One of your main activities as a manager is to get your people performing to their best abilities. Unless you’re a one-man-band, you need people to contribute to the overall effectiveness of the business. After all, that’s what you pay them for.

But how can you drive that quality performance? How can you create the conditions so their performance is as good as it possibly can be?

Firstly, build a compelling, shared vision and direction. Challenging and clear objectives build energy into people, and engage them into sharing their abilities and energies on the team. Talk to them about why and what you are trying to achieve, but let them consider the how.

Then, put an enabling structure together. This means allowing people’s strengths to shine through. Build those strengths around each other, so you have complimentary ideas running parallel to each other.

Then, set up a reward system that will drive motivation. Give information that will encourage participation and help them accept responsibility. Only when they feel they know what’s going on will they accept the responsibility to achieve the goals you are aiming for.

Finally, show empowering leadership. Encourage synergy in the team. None of us is as smart as all of us, so identify how the performance strategies can be changed so that the invention of new processes can drive innovation between team members. Determine which members can be encourages to take on more responsibility, allowing them to feel empowered and keen to share forward-thinking ideas.

All this will encourage people to accept their role in driving performance forward, with your encouragement and support.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Course

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

Have you been affected by downsizing in your organisation during the economic downturn?

The after-effects of downsizing in a company can last for years, as you try to encourage the people who stay to commit their loyalty to the future benefit of the business.

But we’ve found in our research that many companies spend a disproportionate time on helping the people laid off and less real-time on the people who will be left, and that may store up difficulties for the future.

When you manage downsizing ineffectively, there’s a danger that a downward spiral will be set up, which can be damaging to the morale and performance of the whole company.

So you need to take action when downsizing occurs, rather than leave it until problems arise. How can you proactively take action with renewal strategies that will help you look forward rather than back when this situation arises?

1. You must be proactive in your management stance, especially in the time period just after the change has occurred. Your action or otherwise at this point will create either an atmosphere of hope or one of despair. This should be a time when you offer your skills and communication to the long-term future of the business, by clarifying expectations, supporting team members and rebuilding trust. You need to communicate direction, vision, mission, strategies, priorities, commitment, objectives and goals for the future. Without these, the people who stay with you after the downsizing will still be fearful of the risks ahead.

2. Your prime attention should be on supporting the people who stay. If you are using outside help to assist in the downsizing operation, most attention, quite rightly, will be on the staff whose jobs have disappeared. However, enlist the help of the agencies you are using to create firm foundations for growth in the people who will be staying with you.

3. Think of the future now with a long-term perspective. One-off meetings to reassure staff, or one-hit training courses, will not offer the necessary support that people need for long-term safety and security. Put yourself in your staff’s shoes…what reassurance would you need to confirm that your future job is safe and that your role is more important than ever to the company’s successful future?

Remember that the business may have been on a downward trend for some time, and it may take a long time to get confidence back after a cut-back. Positive, proactive action on your part will play an important role in re-establishing trust in the company and its future. You may need, with your management team, to re-assess the strategies that your business uses to go to market in the future.

Ideally, the time taken to reassess your future operational needs should be as short as possible, so you have the continued support of your team members and colleagues to take the company forward during the difficult rebuilding time.

By spending time thinking about the needs of the people working with you in the future, and how to manage performance, you give yourself a good chance of rebuilding towards a successful outcome.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

During your time working with your team members and employees you are going to find that some are more motivated than others. During those times when certain team members seem less motivated you are going to have to find ways to get them back on track. Before you can do so, it will help you to understand that there are three main types of motivation.

The first type of motivation is the promise of some type of reward. The reward may or may not be tangible (recognition, an extra few hours off, or financial). Regardless, people are sometimes more motivated when they believe they are working towards a goal. A paycheck, in this example, simply isn’t enough.

The next type of motivation is the fear of loss – or a fear of being punished if the job isn’t done. You may find that you have to pull a team member aside for a meeting or review in which you lay down an ultimatum – start getting your work done or you may lose your job. This is, of course, an extreme example but in the end those who fear they’ll lose out on any level at all (no bonus, no extra holiday) tend to stay motivated.

Finally, those who have a sense of responsibility or obligation tend to stay motivated. They feel as though they have a sense of duty. Some people can find a sense of responsibility on their own while others may need help finding their purpose. The point is that once they have a sense of purpose they’ll begin to work for and with it.

Are you and the members of your team motivated? If not, what can you to do give them a little push in the right direction?

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Manager Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”