Coaching & Motivating

Simple steps to increase workers’ motivation

December 1, 2005
When a manager says, “I wish I could motivate Alex,” that usually means “I wish I could get Alex to do the job better.” Here are six keys to doing exactly that.

Succeed as a coach, not a critic

October 1, 2005
“Coaching” doesn’t mean telling people what they’ve done wrong; rather, it’s telling your team members what and how they can do right.

Take command of the battle against boredom

October 1, 2005
Managers have the power to keep our people from being bored. Because we can help our team members see the purpose in what they do—how it helps the team, the enterprise, the world and each of us as individuals. In the battle against workplace boredom, we’re the commanders.

Leading Teams: Promote real accountability

September 1, 2005
“If you’re not good at relationships, you can and will fail.” That’s according to change-management consultant Morris R. Shechtman, author of Fifth Wave Leadership: The Internal Frontier. “When you care enough about people to invest in a caring, honest, challenging relationship with them, you breed accountability.”

Fighting employee boredom at work

June 1, 2005
As a hands-on manager, you’re in the perfect position to fight boredom at work. This means you can head off the mistakes, missed opportunities, absenteeism and turnover that result when work becomes too routine. Here are some techniques to try:

Getting top employees out of a workplace rut

June 1, 2005
When good workers seem to be simply going through the motions, it may be because they’re riding on the career merry-go-round—wanting to try something new, but unable to get away from what they’re already doing. Here are some questions to ask them:

Light up low-energy workers

April 1, 2005
Employees who are competent, yet complacent pose a challenge to many front-line managers. Sometimes, it’s best (and easiest) to chalk their lack of drive up to personality and leave it at that. But managers need to get their people to work at their full potential.

Coaching undependable workers

February 1, 2005
Dan knew that in the long run, working with Andy was a better investment than starting over with a new hire. Here’s the strategy he used to coach his promising but undependable worker:

Turn teammate envy into team success

January 1, 2005
You give an especially challenging assignment to someone on your staff. Then, everyone else grows envious and angry. Here’s how to channel that negative envy into a positive force.

When your team won’t speak up

January 1, 2005
Your team is made up of talented people, each of whom can excel individually. But the team’s collaboration, decision making, and problem solving aren’t what they could be; usually, you end up making the important moves. Why? And what to do about it?