The Pursuit Of Something Better – Review

If you’re looking for a review of “The Pursuit Of Something Better” then you’ve come to the right place. I’m currently reading an advance copy, and will be publishing Leadership Expert’s official review within a week, so stay tuned!

Introduction

‘The Pursuit Of Something Better’ follows the story of  US Cellular – a regional telecoms company, through its journey to becoming home to one of the most vibrant and motivated cultures in the USA. As an underdog in the telecoms industry – US Cellular has to fight to survive in the modern world, but the employees fight for it, due to their extreme loyalty and pride.

On one day every year, the managers from across the organisation leave their positions to attend a conference that announces the results of something very dear to them – the annual employee satisfaction questionnaire. Grass-root staff rise to the challenge and the company ticks over just fine without them. The atmosphere at the conference is likened to that of a concert – not an annual review. What on earth has happened at this company to drive such enthusiasm?

Well, you’ll have to buy the book yourself to find out!

Review

Review is coming soon!

Purchase

This title was released on the 15th of August 2009.

You can pre-order this book on Amazon UK here

If you’d like to read a review of this book on other blogs, you can visit here and here.

Managing Generation Y

‘Generation Y’ is the affectionate name given to the demographic cohort that was born between 1980 – 1995, although specific definitions do vary. This group hence forms today’s teenagers and twenty-somethings – a group highly sought after by large recruiters, and whom form the solid base of employees for many multinationals. The problem of how to lead this generation is a hot topic.

What Are Businesses Doing To Attract Generation Y?

As competition has increased among the large graduate recruiters to attract the best ‘Generation Y’ talent, they have been fighting among themselves to paint the best picture of their own workplace. Of course, promises have to be met, and so in painting their company in this brighter way, they have indirectly led to progressive changes in the workplace. These new changes to the working environment include:

1. More flexible working hours for a better work/life balance. (Example – ‘The Big Four‘)

2. Guaranteed acceptance onto management training programmes after preconditions have been met. (Example – Enterprise Rent a Car)

3. Extensive induction training.

4. The opportunity to rotate round departments and roles. (Example – Unilever, P&G and Johnson & Johnson)

5. Higher reliance upon internal promotions to fill vacancies.

It is clear that the recruiters believe that generation Y care less about salary and traditional benefits, and more about the pursuit of an interesting, fulfilling and and less stressful job than their parents. This trend definitely seems to be following the general shift away from Fordism factory workers, and towards independent, respected and empowered workers, that has been taking place in the last century.

What Are Businesses Are Doing To Lead Generation Y?

When it comes to leading ‘Generation Y’ – new leadership styles have evolved to compliment the new ‘people -orientated’ workplace. These have manifested into:

1. Annual reviews taking a more personal development focus, rather than productivity. Managers are trying to adopt more of a ‘coaching’ and ‘supportive’ role. Managers are told to encourage and train employees so that in the future they are able to take their place.

2. A more democratic and team-based way of working – where ‘on-the-job’ training is becoming more popular, and instructions on how to actually ‘get the work done’ is now coming from from experienced teammates more often than the manager.

Do These Methods Actually Work?

The evidence isn’t very clear on this issue. Despite all these new initiatives and opportunities that ‘Generation Y’s parents dreamed of, these young workers are extremely likely to leave a company they join after a short period of time (every 4-5 years on average), which is a far higher rate of turnover than their parents, the ‘baby boomers’.

I believe that this is happening for 2 main reasons. Firstly – only a fraction of companies are actually fulfilling the promises made to potential job candidates. The hype that recruiters drum up is unsustainable and almost impossible for companies to deliver on. This it doesn’t surprise me one bit to discover that graduates are continually drawn to the ‘greener’ grass on the other side of the hill.

Secondly, and this is linked with the first reason, managers are going about implementing these initiatives in a reluctant way and unsatisfactory way. Either managers are attaching too many ‘novelty’ initiatives to rudimentary and menial jobs – such that the employee feels like it’s all a show, or managers are only introducing leadership techniques as part of a ‘token’ effort.

For instance, I’m in disbelief at the number of times I’ve heard managers undermine their human resource counterparts with phrases such as “Now, I’ve been told by the people above to tell you that …”. This sort of attitude in implementing policies if effectively negating any positive effect they were supposed to bring.

Therefore I would argue that, while it appears that ‘Generation Y’ workers are extremely unappreciative of the benefits and perks that exist today – these so-called perks only exist in policy and paper and aren’t created or supported with sincere intention from managers. In fact – this move towards pseudo-policy is alienating our Gen Y workers, and this may be able to explain why they are constantly on the move.

My Recommendation

Changes that companies have made to their leadership and human resource strategies have been well thought out, and do add good value to the role a company could offer a graduate. However I believe that to be able to lead Generation Y effectively, the focus must then be on educating and training managers to sincerely back these new efforts.

Charismatic Leadership

Charismatic leadership is all about a superhero act. In an article titled “What exactly is charisma?” published in Fortune on January 15, 1996, Patricia Sellers says, “Charisma is a tricky thing. Jack Kennedy oozed it – but so did Hitler and Charles Manson. Con artists, charlatans, and megalomaniacs can make it their instrument as effectively as the best CEO’s, entertainers, and Presidents. Used wisely, it’s a blessing; indulged, it can be a curse. Charismatic visionaries lead people ahead, and sometimes astray.”

Practitioners of charismatic leadership have a firm belief that they can lead followers by unleashing their personal charm and grace. You can recognize one by the way he or she interacts with others – making each person feel like the most special on the planet!

While charismatic leadership is most often employed in the political arena where a large number of people have to be influenced within a short time, using little or no personal contact, it can be applied equally in a business situation. The leader seeks a “fan following”, and a devotion among followers which is usually absent from other forms of leadership. You can think of at least a couple of U.S. Presidents who had an almost hypnotic effect.

Charismatic leadership involves a great deal of theatrical behavior. A charismatic leader is a persuasive speaker, and a master of body language. Charismatic leaders are great at reading the occasion, and will tailor their behavior to suit the mood. At the same time, they are willing to take personal risk and make sacrifices in order to build their own credibility and trustworthiness in the eyes of their followers. Once their leadership is established, they will try to carve a distinct identity for their group of followers, and build an image of superiority for it. At the same time, these leaders identify themselves so strongly with the group that the group and the leader become nearly synonymous.

Academics have identified the following four stages of charismatic leadership:

Creating a new vision: Charismatic leaders are able to assess unfulfilled needs and opportunities in their environment and project their vision for a future without any shortcomings.

Articulating the vision: The leader will be able to communicate his belief in the vision to his followers and convince them of its viability.

Building trust: The next phase of charismatic leadership involves engendering trust among group members and securing their commitment.

Achieving the vision: The leader will set a personal example and empower others in order to sustain motivation so that the vision can be realized.

It may sound strange, but charismatic leadership is not necessarily an inborn trait. It can be learned and perfected, usually by watching the actions of other charismatic leader role models and modifying behavior in certain ways.

It is important to note that charismatic leadership can be a double edged sword. It all boils down to the motives of the leader. Charismatic leaders can be a bit insincere, more concerned about themselves than their followers. Such a tendency towards narcissism can do a great deal of damage to organizations. On the other hand, if their heart is in the right place, charismatic leaders can work magic like no other.

Leadership Vision

“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.“ John F Kennedy, Former American President.

President Kennedy’s landmark vision “Landing on the Moon” When President, Kennedy quoted the above in the year 1961, he surely believed that his nation should commit itself to achieve the goal, by the end of the decade; America would be able to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to the Earth. That statement and plan would only come from a visionary and great leader. And it exemplifies the type of leadership we expect from such great leaders. We want the leaders to motivate by setting unthinkably high aspirations; even though there may be tremendous uncertainties we should face in the future to attain the goal. Now we know that Kennedy’s visionary statement became a reality and the man landed on the moon and came back to earth unharmed, without such a vision, such a landmark goal should not have been a reality. His vision was bold that it should be done at any cost.

What is a Vision Statement? Before deciding whether we need a vision statement, we first of all to know what this vision statement is?. A vision is a statement written or unwritten statement, which is just like our ambition to become, say what we will become after 5 years. A leadership vision should stretch an individual’s capabilities and image of himself. It gives shape and direction to our future. Our personal vision statement provides the direction necessary to guide the course of our days and the choices we make about our future. Our personal vision statement is a torch shining in the darkness to illuminate our way. Now we understood about the vision statement, now write our personal vision statement as a first step in focusing our life – for our joy, our accomplishments, our contribution, our glory, and for our legacy.

One of the qualities that a person must have is the ability to envision the future. Vision might seem an exalted ambition compared with the harsh realities of the future. But without vision, growth and achieving goals becomes difficult. Vision helps simplify the decision-making process, as organizations need to make hundreds of decisions per day to simple stay afloat in this environment. Without a view of the big picture for the future, making even a small decision can appear as a mountain to be climbed.

Visions range in length from a couple of words to several pages, but normally people prefer shorter vision statements because they can remember their shorter visions. Our unit has a vision too; To be the most preferred supplier of quality product in category to result in sales revenue of more than Rs.1000 crore by FY 2010 .

Here there are two examples of vision statements, one is for an individual and another is for the purposes of organizational leadership;

•“In 2010, I will be a head of a profit center in an organization of good repute in India” (Individual) •”We will become a recognized and respected hotel chain in Asia in 3 years.” (Organization)

How we can prepare vision statement:

1. First identify the goals.

2. Uncover the real, human value in those goals.

3. Identify what you value most about you, your goals how and how you will achieve your goals.

4. Combine your values & goals and polish the words until you have a vision statement inspiring yourselves enough to energize and motivate you.

To build a vision of the future requires a lot of time and effort and successful people are those who can strike a balance between both, combining vision and execution. Vision is painting a picture of tomorrow’s world before you. It is about imagining a future day in your life? With the values and goals, which you are making and keeping in mind for the changing competitive environment of future. It is about thinking through painstaking and crafting come out with productive solutions. To build a vision of the future, one needs to come at it from various angles, because technology and competition do not stand still.

Why is vision so important? If an individual is in the initial stages of his career, it cannot compete and win over others; however it can think of it in long term, as at present the others have a far better edge over you. The individual needs to envision the future advantages and disadvantages that will come and build a leadership vision based on that situation. It may take time for these opportunities to manifest. The person needs enough resources and patience for the coming years to face the uncertainties. It is not easy because today’s pressures and deadlines will tend to take precedence. Organizations have to make sure vision is not sacrificed considering the present circumstances.

To be effective, a vision must motivate people. President Kennedy’s vision to let land the first man on the moon by the end of the 1960′s and it is one of the most famous examples of effective leadership vision. To motivate people, a vision might be expressed in arousing tones. The leadership vision to first land the first human on the moon would have been motivational to the engineers and scientists who made it happen no matter how the vision was expressed. It was motivational for two reasons: it gave them a very concrete, time-bounded target and it was an exciting challenge for the people associated with the project, that is too with the support of the most powerful man on the land.

If you own a car rental company, creating a motivational vision would be harder. It is very difficult to know how much you have to do to improve the customer service at lower costs. You have no idea what the customers expect from you, meaning you have to put in lots of effort such as conducting a surveys and evaluations, what the competitors are doing for their customers. If you are already in the top 3 in this industry, you have also to know how much higher can you go? In that case, the most motivational vision for such a business might be to make it to number one over the next 3 years. If your vision is not time-related, it is very difficult to get excited about it, mainly because there is no sense of urgency to do anything new, but your vision must be having the mettle that your company will be No.1 in 5 years, but this needs a lot of bravery, since just preparing a vision statement is not enough, you have to the daringness to go ahead with your vision statement and to achieve your goals within the time period, you decided for yourself.

It is said that visionary leadership motivates staff to overcome tough challenges and to achieve goals, however for this we need to decide whether we really need a vision. We are often told that vision is an essential feature of great leader, then in that context, we also need a vision to execute our plans well for achieving our personal goals and to become successful.

Our personal success depends on how well we define and live by the vision we prepared for ourselves.

Leadership Philosophy

Leadership comes in many different shapes and forms.  As leadership comes in different shapes and forms, so do leadership philosophies. There are people from all walks of life who have their own philosophy on leadership.  Who’s to say which is right and which is wrong?  But if you expand your mind and allow your leadership to grow, you will benefit any organization.

Followers expect leaders to show them the standard and train them to reach it. They expect leaders to lead by example. Additionally, they expect leaders to keep them informed and take care of them. Being a leader will require you to ask others to make extraordinary sacrifices to achieve goals. Leaders may have to call on them to do things that seem impossible. However, “If leaders have trained their people to standard, inspired their willingness, and consistently looked after their interests, they will be prepared to accomplish any goal, anytime, anywhere” (Reeves, 2004).

Leadership philosophies are based on opinions and experiences of an individual, which is why philosophies may not necessarily coincide even though you may have the same common goal. The best thing about leadership is that it will always evolve if you expand your mind.  What maybe your leadership philosophy today may not necessarily be your leadership philosophy tomorrow.

Many of my philosophies were influenced by traits that are used by the U. S. Marine Corps and standard maxims, which will work well in any organization and some of them are: justice, judgment, dependability, initiative, decisiveness, integrity, enthusiasm, loyalty, and courage just to name a few. Another important skill that must be implemented for all of this to work is applied knowledge.

Justice teaches you to be fair and consistent.  No one can ever say that you are showing favoritism.  Using judgment gives you the ability to think about things thoroughly and rationally.  Good judgment leads to sound decisions, and sound decisions leads to better quality.

Dependability “is the willing and voluntary support of the policies and orders of the chain of command” (Wright, 1984/2002). You must show that you are dependable, and it is needed because it shows you can be relied upon to your superiors as well as your employees.  It means you can be trusted to complete your job.  It also means that you will be trusted by your employees, which will build a better rapport and enhance communications between you and them.

Initiative runs hand in hand with dependability.  Showing initiative means doing something before you were instructed to.  It shows you are dependable and can think ahead and look at the big picture instead of what’s in front of you.

A decisive person shows they have the ability to make good decisions without hesitation.  It allows you to get the facts, analyze them and come to the best possible decision while maintaining a high level or professionalism.

Showing enthusiasm shows a sincere interest and enthusiasm in the performance of your duties.  It will make your employees more enthusiastic and motivated about their work, which will lead to better productivity and working atmosphere.

Having loyalty shows you are devoted to your organization, seniors, peers, and subordinates.  You have a sense of responsibility to everyone who is involved in the organization.  You are loyal enough to know if things begin to get unethical, you know how to separate yourself from it, and continue to do the right thing.

Integrity is one of the most important traits within my leadership philosophy.  People can take many things from you, but integrity is something you can only give away.   It shows that you are truthful and a person of your word.  When integrity is consistently applied, it will build good morals and ethics within any organization.

The most vital leadership characteristic is courage.  Courage is the foundation on which all things start.  Having these other traits are pointless if you don’t have the courage to apply them.  Without the courage to succeed and the courage to stand up for what you believe, you should not be placed in any leadership position, because you lack what it takes to be a leader.  And if you lack what it takes to lead… who will follow?

Applied knowledge is the understanding of a science or art and applying it.  Knowledge means you have acquired information and you understand people, emotions, and actions.  Applying knowledge means you will take acquired information and share itwith your employees to make them better, mentally stronger, and more eager to learn.

To support my leadership philosophy, I have maxims that I follow, which are known to the U. S. Marine Corps as leadership principles.  One of my maxims is to know myself and seek self improvement.  This is done by working to improve my weaknesses and utilizing my strengths based on thoughts and experiences.  I also must be technically and tactically proficient.  Before I can lead, I must be able to do the job.  If I can’t do the job, I can’t set the example.  Albert Einstein said it best, “Setting an example is not the main means of influencing another, it is the only means.” Lastly, I must know my employees and look out for their welfare. As a leader, I am responsible for my employees’ welfare and well-being.  Their welfare must come before my own.  To put yourself before your employees is to show disrespect towards them and the organization, which will ultimately lead to destruction.

Many leaders’ leadership philosophies are very different, but in any attempt to lead, you have to have a philosophy.  You may read many articles on leadership, attend leadership seminars, or even take leadership classes that offer many different philosophies on leadership.  However, I am not trying to change your philosophy on leadership… I am just trying to expand your mind.

Author: Darnell E. Patton is currently an active duty Marine. He has held many management and leadership positions, to include the legendary Marine Drill Instructor and Drill Instructor, Instructor. He has a BS in Management, a BS in Finance, and his MBA with specialization in Human Resources.

Expert Business Leadership Advice

Business leadership advice is not about promoting any single quality so much as it is about a number of qualities that come together to create something much stronger than any of those qualities alone. Business leadership is not so much about managing others and “taking charge” as it is about motivating by example.

So if business leadership is something that is difficult to pin down, what steps can you take so that you will find yourself recognized as a leader in this, the 21st century? What can you do to incorporate the principles of leadership into your life so that you will be able to achieve your goals and rise to the top in your organization or your career field?

One step is to look at those leaders who you admire. Whether you’re inspiration comes from political leaders – those who have been able to unite the people of their country during difficult times – or from leaders within your own field, when you are looking for information that will help you to take on a team leadership role, it’s important to understand what makes someone a leader.

In other words, when you are thinking about business leadership, it’s important to take the time to understand courage, determination, and to learn more about the ways in which leaders speak to those who follow them. Ultimately, what you will find is that by embracing those qualities within yourself, you will be able to persevere and to reach the goals that you have set for yourself and for those who you are working with.

Ultimately, what you are likely to discover is that, in order to differentiate yourself in the 21st century and to take on a business leadership role, you will need to:

Learn to set aside excuses. The majority of people who are in business find a way to come up with a number of excuses when something that they have been asked to do isn’t done. Leaders, on the other hand, focus on getting the job done.

Learn the value of making mistakes. When we make mistakes, it’s important to take advantage of the lessons that come out of them so that we can use that knowledge to move forward.

Learn to lead from within. When you are looking at business leadership characteristics, you’ll see that those who are in a supervisory role are not just watching others and telling them what they do wrong; instead, when they see a problem they jump into the trenches and work with their staff, helping them to solve problems and to find creative solutions.

Business leadership is about working with others and motivating them to do more – to be more. When you’re looking for a way to differentiate yourself from others, one of the best things that you can do is to work well with others, put forth your best effort at all times and to make sure that – at all times – you’re making an effort to bring a team of people together.

Finally, remember this: business leadership is about having a willingness to try something new. To set yourself apart from the crowd, you need to look at the big picture – and then to get everyone else to see it too.

Cecile Peterkin is a Certified Career and Life Coach. Feeling stuck in middle management or mid career? Claim your free assessment and complimentary coaching session at his career guidance website. Leadership ppt.

100+ Brilliant Ways To Motivate Staff In A Recession

As times are getting harder, managers have been re-evaluating how they motivate their workforce. At Leadership Expert, we’ve put together this comphrehensive collection of motivation tips & tricks to help managers increase their employee’s productivity in this tough economic climate. Most of the tips don’t involve spending a penny, and the ones that do will create far more value than you spent, meaning they’re perfect to use during a recession.

One final point to make before we embark on this list, is that you should consider this a ‘sweet shop’ of motivation tips, i.e. you should only pick a few and certainly not attempt to implement them all. There’s nothing worse than being sandblasted by motivational techniques.

Policy

1. One-on-One coaching - People appreciate learning directly from their senior on an individual basis. It helps them remember what they learn, and ask any questions they wish to help form a deep understanding of their work.

2. Training - In general, training is one of the most empowering tools a company can offer it’s employees. Subsquently all large companies invest heavily in training and enjoy the long term payoff.

3. Clear Career Path – Staff are better motivated when they can see where they should be in 3 years time if they work hard. The more barriers between them and promotion that cannot be solved by hard work will only demotivate.

4. Safe Work Environment – Maslow theorised that safety is one of the fundemental pillars of motivation, and that a safe work environment is necessary for all other motivating factors (such as self esteem) to start having a positive effect.

5. Executive Recognition - A congratulatory conference call from the CEO or visit from the finance director will do well to swell the chests of your workforce with pride and admiration for their work.

6. Time off - Motivated employees will not gladly take time off, however a generous time-off system needs to be in place to create motivated employees. Staff are likely to work harder and longer with the safety and knowledge that should they need time off due to stress, they could take it.

7. Encourage employees to praise good work of their fellow colleagues – Build a feedback procedure whereby collegues regularly pass comment on each others work, or team mates share their opinions after completing a major task. Feedback such as this helps reduce infighting and will give many people tips on how to improve their work.

8. Be sympathetic to personal problems – Offer generous time off for those who suffer bereavement. In most cases it won’t be taken, but the gesture will improve relations between managers and staff.

9. Keep your door open – An open office encourages the open share of ideas. You want to remove any barriers to communication, and a closed door certainly constitutes a barrier.

10. Allow flexible working hours - Allowing employees to manage their own time so they can participate in outside work-related activities won’t make their hours shorter. Employees who would take time off to see their child’s sports day will likely ‘pay back’ the favour by working longer hours afterwards.

11.  Have annual or quarterly reviews – These are where an employee goes through some targets and review points with another member of staff who is not directly above them, and is more of a guidance counsellor than a boss.This will allow them to discuss important long term career topics that will feed their desire to work.

12. Let your employees choose their own lunch break- Unless your company happens to be a food outlet, it really doesn’t matter whether your employee takes their lunch at 11:30 or 2pm, so don’t attempt to force them to stick to a routine.

13. Forward information to staff after management meetings - A quick debriefing will increase their sense of involvement.

14. Rotate job roles – More appropriate for manufaturing, the rotation of job roles has been proven many times to increase employee productivity, despite the decrease in specialisation. This technique can be applied to any low to medium skilled jobs with a powerful effect. Multi-skilled workers also make life easier for your HR department.

15. Provide quarterly updates on relevant business and customer issues – many members of staff aspire to be senior management in the future, and will thrive on being kept in the loop when it comes to high-level business infomation.

16. Give an incentive to get employees to work earlier in the morning - I’ve learnt from experience that if a salary-based employee gets to work an hour earlier, it is likely they will work until their usual finishing time.

17. Support charity work within the company – Donate 1 or 2 days of charity work per year to good causes. This will help your business get into the local media and make staff feel like they’re a part of a responsible company.

18. Address the environment issue – While we’re on the subject of responsibility, it’s worth noting that employees prefer working for a company with green credentials, so setting a carbon reduction/ energy efficiency/ recycling intiative will help enthuse the workforce.

19. Give your employees choice over their uniform – Often a business casual work dress code makes employees feel more independent than full suit and tie – which is often not necessary in an office environment.

20. Obey confidentiality – A manager who pretends to care about his employees but simply laughs and bitches about them behind their back will loose all respect and credibility extremely quickly.

Freebies

21. Offer stress management/counselling services – These services are easy to outsource and admitedly are very rarely used. But the availability of such a service increases moral without costing you a penny.

22. Use gimmicks -  Give out novetly ‘trophy’ style items for exceptional work. For example, give a LP record for an employee breaking a record.

23. Bring in sweets to share out on random days – This is a cheap technique that will improve the relationship between management and the workforce.

24. Give out tickets to cultured events such as theatres and music shows.

25. Send a company T-shirt or hat to the employee’s child(ren).

26. Walk around with free lunch coupons -  Hand out on the spot.

27. Give workers a surprise for their work area - A desk organizer, a picture or poster, a new mouse pad even. Any new gift will be an interesting novelty.

28. Give a subscription to a work-related periodical - This is an interesting gift that shows your commitment to their professional development.

29. Buy lottery tickets or scratch cards for people on an irregular basis.

30. Hand out classic self help literature and excellant leadership books – Hand these out to entire departments at a time, or they may feel that you’re indirectly critisising them. Success literature can really inspire employees to work harder – but be wary of the core message of the book. Many of these books encourage workers to quit their 9-5 jobs.

Behaviour

31. Give recognition – Every worker wishes wants to be ‘known’ by those above them, so talk about your workers to your managing collegues and ensure that none of your subordinates go un-noticed.

32. Give Attention – To be distinguished from recognition. Recognition is the long term awareness that boosts self esteem, whereas attention is a short term devotion of time that will keep employees on task and able to voice concerns as early as possible.

33. Applause - Because sometimes words just aren’t enough.

34. Always carry a smile – I once knew a senior manager who famously was never seen with a negative expression on his face. This sort of reputation really inspired subordinates such as myself, and completely stands again the cynicism and sarcasm that exist in workplaces across the country.

35. ‘Manage by wandering around’ – Rather than calling employees to your office, go and visit them yourself. This is a sign of respect and reduces the interuptive impact you have on your team.

36. Listening to employee efficiency suggestions – And more importantly you should be acting on as many as possible, even the petty suggestions. This way you build up credibility in the system, leading to more important, significant proposals to be put forward in the future.

37. Lead by example and follow through with what you say. Just as following through with suggestion box comments you build credibility in the system, if you follow through with your own promises, you build credibility in the system of management as a whole.

38. Ask! - Ask the employees what they want from you.

39. Listen! – Listen to what employees have to say about YOU and what you can personally improve upon.

40. Add a personal touch by going out of your way to inconvenience yourself to please a member of staff. Just the occasional gesture in a busy period can be enough to remove that employees doubt over whether you have their best interests at heart.

41. Understand employee behaviour - Often a negative attitiude or behaviour is a direct response to bad controls/procedures that you can correct or change.

42. Write thankyou notes fairly regularly – These notes only take a second, and will float around for a long time, making the employee feel proud.

43. Actively make a point to speak to every member of staff each day. This doesn’t need to be a major catch up, but just enough so that you’re maintaining a good working relationship, and they would feel comfortable in coming to you when they’re struggling.

44. Ask employees “What can I do to help you with your job?”. You may surprised at the responses and ideas you get in return. A little help like this can sometimes be more effect than formal leadership coaching or leadership training.

45. Get your hands dirty with your staff -  Learn about the good and bad aspects of their day to day work. Only through understanding what their day actually entails will you be able to see what would motivate and enthuse this person to work more effectively.

46. Show the courage to let your employees learn from their mistakes - Don’t jump on their error and shout at them, as they will already feel embarassed enough. Managers often destroy many hours of work building up trust and enthusiasm by loosing control and shouting at workers when things go badly. Nothing destroys intrinsic motivation quite as quickly as raving tyrant.

47. Show great confidence in relying on subordinates expertise in areas that you have none – Trusting in the skills of others is a sign of a great leader. It will improve the confidence of others as well as take some weight and responsibility off your shoulders.

48. Stand behind your employees and back their decisions -  Similar to relying on a subordinates’ expertise, this will improve their view of their own skills, and benefit you in the long run.

49. If you have many employees with the same job title, give them a list of the tasks that need doing and let them divide the work up among themselves. It reduces the feeling of ‘meddling manegement’ and allows for more efficient work allocation - as people are more likely to take on jobs that they’re personally good at.

50. Don’t be a pushover -  While nearly every employee would love to have a soft manager, they would also admit that it is because they would do less work. Be clear with orders and don’t allow yourself to be fobbed off with excuses.

Financial Incentives

51. Arrange discounts for them at local stores to increase loyalty

52. Offer rewards for great ideas. If it saves money or brings in business, give the employee a percentage of the savings or profit. – entreprenial atttiude.

53. Send $10, $25 or more to a spouse with a thank-you note for his or her support during the employee’s overtime.

54. Pay an employees rent for a month - This will take the weight of their shoulders more than a simple cheque would. Give your employee piece of mind.

55. Pay for the tutoring of an employee’s child - This is a generous ‘donation’ that will really help establish true loyalty and admiration for the company.

56. Give employees who recruit new workers a cash bonus.

57. Sponsor membership in a professional group for your employee.

58. Surprise your staff with a new challenge out of the blue – Give your employees 2 weeks to increase their sales by 15% for a 5% salary bonus reward and watch how they suddenly start looking at their work in a whole different way.

59. Move your staff onto more heavy commission based salaries – This brings employees personal goals in line with those of a sales department. A word of warning – make sure the variable upon which the commission is based is what you truely want. Because staff will often chase that commission at the expense of others goals such as customer satisfaction and quality of service.

60. Give out gift vouchers as a way of rewarding individuals for a good job on a specific task – Amounts of £50 are respectable but won’t break the bank. You can reserve these for when staff members have demonstrated working by company’s values, or have shown hard work.

61. Give generous staff discounts on products - This is a rather standard perk in the modern day, but its effect on employee morale must not be forgotten.

Activities

62. Pizza/Popcorn/Cookie Days - These really put a smile on alot of employees faces. Just hope that few people are on strict diets at the time!

63. External Seminars - These can be attended by individuals, teams or whole departments if they’r relevant. Trips to seminars, events and conferences can be a welcome break from work for staff, while actually still building their skills and adding value to the company.

64. Dress-down Days – Again, another motivational tool that has become a standard in all companies large and small. And why are they popular? Because it really does improve morale!

65. Leadership Teasers - Give employees a glimpse at what it is like to run a team, lead a division or speak in public. These positive ‘taster’ leadership sessions will really get them hooked onto their career track and really kick start leadership development.

66. Share letters of praise from customers with the member(s) of staff involved - A kind word from a customer not only gives effective feedback on the service at your organisation, but it also warms the hearts and motivates the staff who read the mark of appreciation. These are so effective that I would suggest you contact customers to ask for feedback.

67.  Have a family day - Perhaps on the last day before a public holiday, you could arrange for staff to bring their children to work. As well as lightening the atmosphere of the workplace, it also helps create harmony and understanding between workers, as they come to understand more about each other and what they’re like as a family person.

68. Go to lunch with each one of your employees on a quarterly basis – Ask the question, “What do we need to do to keep you with us?”

69. Invite employees to your home for a special event - This gives you the opportunity to recognise them in front of their spouses and co-workers. Obviously only suitable for small businesses or departments, this activity is a rare but powerful one.

70. Let them attend a meeting in your place – As well as giving temporary empowerment to your staff, letting them sit in or replace you in a meeting also will increase their understanding of what pressures you are under and what you need from them.

71. Let them “sit-in” with an upper level person for part of a day – Similar to the leadership taster, this shadowing of senior management is more appropriate for junior members of staff. Middle management may feel uneasy about taking a perceived  ‘step back’ into the activity of shadowing.

72. Involve them in a special project that allows for company exposure and visibility. Such as being written about in the news. All too often – these sorts of tasks are handled by only a couple of individuals who become desensitised to the novelty of being publically recognised. By rotating these sort of tasks round a larger number of employees, you are efficiently maximising the motivation gained from such a job position.

73. Let your employees craft the mission statement – More and more managers are discovering how effective this is as a motivational tool. It’s most powerful when absolutely every employee contributes torwards it’s creation. Without proper employee involvement – mission statements are simply empty rhetorical ‘wish lists’ of values and objectives put forward by the CEO.

74. Minature golf and other fun indoor activities - Fun golf courses, bowling alleys, Scalextric tacks and casino tables can be affordably hired in a recession as businesses cut back on novelty client entertainment and expenses. You can use this to your advantage by hiring such fun equipment to become the centrepiece of a project-end event. Having something fun to look forward to at the end of each major project will have a motivational effect.

75. Team building days out – In a similar fashion, outdoor activity courses and events can also be used to keep your staff happy and promote good team leadership.

76. Hand out awards - Prizes for awards such as ‘best team player’, ‘best attitude’ etc should be also accompanied by humourous ‘caffeine addict’, ‘chief photocopier person’ and other quirky awards.

77. Run short term target-based competitions between staff for freebies or bonuses. But ensure a level playing field or you’ll only create frustration and conflict!

78. Take your employees to the cinema. Cinemas offer cheap corporate deals and will cater well for your employees. Picking the right film is tricky though!

79. Promote the creation of company sports teams – These will help build ties across departments. Encourage recruitment from all areas, rather than simply being teams of  cliques.

Other

80. Develop a Wall of Fame to share letters of praise and similar with everyone in the office – Put it near the photocopier for maximum exposure.

81.  Create personalised rewards – everyone values different types of rewards more than others. Some workers prefer time off, others prefer cash, so ask people which they’d prefer before setting up any bonus or reward scheme.

82. Additional Responsibility – While you may grimace at the idea of being given ‘another’ batch of responsibility, a more junior member of staff may actually jump at the thought. Start leadership programmes that give subordinates that opportunity at stepping up.

83. When pay cheques are sent out, always write a note on the envelope recognizing an employee’s accomplishment(s).

84. Try to remove all the cynical and sarcastic posters & slogans from around the office. They provide a cheap giggle but demoralise staff. A quick example of short term benefit, long term pain.

85. Remember birthdays with a simple birthday card, mini cake or gift.

86. Take out an advertisement in a local paper and include your star employees’ names and pictures in the feature.

87. Speak truthfully and transparently – All employees have a good skill at knowing when they’re being lied to, so don’t even attempt to pull the wool over their eyes. Learn from Obama – he didn’t try to tell America that the economic was just a ‘little’ bit under-the-weather; he told it how it was. Rather than trying to cover up the failings in a company, instead emphasise how you are going to solve it, and employees will reward you with hard work.

88. Increase your employees span of control – this decreases costs and motivates them if they’re the type that crave control and authority.

89. Remind people of what drives them to do what they do. Allow pictures of family and other such drivers to be strewn around the office, and talk to them about their family, their dreams for the future and desires. You can use their dreams to motivate them easily.

90. Pin up genuine motivational posters etc around the office. These motivational quotes really do inspire some people.

91. Get your employees to replace their default screen saver with a playful ‘Get off your butt and back to work’ message that they’ve typed themselves.

92. Let employees give new recruits on-the-job training - It’ll show them how much they’ve grown as an employee in your company and leave them feeling senior and skilled.

93. Make sure you know everyones name in the office - whether they’re in your span of control or not.

94. Ensure free coffee is available. Caffeine or hot chocolate will always help!

95. Have a bowl of fresh fruit for employees to snack on – The women especially will appreciate this nice gesture, yet it only costs a tiny amount per day.

96. Make sure the service staff (cleaners, janitor, receptionist) greet staff throughout the day, rather than simply trying to be invisible.

97. Play the occasional tasteful practical joke

98. Invite in a motivational speaker to talk to your staff - These speakers often charge high fees however, so ensure that their key messages concern long lasting motivation rather than a ‘fad-like’ short term buzz that will fade as the speaker slips from memory.

99. Give your team a cool team name - Admittedly easier said than done.

100. Ensure that all members of staff feel that they are the best at at least one task - This will give them a ‘place’ in the organisation and make them feel important.

101. Finally -  Share this blog post with other managers in your organisation!

Phew! We’re done! If you found this article as helpful as I enjoyed making it, then please use some of the neat buttons below to help share this motivational advice across the world!

The Effective Habits Of Very Successful Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are some of the most successful individuals in society – but not simply because they’re lucky

Entrepreneurs are some of the most powerful individuals in society. Not simply because they”re wealthy. But because the habits they have ensure they”re successful in whatever they do. Have a look at the list of habits below and see which ones you share with incredibly successful business leaders, managers, team leaders and entrepreneurs world-wide!

Entrepreneurs…

1 – Have a Hatred for Sleep

You”ll find most entrepreneurs NEVER lie in (unless they”re on holiday of course). While you lie-in, you”re not doing your body any good, and you”re literally sat there watching your productivity plummet. Taking a break is nice. But that?s what your 8 hours of sleep is for. Anymore and you just won”t cut it as a business leader.

2 – Possess  a True Willingness to Delegate

While I”m sure you think delegation is something you could get very used to; in practice its a tough decision. Imagine yourself as the bride in your first wedding. Would you happily delegate all the decisions to a wedding planner? Of course you would’nt. ”My wedding day is far too important to let someone else potentially mess it up. Surely they won”t give it as much attention and care as you would. It simply isn’t worth the risk.”

This might be appropriate for a wedding, but most people experience the same feeling when delegating any important work. A successful leader simply places confidence in those beneath them, and let experts do what they do best, leaving the entrepreneur do what they do best – Leading!

3 – Pursue Opportunities Fiercely

The difference between a successful entrepreneur and a normal individual. Is that when they both see a business opportunity. They react differently. A normal individual may actually consider it, and have a look at their bank account… maybe plan the possibility of leaving their job. However by this point, the entrepreneur will have already organised a team to begin!

4 – Demonstrate Proactivity

Business Leaders do not wait for opportunities to slip onto their lap. They partake in extensive research (or pay someone else to) to always make sure they have some new directions to be exploring. They”re never happy staying in the same place, and are always looking for the next big thing.

5 – Are Optimistic

You may think – “There are pro”s and con”s here… lets weigh it up”
The successful business leader thinks – “Those pro”s are worth enough to pursue this, we”ll cope with the cons later.”

Being optimistic is a crucial habit for entrepreneurs, because it”s the only way to deal with the amount of risk these people take on! Would you risk your year?s salary in order to make more money next year? Many wouldn”t, and that”s why successful entrepreneurs aren”t common.

6 – Are Never Afraid To Invest In Themselves

In a different approach, smart entrepreneurs have often sought out useful leadership books and learning material that will help them along the path to happiness and leadership.

7 – Are Obsessed with Attention to Detail

Everything has to be perfect. Competition is so fierce in today”s business world that you can”t afford to do a half job. A successful businessperson won”t go home until the job is done 110%. This is how profits are made and how a small venture can explode into a multi-million dollar success.

How to Inspire People: Part 2 – Appeal to their Competitiveness

Enthusiasm and inspiration are very powerful motivational states. What’s even better is they’re completely free! A culture of inspiration, innovation and creativity has been proven capable of turning a company’s fortune right around, showing it to be a key leadership skill. If you’ve ever wished to learn how to motivate people to work with you effectively, read on for part 2 of my series on inspiring others.

2. Appeal to their competitiveness. Humans are competitive beings. Naturally we have to compete for life partners and a salary, but we also have to compete for the best education, the most enjoyable job or even the last doughnut in the shop! We all have a competitive spirit within, and this can be used by leaders to motivate others into performing brilliantly. As a leader, you simply have to set the challenge. Give the individual a high standard to try and meet, or compare them with another whom they wish to beat. Once the challenge has been set, nature takes over and hard work will follow.

Back in my sixth-form college I remember a conversation with my business teacher very well. The exam results from the first round of examinations had just been released and I found out I had achieved full marks on my business exam. Only a few minutes into the following class, my teacher called me to his desk and said the following words to me sincerely;

“I’ve known your results for 2 days, and couldn’t wait to talk to you. They’re Fantastic! About 3 years ago there was a girl in my class who did brilliantly in her exams; she was a bit arrogant and up herself though, but ended up getting full marks in her whole A Level anyway. She’s the only person to have ever to have done that in this college, but I honestly think that you could achieve that too, without being an arrogant individual! It’d be good to see a well-rounded student manage to do it as well.”

What a perfect demonstration of leadership. He had set me a challenge to try and complete. Was I now going to slack off in class and become complacent on the back of just one good grade? Of course not. I was going to try and beat that ‘undeserving’ girl; I was driven to get full marks without being ‘arrogant’ or unkind about it. It followed that during 2 year course I put in a tremendous amount of effort for that class and came out with an excellent grade. Who was I to prove him wrong in believing I could do this? My teacher had given me a good reputation and a challenge; a challenge that I was too competitive to ruin. He also gave me a chance to prove I was not only an academic equal, but more deserving than this unpleasant person. It was a perfect combination of challenges that had one desired result = complete dedication on my part.

Examples of challenges

• Setting a clear objective for the person to be achieved – A personal challenge.
• Creating a positive reputation for the person to uphold – A reputational challenge
• Challenging the person to beat a rival and giving them an honourable reason for doing so – A rival challenge
• Casually mention that you wouldn’t expect someone of the person’s level to normally be able to acheive the specific goal, but that they could be different. – A peer group challenge

The lesson from a leadership perspective is clear. If you can set your own friends or team-mates challenges in such a way, you too could fill them with a clear sense of purpose, and a focus that could only emerge from that nature competitive spirit that has inspired and motivated humanity throughout the ages.

Inspiring Other People: Part 3 – Radiate with Enthusiasm

Its obvious that enthusiasm and inspiration are a key factors in the success of our careers, love lives and hobbies. What’s even clearer is that they are states of mind that are largely affected by ourselves, and those we spend time with. This is why to succeed at improving your leadership skills, you must understand how to inspire your collegues. Part 3 of my inspiration series explores how your own attitude has an effect on the inspiration of others, and will show you how to take advantage of this.

3. Radiate with enthusiasm. Can you really expect your team mates to feel enthused and motivated if you, their leader, is apathetic and cynical? Of course not. People hate following hypocrites, and will tend to avoid working for them at all costs. You must be, or at least appear to be fully behind your mission in order to gain followers.

For your toughest task or goal, you will want everybody to contribute towards the common purpose in order for it be the biggest success it can be. Therefore a lack of enthusiasm on your part will harm the team just as much as if it was a subordinate slacking or showing apathy. Expecting unwaivering dedication from your friends when you slack at every opportunity is unrealistic to the core, and will only result in failure.

You’ll find all the motivation tips and articles you need on Leadership Expert, so you have few excuses if you cannot rise to the occasion and motivate yourself for the task in hand. If you truely cannot inspire yourself to work as hard as you would expect others to, you’re in the wrong job, or have chosen the wrong path. Increasing your leadership skill is a sincere and genuine process, not a superficial attempt to make your life easier. Insincere attempts to simply manipulate others will only arouse resentment amongst those you try to lead. If you’re in the situation where you have to pretend to be enthused; you really need to think about changing your career or current direction because it is unlikely that you will never feel truely happy on your current path.

Provided you are genuinely enthusiastic within yourself, you will find this will pervade the culture of your team or group of friends; spreading through them at a dizzying rate. Provided you talk in terms of their ambitions and set a personal challenge, you will begin to see enthusiasm bubble out of your collegues like champagne from the bottle!

Bringing Together The Inspiration Series:

1. Talk to their dreams

 

2. Appeal to their competitiveness

 

3. Radiate with enthusiasm

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