Motivate and Empower?It?s easier than you think!

Making people feel valued is not hard to achieve, if you are serious about having motivated employees. We all respond positively when we feel appreciated and respected as human beings and as members of a team. A participant in a recent workshop I conducted called Performance Leadership shared a revealing experience. She described the elation felt by her husband when a senior manager called him by name. A simple gesture, but powerful.

Too often we get so caught up in the busyness of the workplace that we forget how little expressions of gratitude and appreciation can buoy the spirits of a staff and make their challenging work seem less onerous. Simple courtesy goes a long way toward creating a harmonious environment characterized by consistent and stable productivity.

One key way we can express respect and consideration is to listen to the expressions of our people when they have needs and problems that we can address. When we listen attentively and with interest, people feel that our responses are genuine which reinforces the trust we?ve worked so hard to establish. Whether we establish routine meeting times, to share needed information, or convey a willingness to listen to people when they need us, we empower people.

Being open-minded to new ideas is a valuable motivator to a staff or a team. People feel valued when they know the boss will listen to their ideas. Too often, as leaders we may tend to reject anything that we don?t understand without giving it a fair hearing. If you saw Pearl Harbor, you know that the idea for the Doolittle raid on Tokyo came from a submarine commander. It?s a good thing someone listened!

Finally, recognition and praise, wherever it?s deserved, should be generously applied without bias or favoritism. Later on, we?ll look at the research on motivation that reinforces these concepts and validates their use. Let?s remember that the golden rule says, ?Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.? But the platinum rule goes further to the point: ?Do unto others as they would be done unto.? Practicing the latter, you?ll never go wrong.

Good day and good work,

Norman