The Employee-Motivation Checklist

The original article is from http://www.fastcompany.com
Written By Dave Lavinsky November 13, 2012

If you want to read more, please refer to the link above.


Great leaders make all the difference.

In business, we see the impact of great leaders such as Tony Hsieh, who took the helm of online shoe retailer Zappos.com from founder Nick Swinmurn. Under Hsieh’s leadership, the company grew from $1.6 million in sales in 2000 to more than $1 billion in sales in 2009.


1. Make employees feel they are doing something meaningful.
A recent survey by BNET (which is now part of CBS MoneyWatch) asked the question, “What motivates you at work?” The results showed that doing something meaningful is more important than money or recognition to your employees. Twenty nine percent of respondents said that doing something meaningful was the most motivating thing about work. Money motivated 25 percent, and recognition 17 percent.


2. Effectively communicate and share information.
You also must consistently share new information to ensure that your employees make good decisions.


3. Give employees clear job descriptions and accountability.
It is critical that you give each of your employees clear job descriptions and accountability. It’s not enough to just state each role’s responsibilities; rather, you must specify the expected results and tasks.


4. Give and receive ongoing performance feedback.
When things do go wrong, don’t blame. You want to replace who questions with how questions.


5. Have--and show--faith and trust in your team.
Most humans have relatively fragile self-esteem. If you don’t believe your employees can do something, they won’t believe they can either, and they won’t do it.


6. Listen to, focus on, and respect your employees’ needs.
You’ve likely heard this before, but it’s worth repeating that in leadership, listening is more important than speaking. I love this quote: “Questions unite. Answers divide.” Asking questions of your team will get them to participate; dictating the answers will cause them to tune out.


7. Provide recognition to worthy employees.
Recognition is an amazing motivator.


8. Provide fair compensation and pay for the performance you seek.
First, you must pay a wage that employees believe is fair compensation. Second, you must pay for performance whenever possible.

9. Foster innovation.
Managers must realize that the vast majority of innovations come from frontline employees.

10. Establish fair company policies that support the company’s goals.
Developing fair company policies that adequately support the company’s goals will motivate your employees even more.

11. Get ongoing input from employees.
You want to invite your employees to help set goals so that they really buy into them. Seek employee input on key decisions and plans on an ongoing basis.

12. Manage, but don’t micromanage.
Employees do not like to be micromanaged. It’s disempowering. It’s therefore important to distinguish the difference between checking in and checking up on your employees.

13. Encourage teamwork.
Most projects you complete will require input from several employees within your organization.

14. Modify your management approach for different types of employees.
Great leaders let the employees they’re managing dictate the management approaches they use

15. Give employees opportunities for personal growth.
Because people who get the chance to grow their skills and expertise take more pride in their jobs, you want to encourage employees in your organization to gain new skills.

16. Fire people when needed.
The final technique for motivating your team is to fire people when needed. Underperformers can kill an organization; they can become cancers.

World's Simplest Management Secret

The original article is from http://www.inc.com
Written SALES SOURCE | Geoffrey James
Oct 24, 2012

If you want to read more, please refer to the link above.

Forget what you learned in those management books. There's really only one way to ensure that everyone on your team excels. Management books have it all wrong. They all try to tell you how to manage "people." It's impossible to manage "people"; it's only possible to manage individuals. And because individuals differ from one another, what works with one individual may not work with somebody else.


The trick is to manage individuals the way that THEY want to be managed, rather than the way that YOU'd prefer to be managed.

The only way to do this is to ASK.

In your first (or next) meeting with each direct report ask:

• How do you prefer to be managed?
• What can I do to help you excel?
• What types of management annoy you?

Listen (really listen) to the response and then, as far as you are able, adapt your coaching, motivation, compensation, and so forth to match that individual's needs.