Archive for the 'Leadership Training' Category

Human beings thrive on praise. Although all of us need praise to help make us feel good about ourselves, you can’t praise people indiscriminately: Praise should be reserved for accomplishments that are worthy of special acknowledgment. So, how do you deal with people who never do anything particularly praiseworthy?

My friend Joanna faced this situation in her group of word processors at work. Several marginal operators had the attitude that, as long as they met their quotas, they were doing okay. Praising them for meeting quotas only reinforced their faith that nothing more was anticipated of them. Criticism of their failure to do more than the quota required was greeted with the response “I’m doing my job.”

Joanna decided to try positive reinforcement. She gave one of the operators a special assignment for which no production quota had been set. When the job was completed, Joanna praised the employee’s fine work. She followed this practice with all new assignments and eventually had the opportunity to genuinely praise each of the word processors.

As important as praise is in motivating people, it doesn’t always work. Some supervisors praise every minor activity, withdrawing the value of praise for real accomplishments. Others convey praise in such a way that it seems phony. To make your praise more meaningful, follow these suggestions:

We shouldn’t unreasonably flatter, but we must encourage. Unfortunately, we tend only to appreciate results as opposed to effort. And many of us criticize much more than we praise, thereby dampening enthusiasm and squelching confidence. One father who was counseled about his nine-year-old son, Jonathan, exclaimed, “He never does anything right!” Anything? Impossible!

Adults do it to adults as well. Why do many of us so focus on another’s missteps or failures? Oftentimes, it is because you want to prove that you are smarter than me, that you are better than me. Or, you want to show that you were right and that I was wrong. Or, you want to demonstrate how much more reliability you have than I do.

There is another common reason some of us are very critical and impatient. Unhappy people vent their frustrations and resentments at handy targets. Criticism often serves as a ready made vehicle for the expression of your anger and your sense that the world has dealt you an unfair hand. Furthermore, when you criticize, you don’t have to acknowledge your reservoir of anger. You can cover your comments in noble robes, for example: “I was only trying to help.”

Integral to the success of delegation is the development of employees’ self- esteem. The use of self-esteem as a motivator is a recent phenomenon. In the 1930s the issue was irrelevant. Back then, the issues were money, security and survival - the very things that were in short supply. Recent distinct improvements in the satisfaction of this survival needs have brought with them a whole new set of drives. Workers have begun to grumble about a lack of dignity and respect. With increasing turnover rates, absenteeism and other forms of alienation and dissatisfaction, managers can no longer maintain that workers only care about getting a paycheck.

1. Delegation helps people below you in the organization develop and thereby pushes you even higher in management. It provides you with more time to take on higher-priority projects.
2. Find out what the talents and interests of your people are and you will be able to delegate more intelligently and efficiently.
3. Never undervalue a person’s potential. Delegate slightly more than what you think the person is capable of handling. Expect them to succeed, and you will be pleasingly surprised more often than not.

Most managers inadvertently treat their subordinates in a way that leads to less than desirable performance. Many leaders have difficulty delegating responsibility. There seems to be the programmed feeling that the only way to get the job done right is to do it yourself. While doing it yourself may appear to work, it tends to be a breeding ground for apathy, non-involvement, low motivation, and loss of commitment and enthusiasm. Sharing the work can be a great motivator, thereby strengthening the organization.

The way managers treat their subordinates is subtly influenced by what they expect of them. If a manager’s expectations are high, efficiency is likely to be high. If his expectations are low, output is likely to be low. It is as though there is a law that causes an employee’s performance to increase or fall to meet his manager’s expectations.

1. What a manager expects of a subordinate and how he treats the subordinate will combine to deeply influence the subordinate’s performance and his career progress. What is critical in the communication of expectations is not what the boss says, but what he does. lack of interest and noncommittal treatment correspond low expectations and lead to inferior performance. Most managers are more effective in communicating low expectations to their subordinates than in communicating high expectations, even though most managers believe exactly the opposite.

Many people have developed a deep distrust of bosses or managers, which is often due to their experience with current or past managers. They turn to the informal leaders - fellow workers who have gained their respect and whose opinions and actions they admire and emulate. The effective leader recognizes the influence these men and women have in the acceptance of new ideas among their followers.

If you think that your leadership abilities is deteriorating then check the following 6 tips:

1. The job of the manager has changed. You can no longer be a “boss.” You must become a leader
2. Too often managers think their management style is working well, when in fact, it isn’t working at all.
3. Evaluate how you are leading by identifying areas in which you must change.
4. Study the traits of great leaders. Emulate them.
5. Have a clear vision of what you wish to accomplish. Articulate it, communicate it, stick to it.
6. Commit yourself to take whatever action is necessary to become not just an average, but a great leader.

You know your people and some of them are always complaining. They gripe about the temperature in the room. They gripe about the work they’re assigned. They gripe about everything you tell them. You’ve heard these same complaints over and over again.

These types of people work in every company. They get their kicks from complaining. Sometimes they do have legitimate complaints, of course, so you can’t just automatically ignore them. You have to listen - and that can be time-consuming and annoying.

One way to minimize this kind of griping is to pay more attention to the people who complain. The reason for the complaints is often their desire to be the center of attention. By talking to them, asking their opinions, and praising their good work, you satisfy their need for attention and give them less reason to gripe.

Follow these 4 steps to find out what’s going on:

1. Listen. Even if a complaint seems to be unfounded, in the mind of the complainant it’s a serious matter.

2. Investigate. Take nothing for granted. Look at the record, and talk to others who know about the situation.