By Dr. Karen Lawson
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Motivation is one of the primary concerns and challenges facing today’s managers. This article will help you learn how to motivate employees as a manager and provide techniques for creating a proper motivational climate. You will learn how to apply proven techniques for motivating employees, prepare individual action plans to solve on-the-job problems, and identify causes of low morale and techniques for improving overall employee behaviors.
Learn why investing in creative and active employee training methods is essential for employee motivation and organizational engagement and growth.
It’s important to remember that
To be a successful manager/motivator, you must first understand that you cannot motivate anyone. You can only create an environment that encourages and promotes the employee’s self-motivation. As Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.” The challenge is to give them a reason to want to do it; doing it will satisfy a need they have. You have to tune in to their need, not yours.
Secondly, you must also know what kind of behavior you want the employee to demonstrate. In other words, what do you want the employee to do differently?
For example, do you want the employee to come to work on time? Greet the customers in a friendly manner? Complete forms correctly? Assume more responsibility? You must be clear about your expectations before you can communicate them to your employees.
The third important thing to keep in mind is that you are the critical component in the motivation process. Your actions set the tone. Many managers embrace the “carrot-on-the-stick” approach to motivating employees. These practices take the form of incentive programs and promises of rewards and bonuses. Others employ the symbolic “whip” or “club” by emphasizing the negative results of their behavior.
For example, a manager might say, “If you don’t start getting to work on time, you’ll be fired” or “You’ll never get ahead if you continue to make these kinds of mistakes.” The problem is that these short-term “quick fixes” create no permanent behavior change.
Do you really encourage people and bring out the best in them, or do you manage them through intimidation and threats? What motivation methods have you tried? Did they work? If so, for how long?
Knowing how to motivate employees as a manager is a delicate thing. You will find that what works well for one person may not work for another. You may have to use “trial and error” until you identify and match the right method to the appropriate people.
You also may have to face the unpleasant truth that no matter what you do, you might have some employees who refuse to change their behavior. If that is the case, you will have to “bite the bullet” and ask them to leave. It’s very demotivating to employees when some do not cooperate or perform according to agreed-upon expectations.
Dr. Karen Lawson is an international consultant, speaker, and author. As founder and president of Lawson Consulting Group, Inc., she has built a successful consulting firm specializing in organization and management development as well as executive coaching. She has extensive consulting and seminar experience in the areas of team development, communication, leadership, and quality service across a wide range of industries. Clients include a variety of prominent organizations from financial services, pharmaceutical, telecommunications, manufacturing, healthcare, government, and education. In her consulting work with Fortune 500 companies as well as small businesses, she uses her experience and knowledge of human interaction to help leaders at all levels make a difference in their organizations.
Karen holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in adult and organization development from Temple University, a Master of Arts in English from the University of Akron, and a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Union College. She has been actively involved in professional organizations such as the National Speakers Association and the American Society for Training and Development, holding leadership positions at both the local and national levels. Karen is also the author of 12 books on training and leadership.
Connect with Karen on LinkedIn.
Learn why investing in creative and active employee training methods is essential for employee motivation and organizational engagement and growth.
Check out our top-selling training materials on this topic.
Help employees tap into their intrinsic motivation by promoting positive emotions and removing barriers. Managers will develop the skills and techniques necessary to motivate employees, cultivate a sense of community within teams, empower individuals to take control of their work, and foster open communication and shared emotions.
