Looking for a sure-fire way to motivate your people?

Before you say that you don’t have any money, let me assure you that what I am proposing will not cost you anything. But failure to do it could cost you and your company a fortune.

Respect your people!

A new global survey of 500 employees by the firm, AchieveGlobal , concluded that employees value “respect” most, even more than “financial stability,” “opportunity for growth,“ and “learning and development.” As reported by Management Issues , this survey, which polled those from ages 20 to 60+, should come as welcome news to cash-strapped organizations looking to reward and recognize their people for a job well-done.

Granted this survey sample is quite small, but it does confirm decades of research into motivation and will affirm what good managers have always known. If you want to keep good people, treat them as you would treat yourself. Respect is inherent to motivation. Managers who motivate do so by creating conditions for people to succeed. Treating them as contributors is essential to establishing the right culture for motivation to occur. Here are four ways to demonstrate respect.

Keep it level. Tough times demand straight talk. You share news good and bad as soon as you can. You create an atmosphere where people can come to you with ideas as well as concerns. In these times, showing respect may mean more listening than anything else. Listening is a form of respect for others.

Keep it real. Respect is a form of personal recognition; it communicates that you value the other person’s ideas. As a manager, however, such awareness does not mean you become a push-over. You must stand up for the principles and practices of your company. You treat people fairly. High achievers will have more opportunities than low achievers but you keep the door open for everyone to excel.

Keep it dignified. “I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me,” said Jackie Robinson, the player who broke the color line in major league baseball, “All I ask is that you respect me as a human being.” Respect dictates civility. You are allowed to say no to employee ideas as long as you do so with a sense of acknowledgement of the individual’s self worth. Disagreements over ideas are fine; disagreements over personality are messy affairs and end up undermining individual and team morale.

Keep it going. Respect is not the same as a pat on the back; it is an ongoing approach toward treating others. Therefore it is not something you turn on and off. Doing so is a trust-buster and reveals insincerity.

Showing respect does not make up for lack of compensation. As organizational theorist Fredrick Hertzberg taught us, poor levels of compensation become de-motivators. While companies may be pressed to increase pay now, as soon as conditions improve, employers should find ways to increase levels of compensation. Failure to do so would indicate a lack of respect.

Respect for others may be a virtue, but in management circles it is a must-do. Demonstrating care and concern for another individual is the bond that holds organizations together. Respect is fundamental to instilling trust, which is essential for leadership.

John Kennedy challenged Americans to "Ask not what your country can do for you, but rather what you can do for your country." Successful leaders do the same.

Involvement is the operative principle in any successful change initiative. Failure to engage people in what change means and their role in it dooms most such initiatives to failure. Within the corporate sector, change too often comes from on high and is perceived as just another thing the CEO said and as a result is lost in the drone of dull and boring executive communiqués.

It does not have to be this way. For years I have taught executives a simple four-step model, which I call the 4 I’s, that when utilized appropriately can invigorate communications and give them the resonance they deserve.

Inform . Executives excel at getting the word out, at least once. Where they fail is in iterating the message and keeping fresh and alive. This is where the corporate sector can learn from politicians. The good ones are disciplined to stay on message and let the audience know what they believe and why they believe it.

Involve . Leaders accomplish little by themselves. They need the support of followers and so it is incumbent upon the leader to find ways to involve people in the process. Successful change initiatives include activities like shared visioning. These are opportunities for employees to talk about how they can make the initiative work in their department.

Invite . If you want people to support you, you must ask them. Chris Matthews writes in his book, Hardball, about how his old boss, Tip O’Neill learned this lesson the hard way. As a young man running for city council in Cambridge, Massachusetts, O’Neill assumed that his friends and neighbors would all support him. To his chagrin one did not. When he inquired as to why not, one neighbor advised that if she wanted his vote, she had to ask for it.

Ignite . When employees know the issue and what is at stake, as well as their involvement, leaders who can take their enthusiasm to the next level can achieve great things. Again the Obama campaign serves as a good model. Not only did people contribute dollars, tens of thousands volunteered their time to campaign for their candidate. Obama ignited their spirits and they rallied to his cause.

All senior leadership messages will not contain all four elements. The last step, ignite, is particularly difficult. It also not always necessary. It is not necessary to generate enthusiasm about every single piece of communications. Doing so not only tires people out, it also renders significant communications as meaningless. That is, an urgent email from the CEO about the company’s response to a new competitor should have more importance than an email about changes in flextime commuting.

Of the four elements, involvement may be the most critical. People need to know what’s in it for them, but more importantly for the organization, how they can contribute. Employees want to contribute to something greater than themselves and when they feel as if they are helping a achieve a goal, be it reducing defects, improving quality, or developing a new product, they commit themselves. They don’t simply go through the motions, they put themselves out. And that is what it will take for an important initiative to succeed, in good times, but more importantly when times are tough.

Source:
John Baldoni Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders New York: McGraw-Hill 2003

Rumors, like conspiracy theories, are insidious, in part because they can prove difficult to disprove. When gone unchallenged, they can wreak havoc with a company’s image. So often though rumors are rooted in fact. And so companies must tread carefully.

In June of 1999, CocaCola Company sought to play down initial reports about Belgian school children becoming ill after drinking Coke. As reported by the New York Times,when situation became an international news story, CEO Doug Ivester traveled to Europe and made a public apology. He was even photographed drinking a Coke. Still some European countries pulled Coke products off the shelf. They were eventually returned but Coca Cola lost sales and tarnished its image. If Belgian officials of the company had responded promptly, a bad situation could have been ameliorated. The challenge for executives is to how to respond to rumor and when. Here are some tips.

Address the problem . When the situation becomes known, address it. Whether the rumor affects employees or consumers, executives need to address the issue. If it is an employee issue, they need to communicate promptly. Same goes for consumers. A statement that management is aware of the situation and is addressing it is sufficient.

Find the root cause. Probe for what went wrong and why. Trace the rumor to its core. Most rumors have some element of truth; that is what gives the rumor legs. Separate fact from fiction. Publish the results and invite stakeholders to participate in an open forum. In our age of distributed media, transparency rules.

Present solutions . Determine ways to prevent a similar situation from developing. Problems will always occur. Many companies assemble strike force teams, comprised of people from different disciplines, including communications, to determine the cause, find solutions and let the stakeholders know what is happening. Again, be transparent.

When it comes to rumors, especially those that affect the integrity of the individuals, the quality of a product or service, or the reputation of the company, acting sooner than later may be the best course of action.

Source:
New York Times
http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?q ... srchst=nyt

Dan Rooney has a pretty good eye for judging talent. Two years ago, Rooney promoted a young assistant coach, Mike Tomlin, to take over for veteran head coach, Bill Cowher, who was retiring. Last year Rooney actively campaigned for Barack Obama in Pennsylvania. On the night of Super Bowl XLIII Rooney looked prescient as his Pittsburgh Steelers won their record-setting sixth Super Bowl title and he received a congratulatory phone call from President Obama.

Rooney and the Steelers are legendary in the NFL. Art Rooney, Dan’s father, founded the team in 1933; the team has won more Super Bowls than any other franchise. But, as depicted in a recent New York Times article by Holly Brubach, Rooney is as down to earth as it gets. At seventy-six he and his wife walk to Mass then Rooney drives himself and his Buick to the Steeler complex. There he moves among the players more like a friendly uncle than an owner. As one player put it, “[Rooney]’s here, shakes your hand, talks to you every day. Every day.” He also forms friendships that last well beyond their Steeler playing days and why some show up at Steeler championship games. Rooney’s roots are the NFL itself and his management deserves exploration.

Take the long view. Unlike other NFL owners who treat their franchises as play things and lord over them like meddlesome despots, Rooney takes the long view. The Steelers have had only three head coaches in forty years. Both Cowher, and his predecessor, Chuck Knoll, struggled before they won a Super Bowl. Rooney liked and trusted each man and held a steady course.

Be progressive . The majority of NFL players are African-American, yet the number of black head coaches remains small. To address the situation, Rooney spearheaded a rule requiring that African-American be interviewed for each head coach vacancy. This kind of affirmative action has given high potential assistant coaches the opportunity to prepare for and interview for the top positions. The Steelers own head coach is black.

Be humble. Rooney has grown up with the league. He remembers when the Steelers were a woeful franchise and the league itself was second-rate. But always he gives credit to his team for their success. He seems more a grandfather than an innovator, which he has been throughout his management career.

The ownership of the Steelers has not been without controversy. For a time it seemed that the Rooneys would lose their stake in the Steelers. Art, Sr. had willed the team to his five sons. Dan took the active ownership position, letting the other brothers pursue their other interests, including horse racing. Dan did not have the personal resources to buy out his brother who wanted out of the NFL so he sold the Steelers to a wealthy investor, Stanley Druckenmiller, who will retain Dan and his son, Art II, as controlling partners. [The deal will close in March 2009.]

While active management of the team is Art II, Rooney remains a presence that sustains the heritage of the franchise and keeps the team grounded in the reality of the game and its fans.

Sources
Holly Brubach “Steelers Owner Dan Rooney Turns His Business Into a Family“ New York Times 1.27.09
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/sport ... amp;st=cse

Greg Mihoces “Rooneys Keep Steelers on an Even Keel” USA Today 1.29.09
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football ... neys_N.htm

Leaders accomplish very little by themselves. No one knows this better than the president of the United States. One way Barack Obama is showing how much he counts on others is his personal touch. If you didn’t know he was president, there would be times as if he seemed like the nation’s Greeter-in-Chief. Politicians are forever thanking their supporters, but Obama takes his thank you’s to a whole new level. Consider:

• Obama and wife Michelle visited all ten Inaugural Balls. He spoke and danced at each one. A key message at every one was thanking people for their support. This was particular noticeable at the Commander’s Ball where enlisted and officers were invited. Obama recognized their service and even danced with a young sergeant.

• The president used part of his first full day in office to participate in the White House Open House which was an opportunity to welcome a group of citizens from Washington D.C.

• Obama even made a stop in the press room to say hello to the White House press corps but more importantly to give encouragement in the form of a presidential “fist bump” to his new press secretary, Robert Gibbs.

• The president appeared with Hillary Clinton at the State Department to announce the nation’s emphasis on diplomacy as well as the ending of torture. He used his appearance to give a pep talk to State Department employees, all of them civil servants, acknowledging the importance of their public service.

• And most touchingly, at the Congressional lunch after the Inaugural swearing in and speech, Obama made a special note to thank the wait staff, remarking that serving a room full of politicians, who are forever getting out of their seats to shake hands with one another, is not easy.

Obama is not the first president to show public gratitude. And in doing so he is taking cues from earlier presidents, notably Abraham Lincoln. Born in poverty, Lincoln, as depicted in Team of Rivals, was a warm hearted soul. Seldom taking umbrage at insults and going out of his way to make his aides and staffers feel appreciated. He was a genuinely kind man who borne the burdens of the war himself without complaint.

Franklin Roosevelt, too, had capacity for cheering people up. While not as personally warm as Lincoln, he knew just how to push the right buttons so that people felt good about working for him.

The personal connection between leader and follower is an important one. Senior leaders need to get out of themselves and connect with people in order to encourage followership. A smile here, or a kind word there goes miles toward building spirit and solidifying purpose. Leaders need not be glad-handers, but they do need to make the effort to extend themselves for others.

Obama has the common touch and you see that in his interactions. True enough, the new president is on a honeymoon. The nation’s crisis is provoking a spirit of unity. Soon enough dissension and division will set in. The charm of these moments will be lost in rancor, but to the people that Obama touched personally, it is likely that the warmth and appreciation he showed will linger. And that will be vital to the president’s ability to get things done.