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July 30, 2010
By Morey Stettner
When does a motivational program become demotivating?
If you stage contests or internal competitions and the same two or three superstars win all the time, think how the rest of your employees feel. They’re less engaged than ever. And they resent their stellar peers for hogging the spotlight.
I’m not the first person to point this out. Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, told Personal Selling Power magazine years ago, “In some of the companies I was in, there was always a first, second and third prize, and invariably there was always three hot shots in the company who would win those. So what’s the use of trying?”
Experience taught her to take a different tack when she became the boss. She built her business by giving everyone a chance to win a prize based on exceeding individualized production goals. That way, as she put it, “you don’t have to step on anybody to get the reward.”
Even with all the collective wisdom available to today’s managers, it’s amazing how many fail to appreciate the motivational power of customizing incentives—of giving every worker at every level a chance to reach for the stars and reap the rewards of superior achievement.
If you really want to light a fire under your team, skip the silly contests where only a handful of people win. Instead, create opportunities for everyone to win.
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Tags: motivating employees
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July 28, 2010
By Morey Stettner
Few employees volunteer everything you need to know. They’ll tell you bits and pieces. Your gentle but persistent probing helps you get the full story.
A former boss taught me something 20 years ago that I still remember. When an employee opens up to you and starts revealing more than you bargained for, it’s tempting to digest it all and conclude you’ve had a rich, rewarding dialogue.
But my boss told me, “Don’t settle for that. Ask one ore question: Is there anything else you’d like to discuss?”
It’s a great question because it opens up new avenues of conversation. An employee who’s already in the mood to confide in you might offer up another dose of brutally honest communication when prompted to reveal more.
And here’s a parting shot: Never end one-on-one chats abruptly by walking out (or suddenly hanging up the phone). Give fair warning. This prevents you from cutting off a potentially valuable communication channel with the employee.
You don’t want your staffer to think, “Oh, I was about to confess something really important. Good thing my boss rushed away and saved me the trouble.”
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Tags: managing conflict
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July 26, 2010
By Morey Stettner
MANAGING DIFFICULT EMPLOYEES: Some perspective, please
Annoying employees can drive you crazy. You can wind up spending way too much of your time fretting about how to deal with them. In this podcast, we discuss a better strategy: Putting these management challenges in perspective so that you don’t let a difficult employee deplete your time and energy. (7 min.)
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Tags: challenges, difficult employees, perspective
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July 23, 2010
By Morey Stettner
Here’s the single best tip to make performance reviews more productive: Involve employees before, during and after the formal review meeting.
Beforehand, ask them to evaluate their performance based on a host of pre-set criteria. They should already know your expectations (hopefully, you’ve explained the standards– and what constitutes substandard and superior performance). As a result, rating themselves on specific competencies and behaviors shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to them.
During the meeting, engage in a dialogue. Welcome their input and explore ways to develop their skills and careers. Invite input on your management style as well.
Don’t fall into the trap of talking too much or looking down the whole time at a three-page form you’ve already filled out. There’s nothing like an overly complicated form to dehumanize a performance appraisal.
After the session, ask employees to draft a summary memo. Instruct them to share their impressions of the performance review in writing and submit it within 72 hours of your meeting. Suggest that the memo cite the employee’s areas of agreement or disagreement with your assessment and set expectations for goal attainment and performance improvement in the months ahead.
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Tags: managing employees
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July 21, 2010
By Morey Stettner
MANAGING THE BOSS: Deliver diplomatic critiques
When your boss asks for your opinion, strike a diplomatic tone. If you’re too abrasive in sharing what you think, you can rub the boss the wrong way. In this podcast, we discuss how to state well-supported views that maximize the odds that senior executives will remain receptive rather than dismiss what you say. (7 min.)
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Tags: managing the boss
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July 21, 2010
By Morey Stettner
The BP oil spill reminds me of another oil spill 21 years ago.
When the Exxon Valdez oil tanker gushed oil into Alaskan waters, Exxon CEO Lawrence Rawl insisted he was “too busy” to fly up to Alaska ASAP to inspect the mess. His inability to focus on the unfolding disaster tarnished his reputation. When he died in 2005, the headline was, “Exxon CEO Faulted for Exxon Valdez Spill Dies at 76.”
Ouch. Not an especially rosy way to memorialize the guy.
Rawl’s experience reminds us about the cardinal rule of crisis management: Treat it seriously from the get-go.
When you’re confronting the incipient stage of a crisis, harness all your energy to focus on what matters most. Prioritize. Think ahead. Stay fully engaged. Urge your team to take contingencies to mitigate the damage.
While you don’t want to assume the worst case, communicate the potential severity of the situation and formulate strategies to minimize ripple-effect problems.
When you rise to the occasion during a crisis, you reassure others that you’re a stand-up leader. A bad event can give you a chance to showcase your steadiness under pressure.
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Tags: leadership
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July 14, 2010
By Morey Stettner
Some managers mistake politeness with effective supervision. They treat their employees the same way that retail workers treat walk-in customers.
When you walk into a store, you may hear “How are you?” greetings from every clerk who walks by. Or they might say, “Let me know if I can be of any help.”
That’s fine. But a better service strategy is to ask more targeted questions such as, “Are you finding what you need?” or “Hi, would you like to know our specials today?”
Similarly, managers might think they’re being friendly by going up to employees and saying, “How’s it going?” The smile painted across their face and the weirdly overwrought eye contact somehow seems inauthentic—like a technique taught in a $69 half-day management training seminar.
To converse effectively with your staff, ask smart questions that engage people and encourage them to reveal more of themselves, their attitude and their work habits. Examples include, “Are you getting through your to-do list today?” or “How would you rate how full your plate is today?”
Politeness is nice. But it’s creepy sometimes if it rings of falsity.
Stick with more substantive (but still friendly) inquiries if you really want to build rapport with your team.
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Tags: managing employees
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July 12, 2010
By Morey Stettner
MOTIVATION: Balance directive and supportive behavior
The best way to motivate employees is to mix directive behavior (i.e., telling people what to do) with supportive behavior (which involves a dialogue where you ask questions and listen well). If you overdose on directive behavior, you can crush morale and make employees feel like peons. In this podcast, we discuss how to balance directive and supportive behavior by probing frequently and listening to what employees tell you. (6 min.)
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Tags: Add new tag, directive behavior, motivation
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July 12, 2010
By Morey Stettner
You do great work. But getting your peers or higher-ups to pay attention seems impossible.
If that sounds familiar, don’t settle for obscurity. Reach out to other key execs in your organization and forge new bonds. Explain that you want to pick their brain or bounce around ideas.
Give them a chance to know you—and respect your work. The more exposure they have to you, the more likely they’ll grow into your champion.
I’ve met many managers who refuse to network within their organization. They’ll tell me, “I don’t have time to keep meeting with new people. If the people who need to work with me don’t seem to care what I do, why should I bother with others?”
The answer, of course, is that everyone’s different. You need to work around apathetic or preoccupied colleagues to find the ones who appreciate your skills.
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Tags: managing your career
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July 9, 2010
By Morey Stettner
Layoffs never boost morale, right?
Well, maybe. Layoffs can work wonders if they’re perceived as fair by the rank-and-file.
Most layoffs hit worker bees disproportionately. A few higher-level executives might be reassigned or demoted, but the majority of people who lose their jobs tend to be folks on the lower end of the food chain.
That’s often a recipe for disaster. Surviving employees think, “Those do–nothing execs with their plush offices go unscathed while the skilled people who do real work get canned.”
Occasionally, a company understands the lasting scars that such actions leave. Consider how Chrysler is fighting its way back from the brink. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal (July 3-4 issue, p. A9), Sergio Marchionne says that soon after he arrived at Chrysler a year ago as its CEO, he refused to follow the usual blueprint of shutting factories and firing assembly-line workers.
Instead, he terminated 18 of his 22 direct reports.
While it’s too early to say whether Chrysler will survive long-term, you can bet that its employees are breathing a sigh of relief that their new CEO “gets it.”
When you’re willing to go against the grain and make hard choices (like getting rid of the execs who report to you rather than canning nameless, faceless folks five layers down), you earn credibility. And that’s a leader’s secret weapon.
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Tags: leadership
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