is the same to other people
around him. In this case, it would be acceptable for an employee who has much
more work experience and who is a more senior colleague to receive higher
compensation/salary for his/her job.
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Theories of Motivation:
Try understanding each theory by applying it to the workplace. You can try
testing them all out and see which theory best works for the workplace and the
employees within it.
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productivity. A reward is a work outcome of positive value to the individual. It's
common for many organizations and companies to have a reward system given
to those employees who exerts excellent performances, accomplishing great
deals that are proving worth for the company's ideals. There are two types of
reward system.
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Extrinsic rewards are rewards and motivators that are received "externally".
These are rewards given to employees when one's outcomes are perceived as
great and best and usually given by managers or supervisors. Examples of
extrinsic rewards are pay bonuses, promotions, time off, special assignments,
office fixtures, awards, verbal praise, and so on. In all cases, the motivational
stimulus of extrinsic rewards originates outside the individual.
Intrinsic rewards are something that comes from the "inside". These are rewards
that make a person feel "special" or "high" after completing a job. That person
feels good because she has a feeling of competency, personal development, and
self‐control over her work. In comparison with extrinsic rewards, intrinsic is
compelled not by actions of other people.
Redesigning Jobs
Though jobs and employment are important, people who goes to their work every
day doing the same thing makes the job seems mundane and boring. According
to some individuals who experience this called it as "burnout". This is common to
any company either small or large companies, but a smart manager can handle
this situation if he knows what he's going to do.
The concept of job redesign, which requires understanding for the human
qualities people bring with them to the organization, applies motivational theories
to the structure of work for improving productivity and satisfaction.
When redesigning jobs, managers look at both job scope and job depth.
Redesign attempts may include the following:
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Job Enlargement
Job enlargement isn't adding more tasks but simply setting up lists of varieties of
tasks that are included in their employment. It doesn't increase the job nor the
quality and even the difficulty but instead decreases boredom and monotony of
the tasks at hand. With this, it helps decrease inactivity and increase work
quality of productivity.
Job rotation
This method allows people to experience different tasks in the company. This is,
however, not permanent but rather allows employees to be exposed on the
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employees. Job rotation can encourage higher levels of contributions and renew
interest and enthusiasm. The organization benefits from a cross‐trained
workforce.
Job enrichment
This is also called vertical job loading but beside adding or giving a variety of
tasks to an employee it also includes added responsibility and more authority. If
the skills required to do the job are skills that match the jobholder's abilities, job
enrichment may improve morale and performance.
Creating flexibility
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Personal Time: Employees also requires this and fights for it. They need for
many reasons such as family time and emergencies. The traditional nine‐to‐five
workday may not work for many people anymore. That's why give "flextime". This
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method for any companies to be accommodating to his employees. Here are
some other options organizations are trying as well:
Job sharing or twinning occurs when one fulltime job is split between two or more
persons. This often happens when there are employees working for half day, but
it can also be done on weekly or monthly depending on sharing arrangements
decided. When jobs can be split and shared, organizations can benefit by
employing talented people who would otherwise be unable to work fulltime. For
example, parents or mothers who need to take care of their children or their
elders that are willing to work half-day. Although adjustment problems sometimes
occur, the arrangement can be good for all concerned.
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Telecommuting, sometimes called flexiplace, is a work-arrangement that allows
at least a portion of scheduled work hours to be completed outside of the office,
with work‐at‐home as one of the options. Telecommuting frees the jobholder from
needing to work fixed hours, wearing special work attire, enduring the normal
constraints of commuting, and having direct contact with supervisors. Home
workers often demonstrate increased productivity, report fewer distractions, enjoy
the freedom to be their own boss, and appreciate the benefit of having more time
for them.
Of course, when there are positives, there are also negatives. Many home
workers feel that they work too much and are isolated from their family and
friends. In addition to the feelings of isolation, many employees feel that the lack
of visibility at the office may result in the loss of promotions.
There is no limit and different factors on how to motivate your employees on the
workplace. A manager's responsibility is to understand his employees' needs and
find effective ways to relieve their stress and make their daily working lives more
relaxed and comfortable. All of these things will make for a pleasant and more
productive workplace.
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Chapter 3 Building Emplo ees In ol ement
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just a disposable employee of the company wherein they can replace you
anytime.
If that's the case, then that's a workplace you'll definitely want to leave anytime.
In today's modern employment system, you can easily find new employees either
fresh graduates or professionals, however, getting them working while being
involve for the benefit of both the company or organization and themselves can
be quite a difficult task. That said, when an employee feel that he/she is
contributing to the welfare of the company or business, they are likely happier
with their position and will stay loyal and to the company and producing more and
higher quality of work.
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Creating change to employee initiative and motivation can be quite hard
especially when your employees have already settled down with the environment
and the system the company uses. Shifts in marketing and sales strategy,
management structure, workplace technologies or other areas can alter a
business drastically.
Changes in the company whether small or fundamental may change how your
employees will handle their responsibilities requiring them in some cases to learn
new skills to remain productive. Change can also add stress. Psychological
stress can build up as employees and staff must compromise and adjust to the
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inspire employees to work for change rather than against it.
Studies show that high-involvement work practices can develop the positive
beliefs and attitudes associated with employee engagement. These practices
also show that it also generates different kinds of discretionary behaviors that
lead to enhanced performance. Simply put, employees who conceive the design
and implement workplace and process changes are engaged employees.
However, getting employee involvement isn't a goal or a tool for companies and
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philosophy on how people responds and contributes to continuous improvement
and the ongoing success of their work organization.
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It can be critically important to competitiveness in the contemporary business
environment. Employee engagement was positively associated with performance
in a variety of areas, including increased customer satisfaction, profitability and
productivity, and reduced employee turnover. The breadth of employee
involvement was substantial. About 2/3 of the business units scoring above the
median on employee engagement also scored above the median on
performance, while only about 1/3 of companies below the median on employee
involvement scored above the median on performance (Harter, Schmidt &
Hayes, 2002).
Cognitive Aspect c c b ab a a ,
leaders, and working conditions.
Emotional Aspect concerns how employees feel about each of those three
factors and whether they have positive or negative attitudes toward the
organization and its leaders.
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Getting employees to be involved when it comes to the company's welfare such
as decision making is important to continue the improvement and success of the
business. Using strategic methods like employees suggestion systems,
manufacturing cells, work teams and events you can employ involvement into
employees. Other methods can include Kaizen (continuous improvement)
events, corrective action processes, and periodic discussions with the supervisor.
With the assistance and consultation from a much reduced management team
and engineers, workers redesigned their work. They moved from an environment
in which each person handled part of a work process to fully cross-trained
manufacturing cells producing a whole product.
From standing at an assembly position all day long, they created work which
allowed some freedom and movement. They eliminated the formerly "deadly dull"
jobs. At the same time, the flow of information they received, which allowed them
to know exactly how they were performing, increased dramatically.
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It suggests that efficiency is intrinsic; that people are naturally productive; that
when inspired with vision, equipped with the right tools, and guided by
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more efficient result than any single brain could design.
Tell: the supervisor makes the decision and announces it to staff. The supervisor
provides complete direction.
Sell: the supervisor makes the decision and then attempts to gain commitment
from staff by "selling" the positive aspects of the decision.
Example: Useful when employee commitment is needed, but the decision is not
open to employee influence.
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Consult: the supervisor invites input into a decision while retaining authority to
make the final decision herself.
Join: the supervisor invites employees to make the decision with the supervisor.
The supervisor considers her voice equal in the decision process.
The key to a successful join is when the supervisor truly builds consensus
around a decision and is willing to keep her influence equal to that of the others
providing input.
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Their research discovered, "the supervisor who wishes to generate a positive
impact on satisfaction with supervision, satisfaction with work, and solidarity and
to reduce communication anxiety should strive to get her/his subordinates to
perceive her/him as using a more employee-centered (consult-join) leadership
style." At the same time, however, the supervisor cannot be seen by employees
as abdicating responsibility for decision-making.
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Involve all stakeholders, process owners, and employees who will feel the impact
of the changes, as much as possible, in the learning, planning, decisions, and
implementation of the change. Often, in change management, a small group of
employees learns important information about change and change management.
If they fail to share the information with the rest of the employees, the remaining
employees will have trouble catching up with the learning curve.
Even if employees cannot affect the overall decision about change, involve each
employee in meaningful decisions about their work unit and their work.
Build measurement systems into the change process that tell people when they
are succeeding or failing. Provide consequences in either case. Employees who
are positively working with the change need rewards and recognition. After
allowing some time for employees to pass through the predictable stages of
change, negative consequences for failure to adopt the changes, are needed.
You cannot allow negative-minded people to continue on their path forever; they
sap your organization of time, energy, and focus, and eventually, affect the
morale of the positive many. The key is to know, during your change
management process, when to say enough is enough.
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Help employees feel as if they are involved in a change management process
that is larger than themselves by taking these actions to involve employees
effectively in change management.
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Self-management is another method to make employees involved. Nobody likes
being micro-managed, or even hearing suggestions as to where their priorities
should be. Some companies do this by allowing employees to manage their own
time (depending on the nature of the job). They don't need to work at strict 8
hours of continuous job but instead get breaks or early day offs without informing
managers.
Not only it decreases stress it also allows work-life balance. It is important with
the self-management system that employees are well aware that they are not an
island. Allowing employees to work in this way automatically encourages them to
be more involved in day-to-day operations.
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Chapter 4 Recognizing Achievement
Theories and research suggest and been proven that without giving out praise
and recognition to employees are one of the main reasons they leave certain
companies and organizations.
Though increasing salary and adding bonuses are already important motivators,
c a a c ac c a a
least once or twice a year. You can do this in different ways. Events and
celebrations showcasing and awarding achievement of employees or teams are
one way to do it or give added rewards for their achievement.
Leadership and motivation works and comes together when it comes to handling
employees. As mentioned Chapter 1: Focus on the Bigger Picture, motivation
a ca a ba ad c
essential to an understanding of motivation.
Peter Drucker said that leadership is that quality of examining work to ensure that
effort is not placed where there are no results.
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According to this definition, leadership is the skill of establishing priorities and
marshaling resources to achieve worthwhile goals. While some may disagree
with this definition, few will argue that Drucker's view is unreasonable.
Supervisors have the difficult and primary task of determining what is important in
their organization. Drucker advises them to forget about yesterday's services, to
maintain today's breadwinners and, as managers, to emphasize and nurture
tomorrow's objectives. Indeed, a fundamental rule of leadership is to delegate
yesterday and undertake tomorrow. Those expensive experiences in
management ego, in developing and maintaining services and collections long
after analysts have revealed their failure, must be avoided. Leadership is the art
of recognizing the mistake, even one's own, and correcting it before it bleeds the
institution.
The leader is also the person who must ask himself and the members of his
administrative team to redefine the purpose and role of their institution regularly.
The leader must clarify the institution's goals and objectives and remind his team
of those ends. To be successful, the leader must ensure that the team knows
both the goals and strategy. (Excerpt from SUPERVISION OF EMPLOYEES IN
LIBRARIES: Leadership and Employee Motivation by Donald J. Sager; page 45-
46)
Leaders today must learn and master new skills adding up to the traditional
leadership methods to lead their teams and employees into the success of the
company. Continuously mentioned in this eBook is that motivating employees is
imperative and thus a skill any leaders must acquire. It can be quite costly but
with the right usage of tools can be advantageous for all and most organizations.
Leaders must employ these tools and resources properly to achieve their goals.
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When it comes to motivating employees, one leadership trait to have is the ability
to infuse inspiration to each member/staff or employees. Besides sharing ones'
vision and directions, asking for opinions and ideas is a great way to build trust
and relationship as well as inspire each other. It can be called as "successful
leadership relationship" and must be effortless when it comes to inspiring
employees. Following an effective leader, people accomplish and achieve more
than they may ever have possibly dreamed.
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people feel important. So, effective leaders need to demonstrate these practices.
Listen to your people. Rather than leading and them listening only to you, the
leader, start listening to your employees/staff or members and give full attention
when needed. Set meetings to listen to their needs better. Moreover, you can
hear more of their ideas and opinions regarding the organization and oversee
which and what is working for their comfort. You make people feel special when
you listen to them without distraction
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Positive, powerful languages. A simple "Thank you" or "Great Job" is a positive
and powerful phrase to say to your employees that can impact their daily lives
into positive ways. It encourages them to work harder and better for the
company's and their welfare. Other phrases can include but not limited to, "Your
contribution saved the custome c a . W c d a
acc d a .
Put praise in writing. A "thank you" note to the employee, with a copy to her file,
magnifies the impact of the recognition.
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.
M a d c a a a ad a good motivator
for employees to stay in their companies most simply pretends but if you change
the reward, you can change people's behavior.
Some researchers argue that to motivate employees you should be able to give
them happiness. However, Duke Psychology Professor Dan Ariely argues that
both happiness and money are both motivators and simply categorizing them
based on money and happiness will oversimplify things and miss out the
important factors on what motivates people.
Many people think that, in the end, motivation is all about money, for all that
people pretend otherwise. If you change the reward, you can change people's
behavior.
Others argue that it's all about finding happiness. Duke psychology professor
Dan Ariely argues that both play a part but that those explanations wildly
oversimplify things, and miss out on what truly motivates people.
In a recently posted TED talk, he points to finding meaning in work, and being
able to see progress as extremely important motivators.
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This means managers play a huge role in the quality and quantity of someone's
everyday work, and that they have to be very conscious of their behavior.
"Ignoring the performance of people is almost as bad as shredding their effort in
front of their eyes,"Ariely says.
Nothing destroys people's confidence and motivation more than busy work, and
nothing gets them going more than constantly seeing their progress and caring
about it.
The difference in meaning was small. Both figures would end up being broken
down. It made a big difference in people's motivation and willingness to work.
The Group A built 11 figures on average, and Group B, 7.
Not only that, the latter condition made even people who loved building Lego
dramatically less productive.
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Acknowledgment is essential, and even the briefest notice and attention makes a
huge difference. It's about remembering workers are humans, not machines.
Money is a powerful lever, but it's not the only one. The best managers and
companies figure out how to use everything.
Recognize Employees
One method that most leaders and managers often forget is to recognize the
efforts and achievement done by employees. Employee recognition goes a long
way toward increasing and maintaining achievement. Studies show that when
employees feel valued or recognized with their achievement and the contribution,
they are more likely to strive more and desire to contribute more for the success
of the company. Managers who never thank their employees can cause a
decline in motivation. It's not important to give extravagant gifts, but rather just
the thought of being recognized is motivation enough. Other ways to recognize
employees include a paid day off, a card expressing gratitude and flexibility in
work schedules. Rather, employee recognition is better and more effective when
it is done with sincerity, and if you are giving them fair wages rather than just
increasing their salaries.
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Quality of Life
It's normal that not all employees already knows and understands how the
company system works and this may demotivate them. Implementing coaching
and seminars can improve their skills and increase their performance that will
give higher results. A primary way to help employees improve their performance
is to offer feedback. Rather than after they complete a task, provide feedback
before the completion of theirs task. Managers should provide feedback based
on actual performance and not biased opinions. When employees can sense
biased opinions, they begin to lack motivation and work less. When providing
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Monetary Incentives
Here are some tips to remember when it comes to employee recognition. Make
sure to establish certain criteria for what you believe in as high performance and
contribution wherein it is deemed reward-able whether behavior or tasks or the
company.
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All employees must be eligible for the recognition.
The recognition must supply the employer and employee with specific
information about what behaviors or actions are being rewarded and recognized.
Anyone who can perform at the level or standard stated in the criteria receives
the reward.
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Creating criteria and goals for either teams or individual employees and member
accomplishments should be viewed through a series of processes for it to be a
success.
Sometimes you can make quick simple recognition that can either be unique and
random at some times. What matters is the element of surprise employees will
receive.
Simple things like giving free meals sometimes a week is great but be careful as
some might take advantage of it or rewarding beset decorations for the holidays.
Recognition and reward system are both beneficial for managers and employees.
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Single out a few employees who are mysteriously selected for the recognition,
Strengthen the morale of the many who failed to understand the criteria enough
to compete and win, and
Here are some 9 methods to reward employees that as well show that you are
seeing and recognizing their hard work and achievements.
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Reward #1 Money
Give bonuses (Up to $200 in state funds per employee per year can be awarded
for recognition purposes)
Reward #2 Recognition
Give Awards
Write personal note or letter of thanks (particularly from Deans & Chairs) and
place in personnel file
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Throw parties for special events (ie, Service Awards, Goodbyes,
Accomplishments, Awards)
Flex time (working core hours and work 8 hours/day but come in from 8 8:30
and leave from 4 4:30; not appropriate for all jobs)
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Recommend individuals to others as a resource or
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Allow for some expansion of job duties (not necessarily an increase in complexity
which could lead to a re-class) which may break the monotony of a position
and lead to greater job satisfaction
Reward #6 Advancement
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Reclassify positions as appropriate
Talk to staff about their career goals and try to incorporate some into the job as
appropriate and relevant
Empower staff to make decisions about their jobs and allow them to grow
Reward #7 Freedom
Allow for flexibility in work hours (staff should work core hours and 8 hours/day
but come in from 8 8:30 and leave from 4 4:30). This may not be appropriate
for all jobs
Understand that there are many different ways to accomplish tasks and allow for
individual
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Assign staff projects which draw on their ideas & creativity
Reward #8 Fun
Have other food items at meetings, or for little gatherings (10 minutes):
Doughnuts
Bagels
Cake
Throw parties (for goodbyes, to celebrate service awards, for Staff Appreciation
Day, etc.)
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Reward #9 Prizes
Contests for teams or individuals who are working on finishing major projects, or
eliminating backlogs
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Chapter 5 Spread The Positive Energy To Others
Try making a simple survey by asking random people, let's say around 50
people, and ask them if they are fully engaged and motivated when working.
Sadly, research shows that only less than 50% of them are not fully engaged.
This obviously shows how employee talent and potential are gone to waste.
When employees are not fully engaged with their work, means they are not
enjoying the working environment and simply can't give their 100% for every task
.T a a a c a a a
fraction of what it could be. This impact of disengaged employees on
organizational performance will only increase as we move further towards a
knowledge economy driven by human capital.
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Energy is everywhere around you. It can either be positive or energy, but it sure
does define whether it will be to your success or promote your demise.
Everything you involve yourself in is a result of the energy you contribute. How
well you act and contribute as a professional is also as important on what you
contribute. You may be a professional, with higher knowledge and sets of skills
and history of success, but if you approach a new job or a team or your boss or
even your customer with negative energy then you should take full responsibility
to the worse consequences of this action.
Experts claim that energy is neither or positive, and this is always neutral and will
only be either positive or negative depending on which form we want it to be in
which, in fact, true when it comes to the working environment and/or other places
or organizations.
Negativity comes in many forms especially in the workplace (or anywhere for that
matter). Spot negativity in many forms:
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The truth is as leaders and managers you have the power to exert and control
your energy on how you let other perceives it but as well as receive and
understand other's energy whether positive or negative. Sometimes it is easy to
see how others affect you, but many times you may not even realize the effect
others had on you. Being aware on how people react to a certain situation and
how they feel will decrease negative energy and promote positive energy.
As a manager, your energy is what determines the success of your team whether
on meetings or on actual working hours. If you have an employee or co-worker
who is struggling, have you considered how much responsibility you have in their
performance?
If you were chosen to become the leader or manager or supervisor for other
employees and members, your responsibility is to how you'll manage your own
energy, as well as the negative energy from the employees.
Managers and leaders look on what is happening. Are you contributing positively
to the welfare of your company? Is your energy affecting both your personal and
professional life? How do you handle your employees? Do you do so
professional while being responsible? Are you POSITIVE when it comes to your
work? Does your workplace have a POSITIVE environment, comfortable for
working?
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Start with Yourself!
Inspiring positive energy in the workplace starts with one's self. When
questioning whether you are positively on the right direction in the workplace try
asking yourself these following questions:
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Being aware of how you emit your energy to the workplace is the key to improve
the workplace energy. Managers and leaders should aim to create a positive
working environment to keep employees motivated and engaged at their works.
That's why by simply taking the time to observe others both your employees and
staff, you may create a new awareness of the type of energy that is most
common in your department or company.
How you handle your energy and how well you observe your employees energy
can be determined on how well your employees perform. Since employees work
their whole day almost in the workplace, they will want to feel comfortable and
relaxed even with the workload. Figuring out who has negative energy in the
workplace won't be easily determined by their turnout but with how they socialize
while working. In order to start creating a positive working environment, begin
with one's self, affecting others for better. However, if you identify a negative
employee who is not supporting the environment you are expecting to create, it is
critical to deal with this behavior.
Take necessary steps to help the employee feel comfortable in order to improve
but if this employee refuse to be more positive and effective, then you can't
simply ignore it. Allowing this employee to continue contributing negative energy
will quickly infect the energy of other employees and you.
Set Expectations
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Have your own management style and see if it works well with your employees. It
should be able to create positive-minded employees with supportive and
rewarding process. Reward the positive improvements and mentor the
employees who are not exceeding expectations. It's great to reinforce positive
energy continuously to build and maintain productivity momentum to reach your
goal quicker with better results.
Working every day and doing almost the same things bore your employees and
sap out their positive energy. Find fun great ways to boost them up even while
doing meetings, meeting deadline and finishing projects. This can be as simple
as frequent short breaks, laughter, creating a very open environment where fresh
ideas and creativity is rewarded.
The relationships you align in life reflect who you are. You are defined by your
relationships in your personal life and most certainly within your professional
career. If you find the majority of your employees are tired, or your team is
experiencing difficulty with exceeding expectations and creating momentum,
seriously consider evaluating the energy flowing within your company. Do not
wait for others to create the positive, rewarding, motivating environment since
you already have that power to do so. A positive environment is a healthy
environment.
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As a manager or a leader as a team, it is your responsibility to take the initiative
role to encourage positive energy in the workplace. It is a worthy investment of
time and energy as it gives better results and productivity. Remember, that to
spark initiative and positive energy takes one or two persons to start it. You,
managers and leaders, should be the first persons to take the initiative.
Showing Gratitude
Improve yourself and others by focusing on one's skills and also incorporate
them to each daily lives. You can also help them learn new skills needed for their
task.
We are all people. We will and often times dwell to our negative energies. Most
of the time, we tend to focus on goals and projects we haven't fulfilled or fear of
the unknown future of the projects. Build your inner resilience by refocusing your
energy on successes when you are faced with disappointment or stress.
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Practice "flexible" thinking
When receiving new projects and challenges, instead of thinking of what might
go wrong, embrace the new possibilities and potential obstacles with positive
thinking. Manage them effectively and face the unexpected events without any
problems.
Large projects and tasks are often intimidating. Make it easier and fun by
planning steps and dividing it to easy-to-handle tasks for employees and make
goals achievable to maintain focus and balance energy.
TEAM Support
Leading and managing your employees requires supporting and trusting them
with their skills while leading them to ensure productivity and quality.
Communication is important! If you feel less confident about them, they can
sense it with your energy and often times will lead to negative energy and
discouraged employees. Help them develop.
Now, here are some quick tips that you can DO NOW to promote positive energy
to others. (Excerpt from 5 Ways to Create a Positive Workplace Atmosphere -
Harriet Meyerson)
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Greet everyone today with a a c H a da a d d
eye contact. You will get some smiles back creating a positive connection,
and positive energy.
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energy will come across, and both of you will feel energized.
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a a .E b ,c , c a Y a
c a a dd a d, d dab , c a a da
c a a , c , ab , c.
Try baking some chocolate chip cookies and pass them out. Homemade
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they are easy to bake because you can get the pre-mixed ones in squares
at the grocery store, pop them in the oven, and in a few minutes you have
a delicious cookie.
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