Managers and supervisors often think that the wages or salary they pay to employees will be enough motivation for the employees to give 100% to their jobs. Some hard-nosed leaders refrain from thanking or praising employees for what the manager perceives as, “That’s what we pay you for – your paycheck is enough thanks.”

Employees Decide how to use the Optional 40% of Motivation

When employees opt to hold back part of their motivation from putting more of themselves towards the job at hand, they can redirect these efforts to less productive behavior.

For example, when we look at some of the most difficult employees in the workplace, they choose to use their 40% discretionary motivation to make their supervisor and fellow employees miserable. They stir up conflict and drama in the workplace and enjoy watching management and human resources clean up the mess. Many of these difficult employees are quite intelligent. Smart enough to know exactly where the limits are, how to test them and how to back off long enough to keep from getting fired.

Other employees choose to redirect their 40% to personal pursuits like running a business on the side, excess socializing, or just taking it easy when their boss is away.

Playing Whack-a-mole isn’t the Solution

Some supervisors and managers choose the incorrect strategy of micro-managing employees. This close supervision only serves to reduce the perceived trust between the employees and their manager. In fact, the more the supervisor micro-manages, the more likely employees are to slack off when the boss isn’t around.

The Too-easy Supervisor

Another supervisory style that proves to be ineffective is the boss who sets low goals and low expectations for his or her team. The employees dial back their efforts to what their supervisor expects or accepts. These employees are craving challenge and accomplishment that they are not receiving from their manager.

How to Tap into the Optional 40% of Employee Motivation

Employee motivation is positively impacted by four dominant factors:

• Purpose: Challenge and achievement – Employee motivation will be piqued by having a challenging goal to achieve in a supportive environment. They also appreciate knowing why their work makes a difference in the big picture.
• Autonomy – The freedom to use their own talents and methods to achieve the desired results without being micro-managed.
• Mastery: Learning and growth – Motivation comes from the ability to become really good at what you do. Training, mentoring and coaching geared towards improving performance will increase the employee’s sense of worth to the organization and their supervisor.
• Team, Respect and Inclusiveness – Employees are curious about what is going on in the organization beyond their immediate job. They want to be treated fairly and equally. The supervisor needs to avoid playing favorites and using demeaning language. The employee also wants to know that their supervisor cares about them as a person and therefore a boss who shows interest in their personal lives will lead to the employee caring more about their job.

Most Supervisors and Managers Take Their Cues from Above

Senior leaders need to be aware of the impact that their behaviors and communication has on the managers and supervisors below them. While it’s possible for supervisors to create a positive sub-culture within a dysfunctional larger organization, most choose to follow the lead of their manager. If only the supervisor could understand that using positive motivators would help them achieve the desired results with a minimum of stress and aggravation.

After all, if the supervisor or manager could tap into the optional 40% their jobs would be so much easier and the employees would be happier.

Managers, who often are slightly more competitive by nature, assume that employees will enjoying comparing themselves to one another and get motivated by hitting the numbers. In reality, many employees avoid competition and would prefer more hands on coaching and training in a supportive environment.

Employees can turn cynical if their supervisor or manager harps on the need to achieve higher results without showing them how to do it.

Let’s say you are measuring a process that has a score of 86 out of 100. The goal or standard is 93. Many managers will talk to their employees about the need to hit 93. But the manager won’t dig into what it takes to hit 93 or be able to train or coach the employee on what needs to change in order to get a 93 (or maybe higher).

To put it into a sports context, a baseball player struggling at the plate doesn’t need to be reminded that his .192 batting average needs to get to .280. What he needs is to understand how his swing mechanics, how he sees the ball and his timing impact his success at the plate. A good manager or coach will help the player analyze what adjustments are needed to hit the numbers.

In a business context, senior managers will express the goal of increasing sales but have no game plan to actually achieve the growth. Many of our clients are looking at how to achieve outstanding business results and high employee engagement as measured by a culture survey. Unfortunately they tend to chase the score instead of applying the behaviors that will contribute to attaining those desired outcomes.

Action Steps to Avoid the Trap of Managing to the Metrics

Here are three suggestions to manage the behaviors that drive the numbers:

1. Prioritize which Metrics you Most Need to Improve

Chasing too many numbers at the same time can confuse the manager and the employees. Select three to five key measures to focus on. Avoid tunnel vision on one measure because it could have negative consequences on other areas. For example boosting units produced might end up increasing quality defects, negating the benefit of the additional output. Make the key numbers highly visible

2. Understand What Drives the Numbers

Educate yourself and your team on the factors that contribute to the numbers being achieved. As an example instead of harping on a customer service agent to reduce the time they spend on the phone with the customer, examine the behaviors that allow the employee to create a satisfied customer in the optimal amount of time. Observe the process and make specific suggestions, or better yet, analyze what the best employees are doing and cross pollinate those behaviors across the workgroup.

3. Train and Coach the Behaviors

The supervisor or manager should dedicate most of his or her time to observing, correcting, coaching and training the desired behaviors. Altering the behaviors will impact the results. Employees will appreciate that the boss is actually helping them improve performance instead of harping on hitting the numbers.

As the team improves on its execution and the numbers are positively impacted, be sure to acknowledge the success. Ask the team what else can be done to improve the process.

Contrast that with a sports coaching approach. The coach develops the players, watches them perform, makes specific observations and observes the change of performance in actual game situations. This cycle continues and hopefully results in continuing improvement of performance.

Most executive coaching involves a series of meetings and discussions to identify and implement a behavior changes designed to make the leader more effective in running his or her department or division. The challenge is that typically the coach does not see the manager in actual game situations (running a meeting, talking with an employee, etc.) In this case, the coaching is really a therapy session, leaving the implementation in the hands of the manager. And given that many managers lack self-awareness of the impact of their behavior, the coaching cannot get at the real issues.

Leadership training can fall into the same trap. People attend training, have great ideas of what they want to change in their approach, only to return to existing habits when they return to work. To counteract this we started holding participants accountable for applying new skills back on the job and require them to meet with their boss to discuss changes they were making. Even with those requirements, it is still possible for an individual to “check the box” instead of making lasting and meaningful change.

Here are three suggestions to create a larger impact from your training and development initiatives:

1. Match the solution to the desired outcome

Instead of falling in love with a solution, engage the consultant in making a recommendation that would achieve the desired end result. You can still do “feel-good” training if you want to, but if the goal is to change the culture then the solution will require a more intensive intervention.

2. Address contributing factors

Training (or coaching) as a solution cannot fix other systemic barriers to change which could include reward and recognition, hiring practices, measurement, and business strategies to name a few. A conversation with senior executives who have the authority to change these factors can often do more to change behavior than simply delivering skill building sessions. The goal is to eliminate excuses and obstacles to change.

3. Train and coach in-the-moment

The highest impact training and coaching will address very specific behaviors and actions instead of broad feel-good topics. Many organizations are reluctant to do a deep dive and provide the level of support required for success because the investment is usually higher. To mitigate this, consider having internal executives play the role of coaches, observing behavior and providing immediate feedback.

Many forward thinking organizations are becoming frustrated about the lack of impact most initiatives have on organizational performance. The good news is that these enlightened executives will be more open to comprehensive solutions that actually make a difference. Instead of wasted time and money, the return on investment will be actualized.

The majority of employees (and many supervisors and managers) avoid conflict because of the assumption that conflict is destructive. Conflict is expected and desired when implementing change and continuous improvement.

There are typically three sources of conflict related to change and continuous improvement:

1. Where we are now (Facts): Even though most people assume that facts speak for themselves, the reality is that different perspectives can cause conflict. Leaders should assume that not everyone will agree by default about the need for change. Build and communicate the need for change by revealing the facts and assumptions.
2. Where we are heading (Goals): If agreeing on where we are now is hard, imagine building agreement on what the future looks like. At this point leaders can acknowledge that there are many alternatives and that the chosen path is expected to be the best solution.
3. How to get there (Methods): Even if it possible to gain agreement to number one and two above, there will inevitably be conflict surrounding the method of getting from A to B. Absolute certainty isn’t possible. Leaders should focus on explaining the rationale and then being open to suggestions for continuous improvement. Remain flexible to make changes along the journey.

By embracing conflict related the change, front line supervisors and managers can be a proactive leaders of improvement.

Read the whole post:

http://blog.softwareadvice.com/articles/hr/5-tips-for-first-time-managers-1031912/

The five steps include:

• the need to get to know your team and what motivates them
• learning to shift your sense of satisfaction to the work your team generates
• improving listening skills
• developing your personal leadership style
• learn as you grow into your role

Most culture change takes years to take hold (if it ever does) because management is often reluctant to address the most significant obstacles. However it can be accelerated if you target three main areas. The suggestions below are based on observing the behaviors of senior leaders in various companies and locations, research on how manager and leader behavior impacts their departments and overall company culture scores using validated models.

1. Drive for results combined with high-touch

The most consistently outstanding financial performance, employee satisfaction and culture scores can be linked to leadership behaviors that combine tenacity and focus on results with strong positive relationships and interactions with employees. Using a combination of formal and informal communication along with a rigorous focus on standardized work and continuous improvement can create a great culture and a great organization. Think lean without the mean.

2. Screaming and disrespectful conduct is not tolerated

The organizations with the best culture scores and long term track record of success do not tolerate any abusive leadership behaviors including screaming or yelling at subordinates or treating them in a demeaning or disrespectful way. In our experience, managers and supervisors with these traits can change, however rebuilding trust is a long, difficult journey. Whether it is addressed through training, coaching, reassignment or termination, any tolerance of these behaviors will drag the culture lower and keep performance from reaching its full potential. And these behaviors cannot be tolerated between employees and colleagues because the resulting conflict and lack of trust will block teamwork and limit performance.

3. Communication is the secret sauce

The second highest ranked motivator identified by employees is feeling that they are included in what is going on. To feel like an important part of the team, the employee needs to receive communication and be asked for their input. Using a combination of formal communication (newsletters, town hall meetings, small group discussion) and informal communication (conversations with managers as they interact with employees) – employees are keenly interested in how the organization is doing and the outlook for the future. This takes time, and the best leaders make the time to do it. They either invest more of their time, or they get so good at delegating less important tasks to lower levels in order to free up their time to do this. Any leader who stays in his or her office instead of mingling with the troops will never have the depth of relationships that truly motivate employees.

How good do you have to be?

During some recent training on the linkage between a manager’s or leader’s behavior and the impact on his or her department it was quite a surprise. Simply being above average, say having a 4 or 5 in a 7-point scale, often caused an incredible impact on culture. Only managers and leaders scoring a 6 or 7 out of 7 had the kind of positive impact that creates exceptional culture. This is not meant to discourage – simply to reinforce that truly exceptional leadership is required to create exceptional results and the best culture.

Our culture sucks but we make lots of money!

Companies can make profits for lots of reasons – few competitors, superior negotiating skills, proprietary technology, economies of scale. And some companies can confuse cause and effect, thinking that their aggressive or passive culture has made them successful when in fact it was other factors. This usually becomes apparent when the winds of change start to blow and the company can’t respond quickly or effectively enough.

It can be a challenge to change the culture when things appear to be going well. The symptoms of dysfunction are often apparent but ignored because the bottom line is strong or sales are growing rapidly.

Putting Ideas into Action

If you a senior leader in your organization, evaluate yourself and your leaders on how effective they are in the three areas above. Admit to your own short comings and get the training or coaching you need to make improvements. You will start to see an impact right away.

If you are a middle or front line leader, work on your own behaviors first. It is possible to create a positive sub culture at a departmental or divisional level.

Think someone else in your organization needs to read this, please send it along.

We can help you in a number of ways – training, coaching, measuring. It starts with a conversation.

It might make you wonder if you should toss out your leadership manuals, disregard the expert research and say the heck with it – if Steve Jobs managed like a tyrant, why shouldn’t I? It worked for him.

Reading about Steve Jobs’ management style is like reading about exactly how you are not supposed to manage people. He openly and viciously criticized the work of employees and then would take some of those ideas and present them as his own. When he couldn’t persuade or seduce someone into doing what he wanted he would get emotional and cry. And he was famous for his reality distortion field… or lying. That’s right; he was known for dramatically bending the truth and exaggerating. That kind of behavior would have many people marching into HR and likely result in a termination. (Okay, that actually did happen when Jobs was ousted from Apple, a company he co-founded.)

Perhaps the ends justify the means? After all Jobs created the world’s most valuable company at Apple with a market value of $367 billion. And he turned an initial $10 million investment in Pixar into $7.9 billion when it was purchased by Disney.

As with any successful person, there were grim days like the failed NeXT computer company he started after leaving Apple the first time. And how he kept Apple from being more successful in the early days because of the ill will he fostered, the lack of teamwork and internal competition between various divisions of Apple.

In the biography, Isaacson shares how Jobs insisted that he tell it like it is. Jobs, knowing of his pending mortality wanted Isaacson to tell the whole story. Perhaps one of the reasons is that Steve Jobs wanted people to know the whole story – the good parts and the darkest parts.

Autocratic bosses often take comfort in knowing that several titans of industry have been known to have prickly, autocratic leadership styles. Even Jobs’ “frenemy” Bill Gates at Microsoft wasn’t known for his warmth.

When we explore the Autocratic management style in our leadership sessions we acknowledge that sometimes the autocratic style can work. Where the manager has a crystal clear vision, a tight time frame, a lot of personal knowledge and a lucrative opportunity, he or she can carry the day. Of course they will leave behind them a trail of defensive culture and damaged employees.

So as an aspiring manager, avoid the temptation to copy Steve Jobs’ management style, thinking it was the cause of his success. Upon further examination you will discover that he succeeded despite his approach, not because of it. In reality it was his revolutionary vision combined with good marketing skills and tenacity that truly defined his success. If anything his management style likely held back even greater success in the early days. Like many managers, his less publicized failures helped make him stronger.

Today’s Leadership Action Tip

• Reading about successful entrepreneurs and business leaders should always be taken in context. There are lessons to be learned from every story. Consider other factors that helped the person succeed including the operating environment, the profit margins they enjoyed, and the level of competition.
• Remember that for the relatively few examples of tyrannical managers enjoying awe-inspiring success there are many more examples of those types of managers ruining their companies, getting fired and destroying shareholder value.
• Focus on being constructive – setting ambitious and challenging goals, being curious about achieving fulfillment for yourself and others, encouraging the growth of others and being approachable. It has proven to be the winning strategy for far more managers, supervisors and business owners.

By the way, the book is a fascinating read and I highly recommend it!

A boss who is constantly critical and focuses on problems without being willing to provide support and suggestions is not helping. In fact they may be demotivating the team. The resulting decline of morale and attitude will hamper long term performance.

Can you be too helpful?

Being helpful and supportive does not mean sheltering your team from challenges and set backs. Some leaders take back tasks at the first sign that an individual is struggling instead of taking the role of coach. As a coach you job is to empathize with the struggles, ask questions to help the person discover a solution and encourage them to persevere. You can also share suggestions and how you dealt with a similar challenge in the past.

Is there a time for “harping”?

In our book Employees Not Doing What You Expect by Irwin and I describe one of the reasons employees don’t meet expectations is because of mixed signals from the boss. The manager or supervisor might describe his or her expectations and then never follow-up. Employees get the message that it really can’t be that important. In this case it can be helpful for the manager to follow-up to demonstrate the importance of the task. This kind of constructive “harping” sends the signal to employees that the standard of performance is higher. An effective leader follows up on what she says and applies positive and negative consequences when expectations are met or not met.

Action tips to being a helpful manager or supervisor

• Clarify your expectations so that your employees can meet them.
• Help employees find solutions for themselves.
• Allow employees to learn from mistakes.
• Backup the decisions of employees and coach them privately.
• Coach by sharing personal stories, asking questions and challenging assumptions.

As a leader, focus on how you can support the people who work for you to achieve the expectations you have set. You might even be the manager or supervisor they think of when asked “Who is the best boss you have ever worked for?”

Organizations can get bogged down because employees are focused on playing it safe, fearing career-limiting consequences for making mistakes. In sporting terms, they play defense more than offence.

This hiding tendency makes it difficult for senior management to size up what it going wrong in the organization and sometimes even senior leaders are playing things too safe.

The challenge for this type of organization is growth. Because of the tendency to avoid all risk it becomes difficult to innovate and try new things. And new initiatives are often not given the support to succeed in terms of investment or time. The company bails out too early and any employees who bought in too early become collateral damage along the way. This makes them more gun shy when future initiatives are launched.

Putting Ideas into Action

• Observe your organizational culture – how willing are people to stand out and be noticed for their contributions? Or are they more focused on keeping their head down and nose clean for fear of reprisal?
• Can you begin to shift the focus towards success, innovation and calculated risk taking?
• When failures do occur (and they will) can you avoid punishing and instead look for learning opportunities?
• Take the lead yourself by encouraging growth, learning and trying new things.

By gradually transforming your organization to be success-focused instead of mistake-focused you can enjoy greater growth, higher employee motivation and better financial performance.

In the same way, a supervisor can fill his day with reacting to the problems-du-jour of which there will be plenty. Their employees can bring them a never ending string of problems to solve and questions to answer. Trying to be helpful, the supervisor or manager shoulders the biggest burden and can end up feeling burnt out.

While there will always be problems to solve and issues to deal with, the proactive supervisor and manager reflects on how to shift the burden to the level closest to the action. That means getting the front line employees to use their considerable judgement and experience to take care of issues without needing their boss’ involvement. That way the supervisor or manager can focus her limited resources on the problems that justify her attention.

Putting Ideas into Action

• Spend a few minutes with each employee proactively each day so they don’t bring questions and problems just to get your attention.
• Ask employees who bring you questions they know the answers to, “What do you think?”
• When they bring you a problem to solve, “What solutions do you recommend?”

By pushing decisions and answers to the lowest possible level you will be challenging employees and creating greater accountability.