Motivation and Development of Followers - Essay Example

xxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Introduction Employee motivation is the forceacting on or within a goal directed manner (Helliegel et al 2001). A leader can adopt different leadership styles to motivate employees; these include participative, supportive and directive leadership styles (Menta et al 2003). Motivation and Development of Followers One of the ways to motivate staff is to ask them what they want. As a leader you should try and understand what makes every staff member behave the way they do. This will help you understand how to keep them motivated. This can be achieved by conducting a motivational survey to identify what employees value most. The survey includes open ended questions about the employee’s goals and interests as well as a check-list in which the employee rank-orders according to the one that has greater value (J.B. Guerrero 2006). According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, people lack needs they want and this therefore produces the drive and desire which motivates us to satisfy that need (A. Maslow 1943). People have to satisfy the initial needs before they can move to the next level of needs. For example one cannot try to satisfy their self-realization needs before they have satisfied their security needs. Communication is very important in motivation. Ensure that your employees understand the company’s vision, mission and values, its goals and what is expected of the employees to achieve their goals and overall goals of the organization. The goals of the employees and those of the company should be aligned. When employees understand the goals of the organization, they are motivated and will work towards achieving the same. To be able to establish if they understand, ask questions and this can be achieved through questionnaires (S. Chandler and S. Richardson 2008). Leaders build the team spirit by shared vision (Richard Brandson). Ensure that your employees have the tools, resources and training they require to achieve the expected results (S. Chandler and S. Richardson 2008). Lead by example is another way to motivate. When you walk the talk your employees will have confidence in what you tell them to do. They will not do what you have told them to do if you yourself are not or cannot do it (S. Chandler and S. Richardson 2008). For example if you ask them to put in extra time, you should be there to support them. Have a positive attitude. When you are positive, your employees will feel motivated and will work towards success. When you have a negative attitude it translates to failure and dissatisfaction in the work place. For examples, if issues arise during the course of performing your duties, use phrases like ‘for this to work we need to sort out the following issues’ as opposed to saying ‘this will never work’ (S. Chandler and S. Richardson 2008). Open door policy makes a leader accessible. When you are closed up in a room, you alienate yourself from your employees. It brings out a division between the leader as the boss and the employees. However open door policy enables your employees to feel that they can approach you when they have issues they want to discuss (C. Sun 2008). Praise your employees in public. When employees are praised they feel that they are doing something right and will continue to do the same. This also motivates other to do the same because they to want to be praised and feel that they are part of achievements. Be sincere and precise on what you are praising (C. Sun 2008). For example Richard Branson praised an engineer on board his first trans-Atlantic flight when it ran into difficulties and he solved the problem and every year the engineer received a handwritten birthday card thanking him for saving the reputation of virgin Atlantic. As you praise in public, correction should be done in private. Do not embarrass the person by raising issues in public. This demotivates the staff and his or her performance may even decline further. When you discuss the issues with the employee, make them understand what it is and discuss proposals on how to correct the issue and overcome obstacles the employee is facing. During the discussion you as a leader may discover that the employee is facing other issues that may be personal (S. Chandler and S. Richardson 2008). Actively listen to your employees when they come to discuss issues and deal with them fairly and objectively. Employees have great ideas and through active listening you will be able to get these ideas from them. Some of the ideas can be adopted while other cannot. Be polite in how you relay to the employee that his or her idea cannot be adopted and why. When an idea is adopted ensure that the employee gets recognized for it. As a leader when you take the glory of an idea, the employees will not be motivated and will stop giving ideas. You can get ideas of how to improve the organization through brainstorming sessions or employees posting ideas though an email address that is reviewed (S. Chandler and S. Richardson 2008). Empower your employees by allowing them to solve problems on their own and only step in when they need your advice. When you leave your employees to solve problems they will embrace the challenge and will look for all means to resolve the issues. It shows them that you have confidence in them and trust that they will make the right decisions. When you expect high expectations from your employees and they realize it, you have a greater chance of getting such a performance than if you expected low performance. Challenging you employees also make them grow and have a positive attitude (S. Chandler and S. Richardson 2008). Motivate those around you by providing meaning and challenge to their followers’ work (Richard Branson). Conduct informal meeting or events with your employees. For example you can take them out to lunch to get office distractions out of the way. This provides the employees are relaxed environment which they can use to discuss issues more openly. They also feel that the leader is part of them and get to know you better as a real person and not just a boss (S. Chandler and S. Richardson 2008). According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, one wants to belong and therefore your employees want to be part of the team. As a leader you need to be flexible. Rules, regulations and heavy-handed approach can cause resentment and non-compliance with a team. Use discretion and learn to adapt to the changing environment. Admit to your limitations as you do not always know what to do and with a flexible leadership style you can often deal with changing circumstances without compromising on your leadership role (S. Chandler and S. Richardson 2008). Not everyone can handle every job. As a leader it is your duty to pick the right person for the right job. This can uplift the confidence of a member to achieve his or her goals. Failure has a huge impact on morale (S. Chandler and S. Richardson 2008). Conclusion Motivation is a very important aspect in leadership and can greatly improve the performance of an organization. Understanding the organization’s goals is an important fact in its success. Constantly changing goals can make people loss sight. There should be a good working condition that will motivate people to work. References Steve Chandler and Scott Richardson(2008). 100 Ways to Motivate Others. Website: http://www.callofthewild.co.uk/library/theory/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-how-to-motivate-your-staff/ . Website: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-things-you-can-do-to-motivate-your-team/358. Calvin Sun (2008). 10+ Things You Can do to Motivate Your Team. Jacki Bradbury-Guerrero (2006). 10 Ways to Motivate Your Employee. Read More