The question came from a new manager who had been promoted from among his peers and was now managing people who were much more knowledgeable and experienced than he was. His question was how should he manage such people.

My reply was…”Don’t!”

By that, I meant don’t try to manage them. Managing someone who has more ability, experience or knowledge than you do has its pitfalls and its benefits. By managing them, you stifle their creativity and innovation. I asked the manager why he felt it necessary to actually manage the knowledgeable ex-peer. That opened up a new topic as to how much autonomy and responsibility the person should have, and if he should be managed at all.

The group suggested that he should lead the other person, allowing him to show leadership qualities himself. Trying to ‘manage’ wouldn’t work.

Instead, the leader should:

* Discuss what roles and responsibilities the person should have, and agree on how those should be carried out

* Agree any targets that should be set for the subordinate

* Give them the freedom and authority to achieve those targets themselves, with the manager holding the resource purse strings and the accountability

* Set parameters for the ex-peer to work to, but allow them to control it

* Concentrate on results rather than methods

* Use the experience of the ex-peer to drive things forward, supporting their decisions and allowing them to create further opportunities

* Encourage them to share their experiences and learn from them

* Ensure you, as manager, take full responsibility for their results, and help them achieve higher goals if possible

What you’re trying to do is create the environment for the ex-peer to still contribute to the success of the department without feeling that he has been overlooked or that his experience is of no value. On the contrary, it is of great value and should be seen to be that way by all team members.

So, don’t try and manage this kind of employee…keep their motivation and creativity going by showing excellence in leadership.

Thanks again

Mark

Mark Williams

Head of Training

MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

 (Images by Renjith Krishnan)

Many companies we visit to consult with have their visions on display, often in the reception or boardroom. But, whenever we ask how they are being applied within everyday interactions, we are often disappointed by the replies. The visions and missions are lofty aspirations, but the quality of the integration into the workplace leaves a lot to be desired.

So how can you turn the vision into reality, so it isn’t just left as a set of platitudes, dreamed up in some long-forgotten directors’ away-day?

To establish an effective strategy to make the vision work for your people, ask yourself these questions:

* What does the vision mean for what we do and the ways we behave in our part of the company?

* If it’s a centrally-located or international vision, how can we give ourselves a local sense of mission and commitment?

* What can we do on a daily basis that contributes toward achieving the vision?

* What do we do in our daily work that impedes us in achieving the vision?

* What feedback can we as a team give to management about how we can improve the application of the vision?

* How can I personally set the example to others about how to live up to the vision?

The answers to these questions require you to be prepared to commit in practical and behavioural terms to the applications of the vision. You must share the elements of the vision to all team members to make sure it really means something, and isn’t lost in the ether. You must put it across in an inspiring and motivational way, so your people want to commit to it. And you must constantly re-inforce the vision.

Make sure you involve the team in these discussions. Resist the temptation simply to tell them what they should do. To get buy-in, they must be involved in all the discussions so they really feel involved in the way forward.

The vision is the forward-looking direction the company wants to go. If it’s inspiring to others, it drives momentum and motivation. So if it’s a good vision, it’s worth investing your time into making it become reality.

Thanks again

Mark 

Mark Williams

Head of Training

MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

Many managers consider the only way they can develop their staff is by sending them on courses, which can prove costly if they are not followed up and not integrated into the current work environment. So how can you ensure that any training your staff carry out is proved valuable by being instilled in every-day work?

On-The-Job Training, or OJT, can be linked to classroom and other types of formal learning. The basics consist of:

• Showing trainees what to do
• Watching them do the job
• Talking through what they did, and how they might do it better
• Repeating these processes until they get it right
• Frequently linking the instructions with written procedures like training manuals

So, is OTJ the right approach? Well, it depends. You can identify the following points that will give you an idea:

• People are going through off-the-job training that might be done better by OTJ
• Informal OTJ activities are already going on that could be made more formal
• There are new initiatives or changes that might be facilitated by OTJ
• There are staff who could make good OTJ trainers

If you decide that OTJ may help your staff develop their skills quicker and give them more confidence, then remember the importance of:

• Getting higher-management support
• Starting on a small scale, building on success and learning from failures
• Getting the basics correct

Then you can determine how to operate and develop an effective OTJ system. Make sure:

• It operates consistently between different areas of the business
• Assessment and verification processes function properly
• The opportunities for expanding OTJ go to all areas of the business
• You see the benefits of combining it with other forms of training

Many of your staff will enjoy the benefits of e-learning and will request opportunities to enhance their learning through OTJ and mentoring. Give them the chance to expand their knowledge through different forms of training and development. That way, you will see improvements in their performance and highlight how everyone can benefit from developing their skills in many areas.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Course

(Image by SixNine Pixels)

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

Daniel Pink argues that there are three main elements of internal motivation, which he calls ‘Autonomy’, ‘Mastery’ and ‘Purpose’. These may seem pretty much common sense, but many managers forget how internal drive to motivation may be. Pink’s ideas may well identify why external motivators don’t work effectively all the time. Let’s take a look at the three ideas and see if we can marry up why they are so important:

Firstly, Autonomy

Our default-setting, say, Pink, is to be autonomous and self-directed. Most management today conspires to change this setting from intrinsic to extrinsic motivation. To encourage intrinsic motivation, autonomy is the first requirement.

People need autonomy over task (what they do), time (when they do it), team (who they do it with), and technique (how they do it).

Then, there’s Mastery

While external motivation techniques require compliance, Pink says that the latest motivation requires engagement. Only engagement can produce mastery, becoming better at something that matters. Mastery isn’t just the ability to be able to do things well; it revolves around being able to carry out optimal experiences where the challenges we face help us to grow and stretch our capabilities.

Smart organisations supplement day-to-day tasks with stretching tasks, not too hard but not too easy. There are three elements to this drive to Mastery:

It is a ‘mind-set’ – it requires the capacity to see the abilities you possess as infinitely improvable.
It is a ‘stretch’ – it demands effort and deliberate practice.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             And it’s ‘progressive’ – it’s impossible to fully realise, which makes it frustrating, challenging and attractive, all at the same time.

Purpose

Human-beings seek purpose – a cause greater and more attractive than just themselves – and businesses are starting to realise this. Purpose-maximisation is taking its place alongside profit- maximisation, expressing itself in three ways:

Goals that use profit to reach purpose,

words that emphasise more than self-interest,

and policies that allow people to match their work with their passion.

These three ideas may well prove why many businesses can’t get the most out of their people, because they are relying too heavily on the extrinsic forces to get people to be driven. But more force is always exerted when the person wants something they themselves have decided go for. So Pink’s ideas add value to the motivation debate and allow us to se what is really driving peeople’s performance.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

She said she worked in a positive environment, where she was often getting positive reinforcement for what she was doing. Her boss was continuously praising her for being on time with her attendance or project inputs or meeting minutes. Yet, this lady didn’t feel as great as she thought she should. Something she said in her email hit home to me: “I feel that I am being manipulated, as if my manager had been on a course that told him to keep on praising people and this would motivate everyone. But I don’t feel good when he does it all the time. Am I wrong to feel this way, Sean?”

Interesting, eh? This lady was in a positive environment, but not feeling positive. Why?

Well, it may have something to do with our third myth of management; the fact that positive reinforcement practices often fail because they are dealing with behaviours, not performance optimisation.

Behaviour modification was popularised by psychologist B.F. Skinner in the 1930′s. His basic ideas revolved around the facts that when employees received positive reinforcement, they are more likely to repeat the behaviour that gained the praise in the first place. And negative reinforcement would force the employee to engage in that particular behaviour less often.

However, this often feels fake and manipulative. The lady quoted above could subconsciously see that the praise wasn’t really genuine. If it was, she would have accepted it for what it was. Positive reinforcement often affects the employee’s extrinsic motivation, but rarely their intrinsic motivation.

Coming to work on time because you know that if you don’t you will be reprimanded is an example of extrinsic motivation – you are motivated to do something because of what will result at the end of it.

Intrinsic motivation comes from within and is based on a personally-held belief.

Extrinsic motivation is compliance-based; intrinsic motivation is interest-based. Positive reinforcement systems encourage and improve extrinsic motivation, but not intrinsic.

As a manager, you need to find ways to create environments that improve people’s intrinsic motivation, things that will drive them from the inside, so their passion, drive, ingenuity, creativity and energy are tapped into. Manipulating by continuous praise won’t accomplish this.

Remember to mix the two, and you should get better results.

Thanks again

Sean

If salary increases actually do improve employee morale, you would expect to see performance and productivity go up in line with the increases, wouldn’t you? Mmm. Well, you probably know the answer to that one.

Frederick Hertzberg took a look at the factors that bring job satisfaction and dis-satisfaction. He identifies two sets or groups of factors that affected employee motivation, and called them hygiene factors and motivators. Hygiene factors included things like working conditions, pay, status and security. When these are poor, work is dis-satisfying, said Hertzberg. When they are acceptable, work is not dis-satisfying. Adding more hygiene factors does not increase employee motivation.

However, the motivators are things that influence employee satisfaction based on the fulfilment of intrinsic, or higher-level, needs. These needs include opportunities for growth, recognition, achievement, and the quality of the work itself. Motivators, says Hertzberg, improve worker satisfaction and motivation much more than hygiene factors alone ever could.

Top performance employees want to be appreciated for the quality of the work done and recognised for the efforts and abilities that they show. It’s only the poor performers who think that extra pay will produce actual motivation. Actually, I believe the extra pay only attempts to make up for the poor opportunities or the boring work they have to continually carry out. It mutes the pain for a while, until the effect wears off and the money loses its meaning.

So our second myth is “Employees are Motivated by Salary Increases”

If you have increased salaries recently and expected an improvement in performance or productivity and it didn’t materialise, Hertzberg explains why.

Increased pay will never deal with intrinsic motivation. Recognising what specifically motivates people working for you, and tapping into their motivational instincts, are the only ways that you are going to get to the real essence of what makes people turn themselves on at work.

Thanks again

Sean

Is there anything you can do to manage absenteeism without risking claims of discrimination? Yes, there is. There are several things you can do to protect your team and business, including a) understand the scale of the problem, b) discover the underlying causes and c) take a positive and methodical approach to solving the problem. You can read some interesting ways to get absentees back to work here

First, can you actually measure the effects of absence?

One way is the Bradford Factor, which takes account of the fact that persistent short spells of absence are much more costly and disruptive than occasional long ones. It measures irregularity of attendance as follows:

Bradford Factor = S x S x D

In this equation, S = the number of spells of absence over a time period (say, one year), and D is the number of days absence in the same period.

For example, if a person has been absent for one period of 10 days, the figures would read: 1 x 1 x 10, which equals 10.

But if they were absent for 10 separate days over the same period, the figures would read: 10 x 10 x 10, which equals 1,000.

It may only be a crude measure, but many employers use the scale as a realistic comparison of disruption.

So, you need to formulate a policy in order to tackle absenteeism effectively. The most effective absence management policies are based on the following principles:

* A balance of concern for cost and concern for people

* Keeping people informed

* Quality Information

Whatever your absence management policy, there are some actions you can take to help you achieve better results in this area:

Act Early: If you notice increase in absence or changes in the pattern of absences, investigate and take action before it becomes a major problem. You don’t want it to become so overlooked that it is seen by some as an acquired right to extra leave.

Seek Advice Early: Some issues may involve medical, psychological, legal and contractual situations, so try to get specialist advice before making any decisions on how to approach it. Avoid impulsive decisions and actions, and get HR or your people development department involved. Talk about chances and opportunities for transitional roles for the person who is the subject of your absence enquiries.

Be Methodical: Collect data consistently and carefully. Keep good records, see that everyone has a return-to-work interview and communicate fully and completely with people involved. This way fairness and relevance never becomes an issue of contention.

Be aware that some people may take absence because they have outgrown their role and are ‘rebelling’ against the systems or processes you are running. Boredom can be just as stressful as overwork, so be aware of the rationale people use to justify their being away from work.

If it has become a real problem, discuss other opportunities the person may have within or without your department. You don’t want to pass the problem onto someone else within your organisation, but you cannot afford to carry passengers, so let the person know that you need their help in dealing with the issue as well.

That way, you are offering them the chance to deal with their absence issues in an adult and professional way. Help the person to realise the impact their absence is having on results and their team mates. Employ a culture of care within the department, and encourage people to bring their problems to you before they become the foundation of a culture of absence.

Thanks again

Sean

(Image by Avital Pinnick) 

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

• one in four employees (23%) worldwide identifies with five or more of the key factors in depression (as outlined by the World Health Organisation)
• only 12% of the global workforce expressed feeling generally optimistic
• only 14% of respondents said they felt inspired by their employer
• 92% of respondents said their emotions were reliant on workplace results, rather than factors such as self-belief and intrinsic work ethic.

These results were obtained by surveying participants in America, Europe, South America, Africa and the Asia-Pacific. In a nutshell, the findings reveal the following:

• If the environment at work supports an individual’s view of their own ‘self’ it provides a positive emotional state and a source of stable motivation
• An individual is empowered by their internal feelings of worth, ability and value
• There is a clear divide in focus, belief, confidence, connectivity and enthusiasm between those at the top of an organisation and those on the lower rungs of the corporate ladder
• The older you get (50+), the less confidence you have in your organisation and where it’s going, but the more stable you feel in your role
• Women are finding the current environment more challenging in terms of feeling confident in their roles and responding to stressful situations

These trends heighten the need for leaders to act now to ensure their team members bring a mindset to work that will enable them to achieve and perform.  So, what can leaders do?

• Take proactive steps in discussing the overall well-being of their people
• Offer support when people are feeling less than 100%
• Set performance goals for individuals in the workplace that assist in an “achievement” mindset for staff
• Provide coaching and feedback to inspire exceptional performance

As the world’s economy goes through an intriguing stage, we are looking for leaders to do exactly that…lead. And if you can learn the lessons from this report, people will look to you for inspiration and development in the future.

Thanks again

Sean

Some managers say that they pay people to do their work, and that is recognition enough, isn’t it? Also, the performance is only adequate, so why should I thank them or show appreciation for just an average job?

Well, that’s all very understandable; however, everyone needs to feel that they are noticed and feel appreciated. It’s basic motivational practice. So how can you make sure that what you do is noticed, appreciated, recognised and understood?

Firstly, when you are discussing your manager’s expectations of you, tell them that you really like to get plenty of feedback, particularly when things have gone well. This helps you to recognise what you can do in the future to maintain this good performance. When you do get some positive feedback, make sure you reinforce this boss behaviour by saying how much it is appreciated.

Secondly, and depending on the type of work you do, try to build up some recognition mechanics that you personally can measure (like goals, targets, etc) so that when you achieve them, you have some personal recognition that you can inwardly appreciate.

Remember, you may not be able to change your boss and the way they interact with you, but you can certainly recognise yourself and the good things you do. This personal satisfaction will keep driving you and enable you to dip into your reserves of intrinsic motivation when you need it.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

The key to excellence in management often relates to the results you achieve. And I’m not just talking about hitting your targets, financial or otherwise. I’m referring to how you get your people to achieve their results.

In the film ‘Field of Dreams’, Kevin Costner’s character heard a whispering voice tell him that ‘If you build it, he will come’. Not knowing the meaning of such an encounter, he sets about trying to discover his purpose. Having built what he feels is the right thing, the dream eventually comes true. The field he builds brings back his father, and the moving ending proves that he was right to follow the path he set out for himself.

Now, before I start blubbering again(!), it reminds me of what we always say on our programs about great managers: they create or build the environment for all their team members to be challenged, to develop, to grow and to be self-motivated.

If you want people to be applying to work in your department, to maintain loyalty from your current team members, to have a well-motivated, driving workforce, you need to build an atmosphere that attracts that kind of person.

So many people we talk to (who work for the managers we coach) tell us that the main cause of demotivation in the workplace is the management style adopted by their immediate manager. They are either too micro-managing, not supportive enough, don’t delegate properly, have little idea on how to motivate, or don’t trust their team members to get the job done.

This obviously creates a workforce that is not challenged, trusted or developed enough. No wonder people give up trying to grow their skills or bring creativity to work with them!

If you build it, that is, the atmosphere, environment, conditions for people to thrive, grow and develop, then they will come, they will bring their initiative and creativity, and with it, the results you are looking for. Build the environment for them to thrive; you will create the motivation and the drive for people to contribute. And you may create a motivational goal for your team as strong as Kevin Costner’s!

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”