Your management style can make or break your team. Knowing which approaches motivate, and which have the opposite effect will help foster success in your company. We spoke to ClearCompany CEO Andre Lavoie about the best ways to motivate your employees as a senior manager.
Communicating goals
Being specific about what your company wants to achieve and sharing your vision with your staff will start you off on the right track to motivation. According to Mr Lavoie, when employees see how they are making an impact, they are more motivated.
“Define specific goals, write action plans to break the large scale into smaller, achievable tasks, and share this with the staff in a meeting. Illustrate how employee efforts align with the big picture by providing visuals.
That’s the key – presenting the impact of the team’s efforts in a chart, graph, or some other visual aid that paints the bigger picture.”
Tracking goals
Determining your goals is only half the battle. How do you keep track of progress to ensure you reach your desired destination? Mr Lavoie suggests collecting data on performance tracking to ensure you have evidence based information that can help employees see where they are in terms of meeting expectations.
“Follow up on a regular basis to gauge whether or not the expectations you set are in fact accurate,” Mr Lavoie says. “You don’t want to burn out your staff, so keeping a transparent policy where they can share their perspective is important.”
Delivering feedback
Giving feedback is another key area which can go one of two ways. Critical feedback demands a high degree of sensitivity and tact, or you run the risk of demotivating your employees. Mr Lavoie says it is essential for feedback to be constructive.
“It’s so simple to unintentionally sound discouraging and negative. Start with an aspect that the employee is succeeding in. Then, transition into where you want to help guide them. Once you establish what needs to be improved on, follow up with another strength.”
It is also important to focus on situational examples and avoid personal generalisations. Rather than saying the employee fails to meet deadlines, provide concrete examples, like when a sales representative was in need of a report before a pitch.
“This way, you’re providing anecdotal evidence, not making overly generalised statements about their abilities,” Mr Lavoie said.
Motivating employees
There are a multitude of approaches taken by managers to try to get the maximum amount of motivation from their employees. Mr Lavoie believes taking a genuine interest in your employee’s professional aspirations is the best way to motivate them.
“Actively seek out what they want to achieve in their personal and professional life, listen and ask for input on how they think they could grow, then deliver,” Mr Lavoie says. Giving your employees the tools they need to succeed will also boost motivation.
Furthermore, checking in on your team, both to recognise their successes and help them assess situations that could be improved on will act as a motivating force. Be sure to ask what their thoughts are, as giving your employees a voice is the best way to get their engaged.
Workplace dynamics
As a manager, it is important to strive for a transparent culture that encourages communication. Mr Lavoie says senior managers should avoid being seen as a boss far removed from the daily operations, instead, they should be seen as equal, so that their employees are empowered to be their best and inspired to work alongside their leaders.
“Employees want to see and hear from their leadership,” Mr Lavoie says. “They respect and trust those who are in the trenches with them, not the person in the ivory tower. Make an effort to be present.”
Big data is the future
According to Mr Lavoie, predictive analytics can be used to improve your quality of hire. “The quality of hire metric is changing the talent management landscape in amazing ways.
Platforms are enabling companies to use performance data with hiring, giving them a clear picture of their hiring and recruiting practices to develop a deeper understanding about how well they are matching candidates to roles and the culture as a whole.”
When it comes to keeping your employees motivated, there are a number of factors to keep in mind. From communicating goals to showing interest in your employee’s professional aspirations, the right approach will pave the way to a harmonious workplace and ensure the future success of your organisation.
About Andre Lavoie:
Andre Lavoie is the CEO of ClearCompany, the talent management solution that helps companies identify, hire and retain more A Players. You can connect with him and the ClearCompany team on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
