People near me know that, in general, I don’t believe in motivational speakers. That’s because very few of them have had a lasting effect on my life. There are one or two exceptions though. One is Hein Wagner (check out his LinkedIn page).
The thing is, motivational speakers can cause a hype and psych you up for a short while. Half an hour after you heard the motivational talk, life hits back and you forget what he/she has said.
The truth: You shouldn’t need a motivational speaker to tell you to be positive or brave. Or, to be resilient. Or, determined. These are things you should tell yourself. Being positive is a choice and you might have to remind yourself of that every morning for a while until it comes naturally. You should motivate yourself to be determined. Or, resilient. Or, brave. It comes from within. There is one phrase in Og Mandino’s book “The Greatest Salesman in the World” that I adopted as my life motto: “Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough”. Every time life takes a punch at me I think of this phrase and keep on going.
The above is also the reason why I don’t believe in weekly or monthly pep talks at work (Except for the fact that I neither have the vocabulary nor the ability to psych people up). You cannot keep people positive when the only positive thing they experience is your regular pep talks. You need to create an environment in which they can feel positive and motivate themselves.
So, here are my basic principles of creating a motivating climate at work:
- Create a stable environment – Everything cannot be a crisis. Many crises at work could have been avoided with proper planning. In fact, most crises in a work environment happen when managers are disorganized. People don’t like working in crisis mode the whole time. However, they will accept (and expect) that everything cannot be smooth sailing all the way and be more than willing to assist when a true crisis does occur.
- Provide employees with the tools of the trade – Tell me how an employee can stay positive if he/she needs to use a computer daily and experiences constant problems with it. Or, if a person has to use a cupboard of which the doors have been removed as a desk (true story). It’s your job as a manager to ensure that your employees have the equipment they need and that it is in good working condition. You may delegate the task but not the responsibility.
- Appoint employees that will fit into your environment – By the time a person is interviewed, you know that he/she has the experience and the qualifications that you need for the position. That’s why he/she was short-listed in the first place. That’s why you should primarily look for a person with the personality and attitude you want in your workplace during the interview.
- Develop your employees – Developing employees does not have to cost money. Yes, you can send them on training if needs be, but talk to them about their work. Tell them why you want things done in a certain way. Share your knowledge in an informal way. Sometimes, give them a bit more responsibility. Importantly, allow them to make mistakes. We’re all human and we all make mistakes. If possible, allow them to correct their own mistakes. That’s how we learn.
- Do unto others…… – It’s amazing how managers forget how they felt when they were ill-treated or handled unfairly by superiors. You cannot expect employees to be friendly and helpful if you’re not. So, if you have to handle a situation at work, first think of what would be fair. All managers get e-mails, messages and Whatsapps from employees that get their blood boiling instantly. I have adopted a principle that when I receive those, I wait half an hour before responding. And, it works (most of the time). In that time, before responding, you have time to reflect on the message, if it is really that bad, is the employee’s request really unfair, etc. By the time you respond, your response should be fair and you can respond calmly. Another thing, don’t expect from your employees what you are not willing to do. For instance, if you expect employees to work overtime frequently, you cannot be a clock-watcher.
- Be friendly – It’s free and it can bring you far. Nobody wants to work for a bombastic manager
- Be consistent – Don’t be lenient on some and harsh on others. Or, seem to be. Many a manager has found him/herself in a situation where allowing one employee something and not another had to be explained. Don’t put yourself in that position.
- Reward good (and bad) work – Employees must know that you will reward good work (during performance evaluations or in the form of a thank you during meetings) but that sub-par or bad work will also have consequences. Be fair in rewards and discipline. By the way, many managers fail to see the motivational value of disciplining an employee. If done fairly, disciplining an employee should not only motivate the employee being disciplined to change behavior but also others who observe the consequences of the behavior.
- Praise in public, reprimand in private – Feel free to praise employees in front of colleagues, but if you want to reprimand them that is something that happens behind closed doors and not something to share with others.
- Pay what you promised – It is well-known that money is not the sole motivator of employees in the workplace, but nothing causes a decline in productivity so quickly as when people are not being paid what they were promised. In normal circumstances pay what you promised employees in terms of pay, overtime and bonuses. If salary cuts need to be taken, take one yourself as well. This will show employees that you are trying to be fair to everybody.
- Accept that all your employees will not like you and learn to handle it – We’re all different (and human). So, all your employees will not like you, and you will not like all of them. You’re a manager and an adult – deal with it. The fact that you don’t like an employee or you know that he/she doesn’t like you, should not keep you from being friendly and fair.
All the above boils down to being fair. You may be strict, but you should always be fair. Easier said than done and it takes time but it’s worth the effort
