|
Managing and motivating are closely related. A person can
motivate without being a manager. But all managers motivate,
they create feelings in everyone they meet. Managers sometimes
say they like everything about their job except for managing
people. If they leave their management jobs for something else,
they do not miss the headaches that come with managing others.
I've had many jobs and many managers. In my opinion most of my
managers were not qualified to manage. It's difficult for a bad
manager to motivate their staff in a positive way. Good managers
on the other hand usually have a positive affect on their employees.
It takes awhile to figure out the work environment. Sometimes
I think it helps to throw all your assumptions out the window.
Things do not always make sense at work. The best management
candidates do not always get the job. Sometimes unqualified individuals
are put in positions of authority. It is true that many individuals
reach their level of incompetence, go a little higher, and then
settle in a position where they neither grow nor leave. There's
a good chance you are more qualified to manage than your boss.
Motivation can be positive or negative. Experts say that children
often do things with negative consequences just to get attention.
Many managers excel in creating negative motivation. Employees
work for different reasons. They put up with a lot of stuff because
they need the money or the benefits. The manager that doesn't
motivate their employees in a positive way probably has a team
of unhappy employees. No one likes going to work if they are
belittled, put down and called inadequate. Eventually unhappy
employees leave or burnout.
Managing others is one of the most difficult jobs an individual
ever does. I always thought it was difficult enough to manage
myself, why would I want to manage others? Most of my experience
is in the non-profit leadership arena, a market that is dominated
by women in many locations.
It is often debated if a good manager is made or born. I think
it's a little bit of both. Local bookstores and the Internet
offer numerous books on how to be an effective manager plus the
topic of motivation. Reading about the successful techniques
of others is an excellent way to learn. Along with the serious
books there's also a large collection of comic type books portraying
humor in work situations. The target of most jokes is the boss,
often portrayed as incompetent and disliked. You can even learn
something from a bad boss.
In the working environment there are many individuals that
motivate employees. Maybe it's the parking lot attendant, the
clerk in the mail room, the co-worker who shares your work space
or a customer you talk to by phone. To a certain extent you motivate
everyone you come in contact with and everyone is motivated by
you. When you break motivation down to its simplest form it actually
means how something or someone makes you feel. This can be good,
bad or neutral. In most business environments managers are expected
to motivate the individuals they manage though it's not always
written in the job description.
Sometimes I think we make managing others more complicated
than it has to be. The manager who treats others the way they
like to be treated is off to a good start. At the office today
you are likely to find managers monitoring employee computer
use, checking their telephone calls, maintaining checks and balances
for certain behaviors, verifying time away from the job and making
sure everyone is doing what's expected of them. Some of this
is reasonable because employees do abuse their privileges. But
in many large corporations the managers can become timekeepers.
It is difficult for them to motivate their staff when they spend
so much time doing activities that put employees on the defensive
rather than actions to build their confidence. Positive motivation
is more powerful than discipline in changing and affecting behavior.
Employees are positively motivated by managers who treat them
with respect. A good manager knows their boundaries. They don't
say or do inappropriate things. Good managers know they don't
have to be friends with everyone at work but having the respect
of others is critical. They listen to their employees, standup
for them and never betray a confidence. Most of all a good manager
knows everyone's ego is fragile and it didn't take much to kill
someone's spirit. Correction and criticism is done in a positive
way. Employees are recognized for their accomplishments, thanked
for their contributions to the team, praised for meeting their
goals, encouraged to grow and motivated to give their best each
day.
Negative motivation occurs when managers do not practice the
above behaviors. But typically it goes much further than this.
Even with laws against discrimination and harassment, bad managers
often engage in bizarre behavior. Employees start to develop
negative feelings when mistreated and made to feel they are inferior
in some way. Bad managers don't just point out mistakes but they
personally attack their victims. Many times this is done in front
of other employees and bystanders.
Management by intimidation is a skill many managers master.
Communication centers around if you don't do this you will not
have a job. Eventually employees in this type environment internalize
the negative messages they constantly hear. They have no job
security, their self confidence is in the toilet, they feel stuck
with a boss and in a job they hate. It's extremely difficult
for them to muster the motivation needed to work each day.
Motivation is something we all have to work on. Many of us
had parents who did not know how to give positive affirmations.
We got through childhood somehow but as adults we felt insecure.
Eventually you realize you can no longer blame your family or
circumstances for your feelings. You seek to know and understand
yourself. With that comes self confidence and acceptance of yourself
in spite of all your imperfections. Once you've learned to love
yourself you then have something to give others.
Many managers do not like or love themselves. They put others
down and it somehow makes them feel good. Open communication
and honesty is discouraged because they feel threatened by those
around them. They don't know how to manage so they over compensate
by trying to control everything. They don't feel good about themselves
so how can they make others feel good. The incompetent manager
feels their own job is threatened. They react by being vindictive
and making threats themselves. They are motivating their employees
but in a very negative way.
Motivating the staff is an inside job first. You can teach
bad managers people skills and how to increase their self confidence.
In today's business environment employees have many uncertainties
to deal with. Working for someone who makes you feel good about
yourself makes life easier. But if you don't have that it's up
to you to motivate yourself. In spite of what others say, know
you are special. Don't let anyone else define who you are. If
you are mistreated by someone; try not to take it personally.
You choose how to react to all the situations in your life. Motivation
is a choice. Even when everything pulls you down make the choice
to rise about this.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.resourcesforentrepreneurs.com
|
