Unmotivated Employees? Might Be Your Fault
The primary task of leaders is to take care of employees...to ensure their success, so that they in turn can take care of our clients...our customers. It's a major shift for a lot of leaders who still think that no one else can do anything without their intervention and oversight. When you are intentional about taking care of employees you are going to beat the national statistics which indicate that only 30% of American workers are engaged and motivated to do a super job. The rest are waiting for the next payday. It's a tragic loss of productivity and you can be a hero if you can recover some of that loss. Here is what you have to do.
1. Make sure that only "can-do" job applicants are hired; you want employees who are experienced at trying to overcome obstacles. They may not always be successful but the point is they try.
2. Teach. Avoid being and enforcer. Help people learn your expectations. John Maxwell talks about how it is that people learn what you want them to do: explain the behavior to them; let them watch you do it; watch them while they do it; have them teach it to someone else. Be prepared to repeat the instructions; repeat the learning exercise. Learning doesn't happen immediately, but eventually.
3. You are a teacher but also be a learner. Underscore the importance of learning by getting involved in your own personal improvement project...and tell others about what you are doing. Learning is not only something we do after we have made a mistake; it's integrated into our daily work life.
4. Be accountable for your own performance and the performance of those who work for you. If you expect others to be accountable, demonstrate it yourself. When something goes wrong, face honestly your own role in the situation before pointing the finger at others.
5. Get to know your employees as persons. Listen to what bothers them. Learn about what they are good at. Be supportive when they are involved in personal stress; when they are stressed, it's your problem too.
6. Say "thank you...nice job". Put yourself on a quota of at least 3 "thank yous" every day. If you are paying attention, it wont be hard; lots of your employees are doing wonderful things.
7. Be determined. Your strategy of taking care of employees will not always look like it's working. Keep on! Support from above is helpful but it is not essential. Eventually, everyone will see that you have been a successful leader because your employees are accomplishing beyond what anyone would have expected.
Are 70% of your employees waiting for pay day? Without realizing it, the problem could be YOU.
Don't get discouraged; you can learn to be a successful leader. Most of us learned a lot by facing our mistakes and learning from them. The seven steps above can get you back on track.
Monday, May 16, 2016
Monday, March 28, 2016
To Delegate or Not...That is the Question
Delegation of responsibilities, or getting your work accomplished by others is a skill that all managers need to practice consistently and successfully. The all too familiar cry however, "it's just easier to do it myself". The result is burned out managers who take responsibility for everything and demoralized subordinates who feel their boss doesn't trust them with greater responsibility. Being a good delegator requires skills that many of us will need to learn; it takes us out of our comfort zone in order that we can assume the true responsibilities of supervision and leadership.
Here are a few things you will need to learn to do well in order to have your delegation of tasks work well.
1. Take the time to train people to do tasks that can be delegated. It is easier to delegate when you feel confident that the work will be done satisfactorily. Don't stretch subordinates with work beyond their capability; it's setting them up for failure. But you do need to be good at assessing skills and training to fill in the knowledge gaps.
2. Remember that there is always more than one way to effectively complete a task. Your subordinate may help you see a way to "work smarter". Sometimes to delegate, means to give up control and allow the knowledge of others to be expressed.
3. Match the person to the job requirements. Sounds obvious, no? But a lot of times we don't identify tasks for delegation in a way which makes professional sense. Rather, for example, we dump jobs on to others simply because we don't like to do those particular tasks. That's not fair and it's not professional.
4. Keep your own needs for perfection in check. If your attitude is that "no one can do it better than I can" you can't delegate successfully.
5. As a general rule, tasks that you delegate should meet the following criteria:
- things that divert your attention from the work you really should be doing
- tasks that don't require your personal attention
- tasks that another person on your team can handle
- tasks that will enhance the reputation of others on the team when they complete them successfully.
- don't delegate a job that will directly impact your own welfare or the welfare of your work team if it is not completed satisfactorily
- don't delegate a task that your boss has asked you to handle personally
- don't delegate a task that requires special credentials or licensing that only you have.
Healthier Workplaces has a complete training project on how to delegate tasks successfully, as well as on other responsibilities of leadership. Why re-invent the wheel. Give us a call at 877-872-6195.
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Strategies to Carve Birds out of Wooden Blocks
by Larry Wenger
It’s been an observation of mine that one of the biggest problems facing organizations is that we don’t get the most out of the employees we have. We put up with negative attitudes and mediocre performance. It’s complicated because on the one hand, the employee themselves must take some responsibility for their own performance. On the other hand, if leadership doesn’t identify the strengths that employees have; if employees are not respected; if they aren’t challenged; if they aren’t trained and given clear feedback, positive and negative, then leaders are responsible when the work done by employees is half-hearted, sprinkled with mistakes and generally much less than it could be.
A current TV ad for a local senior center prompted me to reflect on this problem. The ad is trying to convey the creative energy that living at this senior center makes possible. The ad shows a man putting the finishing touches on a hand carved wooden bird; it really is a great accomplishment. The ad concludes with the carver saying, “I can hardly look at a block of wood without seeing a bird in it.”
And therein lies the issue. When we think about our employees do we see a block of wood or a bird. At the point they were hired, we saw a bird…we felt like there was a reason to believe that they could make a beautiful contribution to our organization. But something happened…or maybe a series of things. We saw their mistakes; it dawned on us that they weren’t perfect. So what do we do about it?
When it comes to our employees, we do not have a good track record for making birds out of wood blocks. I know, it’s not easy. It takes a lot of commitment and determination. But I think it can be done. Here are seven tips that can help ensure success: (1) start early; don’t overlook those first mistakes. Performance problems, like cut fingers, heal themselves best when cared for promptly. (2) Make sure you know the employee…their likes and dislikes; their personal interests; their professional strengths and weaknesses. (3)Restate your commitment to their success. (4) Provide coaching-oriented supervision…frequently, and make other resources available, like specialized training. (5) Be specific about how you want the employee to behave. (6) Specify a timeline by which you want to see improvement. (7) Be clear about what the consequences will be if the improvement does not happen.
Why did you hire this person in the first place? What was that special characteristic that made you think they could contribute. Find that characteristic, carve it out of the clutter. It’s still there, even though hard to find. It will be worthwhile cause everyone wins.
A current TV ad for a local senior center prompted me to reflect on this problem. The ad is trying to convey the creative energy that living at this senior center makes possible. The ad shows a man putting the finishing touches on a hand carved wooden bird; it really is a great accomplishment. The ad concludes with the carver saying, “I can hardly look at a block of wood without seeing a bird in it.”
And therein lies the issue. When we think about our employees do we see a block of wood or a bird. At the point they were hired, we saw a bird…we felt like there was a reason to believe that they could make a beautiful contribution to our organization. But something happened…or maybe a series of things. We saw their mistakes; it dawned on us that they weren’t perfect. So what do we do about it?
When it comes to our employees, we do not have a good track record for making birds out of wood blocks. I know, it’s not easy. It takes a lot of commitment and determination. But I think it can be done. Here are seven tips that can help ensure success: (1) start early; don’t overlook those first mistakes. Performance problems, like cut fingers, heal themselves best when cared for promptly. (2) Make sure you know the employee…their likes and dislikes; their personal interests; their professional strengths and weaknesses. (3)Restate your commitment to their success. (4) Provide coaching-oriented supervision…frequently, and make other resources available, like specialized training. (5) Be specific about how you want the employee to behave. (6) Specify a timeline by which you want to see improvement. (7) Be clear about what the consequences will be if the improvement does not happen.
Why did you hire this person in the first place? What was that special characteristic that made you think they could contribute. Find that characteristic, carve it out of the clutter. It’s still there, even though hard to find. It will be worthwhile cause everyone wins.
Monday, February 15, 2016
9 Tips for Restoring Trust Within Your Work Group
1. Acknowledge that trust has been eroded and that it may take it a while before we develop the confidence in each other that we had before. Restate the purpose of the group and what is required for success.
2. Expect that restoring trust will happen slowly and there will be times of encouragement and discouragement; sometimes it will seem like you are making no progress.
3. Keep up the structure of meeting and talking to each other, even though it is uncomfortable at times. Continue the agenda process and meeting minutes. They are all ingredients in a smoothly operating team; don't give up on them.
4. Make sure commitments are kept, even if they are around seemingly insignificant issues. Demonstrate to each other that the group has the capability of being reliable; initially around small issues; later, larger, more impactful ones.
5. Listen to each other...I mean, really listen. Respond in a way that assures the speaker that they were heard.
6. Be transparent. Share all the information, not just the good news. You may want to avoid more difficulty but the path to restoring trust is built on a renewed commitment to the truth.
7. Demonstrate support, concern and encouragement for every member of the group. Some of this can take place within the group sessions; at other terms this concern may be best expressed in 1:1 conversation. The effort here is to move the experience of group members with each other in a positive direction.
8. When a member demonstrates even a small effort to renew their accountability and commitment to the group, acknowledge their effort and express your appreciation; they have begun to model the behavior required to re-build trust and that should be reinforced.
9. At every other meeting ask the group for their feedback about how things are going in the group. Ask them for suggestions as to how you could improve as the group leader. Stress the importance of members giving each other feedback as to their performance in the group; these should not be personal attacks but rather positive suggestions as to what is required of each member in order for trust to be restored and make the group more functional.
Larry Wengerr
1. Acknowledge that trust has been eroded and that it may take it a while before we develop the confidence in each other that we had before. Restate the purpose of the group and what is required for success.
2. Expect that restoring trust will happen slowly and there will be times of encouragement and discouragement; sometimes it will seem like you are making no progress.
3. Keep up the structure of meeting and talking to each other, even though it is uncomfortable at times. Continue the agenda process and meeting minutes. They are all ingredients in a smoothly operating team; don't give up on them.
4. Make sure commitments are kept, even if they are around seemingly insignificant issues. Demonstrate to each other that the group has the capability of being reliable; initially around small issues; later, larger, more impactful ones.
5. Listen to each other...I mean, really listen. Respond in a way that assures the speaker that they were heard.
6. Be transparent. Share all the information, not just the good news. You may want to avoid more difficulty but the path to restoring trust is built on a renewed commitment to the truth.
7. Demonstrate support, concern and encouragement for every member of the group. Some of this can take place within the group sessions; at other terms this concern may be best expressed in 1:1 conversation. The effort here is to move the experience of group members with each other in a positive direction.
8. When a member demonstrates even a small effort to renew their accountability and commitment to the group, acknowledge their effort and express your appreciation; they have begun to model the behavior required to re-build trust and that should be reinforced.
9. At every other meeting ask the group for their feedback about how things are going in the group. Ask them for suggestions as to how you could improve as the group leader. Stress the importance of members giving each other feedback as to their performance in the group; these should not be personal attacks but rather positive suggestions as to what is required of each member in order for trust to be restored and make the group more functional.
Larry Wengerr
Monday, January 18, 2016
Employees Who No Longer Care...Do You Know What to Do? by Larry Wenger
Whether I am talking to employees at a human services agency or at a local hardware store, I find that most supervisors struggle with the problem of employees who have lost their motivation to do a good job. They walk around looking bored; their eyes glazed; they sit down whenever possible; they talk to customers and clients in unpleasant tones; they have very little positive to say to anyone; they cant wait for the next payday. You know the folks I'm talking about.
I hear it all the time. Their supervisors are very frustrated. Understandably so and yet too often, if you examine their personnel folders, there's nothing there. Rarely do these unmotivated people do anything bad enough that gets them fired on the spot. Yet their negative influcence spreads a dangerous disease every day. It's a disease that makes it hard to get anything significant accomplished.
These problems are not easy to fix; you can't give unmotivated employees a pill to change them. Interesting that many of us work for organizations that claim to know how to change human behavior and yet we seem totally inept at changing the behavior of employees. We can help employees change; it doesnt happen quickly but it can be done and let me say right away that we will not change them with threats or a "my way or the highway approach". It's a network of behaviors that will stimulate the change, when implemented professionally and by supervisors who are good with people and emotionally intelligent. Here are some suggestions.
1. Reduce mis-hires. Renowned football coach Lou Holtz says that he's a better coach when he has good players. Make it hard to get a job at your place. Put job applicants under stress and only hire the ones that show good potential to contribute to your organization. Accept nothing less...for any reason.
2. Be clear about duties and expectations. Align these with the mission of the organization and discuss it at every staff meeting...it's a discussion, not a lecture. Everyone should know how the mission impacts what they have to do this afternoon.
3. Emphasize learning for everyone...form top to bottom. Demonstrate how learning new skills makes everyone more productive. Talk about your efforts to improve your own performance.
4. Show an interest in the personal stressors of your employees. Understand the mountains they have to climb in order to be successful on the job. Maybe you know where they can get some help. Their loyalty will more than make your effort worhwhile. It's not about being "nosey", it's a matter of being available.
5. Overcommunicate your commitment to support the success of your employees. Be their cheerleader; promote them; let others know about their accomplishments.
6. Give people honest feedback beginning on their first day; don't put it off.
7. Be a supervisor who is trustworthy and dependable. Don't overpromise, but do overdeliver. Give them a safe environment in which to work; one in which they can grow and make mistakes. Being firm, fair and consistent makes it easier for them to change.
Building motivation in someone takes time and it's not simple. Who knows, for some it may never work. But these 7 suggestions will promote a culture in which change is possible.
If your supervisors want to get the most out of their staff but aren't sure where to start, I'd love to talk to you about it. Call me at Healthier Workplaces for a free consultation, 877-872-6195.
5.
Whether I am talking to employees at a human services agency or at a local hardware store, I find that most supervisors struggle with the problem of employees who have lost their motivation to do a good job. They walk around looking bored; their eyes glazed; they sit down whenever possible; they talk to customers and clients in unpleasant tones; they have very little positive to say to anyone; they cant wait for the next payday. You know the folks I'm talking about.
I hear it all the time. Their supervisors are very frustrated. Understandably so and yet too often, if you examine their personnel folders, there's nothing there. Rarely do these unmotivated people do anything bad enough that gets them fired on the spot. Yet their negative influcence spreads a dangerous disease every day. It's a disease that makes it hard to get anything significant accomplished.
These problems are not easy to fix; you can't give unmotivated employees a pill to change them. Interesting that many of us work for organizations that claim to know how to change human behavior and yet we seem totally inept at changing the behavior of employees. We can help employees change; it doesnt happen quickly but it can be done and let me say right away that we will not change them with threats or a "my way or the highway approach". It's a network of behaviors that will stimulate the change, when implemented professionally and by supervisors who are good with people and emotionally intelligent. Here are some suggestions.
1. Reduce mis-hires. Renowned football coach Lou Holtz says that he's a better coach when he has good players. Make it hard to get a job at your place. Put job applicants under stress and only hire the ones that show good potential to contribute to your organization. Accept nothing less...for any reason.
2. Be clear about duties and expectations. Align these with the mission of the organization and discuss it at every staff meeting...it's a discussion, not a lecture. Everyone should know how the mission impacts what they have to do this afternoon.
3. Emphasize learning for everyone...form top to bottom. Demonstrate how learning new skills makes everyone more productive. Talk about your efforts to improve your own performance.
4. Show an interest in the personal stressors of your employees. Understand the mountains they have to climb in order to be successful on the job. Maybe you know where they can get some help. Their loyalty will more than make your effort worhwhile. It's not about being "nosey", it's a matter of being available.
5. Overcommunicate your commitment to support the success of your employees. Be their cheerleader; promote them; let others know about their accomplishments.
6. Give people honest feedback beginning on their first day; don't put it off.
7. Be a supervisor who is trustworthy and dependable. Don't overpromise, but do overdeliver. Give them a safe environment in which to work; one in which they can grow and make mistakes. Being firm, fair and consistent makes it easier for them to change.
Building motivation in someone takes time and it's not simple. Who knows, for some it may never work. But these 7 suggestions will promote a culture in which change is possible.
If your supervisors want to get the most out of their staff but aren't sure where to start, I'd love to talk to you about it. Call me at Healthier Workplaces for a free consultation, 877-872-6195.
5.
Saturday, January 2, 2016
The Nine Commandments for Supervisors
For many supervisors, their relationship with people who work for them could be a lot better. A recent study by faculty members at the University of Florida said that more than half of the employees found their supervisors untrustworthy, not good role models and too free to share confidential information. This is indeed a severe indictment. Poor supervision is often seen as a factor in high turnover and increasingly employers are holding supervisors accountable for turnover amongst their direct reports.
Supervision is about nurturing employees. It's about being committed to making them successful rather than waiting for them to make a mistake. Supervisors need to have a clear and specific idea of how they can support the individuals who work for them and how technical skills as well as attitudes or habits can be improved.
Technical skills are the easy part. Attitudes and habits are harder to change which speaks to the reason why they are responsible for more terminations than the technical skills. Which takes us to the Nine Commandments... since if followed, the supervisor will be more successful at changing attitudes and habits.
1. Get to know the employee, what motivates them, what some of their personal interests are, what their goals are for their personal and professional future. Be prepared to share some of your own as well. This develops the bond between you and your employee, enables better planning for the future and adds zest to your work together.
2. Be organized. Don't bring your employee into a cluttered office. Be prepared. The employee should not feel as though he/she is taking you away from more important work. Don't take phone calls during the session. Do put a do-not-disturb sign on your door and make sure that your discussions are held in a private, safe-to-talk space. The environment should show respect for the employee.
3. Model the behavior you expect to see from your employee. Handle your own responsibilities well.
4. Acknowledge good work. Regularly and often. No employee has ever complained that their boss compliments them too much. Compliments feel good.
5. Be positive and optimistic. Give your employees the confidence that things will work out; give them a reason to believe that planning and hard work will lead to success. Describe their strengths as well as weaknesses.
6. Document your discussions. Describe the behavior you want from the employee both verbally and in writing. Track progress and make note of it. This eliminates surprises when it comes to doing the annual review.
7. Refer often to the mission and goals of the organization. Make sure that the employee knows exactly how to contribute to those goals.
8. Demonstrate your own commitment to learning and to improving your own performance. Don't expect your employees to find time to go to training if you can't seem to break away for some time of personal growth. Be willing to admit your own mistakes and areas in which you need to improve.
9. Be fair, consistent and honest. Be prepared to speak clearly about areas of the employee's performance that must improve; don't use vague language. Be behaviorally specific in terms of the problem and the solution as well as the time frame for expected improvement. One can be specific without being judgmental of the person receiving the feedback.
As a supervisor you must recognize that your job now requires that you help the organization achieve success through the cooperation of other people. You may have been really good at making clay pots, but that is not your job now. Instead of the technical skills that were required in making those pots, you now need the people skills which build loyalty and motivation. As Dwight Eisenhower is quoted as saying, "Leadership (including supervision) is about getting other people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it that way." Attitudes and habits do not change quickly. You will need to be patient, but determined.
For many supervisors, their relationship with people who work for them could be a lot better. A recent study by faculty members at the University of Florida said that more than half of the employees found their supervisors untrustworthy, not good role models and too free to share confidential information. This is indeed a severe indictment. Poor supervision is often seen as a factor in high turnover and increasingly employers are holding supervisors accountable for turnover amongst their direct reports.
Supervision is about nurturing employees. It's about being committed to making them successful rather than waiting for them to make a mistake. Supervisors need to have a clear and specific idea of how they can support the individuals who work for them and how technical skills as well as attitudes or habits can be improved.
Technical skills are the easy part. Attitudes and habits are harder to change which speaks to the reason why they are responsible for more terminations than the technical skills. Which takes us to the Nine Commandments... since if followed, the supervisor will be more successful at changing attitudes and habits.
1. Get to know the employee, what motivates them, what some of their personal interests are, what their goals are for their personal and professional future. Be prepared to share some of your own as well. This develops the bond between you and your employee, enables better planning for the future and adds zest to your work together.
2. Be organized. Don't bring your employee into a cluttered office. Be prepared. The employee should not feel as though he/she is taking you away from more important work. Don't take phone calls during the session. Do put a do-not-disturb sign on your door and make sure that your discussions are held in a private, safe-to-talk space. The environment should show respect for the employee.
3. Model the behavior you expect to see from your employee. Handle your own responsibilities well.
4. Acknowledge good work. Regularly and often. No employee has ever complained that their boss compliments them too much. Compliments feel good.
5. Be positive and optimistic. Give your employees the confidence that things will work out; give them a reason to believe that planning and hard work will lead to success. Describe their strengths as well as weaknesses.
6. Document your discussions. Describe the behavior you want from the employee both verbally and in writing. Track progress and make note of it. This eliminates surprises when it comes to doing the annual review.
7. Refer often to the mission and goals of the organization. Make sure that the employee knows exactly how to contribute to those goals.
8. Demonstrate your own commitment to learning and to improving your own performance. Don't expect your employees to find time to go to training if you can't seem to break away for some time of personal growth. Be willing to admit your own mistakes and areas in which you need to improve.
9. Be fair, consistent and honest. Be prepared to speak clearly about areas of the employee's performance that must improve; don't use vague language. Be behaviorally specific in terms of the problem and the solution as well as the time frame for expected improvement. One can be specific without being judgmental of the person receiving the feedback.
As a supervisor you must recognize that your job now requires that you help the organization achieve success through the cooperation of other people. You may have been really good at making clay pots, but that is not your job now. Instead of the technical skills that were required in making those pots, you now need the people skills which build loyalty and motivation. As Dwight Eisenhower is quoted as saying, "Leadership (including supervision) is about getting other people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it that way." Attitudes and habits do not change quickly. You will need to be patient, but determined.
Webinar Training for Managers Available
Happy to announce the availability of 5, 30-minute webinars on management. These trainings written by Larry Wenger and produced and distributed by NetSmart Technologies, one of the largest producers of on-line training. The 5 topics are:
Happy to announce the availability of 5, 30-minute webinars on management. These trainings written by Larry Wenger and produced and distributed by NetSmart Technologies, one of the largest producers of on-line training. The 5 topics are:
- Building a High-Trust Workplace;
- Employee Happiness;
- Hire and Retain the Right People in the First Place;
- Sensational Staff Meetings;
- Staff Training and Development.
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