In my quest to get my MBA and better myself as a manager, I have read many articles and had many discussions on the topic of management and leadership. Is being a manager and being a leader the same role? The short answer to this is no. Basically, a manger is someone who administers, takes case of planning, manages schedules and money, takes care of training/hiring, tracks progress and much more. A leader is someone puts plans into action, sets the right direction with his own ideas, asks the tough questions, is innovative and motivates people to get the job done. The basic difference between the two in business world is that a manager is someone who you have to follow (because they are your boss) whereas a leader is someone you want to follow. One statement that is way over used is the following: “A manager does the things right, whereas a leader does the right things”.
It seems apparent that these are two different people with two different roles. In my opinion, this is typical old school thinking. There is no doubt that a great leader is a unique individual who posses many qualities that are simply part of their character. I think few people can be great leaders (I mean GREAT leaders), however, anyone can learn leadership skills. In today’s business world, managers need to be diverse and need to be more than the old school typical manager. The manager that plans, organizes and does things right is crucial in any business, but why can’t this manager lead his employees as well? Today’s manager needs to be both a manager and a leader, capable of taking care of normal management roles and capable of leading his employees into action. Managers that can think outside the box (another overused saying), that can be innovative and inspirational are the new age managers that businesses will covet. Managers need to be the person that leads his employees. Show your employees that you know what you want, be confident yet open to new ideas and tell your employees what to do (NOT HOW TO DO IT). Lead by example, and take care of your employees: reward them when they excel, help them when they fail. Today’s successful manager wears many hats (WOW, I’m full of overused clichés today), so make sure you are leading as well as managing your employees. Your employees, your company and more importantly, you will reap the rewards of your actions. You can be a leader.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Motivating Employees
Employee motivation could be considered the backbone of good management. Building a good team, improving communication and being able to adequately mange time and money is very important, but does any of it really matter if your employees do not care about you, the company or the work they do? Of course, these qualities will help motivate employees, but they are not enough by themselves fro employees to feel wanted and cared for.
If a manager can only grasp one concept, it should be this: No two people are the same. How many people do you know that are exactly the same? This is an important factor to understand, as what inspires and motivates one person, may not have the same affect on anyone else. Basically, one motivating tool/program is not enough to motivate and inspire employees. To understand what motivates your employees, a good manager really needs to understand and get to know each employee. I used to have a manager that would take time during each one-on-one meeting to talk about family, activities and other things to get to know me as a person better. While this was a step in the right direction, this same manager never used this information to his advantage when it came to managing me.
To me, there are 2 fundamental tasks that must be accomplished to motivate employees and keep them happy with their jobs. The first task is to ensure the employee knows what is expected of them. To achieve this goal, try the following:
-Involve employee in planning
-ensure employee knows the desired outcome
-ensure employees know their responsibilities
-Tell the employee what they have done well in the past and what they need to improve on.
-make employee aware of schedules and commit dates
-make sure employee understands that progress will be monitored
-Do not over monitor (micro-manage)
Employees that have most of the answers, understand exactly what they are working towards and know what is expected of them are going to be better workers than those who do not know these things: Knowledge is power.
The second step to proper motivation is compensation. Whenever compensation is mentioned, the first thing most people think about is money. Show me the money!! While rewarding employees of a job well done with money seems great, it is not always the best solution, is not always the reward employees want and more importantly, there may not be money budgeted for this. This is where getting to know your employees come into play: What drives them? Simply stated, find out what your employees want and try to give it to them. Some employees may want to be more involved in the business and decision making. More interesting work with more visibility drives many people. An improved role in the company or group is great incentive to employees looking to keep moving ahead. I had a manager a few years ago that had no money to give as compensation for a successful project, so he would give us additional time off. A few three day weekends some half days here and there mean a lot and help create a workplace culture that employees will want to stay part of. The following are also good ideas for motivating employees:
-Allow them to work from home sometimes (telecommute)
-give them a flexible schedule (does everyone need to work 9-5?)
-grant more independence at work (show them you trust them)
-Have group outings
-constantly provide employees feedback
-offer education and career planning
The point here is to be innovative in motivating employees. As stated earlier, no two people are the same. Find out what drives your employees and try to make that happen for them. Motivated employees make you, the manager, look good, and help the company achieve their goals.
If a manager can only grasp one concept, it should be this: No two people are the same. How many people do you know that are exactly the same? This is an important factor to understand, as what inspires and motivates one person, may not have the same affect on anyone else. Basically, one motivating tool/program is not enough to motivate and inspire employees. To understand what motivates your employees, a good manager really needs to understand and get to know each employee. I used to have a manager that would take time during each one-on-one meeting to talk about family, activities and other things to get to know me as a person better. While this was a step in the right direction, this same manager never used this information to his advantage when it came to managing me.
To me, there are 2 fundamental tasks that must be accomplished to motivate employees and keep them happy with their jobs. The first task is to ensure the employee knows what is expected of them. To achieve this goal, try the following:
-Involve employee in planning
-ensure employee knows the desired outcome
-ensure employees know their responsibilities
-Tell the employee what they have done well in the past and what they need to improve on.
-make employee aware of schedules and commit dates
-make sure employee understands that progress will be monitored
-Do not over monitor (micro-manage)
Employees that have most of the answers, understand exactly what they are working towards and know what is expected of them are going to be better workers than those who do not know these things: Knowledge is power.
The second step to proper motivation is compensation. Whenever compensation is mentioned, the first thing most people think about is money. Show me the money!! While rewarding employees of a job well done with money seems great, it is not always the best solution, is not always the reward employees want and more importantly, there may not be money budgeted for this. This is where getting to know your employees come into play: What drives them? Simply stated, find out what your employees want and try to give it to them. Some employees may want to be more involved in the business and decision making. More interesting work with more visibility drives many people. An improved role in the company or group is great incentive to employees looking to keep moving ahead. I had a manager a few years ago that had no money to give as compensation for a successful project, so he would give us additional time off. A few three day weekends some half days here and there mean a lot and help create a workplace culture that employees will want to stay part of. The following are also good ideas for motivating employees:
-Allow them to work from home sometimes (telecommute)
-give them a flexible schedule (does everyone need to work 9-5?)
-grant more independence at work (show them you trust them)
-Have group outings
-constantly provide employees feedback
-offer education and career planning
The point here is to be innovative in motivating employees. As stated earlier, no two people are the same. Find out what drives your employees and try to make that happen for them. Motivated employees make you, the manager, look good, and help the company achieve their goals.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Let's talk business...
Ok, so this will be my first post to my new blog. What’s on my mind today: Really bad Management/ Managers? Having worked in the high tech industry for many years, I am thoroughly annoyed at the lack of good managers in business today. Having spoken with friends and colleges in similar businesses, the management techniques used in this day and age are obsolete and do not make any sense, yet here they are. It’s no secret that today’s biggest and best companies employ unique management techniques that get the most out of employees and result in employees that actually care about the company they work for and the work that they do. Yet here we are, seeing many businesses still using and promoting old management techniques that are not as affective as the new model of management thinking.
My thoughts on the internet containing easy access to good management techniques were taken down a bit when I performed searches myself on the topic. Sure there are plenty of sites out there boasting better management techniques and practices, but all I found was the same regurgitated “best practices” information, worded slightly differently on every site. Sure we all know management needs to “communicate”, “motivate” and promote a “team” atmosphere, but how? Anyone can tell you what you need to do, but nobody seems to be willing to show you how to do it, unless you pay for it, and heftily. Business analysts and consultants are extremely expensive, and all they are going to do is tell you what you probably already know. School is good, but also costly, time consuming and will not yield results in a timely fashion. So what’s a business/manager to do? I hope to have answers to this question soon enough….
My thoughts on the internet containing easy access to good management techniques were taken down a bit when I performed searches myself on the topic. Sure there are plenty of sites out there boasting better management techniques and practices, but all I found was the same regurgitated “best practices” information, worded slightly differently on every site. Sure we all know management needs to “communicate”, “motivate” and promote a “team” atmosphere, but how? Anyone can tell you what you need to do, but nobody seems to be willing to show you how to do it, unless you pay for it, and heftily. Business analysts and consultants are extremely expensive, and all they are going to do is tell you what you probably already know. School is good, but also costly, time consuming and will not yield results in a timely fashion. So what’s a business/manager to do? I hope to have answers to this question soon enough….
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