Motivation…and Awards

by Anthony Demangone

At the end of the day, executives don’t produce many tangible things.  Usually, we don’t make the widgets, or write the reports.  Our colleagues do those things.

Our job is to build the plan, remove the hurdles, and grease the wheels.  And what about motivation?

This article  (ChiefExecutive.net) discusses seven areas that managers must address to motivate their teams.  Here are two of the seven areas…

1) Companies must have a performance based culture. Even in difficult times there must be clearly defined goals for the company. These goals must cascade down to your top talent. They must have quantifiable objectives that motivate them, so when reached, they feel a sense of accomplishment. Providing specific time based goals with achievable results clarifies exactly what is expected of your people. Your best talent will embrace the goals and not stop until they reach the goal. Employee engagement is critical to retaining your best people. …

5) Praise. You may have experienced a manager with this philosophy: “That is what they get paid for. Why should I thank them? They should thank me for having a job.” How did you like it? Compare that to a manager with this philosophy: “Thanks, I know it is just part of your job, but I appreciate the pride you take in your work. It helps everyone in the department.” How did you like that? A little praise goes a long way to motivate people. In difficult times when people are doing more than expected and yes maybe they should be glad to have a job, demonstrating appreciation will be returned when the economy turns and they don’t have to be working there any longer.

This sounds reasonable, right?

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