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Let’s Talk Leadership: Give More to Get More!
Guest articles >
Let’s Talk Leadership: Give More to Get More!
by: Karla Brandau, CEO
Workplace Power Institute
Would you like more discretionary effort from your employees?
If you are a savvy leader, you will plan to give more to get more. And money is
not part of the equation. Most leaders are surprised to learn that employees can
be motivated by factors other than money. To determine what might motivate your
employees to give more discretionary time, establish a personal but professional
relationship with each worker. You then are privy to information such as:
- Olivia excels in the planning phase of a project. Knowing this, you GIVE
Olivia more opportunities to plan team initiatives. She enjoys the work, feels
self-actualized, and GIVES BACK more discretionary time.
- Phillip is not in management ranks, but is a natural leader. You perceive he
feels frustrated when the project veers off and he is not in charge. You GIVE
Phillip specific assignments where he is in charge of a portion of the project.
He GIVES BACK energy in the form of moving fellow employees forward to the
on-time completion of the project.
- Tanja loves to learn but is in a job that requires routine work. Noting this,
you GIVE Tanya the opportunity to research a topic for a coming change
initiative. She GIVES BACK by tackling her routine work with vigor so she will
have time left to do research.
Is this imaginative and unconventional wisdom? If you are a manager prone to
managing business as usual, then the answer is yes. But if you are a manager who
recognizes the importance of using management levers in the work environment to
address levels of human motivation, then you will excel in getting your
employees to give you discretionary time.
Doug Ross and I have generated a new model for getting discretionary effort from
employees. In this model, the RossBrandau Engagement and Discretionary Effort
Model, there are five management levers you can apply to engage employees and
earn more discretionary time from them. Those levers are:
- Physical safety and security. If you increase the safety individuals feel in
the workplace, they will give their task greater concentration. Safety applies
to physical protection from bodily injury, freedom from harassment, and freedom
from the threat of losing their job. I once coached a manager who believed the
best way to get the employee to work harder was to keep him under constant
threat of losing his job. It didn't work that way. The employees were so afraid
of losing their jobs that they were in a constant state of nervousness and made
frequent errors. If you GIVE more security, employees will GIVE BACK by
conforming and complying with organizational rules.
- Social Acceptance. This management lever involves team building, getting the
employees to know one and other on more than a superficial basis, and accepting
employees "as is". "As is" means that everyone has a bump or a button off
somewhere. Helping employees feel accepted as they are, sets the environment for
individual emotional growth. The more you GIVE the employee acceptance, the more
the employees GIVES BACK stable work efforts.
- Rational Alignment. Humans are naturally goal seeking creatures. There is a
certain self-esteem that comes from setting and reaching objectives, and a deep
satisfaction that binds employees together when they are aligned with
organizational goals. Working to have employees rationally and intellectually
understand how the organizational or departmental goals and strategies fit
together helps them align their own personal goals with company goals. You GIVE
them the right to participate in the goal setting process and they GIVE BACK by
accepting the challenge to move goals and deadlines forward.
- Emotional Commitment. When you GIVE employees security, acceptance and
rational reasons to support your organization, they GIVE BACK emotional
commitment. Discretionary effort is given at grows at each of the three previous
levels, but is greatest if you can obtain emotional commitment from an employee.
- Authentic Contribution. This level is a two-way street meaning that you GIVE
great freedom to the employee and permit the employee to work in a state of 'intrapreneurship'.
You GIVE them opportunities to self-actualize as they freely GIVE BACK authentic
contributions and treat the business as if it were their own.
As you increase the number of employees giving authentic contribution to your
organization, beating the competition and gaining market share is top of mind.
Watch the profit margin rise.
The Workplace Power Institute helps organizations be more competitive in the
global marketplace by removing blocks to organizational productivity. Download a
copy of the new RossBrandau Engagement and Discretionary Effort Leadership Model
at
www.KarlaBrandau.com/RossBrandauEDEModel. For program information and an
invitation to Karla Brandau, CEO, to speak at your next conference, call
770-923-0883 or send an email to
info@WorkplacePowerInstitute.com. Web site:
www.WorkplacePowerInstitute.co
LinkedIn.com/in/KarlaBrandau
Facebook: tinyurl.com/6k6wam6
Twitter: @Karla Brandau
Contributor: Karla Brandau
Published here on: 26-Jun-11
Classification: Leadership
Website:
www.WorkplacePowerInstitute.com
MSWord:
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